[yasr_overall_rating]
The crew of a colony ship, bound for a remote planet, discover an uncharted paradise with a threat beyond their imagination, and must attempt a harrowing escape.
In 2012, after one good sequel from James Cameron and many other sequels and crossovers that most have tried to forget, Ridley Scott returned to the franchise he created with “Prometheus.” The hotly anticipated “Alien” prequel was met with a lot of criticism due to its less-than-smart scientist characters, and a severe lack of the iconic Xenomorph aliens. For what it’s worth, I kind of liked “Prometheus,” and was looking forward to seeing Scott continue the story from that film while incorporating more of terrifying aliens that made his original film such a classic. “Alien: Covenant” makes good on that promise, and while it doesn’t elevate the franchise to new heights, it is the most consistently entertaining entry since “Aliens.”
In 2104, the Covenant is transporting two thousand colonists and a thousand embryos to a planet called Origae-6. During its voyage, an energy surge damages the ship, killing the captain and waking up the rest of the crew in the process. The crew is made up of about a dozen members including terraforming expert Daniels (Katherine Waterston), first-mate (now Captain) Oram (Billy Crudup) and chief pilot Tennessee (Danny McBride). Also joining them is an android named Walter (Michael Fassbender), a seemingly updated version of David, the android from “Prometheus.” While repairing the ship, the crew intercepts a transmission from a nearby planet and decides to investigate. They soon learn that the planet is infested with a vicious alien species, but survive one encounter when David shows up, and soon we begin to learn what exactly he’s been up in the 10 years since the events of “Prometheus.”
The “Alien” versus “Aliens” debate is one that will seemingly never die, with many fans sticking by the slow-building horror of the original, while others find more entertainment value in the big action set-pieces that James Cameron provided. I’ve always preferred “Alien,” and like that film, “Alien: Covenant” is, at its core, a horror film, full of unsuspecting humans being torn apart in gleefully disgusting fashion. The aliens (beautifully realized by top-notch special effects) resemble the classic Xenomorphs but do vary from the original H.R. Giger design. The characters aren’t the most well-developed, but it’s a good cast, and the screenplay does a good job of putting in them in believable, stressful situations by having many of them be paired up with each other and then subsequently separated (Daniels is the wife of the deceased captain, and Oram and Tennessee are both married to fellow crew-members), as well as constantly changing up the leadership and chain of command. So when a character makes a mistake that gets them or one of their colleagues killed, it’s never as maddening as it was in “Prometheus.”
Despite a handful of genuinely terrifying sequences, and a tighter, more focused screenplay than its predecessor, “Alien: Covenant” falls just short of true greatness. It has a few surprises, but for the most part, you can always tell where the story is going, and it explores a lot of the same themes we’ve seen in previous science fiction films (films in the “Alien” universe and otherwise). But what it lacks in ambition, it makes up for in disgusting, visually stunning horror. I suspect that for most fans of these movies, that will be enough.
In theaters Friday, May 19th
