Lots of xenomorphs and gore, and that’s Alien: Covenant for you in a nutshell. Apart from that, you have Michael Fassbender, who is rather good. Let us check out what is there to look forward to in the Alien: Covenant film review.
As I mentioned, there is plenty of screen time devoted to the xenomorphs. For an ardent fan of the franchise, that is good news. It also means that there is a profusion of violence and gore. Like Prometheus (2012), the precursor to this one, Alien: Covenant continues building up to the events that led to Alien (1979), the very first movie in the franchise. Michael Fassbender, who plays a vital role in this film, is the reason why you will be glued to your seats for much of the third act, apart from the xenomorphs.
No sooner the crew land on the remote planet, they are attacked by the xenomorphs. Walter, who is the android from the Prometheus mission, provides them shelter. However, the crew finds that Walter is up to no good. They battle Walter in a fight that consumes much of the finale of the movie, as they try to escape from the remote planet.
Now that we have seen some of the good points, we can ponder over the not so happening ones. For starters, the female lead, Katherine Waterston, is a rather weak one. When you think of Sigourney Weaver, she is obviously not in the same league. Clearly miscast, some other actor might have been better suited to play the part. However, it is not entirely her fault, as her character itself is somewhat flawed, and you feel that a more suitably written part would have redeemed her acting to a great extent as well.
It would do you good to refresh yourself with Prometheus before going into this one. Alien: Covenant has a lot of references to that expedition. Also, Michael Fassbender’s sentient android comes along from that part and plays a pivotal role in this movie.
Probably, for the diehard Alien franchise fans, there could have been even more of the xenomorphs and gore, and that might be somewhat of a letdown. Too much time is devoted to humans chitchatting, which is not essential in a movie that is here to scare you, even more so when the human characters are not particularly interesting.
On a terror scale, Alien: Covenant works well in patches. Some scenes are truly hair-raising, but you come away from the overall experience not thoroughly satisfied.
The Alien: Covenant film review gives Alien: Covenant 3 out of 5 stars
If you have seen the movie and would like to share your thoughts on it, please do so in the comments below. Also, the above film review is not paid for and is the author’s personal and unbiased views of the movie. If you liked the review, please share it with others who might be interested in it.
What do you think?