Review of Alien: Covenant (2017) by Garry A — 02 Jul 2017

I think I might be one of the few people who really enjoyed Prometheus (more so the bootleg fan-edit which adds some key scenes, and excises other superfluous ones) so it shouldn't have surprised me just how much I really loved Covenant - which again was pretty much universally panned - but surprised I was!

It's a 'lighter' film than the previous prequel, with not so much of the plodding philosophy (although this one throws in Frankenstein references ahoy, as well as references to Byron and Keats) indeed it serves as pretty much a 'greatest hits' package for Alien fans, with scenes either lifted, or pastiched with equal abandon. This might seem lazy, but aside from this obvious fan-service, there is enough knitting together of the Alien ethos, to excuse the pandering I think.

The film looks stunning too. It blows my mind that Scott is still building worlds as visionary as these, well into his 80s. I hope he sticks around to make the remaining two flicks he has planned, as I think this (and The Martian) show that age isn't a barrier for him.