A return to form

Rating: 8/10 (11 May 2017)

Alien: Covenant has a familiar narrative: a crew on a mission in space encounter an alien lifeform, become "infected" and have to fight for their survival. Yet this doesn't feel like a remake of the original Alien movie, or a sub-par spin-off. This feels fresh and exciting; breathing life into the saga once more.
The movie didn't feel slow at any point in time - despite the fact that it does spend a fair amount of time building up - and didn't feel too long. The writing, directing, and pacing are all excellent: Ridley Scott's signature recipe.
Without giving anything away, we see the return of a (very) familiar face, although major developments have been made since our last encounter, which are - thankfully - well explained. We are given answers (although not all) to questions raised previously, and given the information needed to chronologically connect Alien: Covenant to the rest of the saga. This movie goes to great lengths to redeem and justify the preceding Prometheus movie.
All in all, Alien: Covenant is a fantastic addition to the Alien franchise. If you are a fan of the Alien movies and were left feeling at all disheartened after Prometheus, I can recommend this movie to you without reservation. Not only does it make up for Prometheus' shortfalls, it infinitely adds to the saga, before carefully setting up for further instalments. The combination of revelations from and developments since Prometheus, engaging cast members, plot twists, commitment to staying true to its roots and simultaneous innovations, make for a stellar watch.