In space, no-one can hear you scream - because you're not.

Rating: 5/10 (22 May 2017)

After the misstep that was Prometheus, Alien: Covenant could've been the correction. Another prequel directed by Scott himself, Covenant seemed to be returning to it's 1979 roots, much more so than Prometheus. Featuring the perfect organism itself and a return to the tense, claustrophobic space horror, Covenant seemed to have all the elements to produce the first Alien film of decent quality since the masterpieces of 1979 and 1986. Instead, what we get is a tasteless Prometheus retread that lacks any of the tension or grace of the original.
Despite the massively lacking narrative quality of Covenant, it is visually stunning. Scott certainly hasn't lost his cinematic touch, capturing breathtaking scenery and action with an unquestionable technical prowess. Sadly, the visuals are really the only thing that Covenant has to offer, sadly settling for looks over a compelling narrative and characters. Alien: Covenant is a massive dud, but it sure is a pretty-looking one.
While the story has small hints of interesting aspects, such as the android interactions, the plot as a whole is basically a Prometheus re-tread, yet even still managing to be worse. The "scientists" are still frustratingly clueless, as they seem to make the same inexcusably stupid decisions as the Prometheus crew, except here the consequences are much more noticeable and dire. Along with the lack of compelling narrative, Covenant seems to forget what made the original 1979 classic so great, and that's the tension/build-up. As Covenant pays homage after homage to the original, it's even more upsetting when the film never even attempts to capture any of the slow-burning tension that made Scott's classic, a classic. While the new Aliens are introduced in an admittedly interesting fashion, all of this occurs far too early, thrusting us into it's hamfisted story before taking any time to develop characters or relationships. It all just feels so inorganic and distractingly choppy. Scott intertwined character and tension perfectly in the first Alien film, so why does Covenant seem so amateurish?
Honestly, amateurish is a trait that can be associated with the majority of Covenant, as even the Aliens themselves look noticeably off. While the CGI was decent, for the most part, I think it was the overexposure of the creatures that made them look so fake and silly. We see the Aliens in their entirety countless times in the film, which betrays the source material. Not only do we see too much of our beloved Alien, but it doesn't even act like the terrifyingly intimidating killing machine we've loved to fear. In Covenant, the Alien walks into rooms like any human would, destroying most of my nostalgia instantly. The Alien never utilizes vents or slithers down walls as it should. Instead, it skulks around and carelessly murders as if it were any other monster from any other monster movie. Any semblance of the creature's grace or grotesque beauty is gone, replaced with traits of a killer that takes no care in it's work, which is certainly not the Xenomorph we've come to know and love. This is the first time in 40 years that we've get to see Scott work with the classic Alien, and as excited as I was to see it back in action, the rushed introduction and overall lack of attention payed to make it act like the perfect organism, makes it supremely disappointing.
I could be speaking for every Alien fan when I say that this movie sucks. However, I'm just speaking for myself when I say that this is easily the worst Alien film after the film that killed the franchise, Alien Resurrection. It's downright depressing that Alien fans like myself have to endure a continuing franchise of these prequel films, when the narrative had already backed itself into a corner after Prometheus. The best thing that Ridley Scott could do for his franchise is to step down, let someone else helm an Alien project and allow the universe to expand past the uninspired narrative track that these tiresome prequels will continue to travel down as long as they are repeatedly pumped out. If constant beating of the beloved franchise continues, it could begin to tarnish the brilliance of the original. If Scott doesn't take more care in the future, his original classic could be nothing but a bright spot in a line of films that grew increasingly formulaic as they were pumped out for revenue. A train-wreck of great proportions, Covenant is not only a terribly unorganized mess, it's a warning of what will come if we continue to treat our beloved franchise like a product.