Insight:
Alien: Covenant is the story of the colony ship Covenant, who is bound to a remote planet called Origae-6. During an accident, which kills the captain of the ship, they intercept a radio transmission that is human in origin and even as Daniels objects, acting Captain Oram decides to investigate. During investigation, they are infected with alien spore, killing four people and giving birth to two neomorphs. The crew is rescued by David, an adroid who survived the Prometheus mission. David deceits the crew and instead of rescuing them, experiments on them to create protomorph – an evolved neomorph. As they are leave the planet, they are attacked by a protomorph who they flush into outer space. But as the ship returns to complete the mission, the movie shows David onboard the ship pretending to be Walter and continuing his experiments.
Buzz:
Alien: Covenant is the sequel to Prometheus (2012), which is part of the new Alien trilogy that shall serve as the prequel to the original Alien (1979). This is the sixth movie in the Alien film series and is the third movie to be directed by Ridley Scott. The movie was earlier titled as Alien: Paradise Lost, but the name was later changed to Alien: Covenant. Before Katherine Waterston, Rebecca Ferguson was considered for the lead role of Daniels.
What To Anticipate:
Five years after Prometheus, directed by Ridley Scott, made its presence felt with the new alien and survival story that emerged with promises, the new Alien: Covenant rides on that promise. Ridley Scott uses the tried and tested elements from the original Alien movie to bring nostalgia and convey the rightful mode of horror paired with gory killing and edge of the seat excitement.
Alien: Covenant works with Michael Fassbender and Katerine Waterston bringing their A-game. Katherine Waterston compared to Sigourney Weaver falls short, though she does try to be her. Watching two Fassbenders on screen competing with each other as one is set towards his nefarious plans falls right into Fassbender’s territory as he works well with both the characters.
The movie lacks in terms of depth, be it the characters and their role or for that matter the validity of a strong script. The problem with the story is that it fails to feel new. You are bound to remember scenes from earlier movies as the film progresses. Movies like Passengers, Gravity and Life seem to have been paid homage to by borrowing some of their elements. Besides Neomorph, the inclusion of Protomorph and shots like the shower scene which turns into an ugly bloodbath serve as visual delight. Scenes like Walter kissing David (one android Fassbender kissing another) serve as potential philosophical conventions regarding the whole idea of who we are – the story of beginning and end.
Some of the choices made by the crew are simply wearisome, but such is the fate of the crew in these kinds of movies, where they are simply present to be prey. Seeing some of the smartest people of the planet make the most horrible and stupidest of mistakes, does help in getting the momentum going with the killing and the bloodbath. With the year being 2104, we expected better weapons and more cautioned human beings, who won’t step on a foreign land without hazmat suits. The final twist doesn’t come as much of a surprise, for an unwanted guest is what keeps this kind of franchise alive.