Bad and getting worse

Rating: 7/10 (31 August 2017)

I am a huge fan of the original "Alien" film (1979). My sister had called me and said, "see this film". We used to do this whenever one of us really liked a film. The only rule was to not reveal anything. So, I had no idea what I was in for. Besides her call to me, I had not read anything or even seen a preview prior to going to this movie. For all I knew, it was about illegal aliens. coming over our (US) border. I also remember it opened (in my city) the same weekend as "Moonraker", a Roger Moore James Bond film. There were a dozen people at our apartment that Friday night. They all wanted to see James Bond. I did not, so I took one guy with me. It blew my mind. People not only screamed, but ran out of the theater. My friend with me was speechless afterwards. It was the best film I had seen since "The Exorcist" (1973). BTW, those are the 2 most terrifying films I have ever seen, to this day. As I do when a new film I really liked came out back then, I went to see it 3 days in a row; taking everyone I knew. It is still one of my 2 or 3 favorite films. I have seen it at least 50 times since then; maybe more. I have seen all the sequels many, many times as well. I truly liked "Prometheus". I thought it was very good, and made a lot of sense. Having seen "Alien: Covenant" at the theater and on Bluray, I am sad to say they have really taken steps backwards; I mean big steps, in several areas. As far as the casting, besides Fassbender, who is in probably half of the film, no one comes close to him in "Covenant". I like Billy Crudup, and Katherine Waterston; however, they are not near as good as the leads in "Prometheus". I don't care if Ms. Waterston is 6' tall; Noomi Rapace blew her away, on all counts, and you cannot even begin to compare her to Sigourney Weaver. No way. Billy Crudup is a very, very good actor; truly. However, he seems like a fish out of water in this role. In the extras on the disc, they spend almost all of the time talking about how much it is going to scare the hell out of the audience. I am sorry, it does not work. Carmen Ejogo and the rest of the cast doesn't compare with Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Kate Dickie, and on and on. Actor for actor, they just don't stack up...Danny McBride-are you kidding? He is not funny, and he can't act. Regarding the plot, I understood it all as soon as "David" appeared. There were no surprises. I don't know what is going on with Ridley Scott, but he is so much better building incredible sets (where was Arthur Max?). I think all of this is starting to go to Scott's head, like in a bad way. I absolutely knew everything which was going to happen, as soon as they played the Prologue (which I liked). I am not talking about details; I am talking about the primary parts. Then "Orum" (Billy Crudup) is playing a fool, and I get it; he is supposed to, but this is my exact problem: I was not surprised in a single scene; not one. There far too many "homages" made. In fact, that is all this film seems to be; a tip of the hat to "2001", Alien", "Blade Runner", and "Prometheus".
Ridley Scott is truly one of the best directors out there; for a while I think he was the best left after Stanley Kubrick died, and there is a large gap between the two. I do not feel that way anymore. Scott is getting passed by better directors. I liked "Arrival" (2016) so much more than anything Ridley Scott has directed or produced in the past decade at least. That includes "Blade Runner 2049". Both were directed by Ridley's friend, Denis Villeneuve. I think the torch has been pased to him. My favorite films will always be Stanley Kubrick's. He is in a class of his own. I would have loved to have seen Fassbender directed by Kubrick; it was not to be.