Alien: Covenant

Alien: Covenant (2017)

** (out of 4)

Sequel to PROMETHEUS and a connection to the ALIEN series, this sci-fi film has a spaceship trying to locate a planet so that the human race can continue. The crew are planning on building a colony but they notice a much closer planet that can hold life. They decide to head there to see what's on it and soon the horror starts.

To put it mildly, ALIEN: COVENANT is a major disappointment. It seems a lot of fans were unhappy with PROMETHEUS because it was more of a thinking man's movie and less of a action/horror/sci-fi film. It seems that this film was in trouble from the start because you have to wonder if there was some sort of debate before hand on what should be done with it. PROMETHEUS was a terrific movie that made you think about a lot of things but sadly this sequel doesn't do that. Instead, it almost seems as the filmmakers were forced to answer a few questions about PROMETHEUS and then they wanted to throw in the action of an ALIEN sequel.

What really shocked me about this movie is the fact that it almost put me to sleep several times. I'm not going to say that the film is a cure for insomnia but at the same time it's deadly slow at times even though there's usually something always going on. As I said, the screenplay doesn't seem to know what the film should do and the majority of the running time is just downright boring. The film starts off with a tragedy yet it's hard to have any emotions for the characters because we're just getting to know them. Another problem is the fact that the characters are all rather bland with the exception of Michael Fassbender's two-part role.

As I said, I thought the characters were rather boring and I'd argue that not many of the performances are all that memorable. Perhaps a longer director's cut will eventually show up but there's really not too much here. Fassbender delivers a fine performance but I can't say I was impressed with the rest of the cast. On a technical level Ridley Scott is a visual genius so all of that stuff looks great. There's some extremely gory scenes of violence, which are very good but the film is just way too uneven to work.

It's like part of the movie wanted to be another thinking man's movie but there's another part that wanted to be a bloody action film. It just doesn't work in the end.

I am well aware the cinematography is great. And The lead actress was incredible and fascinating to watch especially considering the horrible material. The characters have no reason to do what they do and are very typical horror fare and uninteresting to watch. And since you cant invest in the characters it makes this already very long movie excrutiatingly so. There is no tension sinne you can almosy guess immediately The outcome of the move and thus are never surprised.

It is disapointing to feel this way when you can clearly see that a lot of work was put inte The movie.

Wish the crew well and hope for a better follow up!

I don't know if I'm the only person to say this, but I think a horror movie works better if we see some intelligence in the script and in the characters' attitudes, and if the main antagonist is mysterious and able to surprise us. I liked "Prometheus", a film better than expected, albeit with a confusing script. This film establishes a clearer, more palpable link between that film and the "Alien" franchise. The script accompanies the "Covenant", a colony ship filled with people in hypersleep. The ship receives a mysterious signal from a planet that, by all indications, has excellent conditions for life, but quickly realizes that it has stumbled on a place where it should never have landed. After seeing the film, I had the feeling that we were looking at a very solid work that only lost when compared to the original franchise. Perhaps the best way to be fair is really to avoid this comparative exercise, which is seductive and almost impossible not to do.

Shall we start with the good things? Very good! The film is a sight for sore eyes, especially for sci-fi fans and for those who like very visual films with high doses of special effects, CGI or extraordinarily detailed scenarios. There is no doubt that the budget had a generous slice set aside for computer technicians, art and costume designers and cinematography, and this investment has paid off handsomely. Everything is accompanied by an excellent soundtrack and good sound effects. And of course, there are lots of tense scenes. It is one of those films where the tension is permanent, but which never really scares us.

Sadly, that's basically all this movie has to offer us. Fans of the Alien franchise will ensure that the film clarifies several gray points in the narrative of other films, such as "Prometheus", and I agree with this argument, but this does not seem to me to be something that we should overestimate, because it really was the least that could be done. Demanded from this film! At the script level, it is frankly disappointing: in addition to being lazy, making the most of what was done for the other films with which it is linked, it adds few new things. Yes, it creates some new creatures, "cousins" of the original xenomorph, but that's all. The human or semi-human characters are silly, devoid of development and seem to be waiting to be killed.

The film starts out great, but becomes slow and tiresome as it becomes predictable. I have a high regard for Ridley Scott's work, I think he's a very skilled and credited director, but it's hard not to acknowledge that he failed here. The director was dazzled by the amount of CGI potential and neglected the narrative, editing and direction of the actors. Among the actors, Michael Fassbender stands out the most. The actor has given us one of his best works so far. Katherine Waterston also did a very good job. The rest of the cast doesn't have the time or material to do anything special.

In the first 20 minutes I was so happy with Covenant. It felt sharp, atmospheric, there are interesting character situations, emotive moments and infinitely better writing than we had in Prometheus. As it progresses, this feeling continues - thankfully, a solid sci-fi film that got it right.

Then Ridley starts to indulge in his convoluted ideas about creation and destruction. Its like switching from 1977 George Lucas to 1999 Lucas. You can almost hear Ridley at a writing meeting saying "this'll be cool, and this, and this, and then this" and the writer saying "uh, is this for the same film or later in the series?" "Yeah just cram it all in, make it happen".

You end up with three different films - a first act like a modern Alien which I loved, a middle act of Prometheus style philosophizing that feels like more Westworld, then a last act of two shoe-horned in action scenes homaging Aliens and Alien 3 respectively. Except there is no satisfaction at all, because the aliens are rushed, a bit silly, often awkwardly CGI looking, and not even convincing as threats because we don't care about any of it.

By the end I just have no idea what to think. I just think it would have worked much better if the ideas were done justice in their own film, rather than ham-fistedly trying to ram them into an Alien film to try and please fans and make box-office.

Seriously, this is the same ridiculous story premise as Prometheus... let's forget germ theory and the entire human history with infectious disease, remove our helmets and space suits and ignore/breach all fundamental quarantine protocols until it is too late. I love the Alien franchise, but it defies belief when they remove their helmets and I just cannot get past my teeth grinding annoyance with an entire story line that relies completely on this stupid, lazy writing. That the chemical composition of the atmosphere is "breathable" is totally, completely, utterly irrelevant to any presence or absence of biological risk and it defies belief that this fundamental truth is dismissed from consideration by anyone on an interplanetary mission...