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May 15, 2017 · Ridley Scott’s dazzling “Alien: Covenant” is set ten years after the events of “Prometheus” and is a direct sequel to it, bridging the gap between that film and the original “Alien.” The story kicks off with an accident on board the Covenant, a colony ship headed for a paradise planet.
May 19, 2017 · 65% 408 Reviews Tomatometer 55% 50,000+ Ratings Audience Score Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, members (Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup) of the colony ship Covenant...
- (4.3K)
- Ridley Scott
- R
- Michael Fassbender
All Critics. Top Critics. All Audience. Verified Audience. Peter Bell Vague Visages. Another look at the power of creation and destruction. Full Review | Jun 22, 2023. Keith Garlington Keith &...
- Ridley Scott’s latest Alien movie finally answers some important questions while returning to the series’ horror roots.
- Untangling Alien's Complicated Timeline
- Verdict
By Daniel Krupa
Updated: May 12, 2017 10:49 pm
Posted: May 7, 2017 3:45 am
Alien: Covenant director Ridley Scott must’ve heard the screams of frustration as Alien fans left theatres after watching Prometheus in 2012. Like the Prometheus’ crew, I’d waited so long and come so close to the origin of it all, yet left knowing so little. What exactly is that aggressive black goo? What did we do to anger our creators to deserve obliteration? Why do experienced scientists think it’s okay to poke stuff? With more questions than answers, I felt cold on it – and I wasn’t alone.
Covenant begins, true to form, with a crew emerging from hyper-sleep. They’re pioneers; a mixture of engineers, scientists, and pilots transporting colonists in stasis to a distant planet carefully selected to be their new home. But during the long voyage, the crew is lured to what appears to be an even better site for their colony.
From hereon, Covenant delivers a focussed, suspense-driven story as various members of the crew play host to a variety of vicious parasites which burst forth in gruesome fashion. Scott even offers up a grisly new rendition of the infamous chestburster sequence which is an effective and full-on piece of body horror, though it’s almost impossible to match the surprise of the 1979 original. It’s an early statement of intent: the sterile musings of Prometheus violently give way to splintering ribs and blood-spattered med bays.
Scott initially holds back the classic xenomorph teased in trailers in favour of a pale, haunting creature – already being referred to as the ‘neomorph’ by fans of the series – which is no less aggressive and, when fully grown, possesses an eerie quality all of its own.
The classic alien is withheld for good reason, and when it finally makes an appearance, it’s worth the wait, punctuating the most intriguing and disturbing section of the movie. It remains one of the greatest monsters in all of cinema, though it’s still strange to see H.R. Giger’s original design brought to life with computer animation and moving with such intense ferocity and speed. It’s not badly done by any means, just at odds with how that creature was originally used. In Covenant, you see it so nakedly, performing a variety of actions outside and in full daylight, when before so much of it was cloaked by the Nostromo’s shadows, leaving your imagination to fill in its sinister mystery.
Covenant’s early action sequences are exciting; even though much of what unfolds has been seen before in the series, it’s testament to Scott that he’s able to find new and visually striking ways of tackling these set pieces. Covenant is the first film in the series (not counting the awful AvP spinoffs) to take full advantage of outdoor locations adding novelty to what could’ve otherwise be a staid sequence. One particularly memorable and violent attack takes place in a field at night, with juvenile creatures scurrying between sheaves of wheat by torchlight.
Scott’s compositions and visuals benefit from how he dovetails detailed sets with impressive location work. It’s like watching an idyllic postcard of New Zealand fade into one of Hieronymus Bosch’s hellish landscapes.
Alien: Covenant strikes a more favorable balance between the unwieldy philosophical ideas of Prometheus and the classic horror and suspense of the 1979 original film. Despite continuing Prometheus’ questionable line of inquiry into the xenomorphs’ origins and occasionally adopting its histrionic tone for entire scenes, Covenant’s framework and exci...
Alien: Covenant review: It's everything you could ever want from an Alien movie. Ridley Scott's latest chapter proves a grand unifier of the franchise - perfectly melding Alien, Aliens, and...
Feb 22, 2018 · Alien: Covenant review – Ridley Scott's latest space exploration feels all too familiar. Scott’s sequel to the Prometheus prequel is capably made but plays like a greatest-hits compilation of...
May 6, 2017 · Gripping through its full two hours and spiked with some real surprises, this beautifully made sci-fi thriller will immeasurably boost fan interest in the run of prequels which Scott has recently...
