Alien: Covenant [2017] is the next installment in Ridley Scott’s Alien film universe. Taking place ten years after the events of Prometheus [2012]. Once again starring Michael Fassbender and a slew of other people including Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice & Boardwalk Empire), Billy Crudup (Watchmen & 20th Century Women) and a random casting of Danny McBride (every single movie that has James Franco it seems). This adventure takes the crew of spaceship Covenant on a mission to recolonize when they receive a beacon message and decide to make a pit stop on an undiscovered planet. Then of course, through a series of traditional horror events, the crew finds themselves in the middle of danger as they defend their lives against some rather aggressive aliens.
Fassbender & Waterston: Michael Fassbender plays two roles in the film and they are also perfect performances. Every scene he appears in has the audience’s full attention. He is even able to vomit exposition without it seeming too forced. Instead, he gives this faulty storytelling device a more captivating atmosphere. Katherine Waterston also had a pretty great performance. The entertainment form her character came mostly from the fear she displayed throughout the film. It was entirely genuine how frightened she was in Alien: Covenant.
First Act Surprises: The first 45 minutes of this film borrows a lot from the previous films in this franchise. It is actually just a complete rehash of land on planet, explore planet, find danger, FREAK OUT! The “surprises” the first act shows are not the good kind. There are glimpses of amazing cinematography but that is soon spoiled as the audience is reminded that nothing they are seeing is different.
Prometheus Set Back: Alien: Covenant only exists because of the events in Prometheus, obviously. However, it is only the events between these two films that actually made a purpose for the third act of Covenant. The first two acts are completely useless as they play no role in how the end of the film unfolds. There are several reasons for this and the film admits it with one big mistake: all the characters are the same in both films. Yes, Covenant has different actors but the roles they play are hardly different than the main crew from the previous film. If Scott wanted to make this film truly captivating, Covenant would have opened with the third act and then developed past what was released because the audience can watch the first two acts of any film from this franchise and not miss a beat at the end of Covenant.
Alien: Covenant does not improve Ridley Scott’s once original franchise
but may be worth a watch if you fancy some Fassbender.
Watch Alien: Covenant on iTunes