‘Blu-ray or Bust’ - ALIEN: COVENANT

‘Blu-ray or Bust’

ALIEN: COVENANT (2017, R, 130 minutes, TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX/BRANDYWINE)

In 2012, Ridley Scott decided that enough was enough; five years after the turd ALIEN VS PREDATOR: REQUIEM was released, he rebooted his legacy with PROMETHEUS, a largely misunderstood film which was actually a thought-provoking journey into the Alien lore.  Many fans rejected the film—mostly due to misconceptions and a desperate desire to see the original xenomorph they were all familiar with.

But Sir Ridley is a storyteller at heart—one of the best visual authors of our time.  You don’t rush a master.  With COVENANT, Sir Ridley tries to provide the fans with what they wanted initially while still holding true to the vision he began with PROMETHEUS.  However, he also seems to be in a rush to meet fan expectations—and that is where the true horror begins.  In a story, rife with predictability and more silly decisions by its characters, this entry seems more of a road bump than the prior film ever was.  I understand and see where he is going with this storyline; by “predictability” I am in no way expecting surprises which would distract from the ultimate endpoint (ALIEN), yet I am expecting a story in which I cannot foresee the outcome or how we get there.  In that way, I was disappointed.  Especially with the end of the film.  No spoilers here, kids—hopefully you have already seen it before reading this review, and have your own viewing experience to correlate (total MUTHER reference there) with my typically inane writing.

But as a diehard fan of the original, and a staunch supporter of what Mr. Scott did with PROMETHEUS, I cannot help but wonder for the fate of the rest of the series.  I appreciate him as a storyteller and filmmaker, but this one…

Quick synopsis of the film for those that haven’t seen it yet: a crew transporting frozen colonists to a habitable planet are awoken early from hypersleep (sound familiar?...), and investigate a seemingly pristine planet which is much closer than their idyllic new home.  Turns out, the place is inhabited by xenomorphs of a much earlier design (slight spoiler) than what we end up with in ALIEN. And while the film picks up years after the events in PROMETHEUS, only one of the two survivors from that doomed mission has survived.

There are a ton of new xenomorph designs, allowing you to see how David (Michael Freakin’ Fassbender, in a masterful dual performance) manipulates the pathogen designed by the Engineers from PROMETHEUS—unfortunately, you can only linger upon these moments in the special features.  There are a few scenes in the film which take you into David’s lair, but they are infrequent and brief passings.  You want to spend more time there, and the story would have seemed much less abbreviated with more time spent with the wonderful drawings and the creatures—in all their evolutionary glory—on display there.  The special features also include another episode of “Master Class”, an hour-long documentary on how Sir Ridley does what he does. 

There are several plot points I initially had issues with (including the inconsistent incubation period of the creatures) but many of them are explained—in the special features. Which really isn’t how a film should be; I want the whole experience the first time around.  While this isn’t the same ride as its predecessors, it is still an entertaining film.  Sir Ridley still knows how to tell a helluva story.

           

Grade: B

Special Features: A

Blu-ray Necessary: Absolutely

-- T.S. Kummelman