Perhaps too complex, Alien: Covenant delivers great fun and gore with stunning visuals

Rating: 9/10 (19 May 2017)

Ridley Scott has done it again.
Alien: Covenant continues along the lines of Prometheus exploring existentialist themes that might alienate some of the audience that is in it only for the action and gore. In doing so, it also tends not to over-explain things, which might alienate even more members of an audience that happens to be not so well-read on the Alien mythos.
At the same time, the movie is not just nerdiness. It's also pure sci-fi/horror fun. Once the action (reminiscent of Aliens) gets going, the threatening atmosphere becomes consistently present (much like in Alien) and the film delivers a great deal of scares and action sequences.
All this comes with stunning visuals, a triumph of CGI, and meticulous photography.
While many will criticize it for not explicitly explaining everything and expecting the viewers to have done their homework (a valid point), it is in no way fair to blame this movie for having "plot holes" or being nonsensical. If anything, compared to the subtlety of Prometheus, this installment seems a little too on-the-nose.
All in all, this is a truly spectacular addition to the Alien franchise and many will see it as a contender for the first place among the movies once they get past the (maybe overwhelming) complexity and start recognizing it as an asset.