Alien: Covenant

A lot that goes into whether you like a film or not is perspective. 

Back in 2012, when I went to a theater, sat and watched, and quite enjoyed Prometheus, it was mainly because of the visual splendor and the mystery. I was someone who had seen only a handful of snippets from the Alien franchise before on TV and had no idea Prometheus was connected (until the end). 

Looking back on that review, I'd argue that it was one I "overrated" in my early days of reviewing. I can't quite remember a lick of what happened in it other than a handful of scenes and an insanely confusing prologue. But I was uneducated when it came to the franchise, so to me, Prometheus felt new and full of possibilities. 

Having now researched the franchise a bit more after viewing and Retro Reviewing two phenomenal classics, Alien and Aliens, I wouldn't say I'm a n00b to the franchise anymore AND that they made Prometheus all the more confusing. I don't think I was alone when I was pumped, but cautious, when I heard that Ridley Scott was returning with an actual Alien sequel in Alien: Covenant. 

In recent months, the marketing and trailers for this have been pitch perfect and things were looking up. It seemed like it would be a bridge between the movies from the past and Scott's attempt at some pretty heady questions in Prometheus. 

Now, I'm a big sci-fi fan. When it's done well, I think it may be the best genre out there and certainly one that gets the imagination kick-started the most. Think Arrival from last year. What I can't stand is sci-fi that's confusing for the sake of being confusing or one that expects you to make leap-of-faith logic assumptions to understand what it's trying to convey. Prometheus was at fault for this with a nearly inexplicable starting scene with the "engineer" and unfortunately Alien: Covenant continues this need for purpose, for reason, onward in a story that, frankly, I'm just not buying. 

Couple that with some of the DUMBEST character decisions ever made and you have what could be my biggest disappointment of the summer. 

And yes, even though I can't remember much of Prometheus, I do remember that I liked it more. 

"We've got to find Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill! They're here somewhere!"

What strikes me as odd with Covenant is just how much it wants to be the classic Alien film and an existential Prometheus sequel at the same time. Those two films don't really gel all that much and it's to the detriment of the film. We start with a crew that is on a colonization mission as the human race needs to find a new home. By seemingly random chance, the crew is woken up from a ship emergency and they find a potential new planet to investigate. As you may have guessed, things go awry. Within that simple setup I don't have issue, but where I'm starting to have issue with the franchise is when it thinks it's much smarter than it really is. Questions like: "Where did these aliens come from?" "What defines creation?" "Did the human race have an origin?" all are questions the film attempts to answer, does a pretty poor job of (or just has a dumb answer for) and by the end of it all I'm left with a lot more questions about everything and a lot less interest overall. It's clear the series as a whole has taken quite a departure in lore/mythology from the original two [best] films and, at least for me, it's not working out in the slightest. 

Well this can't turn out well...

When you shift to the more Alien (read: horror or action) elements, you're left with a fantastic looking film that is intense, incredibly bloody, visceral, and filled with just...the dumbest character choices ever. It follows a lot of typical cliches like splitting up (horrible idea), touching random plant life on a new planet (why would you?), investigating a highly frightening noise thinking one of your squad mates was capable of making it (seriously though?) among others. None of this is new, but the characters are set up as smart individuals and the ones who are responsible for elongating the human race. So basically we're all screwed. Some of the most devastatingly stupid moments come near the end with the Captain (Crudup) that are almost more comical than they are scary. 

By now, you may think that I hated Alien: Covenant. Surprisingly I did not. It's actually thoroughly entertaining. I'd probably even give it a second watch at some point down the line. The final 30 minutes has some rip-roaring action spectacle and is a fantastic finale. Overall the performances are strong and I liked many of the new players, even if some of them are very obviously disposable. Danny McBride was probably my favorite and it was interesting to see him out of a comedy element. Michael Fassbender's synthetic, Walter, is still a pleasure to watch but the film ends up being more of a synthetic sequel (won't give anything away) than an Alien sequel. Despite my gripes about this area of the plot, Fassbender does awesome in the role and has some very...interesting...scenes. 

The film also looks and sounds gorgeous. There's a good original score (yay!) and the sound editing and design is top notch. Similarly, the visuals are fantastic throughout and are paired with some stellar cinematography. The Alien itself is still one of the most terrifying creatures in cinematic history, if not the absolute most. It's produced with special effects here and that takes a bit of the magic away but it still looks violent, gross, and absolutely lethal. 

Yep. Still makes me s**t my pants.

There will be plenty of people that enjoyed Alien: Covenant. They might have had a more "normal" relationship with the Alien franchise than I, so it could be what they're looking for. As someone who enjoyed Prometheus and Alien(s), I was surprised how much this film let me down and I think the backstory it's trying to create is awful and unnecessarily confusing. The film itself is entertaining, but predictable, and I hope that if Scott continues out this next series of films he puts a little more thought into the proceedings (and character choices). 

CONS

• It's confusing sci-fi for the sake of being confusing. Once you figure out the implications of what the film is trying to display, it's not nearly as smart as it thinks it is
• I'm just not on board with this "backstory". It's pretty dumb
• Some horrendously dumb character decisions. A few people in this movie deserve to die
• Fassbender's synthetics are not nearly a strong enough/interesting enough character to build a sequel around
• Predictable

PROS

• Cast does a good job. Fassbender, McBride, and Waterston are the standouts
• Looks absolutely gorgeous. The Alien is still terrifying
• Gorgeous cinematography
• Entertaining. It's violent, intense, and very bloody
• Great finale
• Amazing sound design and editing
• Yay for a memorable original score!

Rath's Review Score | 6.5/10