Alien: Covenant (2017)

Review

122min

Genre:       Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Director:    Ridley Scott

Cast:         Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup…more

Writers:     Jack Paglen, Michael Green, John Logan… and more

-Synopsis-

When the crew of the colonial ship ‘Covenant’ land on a an uncharted planet which seems ripe for the picking, they soon discover its unlikely and fearsome inhabitants who unravel the dark mystery and troubling history of their new home, in this the latest chapter of the ‘Alien’ saga and Ridley Scott’s much anticipated sequel to his prequel ‘Prometheus’.

For a franchise which began with the iconic tagline “In space, no one can hear you scream”, the entire world has heard plenty of blood-curdling yelping over the last four decades, with varying degrees of effectiveness. Now thirty-eight years after he revolutionised a genre and changed the course of cinema, and after mulling over the negative response to a lack of ‘Xenomorph’ and familiar iconography in his ambitious 2012 pseudo-prequel—Scott returns to a tried-and-tested formula and attempts to redress the balance with this mix of visceral space survival thriller and creation fable . . . and a warning tale about the perils of playing God.

‘Alien: Covenant’ stars the diverse crew of Wayland-Yutani colonial vessel Covenant,  played by an ensemble cast led by Billy Crudup as captain ‘Oram’ and Katherine Waterston as first officer ‘Daniels’—who some are dubbing the new ‘Ripley’—plus Michael Fassbender pulling double android duty by both returning as ‘David’ from ‘Prometheus’ and new mission synthetic ‘Walter’. Sent on a mission to settle a new world but redirected to an even more idyllic one, only to unravel a dark galactic secret and uncover a new graveyard for intrepid Earth explorers, as they soon discover that “here be dragons”.

Thanks to the film’s extensive marketing campaign—led by 20th Century Fox’s full engagement with the escalating culture of movie teasers & spoilers—it would be difficult to go into ‘Alien: Covenant’ fresh or without much expectation. Anybody with a social media or online presence would have likely been exposed to the many trailers and magazine spreads for the film, as well as the ‘last supper’ segment clip which revealed a full five minutes of exposition from the movie. Not to mention of course the release of a brief prologue named ‘The Crossing’—reuniting us with ‘Dr. Shaw’ and ‘David’ from 2012’s ‘Prometheus’ and continuing their journey, and once again giving away exposition points best left for the film.

Nevertheless there’s plenty of visual nourishment and enough suspense here to feast your eyes upon. As you might expect from a veteran cinematic craftsman like Scott, ‘Alien: Covenant’ is impeccably dressed by top-notch production designs and elegantly shot by cinematographer Dariusz Wolski (Crimson Tide, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)— and features  another pulsating score from promising Aussie composer Jed Kurzel (The Babadook, Macbeth).

There are enough big dynamic set-pieces here to qualify this as an action film, but the core of the movie is a return to the horrific and butt-clenching survival thriller which made the franchise a success in the first place—with the studio paying tribute to the past and succumbing to nostalgia-based fan expectation, reducing risk by walking a well-trodden path which will please fans looking for more of the same. Yet Scott can’t resist revisiting the existential (and more interesting) narrative explored in ‘Prometheus’, which makes this a direct sequel that still revolves around (but is not limited to) the more high-concept musings about the origins of mankind . . . and indeed our fate.

The result then is a film which sits underwhelmingly between its two core themes; ‘Alien: Covenant’ doesn’t really ask the profound questions we might have hope for, or spend the time fleshing out a higher concept, although it does answer some of the questions which ‘Prometheus’ raised and provides some resolution. On the other hand it’s way too familiar as a sci-fi survival thriller, offering virtually nothing that we haven’t seen time and gain since 1979, from this franchise and its many imitators. Even the Aliens themselves are something of a letdown, more ferocious and dynamic yes but robbed of a realistic texture and tangible menace by the overuse of CGI.

The cast all deliver solid performance and no one really puts a foot wrong, but no one jumps off the screen either and none of the characters have icon potential, coming off more as Alien fodder than unforgettable space explorers. Only Michael Fassbender truly shines as both of the very different synthetics—the moral ‘heart’ and depth of the film—allowing him to give a ranged performance around which the film’s premise and the future of the franchise revolve.

Your opinion on ‘Alien: Covenant’, as both a sequel and the latest instalment in the saga, will largely depend on what you want from an ‘Alien’ film. For those looking for a return to a more visceral and gripping space survival horror/thriller with familiar comforts, there’s just about enough to make this a success for Scott, although history has taught us that capturing the novel simplicity and impact of the original is virtually impossible. For those looking for something fresh, or a development of the themes introduced in ‘Prometheus’, this is a film which only partially delivers, and leaves us in prime sequel position which we suspect will conveniently bridge the gap between this voyage and the unforgettable events on LV-426 . . . which started this whole party off in 1979.

It seems to us that this is a franchise stuck between the past and the future, like so many seem to be, and it would be ironic if the way forward proved to be a massive nostalgic step back in the form of Neill Blomkamp’s unnamed and still-in-limbo ‘Alien’ project—set to potentially reunite us with ‘Ripley’ and ‘Corporal Hicks’ in an alternate sequel to 1986’s ‘Aliens’, but with no green light or release date yet. Until then we’ll be curious to see what Scott and 20th Century Fox have planned to follow up ‘Alien: Covenant’ with, and just as interested to discover if another big change of direction is on the cards.

The Bottom Line . . .

Ridley Scott’s return to the cinematic saga he created is an overly familiar yet still gripping survival thriller and creation fable, well executed and designed to navigate an iconic franchise through choppy waters. ‘Alien: Covenant’ struggles to find the narrative balance between a sequel which builds on the existential musings of ‘Prometheus’ and a nostalgic hark back to the series’ origins—the result is a fairly captivating attempt to please a wide audience, a melting pot of themes held together by its director’s masterful movie craftsmanship, but too recognisable to make a real impact.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Alien (1979)

When the crew of the ‘Nostromo’ space mining vessel are diverted from their way back to Earth to a distress signal from a strange moon, they soon discover this world isn’t uninhabited when they’re forced to return with an alien stowaway—whose deadly nature they are about to discover, in Ridley Scott’s all-time classic which would influence a genre for generations to come.

Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and John Hurt among others.

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