ALIEN: COVENANT Review

As a human male who wasn't born until 1987, the year after James Cameron's seven-year-later sequel to Ridley Scott's 1979 masterpiece debuted, I was never overly inclined to invest much of my adolescence in Xenomophs or the lore of the talented Ms. Ripley. As someone who would unknowingly be lumped in with the millennial generation I didn't grow up with a fondness for those original films and thus they never became a critical part of the cultural landscape for me until much later in life. It might even be difficult for viewers with older tastes and dated perspectives to understand how such a film as restrained and measured as Alien might play for today's ADD audiences, but despite the fact I didn't end up seeing Scott's original film until a college scriptwriting class doesn't mean I didn't understand the how and why of its effectiveness. Still, because of the life experiences that shaped who I was up until the point when I saw Prometheus in the summer of 2012 I didn't mind that it felt completely different from what Scott had established as his Alien universe in the past. Like with music and most things in life if something works and people crave more of it the artist must find a way to strike a balance between what has come before while also reinventing themselves so as not to repeat the same old shtick over and over again. While many complained about Prometheus for being too heady and not so reliant on thrills or action Scott, along with screenwriters John Logan and Dante Harper, have seemingly course corrected for the sake of the fans with Alien: Covenant as the film more or less meshes what Prometheus started and what fans seemingly wanted in a new Alien movie. That isn't to say it all melds seamlessly or that Covenant is all the better for attempting to strike such a balance, but rather that it wants to have its cake and eat it too. As an individual who has no vested interest in continuing the Alien franchise as it once was, but who dug the hell out of Prometheus, I was slightly disappointed the more philosophical aspects of the film were traded in for more formulaic action beats and scares, but while Covenant may be a safer movie than Prometheus as well as a less effective film than Alien it is still very much an entertaining one that does enough good to earn its place among the ranks of a series that seems to be more well regarded out of nostalgia and a couple strong entries than a consistent quality in the films overall.

Full Trailer for ALIEN : COVENANT

I am among those of the mind that consider Prometheus an astonishing achievement. A careful consideration of some very big questions that is as self-serious as could be, but with valid reasoning. Also, those visuals. The look of Prometheus is one that has stayed with me and has been hard to compete with even in the five plus years since its debut. With this new, full trailer though, we finally get a much better, more immersive look at Alien: Covenant in which Scott seems to be more interested in reprogramming Alien than the continuing adventures of Noomi Rapace’s Elizabeth and Michael Fassbender’s David. Given Covenant finds Fassbender reprising his role as the android and the fact the script comes from John Logan who adapted Hugo and had a hand in writing Skyfall and The Last Samurai I am optimistic there could be enough here to sustain and interest me in this new chapter of the franchise. All of that said, I've never been into the Alien mythos enough to be truly excited for this film, but the casting is intriguing and the reveal of the premise of the mission certainly raises some questions I look forward to finding out the answers to. It definitely seems as if Scott is going more for the horror genre than that of pure science fiction, but while that may reassure most I preferred the direction Prometheus was going rather than the isolated story Alien presented. In the trailer we see the crew of the titular Covenant discover what seems to be an “uncharted paradise” whose only inhabitant is Fassbender's David. As is also made clear, it doesn't seem it takes too long after the crew encounters David that things begin to go horribly wrong and they're forced to find daring ways in which to escape. Still, those visuals. I'll give the trailer that even if I'm still not convinced this will match the hype. Alien: Covenant also stars Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Jussie Smollet, Amy Seimetz, James Franco, Danny McBride, and opens on May 19th, 2017.

First Trailer for ALIEN: COVENANT Starring Michael Fassbender

I am among those of the mind that consider Prometheus an astonishing achievement. A careful consideration of some very big questions that is as self-serious as could be, but with valid reasoning. Also, those visuals. The look of Prometheus is one that has stayed with me and has been hard to compete with even in the four plus years since its debut. And so, while I'm somewhat disheartened by the fact director Ridley Scott decided to go more with a direct prequel to his beloved 1979 film, Alien, rather than more of a sequel to that aforementioned 2012 hit with the follow-up I assume I'll get over it. With Alien: Covenant Scott seems to be more interested in reprogramming that film that started all of this rather than the continuing adventures of Noomi Rapace’s Elizabeth and Michael Fassbender’s David, but given Covenant finds Fassbender reprising his role as the android and the script comes from John Logan who adapted Hugo and had a hand in writing Skyfall and The Last Samurai I am optimistic that there could be enough story here to sustain this new chapter in the franchise. All of that said, I can't say that I'm overly excited for what this first look trailer promises. Sure, it looks like it might be more in the horror genre than that of the pure science fiction one, but while that may reassure most I preferred the direction Prometheus was going rather than the isolated story Alien presented. As far as story is concerned though, it seems we encounter David who is now the sole inhabitant of an “uncharted paradise” which is visited by the crew of the colony ship Covenant. Of course, once the crew arrives on this supposed "uncharted paradise" I'm sure it doesn't take long before things begin to go wrong and the (remaining) crew have to find daring ways in which they might escape. I'm not saying this can't be accomplished in an exciting manner, but I am saying this trailer doesn't do much for me by way of getting me excited for the film. Alien: Covenant also stars Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Jussie Smollet, Amy Seimetz, James Franco, Danny McBride, and opens on May 19th, 2017.