Today’s quick review: Alien: Covenant. On its way to a distant planet, the colony ship Covenant picks up a strange signal from a nearby planet. Stopping to investigate, the crew discovers not only an inhabitable world but the remains of a previous expedition from Earth: the Prometheus. But when alien spores infect members of the crew, producing dangerous new life forms, the colonization mission turns into a desperate struggle for survival.
Alien: Covenant is a science fiction action horror movie from director Ridley Scott. Alien: Covenant continues the Alien franchise and acts as a sequel to the series prequel Prometheus. Katherine Waterston stars as Daniels, a Covenant crew member coping with the recent loss of her husband, while Michael Fassbender pulls double duty as Walter and David, identical androids attached to the Covenant and Prometheus missions.
Alien: Covenant’s main strengths are its world, its mystery, and its action. Covenant picks up plot threads started by Prometheus, and while the main focus of the movie is on survival, it does enrich the lore of the Alien universe over the course of an intriguing mystery. Michael Fassbender makes for a fascinating pair of characters that touch on the loyal, creative, and inhuman facets of artificial intelligence.
However, Alien: Covenant does not capitalize on its strengths. The structure of the plot should be familiar to sci-fi fans; it is a survival story that fits right in with the other Alien movies and their spiritual successors. Daniels makes for a lukewarm protagonist, just sensible enough to get the job done but not especially charismatic or sympathetic. The movie’s action beats are satisfying, but it handles its horror side with less delicacy than it needs to.
Give Alien: Covenant a shot when you are in the mood for competent sci-fi horror. Alien: Covenant is not the strongest movie in its genre, but its decent execution makes it a fine watch. Skip it if you are looking for deeper science fiction or something that breaks the Alien mold, or if you dislike gore or surprises. For a similar movie with a more grandiose plot, check out Prometheus.
6.5 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for a few interesting concepts, good production value, and decent action.