Before we get to the movie review, here are some facts about the film Alien : Covenant.
Genre : Science- fiction, Horror
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride.
Duration : 123 minutes
Director: Ridley Scott
The film is a sequel to the 2012 movie Prometheus and takes place before the events of all the Alien films. It is the second in the Alien prequel series and sixth instalment overall in the Alien film series. Ridley Scott returns to the world he created, this film is a new chapter in his cutting- edge ALIEN franchise.
Alien movie Plot:
In 2104, 10 years after Prometheus, (which takes place in 2093) the film begins with a prologue from David (Fassbender), the android, pondering about his existence with his creator. This follows up with the visuals of the crew of the colony ship Covenant, on its way to a remote, new habitable planet, who are then awoken from their hyper- sleep about 7 years early, because of a damage to the space ship due to a power surge. While repair works start, they receive a peculiar signal. Although they ignore it at first, eventually the ship goes off track while chasing the rogue transmission.
They then encounter an unimaginable threat on what they think is an unchartered paradise, only to realize it is actually a dark and hazardous world. How they attempt their traumatic escape from the deadly Xenomorph creatures, forms the crux of the story.
Review:
The virus from Prometheus is presented in a more refined manner and one of the stand out scenes from the film involves the virus and the crew’s ear canal. The classic aliens, face huggers and chest bursters are all there, failing to evoke the same sense of dread, because they have been there for so long now, in all the preceeding movies in the franchise. But if you haven’t managed to catch the earlier ones, this one is sure to make you squirm.
Performance wise, Fassbender is the show stealer and all the best scenes belong to him. Katherine Waterston as Daniels, does well in her role but has no newness in terms of her character traits, even her styling, if we may say so. Danny McBride is surprisingly good too and brings in a welcome dose of sarcasm.
The plot has many loopholes and the frustrating choices made by the crew in the film, add to the pitfalls. The audiences can smell the threat, but the crew members fail to do it which is fine because the very premise of sci- fi horror is based on human beings making bad decisions. As an addition to the Alien franchise, this film does its job well enough by filling in gaps in the story and showcasing some excellent action and monster sequences.
Watch it if you are interested in the origin story of the famed ‘Xenomorph’ creature from the previous Alien films, but Alien : Covenant is definitely not for the faint hearted.
