Review of Alien: Covenant (2017) by Axet — 28 May 2017

Been there, done that once too often. This had the feel of an unnecessary and uninspired sequel with little fanfare upon release. The actual feature lives up to the lack of hype. If you are a fan of the original and first sequel (both classics, 10 and 8 ratings respectively here) or the series in general, this should be disappointing for its lack of originality and its through the paces predictability. If you haven't seen those or are just not a fan, this thing has got to be an excruciating semi-incoherent bore! That said, it is well made as all Ridley Scott films are. It does deliver on the very expected jolts, scares, and gruesome violence. Yeah and it's boring.

Which brings up the larger question: Is Hollywood's incessant continuing occupation with sequels, prequels and reboots simply a supreme lack of creativity and fear of originality in going for the safe bet box office dollars? Or are the movies truly dying as an original medium, having succumbed to formula and having basically told all the stories there are to tell; with all these essentially remakes a logical updating of styles and techniques to old stories/movies for today's youth who go for it because it's all new to them? That has been the case with movies for generations. And maybe every generation grows tired of movies after decades of viewing? Maybe it has finally come to a saturation point, at least until the next great barrier breaker. The "Blade Runner" sequel trailer before this feature is intriguing and has a compelling want to see freshness to it despite being yet another sequel. Why Ridley Scott directed another Alien (since he already made a decent prequel to the series with "Prometheus") over that sequel is a wonder.