Since 1979, the ‘Alien’ series have scared audiences.
The tale of a crew’s fight against a seemingly unstoppable alien captured and
spooked the imagination. It made stars out of Sigourney Weaver and director
Ridley Scott. Returning to science fiction with the Alien prequel
‘Prometheus’, Scott unwrapped a new chapter in the saga. ‘Alien Covenant’
is the 6th film in the series with his abilities in telling an effective story
still evident. His latest should raise a shackle or two with space still
a place where no one can hear you scream.
The colony ship Covenant is looking for a habitable
planet. Amongst the crew are android Walter (Michael Fassbender), Jacob
(James Franco) and Daniels (Katherine Waterston). Attempting to form a
cohesive team, their personal issues are put aside for the mission. When
discovering a planet looking like nirvana, they think they have
succeeded. They quickly discover they have walked into peril. As an
army of evil creatures begin hunting them, the crew do everything to survive a
potential alien onslaught.
‘Alien Covenant’ is an intense ride echoing the original
‘Alien’. Its plot is almost an exact copy going for a simpler narrative
than ‘Prometheus’ muddled one. Whilst fans may deride the increased focus
on action than drama, Covenant works due to Scott’s lean story-telling
style. There’s an engrossing tale to discover even if it doesn’t have much
personal depth. It’s as emotionally distant as many of Scott’s movies as his
talent for atmosphere and action rarely fails to transfer to crafting engaging
characters. He puts them through interesting situations with ‘Alien
Covenant’ providing new wrinkles on classic deadly scenarios.
The biggest asset of ‘Alien Covenant’ is the CGI which is
amazing. You genuinely feel you are on the otherworldly plains along with
the Covenant crew. The attention to detail is staggering and the action set
pieces are expertly realised. The performers bring stoic conviction to
their roles despite none of them truly standing out. Most seem fodder for
the expected deaths although how they die conjures morbid fascination.
It’s tough being original in a 6th film in a franchise but to its credit ‘Alien
Covenant’ brings new ideas to the table.
A reasonably scary alien space yarn ‘Alien Covenant’ does
what it promises. It has a bit of everything to satisfy most tastes in
spite of not having much happening underneath its action smothered
veneer. Scott has promised at least three more entries in the series
proving an alien’s menace is no match for the lure of further box office
dollars.
Movie Review Rating out of 10: 7
Movie Review by Patrick Moore
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