Harry Situation Reviews: Alien: Covenant
In space, no one can hear me scream... like a total fanboy!
Alien: Covenant is the official prequel to Ridley Scott's acclaimed horror film Alien, as well as the sequel to Prometheus. The story is set several years after the chaos of Prometheus, a ship full of earth colonists, which is properly dubbed the Covenant, lands on a mysterious planet that looks habitable for a new foundation. However, paradise suddenly turns to hell when the colonists discover that the planet was once home to the ancient race, the Engineers, and now a new but familiar breed of terror comes to hunt the crew down, as well as discovering the origins of the Xenomorphs. Can the crew survive the rising evolution of the infamous alien species or will they all be officially signing off?
The film is once again directed by Ridley Scott and stars Fantastic Beasts' actress Katherine Waterson as terraforming expert Daniels, Billy Crudup as the captain of the Covenant, Michael Fassbender reprising as the android David as well as portraying another model named Walter, and (probably the most surprising casting choice) Danny McBride as the ship's pilot Tennessee.
The Countdown Reviews have been building up to this moment. This is definitely one of my most anticipated films of the year. I have been looking forward to seeing this film since last year. As you can tell I'm a huge Alien fan. There is no other science fiction horror film that could capture the suspense and action that Alien and Aliens have already established. The alien (xenomorph) is still one of the most terrifying looking monsters in film history. It served as the inspiration for the equally terrifying scavenger demons from my Sins of the Father short stories.
Ever since the mediocrity of Prometheus, I've been waiting for a film that could help return the franchise to its proper horror roots. Judging from all the trailers, it's as though I got that film. It has it all. The eggs, the facehugger, the chestburster, and the big daddy himself. Oh shit, this movie looks like it was going to kick ass. And how did this film do? I'd say pretty damn well.
First positive I gotta talk about is the film looks gorgeous. That's the best thing about Ridley Scott as a director, he makes everything look amazing. The sets, the visual effects, all captured perfectly on film, and Scott makes sure the audiences sees everything. The sets looked legit. Nothing ever felt greenscreened, nothing felt too CGI, the sets looked and felt real. The CGI also looked great too, blending well with everything.
Though I'll admit when I saw all the CG I was worried about how the alien would turn out. Suffice to say while there was CG when needed there was also plenty of puppetry and man-in-suit effects, if you look closely, that recaptured the terror of the alien, and I loved it whenever it appeared on screen. Additionally, seeing it back in action definitely sent chills down my spine.
All the actors deliver solid performances. Katherine Waterson was good as Daniels, and Billy Crudup was good as the captain. However I think the two biggest stars of the film were in fact Michael Fassbender and, I can't believe I'm saying this, Danny McBride.
I want to talk about McBride first. Oh my god, he was hands down the best. You'd think since he has a history playing obnoxious, comedic assholes that he'd be another one in this film. That's what I thought when I heard he was cast in this film. Thank fuck I was wrong because he delivered a truly outstanding performance as Tennessee. He actually was my favorite character throughout the film.
But the true stand out, however, is Michael Fassbender when he portrays both David and Walter. He makes it clear that these two robots are completely different personalities, and he pulls it off perfectly.
It's probably good that this film is rated R too because it could not have worked as a PG-13 film. This film is violent as fuck. There's great usage of violence when it came to the birthing process of the new Neomorph aliens, which is stunning while disturbing at the same time.
And I should mention that if you still had unanswered questions from Prometheus, you'll be glad to know that they're answered here in this film. There's actually a great moment between two characters, I won't give spoilers to who they are, but I will say it's a great moment where one is trying to get the other to see from their point of view.
Is Alien: Covenant perfect? No, there are still some flaws. For one, the film's tone. Here's what I mean: in each of the three acts it feels like a different film in the series. For the first act it feels like Prometheus, then the second feels like Aliens, and the third feels like Alien. It, at times, makes it confusion what the film really wanted to be in the end, and I think some people will find it confusing.
Also James Franco is in this movie... NOT! Yeah he makes one cameo and it's kinda wasted. Come on, we need to use our James Franco better.
Overall, I am satisfied to say that Alien: Covenant was actually a very good film. Definitely the third best in the series, which probably isn't saying much. Yet Ridley Scott gave fans the Alien film we needed and I look forward to what comes next. This is Harry Situation, concluding the Alien Countdown Reviews, signing off.
Positives: Negatives:
-Visually gorgeous -Tone confusion
-Great cast & performances -Waste of James Franco
-Xenomorph still scary
-Very violent
-Well directed & written
-Answered questions
Final Grade: B+
So now I finally saw Alien: Covenant and finally there are 3 good Alien films. Have you seen this movie? What were your thoughts about it? Out of all the Alien films, which was your favorite, and which review of the Alien films do you enjoy reading? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check back again for more awesome reviews here on Prose!
Best Quote:
Oram: "What do you believe in, David?"
David: "Creation."
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