Alien: Covenant
Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair.
Going into Alien: Covenant, I hoped to see more of how the events of Prometheus would connect to the rest of the Alien series. While there are still things I don’t fully know yet, a lot of issues I had with Prometheus are addressed by Alien: Covenant. While it never quite reaches the highs of the original Alien or its sequel, Covenant is a welcome return to form for fans of the series.
As usual, Covenant is a visual delight. Ridley Scott’s eye for striking compositions is as good as it’s ever been, and the sumptuous shots draw attention to some truly outstanding set/production design. Covenant draws more directly from the Alien films, and the visual nods are welcome for fans of the series. H.R. Giger’s influence is still as vital as always, lending the film a haunting familiarity, but also a strong sense of unease. While the Alien and some of the other creature designs aren’t exact matches of his original work for Alien, fans of both the series and Giger’s artwork should be pleased with the visual motifs Scott and co. follow in Covenant.
For me, the writing and characterization of Prometheus just didn’t work. Motivations were murky and decisions characters made felt random and/or unwise. Thankfully, characters behave in a much more understandable way in Covenant. Each character’s motivations and decisions are much more fleshed out, and no action took me out of the film like several in Prometheus did. Further, the key characters are given much more personality, as Scott emulates the opening to the original Alien by starting the film slowly, allowing the viewer to experience the crew interacting as coworkers, friends, and people. Introducing the audience to the characters in this way lends weight to what follows, which is a marked improvement over some of the rushed, shallow character moments in Prometheus.
Katherine Waterson does an admirable job as Daniels, a character who could easily be written off as a Ripley stand-in. Likewise, both Danny McBride and Billy Crudup give their characters emotional weight, and they never feel like “alien fodder” or stereotypes. However, the film belongs to Michael Fassbender. Reprising his role as David from Prometheus,Fassbender steals every scene, and gives the film a sense of gravity it simply couldn’t have without him. He plays another android, Walter, as well, and the scenes featuring both androids are easily some of the most fascinating scenes of the entire series.
While the editing is a bit choppy in places, and the story is obviously a middle chapter for the series, Covenant addresses many of my issues with Prometheus, from characterization to pacing. I would’ve liked to see more of the connective tissue between the two films, especially between Elizabeth Shaw and David, and I have a strong suspicion such scenes were filmed but eventually cut. Not everything has been explained, and I anticipate another film (which Scott has already mentioned is on the way) will help to address. It would’ve been nice to have all of these questions and answers in one film, but I suppose all we can do is watch the films as they release.
Covenant is not without its flaws. It can feel disjointed, as Scott weaves back and forth between the horror elements from Alienand the philosophical/theological aspects of Prometheus.Neither side is bad, and when they work, they really work. They can sometimes feel at odds with one another, however. As I mentioned, the editing can feel choppy as well, with undefined periods of time between scenes due to odd transitions. Aside from the major players, most of the side characters in Covenant fail to make much of a lasting impression, though they are generally an improvement over their lackluster counterparts from Prometheus. The use of CGI for the movements of the Aliens may disappoint some, but the way the creatures behave likely couldn’t have been conveyed any other way (the Aliens are not all CGI, though). And in the end, the characters aren’t necessarily as prepared as they could be (why don’t they wear helmets when exploring the new planet), which did initially distract me. Still, the positive aspects of the film definitely outweighed the negatives for me, and I think they might for most viewers as well.
People who have heard me talk about sequels know I have a few rules that I expect sequels to follow. Primarily, a sequel should 1. Expand on themes and imagery from its predecessor, 2. Broaden the scope and expand the world of the story, and 3. Deepen characterization of primary characters. Covenant manages all of these things. The Engineer technology and spindly, sleek creatures return in new ways. The creation of horror from Prometheus becomes the horror of creation in Covenant, to borrow someone else’s words. The only returning character from Prometheus is also certainly explored in detail, retroactively improving parts of the original, while adding narrative depth to the sequel.
In short, if you’re looking for more Alien, this film is for you. If you want more explanation from Prometheus, this film is for you. If you want a nice, easy-to-watch story with a happy ending, this film is not for you. It’s not a movie for children, and it can be very frightening/disturbing. But if you’re up for it, it’s quite the ride.
