Alien Covenant Review

In the land of sequels and prequels, "Alien Covenant" is a sequel to a prequel! Those gooey monsters from the original 1979 film are front and center, as well as several variations on the titular beast, not unlike the dog/ox alien attempt from the franchise's third offering. Not much has changed in nearly forty years; unknowing space-crew finds themselves on an extraterrestrial planet, and blood is splattered, both human and alien (ah yes, cannot forget that the last one's body fluid is acid).

The team this time are colonists, setting out to a distant planet that can sustain human life. But the crew awakes when the ship is struck by what the script calls "neutrino burst," but the captain's sleeping pod malfunctions, killing him. This introductory to our cast already has them dealing with death and questioning their new captain Chris Oram (Billy Crudup), who is a man of faith. During repairs to the ship, the pilot Tennessee's (Danny McBride) helmet intercepts an S.O.S. from a nearby planet. Of course, the crew fly down to investigate, only to find mysterious ruins of a foreign spaceship, as well as crops of wheat. Who planted it? What could have flown a ship like that? The film proposes many questions without ever actually asking many, and has even fewer answers. It is a showcase for the power of practical effects, with grandiose set designs that had me filled with both wonder and unease.

Of course, it would not be an "Alien" movie without an android. This time the robot is Walter (Michael Fassbender), who dresses a little sloppy and comes off far more disinterested of reciting company propaganda than the franchise's previous droids. But that is not all! There is another synthetic, found on the enigmatic planet's curious rubble, named David, who is additionally played by Michael Fassbender. He is of course the same cyborg from this film's predecessor, and rescues our space cadets from a particular nasty situation. This dual role for Michael is wonderful: both characters share much of their screen time together, where you can watch how different he makes each artificial man, complete with their own facial expressions, accents, and body movements. There is a heavy pseudoeroticism to their relationship, not only a testament to the actor's talents but also an illusion to the Xenomorph's innate amorous essence; this is perhaps the most sexual franchise that contains so little nudity.

If the plot sounds familiar, that is because it is essentially a condensing of the entire franchise into one 123 minute long film. We the audience knows what those facehuggers do, we anticipate a false ending, and we forecast who the leading woman will be- and that she will live until the end. That latter role is Daniels Branson (Katherine Waterston), but I cannot confirm whether or not she makes it until the end. That is because the subtle brilliance of these movies are the variations on the franchise tropes, and the ending here is considerably more understated, and done far more effectively, than the recent space-monster movie "Life."

However, where as director Ridley Scott is at his best lusting over the fetishistic sets, he struggles with the film's more intense moments of the title beast ripping apart the crew members. His use of quick cuts and "shaky-cam" filming do little to stimulate, aside from the flick's introduction to the slimy, human-hosted, creatures. Most attacks occur in the dark of the depressing and damp caves that have housed David since the events of the last picture, reducing suspense into a murky mess of rubber monsters and fake blood. When Scott's dark nightmare does work, the set design, the aliens, all look spectacular, I just wish I could clearly see them.

But the biggest issue here are the humans; there are simply too many! Where as the first film gave us only a handful, we only get so much time with the dozen or so characters, and when most inevitably meet the dripping second mouth of the alien, we feel little emotion- how can I possibly care when when two lovers in the shower meet a bloody climax when their only purpose in the film is to increase its body count?

None of this prevents "Alien Covenant" from being the best movie in the franchise since 1986, as well as one of the best science-fiction films I have seen in a long time. Dear Ridley, I hope to see that last line on the DVD box.