Review of Alien: Covenant (2017) by Frame R — 03 Apr 2018

The aliens are ready to burst through the scene again with yet another short haired woman.

ALIEN: COVENANT.

The alien franchise might just be one of the most unexpected of our generation. It took a pair o balls to make the original movie, taking an new concept and helm it with strong female lead. We must say that this is also the franchise to which most talented was consistently attached to the director's chair, which worked out terrifically for Cameron but, unfortunately, resulted in a black spot in Fincher's otherwise illustrious career (let's ignore Resurrection). However, props must be given to Ridley Scott who has proven for the third time that he's the right man for the job. Scott hasn't been very consistent, yet one could argue that is due to him being so pestiferous. We shall never forget The Counselor, but he seems to be on the right track with this movie but specially with the Martian. It's an awkward sentence to say but Scott knows how to move around in space, he's very cunning in all his filmmaking, and that shows in Covenant. It opens with a bold first scene, which right away sets the tone and announces a unalloyed cinematography. The first half is better than the second one, and Scott has showed difficulties with third acts in some of his movies. The script can't be described as more than capable, the CGI varies from superb to sketchy and some action sequences are overcut, creating a sense of loss of meaning. Adding to the film's greatest flaw which is a an overall sense of rush in the editing (every shot seems no need those extra 2 or 3 seconds), it makes up for a film that had a enormous potential to take flight and be splendorous had it been more careful storyboarded and planed out. Also, one as to wonder if this particular movie brings much in terms of innovation in relation to the previous movies. Plus, it didn't take the opportunity to create a stronger, more well-rounded female lead that, more than anything, lacked distinctive character features that would made her stand out from the pack (Sigourney or Noomi). With all this, I don't mean to say that the movie is bad, it's actually one of the best of the month. Just don't go expecting the world and back.

SPOILERS: Although the end twist is totally predictable, I find it utterly satisfying to watch a movie in which evil wins. I know that such victory is determined by the necessity to create a hook for the next film but I'm of the opinion that we need to see more villains winning. Specially during our tumultuous times, we shouldn't go around the fact that evil, sometimes, conquers all.