An Enjoyable Alien Encounter

Rating: 8/10 (10 June 2017)

Creation through destruction is the theme to "Alien: Covenant". The eighth Alien movie and almost certainly the best the franchise has offered since James Cameron's "Aliens" in 1986. Sadly, that's not to say "Alien: Covenant" is anywhere nearly as good as the first two entries in the series; it's just better than anything that's come since. In other words, this is not a huge accomplishment. The franchise has plummeted from the coma inducing boredom of "Alien 3" all the way to the complete crap-pile called "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem". The movie series has been so horrendous that the severely flawed "Prometheus" felt like a huge leap in the right direction.
That's not to say I hate "Prometheus". It's a wonderfully directed, beautifully shot movie with incredibly stupid story elements. "Alien: Covenant" drops the numerous dumb story elements from "Prometheus" and replaces them with one of the most obviously telegraphed twist endings ever. I'm not going to reveal it, but if you don't see it coming, then you're not paying attention.
With the exception of that twist, this is an intense well constructed movie that does a great job of bridging "Prometheus" with the rest of the franchise.
The cast this time around is solid providing us with characters we can become invested in rather than the caricatures in the previous film. Katherine Waterston and Danny McBride standout with Michael Fassbender again stealing the show reprising his role as David and also playing a new character, Walter.
The atmosphere of this film manages to be both beautiful and horrifying and include some majestic landscapes and a Pompeii inspired graveyard. All of which is used to great effect. The landscapes provide contrast to the horrors hidden within, while the graveyard is a place of safety or is it?
The beauty of the scenery all plays into the previously mentioned theme, I.e. in order to create, you must destroy. The creation of this paradise is a source of devastation and destruction. It's quite frankly a wonderful movie weighed down by the choice to include such an obvious twist. This movie could've been in the same league as the first two entries in the series. Unfortunately with its current ending, it's like listening to the John Lennon part of Double Fantasy, then suddenly being assaulted by the Yoko Ono portion. It was just too good; they just had to crap it up.
Still, this movie is visually stunning and incredibly intense until then. I have to recommend it. Just prepare yourself for a disappointing ending to this exciting ride.