Review of Alien: Covenant (2017) by Kristofer H — 18 May 2017

Proper Perspective: The story of Prometheus is continued, but this time while successfully marrying the horror elements of Alien and the action of Aliens into the fold. This addition to the Alien Franchise is going to be accessible for wider, general audiences and satisfying for hardcore fans. Let's talk about Alien: Covenant...

Official Synopsis: 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.

Plot: The world of Prometheus meets that of Alien/Aliens as the crew of a habitat mission investigate a mystery signal on a seemingly habitable planet, but discover horror and need to escape before it is too late.

Take: The way this movie started was concerning for me, because it was more of what was widely seen as the underwhelming elements of Prometheus, but after speaking to a critic friend of mine he sold me on what director Ridley Scott was trying to convey. While the first 10-20 minutes of the movie did not land for me, I understand the context and reasoning.

Remove the initial 10-20 minutes and some really generic, lazy dialog and this movie is on the same shelf as Alien and Aliens in my opinion.

Probably the best way to describe this movie is what I mentioned earlier, "Prometheus is continued, but this time while successfully marrying the horror elements of Alien and the action of Aliens into the fold" Covenant had some legitimately tense moments and hair raising scenes while also delivering good action. Through that the idea of Prometheus was layered in and brought more relevance to that chapter in the franchise.

All of the characters are familiar. There is a Ripley-esque character in Daniels (Catherine Waterson), a new synthetic in Walter (Michael Fassbender, this time with a southern accent), and expendable crew members that all have a set of skills relevant to the plot.

No spoilers, but Covenant answers the questions left from Prometheus and some questions that may not have needed answers from Alien and Aliens, but answered them nonetheless.

There was one pretty huge plot gaff or hole in the movie that is central to the plot, but it could be explained away in a variety of ways. The movie doesn't answer it so choose your own adventure in answering that question after viewing. You will know what I mean after seeing the movie. It involves the creepy black urns.

Ridley Scott made another beautiful movie. He knows how to shoot scenery and layer that in the plot to add to the visual experience of the movie. No question he is one of the best in that regard.

Covenant also sort of erases AvP and Alien 3, so if that is your jam. Sorry?

Overall, good performances, great visuals, a continuation of a hit or miss story to make it more of a hit in my opinion, and a healthy balance of answering questions while asking a few more to leave the audiences wanting more. Fun, scary, exciting, and tense movie that will keep you engaged from beginning (well, after the first 10-20 minutes) to end.

Recommendation: Absolutely go check this one out. It has some horror, some science fiction, some action, and builds on a lore that has been around since 1979. It is another space movie, sure, but very different than what we get with Marvel and Star Wars...

I am ready for the third film in the Prometheus franchise: Alien: David vs. Newt. Make it happen.