Bewildering

Rating: 6/10 (11 March 2018)

ALIEN: COVENANT is Ridley Scott's latest addition to the ALIEN franchise, following on from PROMETHEUS, and it's one big, messy movie. It's full of decent ideas and middling execution, and the only reason I still enjoyed it is because I'm a huge fan of the first three ALIEN films and there are nice throwbacks and elements of style and atmosphere that hark back to the good old days. But for everything ALIEN: COVENANT gets right, it also gets two things wrong, and the end result is bewildering. Things kick off with a Guy Pearce cameo in a scene which is random and feels like an outtake from PROMETHEUS. After that we get into the proper story, which is very similar to that of the original ALIEN, albeit with less interesting characters. Michael Fassbender works hard to convince in a dual role, but the middle section of the film gets too weighed down by philosophical ideas while the proper alien content feels rushed through. There are some good kill scenes and frightening moments, although the CGI aliens and gore will never be a patch on the prosthetics of old. I was disappointed that the film's end statement seems to be that androids are a greater threat than the magnificent aliens. At least one of the screenwriters had no prior experience and that inexperience shows in some ridiculous elements, including the most obvious and stupid twist ever. Still, it's an expensive, expansive-looking production with plenty to enjoy; it's just a pity as it could have been so much more.