More a sequel to Prometheus than anything else

Rating: 6/10 (20 September 2017)

Compared to the previous films in the Alien franchise, this film sits right in the middle in terms of quality. Whereas the first two films were masterpieces, Alien 3 was a hodge-podge of decent ideas flushed into oblivion by the production team. Alien Resurrection and the AvP films turned the franchise into schlock b-movie territory, and Prometheus tried to fix that by being obtuse, confusing, and pretentious. Suffice it so say, Alien: Covenant is the best film in the franchise since the second film came out in 1986. But it's still only a slightly above average movie thanks to it's connection to the previous film.
Prometheus was not a very fun film. It was all the worst plotting of the TV show "Lost" combined with an awful script worthy of the Asylum. Alien: Covenant is a direct sequel to Prometheus and has the unenviable task of making sure that the lose ends were tied up and that everything tied together to the original films. Not an easy task, but Alien: Covenant doesn't bungle everything and makes sure to be at least entertaining for a good portion of the runtime. Yet, it's got a very "Star Wars" prequel feel to it at times. The thought enters your mind that Ridley Scott is trying too hard to expand his most successful franchise in ways that seem to betray what made them so good to begin with.
Though the cast is mostly good, the film's story goes back and forth between them without much balance, and the characters we're left with in the end aren't as fleshed out as they should be. Not only that, but the answers and secrets revealed during the film seem to be too much- instead of offering no answers like Prometheus, it answers all the questions and ruins a bit of the mystery, mystique, and most of all scariness of the franchise. That doesn't mean it doesn't have its moments- it does, and it has some really good gross-out moments that get you right where they should. That being said, the film relies too much on past plot elements from previous films to stand out.
In the end, the editing, cinematography, and effects are top-notch. It's well made but somewhat unaffecting unless one is a mega-fan of the franchise. Perhaps it's better than the past few entries, but is merely decent when compared to other recent, similar films. It just doesn't stand out or do much for anyone that isn't dedicated to the series.