Frustrating Alien Prequel, Exemplary Prometheus Sequel

Rating: 7/10 (28 May 2017)

This is a rare film review for me. It's one that will celebrate the quality, imagination, and depth of a story, while also never settling on being a firm recommendation. Alien: Covenant rounds out one of the most spectacular universes in all of cinema, while doing little to live up to the advertised subject matter. This dissonance makes for a frustrating Alien prequel, and an exemplary Prometheus sequel.
Ridley Scott lit a fuse for a boundless concept in 1979 that spread beyond his own imagination. Developments brought about in Aliens and Alien 3 have become such companion pieces to the original that when Scott began working on a prequel in 2000, he tapped James Cameron as a writer. When inferior prequels such as AVP perverted tangential focus from their ideas, a broader scope was sought. The connections in Prometheus to the original feature were incidental; As much as Alien was a pure horror that was incidentally Sci-Fi. Based on the lukewarm reaction to Prometheus, I have always believed that viewers were unsatisfied with the light touch it used to bridge the two features, and how heavy handed it was in its own direction. Therefore, those expecting a true "Alien" film will be disappointed in Covenant's approach to the alien itself, but enthralled with how thoroughly it delves into the thoughts provoked in Prometheus.
The colonization vessel Covenant is on its long journey to a new planet. It's not made clear what shape Earth is in, but the 2000+ colonizers and crew seem to be making a one-way trip. After an incident (similar to that of Passengers) forces crew members awake, that all-too-familiar signal from another planet is detected and rouses interest. The source is a planet, seemingly better suited for colonization than their original. The decisions at this point are made without a firm resolve, as the captain has perished during the aforementioned incident. Oram (Billy Crudup) has taken command and is so anxious he seems to second-guess nervous ticks. The Ripley- esque voice of reason, Daniels (Katherine Waterston), has lost her husband (the captain) and is none-too-keen and deviating from the plan. Daniels is not alone in having a spouse on board, as every member of the crew is working alongside a husband or a wife, colonizing by example.
Once on the surface of the source planet, we find an environment more suited for Predator than Alien. Torrential rain feeds a never- ending forest and there is scarcely a flat surface to be found. The constant flow of water from lakes and falls masks an unsettling quality, silence. Such a hospitable environment is void of all animal life. The ground crew is made up of the essential characters. The captain, Daniels, some armed muscle and a new generation of synthetic man, Walter (Michael Fassbender). Walter is noticeably different from Prometheus's David. More than a different accent and physicality, Walter's personality lacks the deceptive and self- assured nature of David, effectively a more efficient slave. The stark difference between the two Fassbenders is made much clearer when the crew finds the sole inhabitant of the planet, David.
Ten years have passed since the events of Prometheus, and David has been busy. Having lost his only companion since his arrival on the planet, Shaw (Noomi Rapace), he has built a lonely and elaborate dwelling in the mausoleum of a lost society. It is in this setting that the marvelous possibilities posed in Prometheus are elaborated on like poetry between Walter and David. Fassbender plays both roles with impeccable timing. Even in identical close-ups, it is unmistakable which synthetic is which. From this encounter the central theme is revealed, the privilege and hubris of creation; Creation being the essential difference between the two. In David's chambers, countless experiments are displayed. Amazing drawings are laid out as if David had H.R. Geiger on commission. With a plentiful supply of Engineer canisters at his disposal, the mysteries surrounding the vacant planet start to become darkly clear.
From the trailers, and even the poster, we know that Xenomorph will eventually make its appearance, along with some inventive other creatures. And it is in this vein I would imagine viewers will get decidedly less than the bargained for. Prometheus was, wisely, never promoted as an "Alien movie." Covenant has been advertised as a Xenomorph absorbed horror film, and it simply isn't. The discord of expectations will inevitably cause unnecessary disappointment. When the focus turns to the favorite movie monster, the beats of formula start drumming and the final half-hour feels like a misplaced fourth act. An overly-familiar sequence trying to deliver on a promise that shouldn't have been made in the first place.
Other elements of the film are praiseworthy. Because this isn't purely a horror feature, when the crew experiences loss the actors have time to show range through grief and hopelessness, rather than simply running for their lives. Danny McBride as the pilot Tennessee isn't relegated solely into the role of comic relief, giving more than you might expect. Samantha Waterston is too numbed by tragedy from the start to go through the same descent into madness as Weaver or Rapace, but creates a heroine all her own. In most other features, Crudup can be counted on to be a muted and self-assured everyman. Here, he breaks new ground as convincingly neurotic, un- composed and unsure. By far the best performance is by Fassbender. As David, he is an amalgam of great villains and powerful leading men. As Walter there is an understated kindness that challenges David. The synthetics are the profound and pivotal creations of the film, just perhaps not the ones you paid to see.