Oh, hell yeah! This is how it's done folks, and I don't just mean for an Alien film, but any film. This is a master class in storytelling (which is different than liking something. Whether or not you liked it, there's no denying the craftsmanship here). Don't have time to go into every little thing, so I'll just mention two: editing and character. The editing is top quality, better than lots of stuff you see in theatrical feature films. This kind of tight editing, in my opinion, is only possible when the directors themselves shoot with the editing in mind (which is why James Cameron (who is also an editor) films are always so well edited and tell so much story in less time). Here we've shots that begin in one location (on a monitor) and hand-off the scene to another location; we've got variety of shots (going from drawn out reaction to quick action cuts); we've got transitions within single shots that serve the purpose of presenting new, important information in a clever way; we've got reaction shots that are perfectly times; not one shot in this film outstays its welcome by even a frame. Everything moves fast, but not ever hurried. To accomplish this kind of editing is a thankless job, because it is never recognized (which is the point). If you watch 'Specimen' (which was great), it even had some editing issues with pacing, and shots lasting a bit too long (imo). Okay, so then CHARACTER. Wow. Character is not an attitude presented by an actress. Character is revealed by the WRITER by setting up the stakes, giving a character a reason to really, really WANT something, and then showing what that character is willing to do in order to get that thing. In this case, we all kinds of set up about what's at stake. The shot of the colony sign outside shows that the population has been crossed out, replaced by a much higher number, meaning kids have been born, families have grown. Then we get talk about kids and grandkids, and how the main lady wants a better life for hers. She's MOTIVATED on their behalf. We see her interact lovingly with her daughter. These people may be coarse and "just dumb, dirty miners", but they still care about each other. They're a family. So when this new alien threat appears, and everybody wants to bug out, our hero makes the ultimate sacrifice, willing to confront the alien, rather than even RISK going up in the elevator, which MIGHT allow the alien into the colony. This is truly heroic, and despite how great the actress is, we only know she's a hero because of the writer's great work setting this all up. Of course, when the other colonists decide to join her in the fight, that's icing on the cake--a great, great moment. I'll end my fangirling now, to say nothing of other awesome stuff (the alien looked great, the company villain was so passively insidious, the final shot makes me pump my fist and want to see more, etc) These directors got what it takes (um, and they're cuties...can I say that?).