I can’t say I’m a huge Alien fan. While I respect the movies for establishing a strong female hero in Ellen Ripley, creating groundbreaking designs by H.R. Giger, and redefining the science-fiction genre by making it scary again, it’s just never been my cup of tea. I’ve always found more enjoyment elsewhere, even in frequent competitor series Predator. Still, my reason for going to see Alien: Covenant in theaters was that Ridley Scott directed it and it’s his first time returning to Alien since the original film in 1979 and Prometheus in 2012. I was extremely interested in seeing how the iconic 4x Oscar Nominated film-maker envisioned the xenomorphs in 2017. Let’s just say… Alien: Covenant wasn’t the nostalgic, cinematic thrill-ride I was hoping for. And that’s a good indication of how this review is going to go.
Alien: Covenant is a prequel to Alien while also serving as a sequel to Prometheus. Now, here’s where the new movie could have become a complete disaster. I know Alien, Aliens and Alien vs. Predator like the back of my hand. Alien 3, Alien: Resurrection and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem are a blur. And I’ve never actually seen Prometheus. When I realized Alien: Covenant was a sequel to the last film, I was a little worried that I wasn’t going to understand the plot. Luckily, writers John Logan, Dante Harper, Michael Green and Jack Paglen did a great job at making Alien: Covenant a direct sequel that covers all of the basics of the previous entry to avoid confusion. I felt like I knew the entire back-story the whole way through my viewing and that was a relief to me, and should be a relief to you! However, this wasn’t the movie I was looking for, this wasn’t the movie I wanted; and maybe that’s on me for not researching this further.
Since Alien: Covenant features a mix of returning crew talent like director Ridley Scott, producers David Giler & Walter Hill and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski with producers Mark Huffam & Michael Schaefer and production designer Chris Seagers, viewers are treated to a film that feels very much like Prometheus spliced with Aliens. The film follows the crew of the spaceship Covenant as it is in the middle of its trip to planet Origae-6. Its goal is to transport 2,000 humans to the Earth-friendly planet in hopes of colonizing it. Soon they discover a mysterious planet that is much closer in range to them and would shave seven years off their travel time. They make the unfortunate decision to abort mission and head for the new planet, which has water and wheat and sun and air… and aliens. Almost immediately, dangerous neomorphs attack the colonists until they are saved by David, a survivor of the Prometheus crash 15 years ago. He takes them to a shelter, but Walter has ulterior motives of his own.
Alien: Covenant was produced, shot and edited beautifully. The entire team that worked behind-the-scenes on set design and digital effects deserve a major round of applause for their efforts here. I was unable to tell what was a scenic landscape and what was shot on a green screen. Just stunning, stunning work. But that leads the way to my biggest complaint. Who let the neomorphs – the little white ones – look like that? They were an eyesore in such a high caliber production and I felt like the CGI that was used belonged on the SyFy Channel. Someone really dropped the ball on that one. Making the first encounter with the species, inside the smaller ship, look like little pieces of clip-art running around was laughable and took away from any suspense and terror they were meant to induce. Luckily, the bigger white aliens and the iconic black ones with the mini-mouth in their mouth remedied this. But the damage was done. Keep with the continuity in all aspects, folks.
When examining the cast, I was very excited to see Katherine Waterston from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Michael Fassbender from X-Men: Apocalypse. Two very recognizable and extremely talented actors that are very convincing in any role they play. Though, let me say that the character of Dany Branson was no Ellen Ripley. They never should’ve even tried it. Which they did. Another poor choice in an otherwise decent movie that severely affected my overall opinion of it. I also remember seeing significant press about Alien: Covenant having the first gay couple in space, but I really didn’t notice it until one of them died. The hype was over a ten second segment in one scene? Really? Billy Crudup (Watchmen), Danny McBride (This is the End), Demian Bichir (Machete Kills), Carmen Ejogo (The Purge: Anarchy), Amy Seimetz (You’re Next), Jussie Smollett (“Empire”), Callie Hernandez (“Graves”) and Nathaniel Dean (“Rush”) also star.
I don’t really have an opinion on this film other than what I’ve already stated. It’s Prometheus meets Aliens with a couple mistakes in judgement along the way. It had a lot of potential, but didn’t reel me in as a casual viewer. The last twenty minutes were arguably the best out of the entire movie. Alien: Covenant wasn’t the exciting romp through space that I was expecting and hoping for, but it was still decent. I won’t watch it again, though. Final Score: 5 out of 10.
“eye-soar”?
This review is Sh##t the Movie was fantastic your so into the action when the first alien pops out up, that you don’t consider anything an eye sore.
The person who watched this film doesn’t understand Scifi Horror. There is no film that looks as good as Alien Covenant! Nothing!
The CGI was fantastic. I wished they used less of it but it didn’t take anything away from the film.
Go see it!
But (yawn) we’re used to them popping out so with each trial a more encompassing plot is needed–not less as is the case.