Review of Alien: Covenant (2017) by Leon B — 18 Sep 2017

Review:

Were is Ripley when you need her! I really couldn't get into this movie, because the director didn't spend any time for the audience to get to know the various characters, and the pace of the movie was quite slow. I also found the characters quite annoying and completely useless, especially the lady that wouldn't open the door when the first alien appeared, and the ending was predictable and quite disappointing! Anyway the film follows yet another crew in space, which crashes on course right at the beginning of the movie. With the captain dead, Oram (Billy Crudup) takes over the ship, and when they hear a mysterious transmission over the airwaves, they decide to go and explore were the sound is coming from. Whilst exploring the weird planet, in the middle of nowhere, a couple of the crew die in a mysterious way, and the crew are under attack by aliens. Walter (Michael Fassbender) is a robot who tries to help the crew on there mission, and when they get attacked by the Aliens, another robot, David (Michael Fassbender), saves them and takes them to safety. Walter soon realises that David's morals are not sincere, and while the rest of the crew are under attack, the mother-ship is fighting to rescue them. There was a sense of intensity towards the end but by that time, I wasn't that interested. The main character, Daniels (Katherine Waterston), was no way near in the same class as Ripley but Michael Fassbender played his roll well. With all of the technology in this day and age, the whole look and feel of the film was pretty average, and no one seemed that shocked that there was aliens running around killing them. Anyway, I wasn't that impressed with this latest instalment to a great franchise, and I hope that Ridley Scott goes back to the drawing board for the next one, which is due out in 2019. Disappointing!

Round-Up:

Although I gave this movie the thumbs down, it still made a hell of a profit at the box office, mainly because of the reputation of the original, so the studio must be happy with the outcome. Ridley Scott, 79, directed his fist movie, The Duellists, in 1977 and then he made the first Alien movie in 1979. In 1982 he directed, the all time classic, Blade Runner, and then he came out with a string of hits, which include Legend, Black Rain, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down. He then had a string of disappointing movies, which include Kingdom of Heaven, Body Of Lies, Robin Hood and the Counsellor but when he returned to the Alien franchise with Prometheus, everyone couldn't wait for it's release. With Exodus: God's and Kings and the Martian being box office successes, Ridley Scott is definitely one of the big players in Hollywood today, and with his "no mess" attitude, I'm sure we haven't heard the last of him yet. I just hope that the next Alien movie is more enjoyable.

Budget: $97million.

Worldwide Gross: $236.2million.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their horror/sci-fi/thrillers, starring Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demian Bichir, Carmen Ejogo and Callie Hernandez. 4/10.