Alien: Covenant (2017)

“Alien: Covenant” stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Carmen Ejogo, and Demián Bichir.  Released on May 19, 2017, the film is about a space crew who makes a terrifying discovery when they land on an uncharted planet.

The film is directed by Ridley Scott, who also directed films such as Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, and The Martian.  It is a sequel to the 2012 film, Prometheus, as well as the sixth installment in the Alien film series.  Like how I was introduced to the Planet of the Apes franchise, I was introduced to the Alien franchise from its prequel…and the Alien vs Predator films (I was curious, all right?).  This latest film in the Alien prequel series sees a new cast of characters trying to survive against one of the most menacing creatures known to man.  While Ridley Scott has his ups and downs in terms of his filmography, I still find him to be a hard-working and talented director.  I mean, come on, he’s the guy who directed one of the scariest sci-fi horror movies of all time, which is Alien.  With Scott returning to the world of Alien after the success of Prometheus, will he be able to develop the same amount of science fiction horror skills to deliver another frightening installment?        

Like Prometheus, the film takes place way before the events of the 1979 horror classic.  While this one features a new cast, Michael Fassbender is one of the only actors that are reprising their roles from the film’s predecessor.  He portrays both David and Walter, another android who looks exactly like David.  Gee, with two Fassbenders in the same movie, I guess this means that it’ll have a better chance at luring in a lot of Fassbender fans.  If you love Fassbender’s performance in Prometheus, then you won’t be disappointed with his performance in this.  He was once again brilliant at capturing the exact essence of a futuristic android that looks like a human, but functions as a robot.  Everything that involves him just grabbed my attention completely.  The rest of the cast also did a solid job with their performances, including Waterston as Daniels and Danny McBride as Tennessee.  Instead of the usual jump scare routine and the overabundance of gore that most horror films like to use, Ridley Scott managed to create this terrifying world using tension and its creepy atmosphere and, for the most part, it worked.  Even though I have yet to see the first Alien movie, I felt that this is exactly what it needs to be in terms of its concept.  I also appreciate the film’s cinematography for capturing some of its set designs flawlessly.  The visuals in the film were also quite impressive, mostly the designs of the Neomorphs and the Xenomorphs.  As for the flaws, I would say that the first act can take a while to go through because it’s mostly dialogue-driven and the movie wants you to get to know these characters before they get killed off by the aliens.  Also, without spoilers, the film’s ending left me puzzled, but at the same time, it surprised the heck out of me.  It’s not that big of a deal for me, but it left me very conflicted.     

Overall, “Alien: Covenant” marks a splendid return to the franchise’s dark roots despite not being able to reach the amount of greatness like the 1979 film.  The performances were solid, Michael Fassbender was fantastic as both David and Walter, and the effects were impressive and eye-catching.  Ridley Scott has once again showed us his remarkable talent when it comes to sci-fi horror, and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.  If you’re a fan of the Alien franchise, I think you will like this one as well.  Just don’t expect it to be as great as the original Alien film.

B+