Alien: Covenant

UK Release Date. 12 May 2017
Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 2 mins
Director. Ridley Scott
Cast. Billy Crudup, Michael Fassbender, Danny McBride, Katherine Waterston.
Rating. 41%

Review.

The early press surrounding Alien: Covenant hinted that the storyline would follow Dr Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and what was left of the dangerously maladjusted android, David (Michael Fassbender) on the onward voyage to the home planet of the Engineers. Instead of any satisfying continuation of Prometheus, Alien: Covenant shifted the focus to a new crew, on a new vessel, the eponymous colony ship Covenant.

To be fair, the film opens with intent. The Covenant takes damage whilst attempting to recharge the ship's solar sails. This is science fiction at its best, with director Ridley Scott showing glimpses of his undoubted skill (if a little too reminiscent of Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity). The Covenant lands on a nearby planet - and the initial mystery of what happened on the planet is interesting enough.

But following a terrifying nighttime encounter with a xenomorph, the film starts to fall apart. It becomes an unspectacular survival film devoid of tension or sustained interest. Primarily because the characterisation beyond the leading roles is even poorer than its predecessor. Despite a talented cast, they're largely forgettable and the artistic magnificence that was perhaps Prometheus' redeeming feature is absent. It is sad to say, but Alien: Covenant plays out against possibly the franchise's most mundane location. 

Across both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, it is evident that Scott was trying to build a deeper narrative. But what that narrative was remains a mystery. In many ways, Alien: Covenant's greatest legacy is that it makes you realise Prometheus is a far superior film than you gave it credit for. That's faint praise.