Gore and Boredom in Space

Rating: 1/10 (3 June 2017)

By now, most movie fans will be familiar with the obligatory arc of an 'Alien' screenplay - a group of bungling space travelers encounter a vicious bloodthirsty alien who will dispatch most of them to gruesome deaths. In the old days, a resourceful female would battle the beast, but now the heroines are reduced to sniveling and screaming at it. 'Covenant' might be an improvement after the debacle of 'Prometheus', but it demonstrates yet again the creative bankruptcy of the 'Alien' series.
The new film won't disappoint those with basement-level expectations. Its characters are slightly less irritating and better developed than the collection of nincompoops floundering around in the underground labyrinth of 'Prometheus - but the latest batch of victims make equally foolish choices whenever they're presented with a decision. Besides repeating plot ideas, the franchise now shamelessly recycles scenes and characters. Among many other old tropes, "Covenant' revisits the treacherous android routine, and summons up another violent storm to isolate the unfortunate astronauts. The crew's grisly deaths come thick and fast, leaving little time to create the tension which made the original film so exceptional. Director Scott has lost any feel for this element as he hurries from one messy demise to the next, creating a conveyor belt of violence, panic and bloody entrails. The tale's major twist, which is also its feeble attempt at a deep philosophical idea, is just a pompous interlude before the mayhem resumes. When it's all over, the chief impression is of carnage and tedium.