A very frustrating film experience.

Rating: 4/10 (20 May 2017)

If I had to make an analogy involving this film, it would be a stupid one involving let's say, bacon. You love bacon. On burgers. And you've just ordered a bacon burger from a fast food restaurant you love. Your mouth is watering as you open the wrapper for what is sure to be a delicious bacon burger, only your heart sinks when you realize there's just one measly strip on it. While you can enjoy the parts of the burger where you can taste some of the bacon, you can't ensure there's a piece in every bite. So the rest? It's just not the same. In this case, the "Alien" franchise itself is the bacon, and "Alien: Covenant" is the rest of the burger.
It's unlikely anyone going into an "Alien" film with original director Ridley Scott behind the helm can put aside their expectations. Maybe that's our fault for going into it with baggage and not judging this new installment on its own merits. But given how great Scott was with the original material back in the 70s, one can't be faulted for hoping another film involving the notorious creatures on a ship in space directed by the same man contains a modicum of the directorial style and suspense as his first effort. And this is where the film lets us down.
I understand it's 2017 and maybe audiences can no longer cope with such a slow burn as "Alien." They need faster pacing, special effects, and more blood and gore. Fair enough--we do get all of that. But the problem this time around is that while the scenes not involving the alien were spent on building suspense in the original, this time they're all centered around people walking around and talking...walking around and gazing at a new planet...walking around and philosophizing...basically, where the original used its quiet moments to increase fear and isolation, this one fills the non-alien segments with a bunch of "can we please get on with it already" moments. There's a moment when the characters are exploring an unknown, apparently human-friendly planet that seems to drag on forever, only that's the thing--it really doesn't. It just feels that way. I found myself wondering when the hell the creatures were going to show up, whereas with the original film I enjoyed every minute of anticipation getting there. To put it succinctly, the pacing is all over the place this time out and everything feels uneven.
Complicating matters are the interchangeable characters whose names I cannot even remember, spare David and the briefly mentioned Elizabeth Shaw...both from the previous film "Prometheus." Ask anyone who the main characters in "Alien" were and you'll get Ripley for sure, if not Dallas and Lambert to boot. But when I walked out of the theater after seeing "Covenant", I couldn't even tell you the name of the main female lead. Yeah.
Like "Prometheus", director Ridley Scott also places the CGI front and center rather than making it feel like an organic part of the film. We know these people are living in the future, but rather than let the special effects serve as a backdrop, they too often dominate the film and become set pieces in themselves.
All of this is a real shame considering Scott clearly still has what it takes to deliver some fantastic suspense sequences. There is one scene in particular that I felt rivaled the intensity of the "chestburster" scene in the original, and a certain sequence taking place in a shower room is also commendable for how well it is shot and executed. But these standout bits are few and far between.
"Covenant" is a mashup of the battle scenes from "Aliens", the "monster loose on a ship" setup from the original, with a dash of "Prometheus" thrown in. The result is uneven all around, but still showcases some of Scott's flashes of brilliance here and there (the bacon!). What a shame the overall result couldn't have been more consistent.