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nAlien: Covenant (2017)
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nDirector: Ridley Scott
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nCast: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup,nDanny McBride, Demian Bichir, Guy Pierce, James Franco, Noomi Rapace
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nRidley Scott’s Alien (1979), is one of those seminal horrornfilms that changes the face of a genre so much, that it marks the way the genrenwill be for years and years to come. How many movies have imitated the style,nthe look of Ridley Scott’s original monster movie? Many that’s how many.I couldnwrite a list of films that look and play out exactly like it: AliennContamination (1980), Galaxy of Terror (1981), Outland (1981), Leviathan (1989),nEvent Horizon (1997)…and the list goes on and on. Ridley Scott left that Aliennfranchise after having directed that first film and the sequels that followed werendirected by talented directors that took each film in totally differentndirections, which is why I love this franchise, each director has put his stampnon each film, so they are all extremely different. Now if we fast forward a fewndecades, things have come full circle. Now Ridley Scott has retaken thenfranchise as if saying “this is my baby and I’m going to make it my freakingnlegacy to the world!” Which is what Prometheus and Alien: Covenant are, thesenfilms represent Ridley Scott’s reclaiming the franchise he started. Does RidleynScott still have it?
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nAlien: Covenant is a direct sequel to Prometheus (2012),njust in case you had your doubts. This is the story of how the xenomorphs camento be, those nasty sharp teeth, perfect killing machines with acid for blood. Alien: Covenant is the second film in a planned trilogy of prequels, they tell us thenstory of how the infamous aliens came to be. When Prometheus came out,naudiences complained about the lack of xenomorphs, audiences wanted more of thencreature that frightened them so much in Alien (1979), they wanted the horrornelement amped up, the wanted that nail biting, heart pounding suspense they gotnthat first time around. But I like Prometheus for what it is, part of a trilogynof how these creatures came to be, it’s the back story. With Alien: Covenant we can definitelynsee a story unfolding. There are some surprises in store for fans of the Aliennfranchise, my mind was blown. I mean, yeah, these prequels are deeper and morenprofound, but that has to do with the fact that Ridley Scott has grown as anfilmmaker, he has a lot more to say about life, hence, the difference in tonenbetween these new prequels and the classic Alien films.
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nAnd speaking of depth and themes, what I enjoy about thesenprequels is that they explore the origins of man. Who would’ve thought that thenAlien movies would end up touching such heavy themes? But here we arenconsidering themes about the origins of man, about death, about who made us. Thenexploration of these themes begins with the introduction to androids, syntheticnbeings who are capable of thinking and feeling like humans. Similar to us innevery detail save for one: they can outlive us. Questioning death and beggingnthe universe for more life is a theme that Scott has been exploring since BladenRunner (1984) a film in which we have renegade androids begging their creator,ntheir “father”, for more life. So yeah, Ridley Scott’s exploration of heavynphilosophical themes continues in Alien: Covenant. These are questions thatnneed answers, and Scott knows they cannot be ignored. After all, these are “the big questions” in life. It doesn’t surprise menthat these are themes Ridley Scott has chosen to explore now, at the end of hisncareer and last half of his life. Scott is probably feeling extremely identified with the themes explored in these films, questioning life, questioning where we came from, who made us and ultimately: why must we die? As I write this, Sir Ridley Scott is 79 yearsnold!
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nRidley Scott does not forget that the franchise started withnwhat is essentially a monster movie, a horror film, and a very good one atnthat. When we go into top horror movies ever made, there’s no doubt Alien (1979)nwill make the list. And Ridley Scott knows that. So with Alien: Covenant henseems to want to go back to that horror, the spine tingling, nail bitingnsuspense. And I have to say that Scott nailed it. There are some genuine scarynmoments here, there’s gore, there’s blood. Yes my friends, this one amps up thenterror. But the great thing about Alien: Covenant is that it doesn’t forget that it isna sequel to Prometheus. So it’s like we get half of the philosophy and deepnthemes of Prometheus (2012), and half of the horror and suspense from Alien (1979),nso it should satisfy both camps.
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nThe film works even better because it has an awesome cast, andna very eclectic one at that. Here’s Danny McBride doing a serious role, hendoesn’t do bad at all I have to say. But if one performance stands out it hasnto be Michael Fassbender in the dual role of David and Walter, the androids ofnthe film. I simply love Fassbender in anything he does, but here he clearlynplays two different roles and it is magnificent. But then again, so many thingsnare magnificent here. The screenplay is so poetic, so good, the dialog soundsnbeautiful with many references to classical music and poetry. By the way, you’dndo good in reading Percy Shelley’s sonnet ‘Ozymandias’, it comes into play at onenpoint in the film. Finally, the production itself is gorgeous looking, thensets, the ship designs, the alien designs I mean, this film is simply beautifulnto look at, which comes as no surprise in a Ridley Scott film. So go see thisncompletely satisfying sequel! Here’s hoping this one makes some cash at the boxnoffice so we can get to see the next and final film in this prequel trilogy!
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nRating: 5 out of 5
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