The Alien franchise is regarded by many to be one of the greatest sci-fi horror franchises of all time; however, there are still so many questions that fans have had over the years, specifically about the xenomorphs.
Where did they come from?
How were they made?
Who or what created them?
The Prequil: Promtethus
In 2012, the prequel film “Prometheus” was released in the hopes that it would give the fans the answers they desired.
Reactions were a bit mixed, and numerous viewers were not satisfied with the movie, claiming that they had more questions leaving the theater than they had when they first walked in.
When Director Ridley Scott announced a sequel to “Prometheus,” the main star, Michael Fassbender, told the fans that their questions would be answered. Fassbender advertised that the movie was going to be “less about confusing ancient mysteries and more about the terrifying aliens we all know and love.” After decades of waiting, fans finally got the clarification they desired on the most dangerous and popular monsters of all time.
Alien: Covenant
Taking place 10 years after the events of “Prometheus,” “Alien: Covenant” centers around the crew of the ship Covenant as they set off on their very first large-scale colonization mission.
While traveling to the planet Origae-6, the ship hits a neutrino burst that damages the ship and kills several colonists, including the ship’s captain, Jake Branson, played by James Franco. As the rest of the crew mourn his death and repair the ship, they intercept a distress signal from an uncharted planet nearby.
Despite protests from terra-forming expert and Brandon’s wife, Daniels, they head down to the planet’s surface to investigate. It proves to be a fatal mistake when they discover that the planet houses a dark and dangerous secret; a secret in the form of the sole survivor of the Prometheus expedition, David, and hostile alien creatures that are hunting them down one by one.
It is very clear that director Ridley Scott decided to revert back to the original roots of the “Alien” franchise. The atmosphere and tone is overall as dark and suspenseful, as was the original. This movie earns its hard-R rating with some extremely bloody moments scattered throughout as well.
The story is well written and does a good job connecting the stories of “Prometheus” and “Alien” together. While longtime “Alien” fans will find certain plot points predictable and cliched, the suspense and drama is still invigorating, with a well executed build-up on top of that.
While Katherine Waterson and Danny McBride did well with their performances as Daniels and Tennessee, the true star of the film was Michael Fassbender. His performance as both David and the Covenant android Walter is probably the best duel performance I have ever seen.
David and Walter are also portrayed as exact opposites in this film: one is a conformist who does what his programming tells him to do, like any robot, while the other is more self-aware, curious and narcissistic.
Their scenes together are some of the best scenes in the movie, managing to be funny, intriguing and creepy at the same time. Fassbender did an amazing job bringing these two totally different characters to life, making a viewer forget that it is the same actor.
While the movie had many highs, one thing that was very disappointing was that very few characters had good development, especially Waterson; however, director Scott released two prologue videos called “The Last Supper” and “The Crossing,” months before the release to fill in those gaps.
“The Last Supper” serves as a great character development scene that gives a viewer a peak at the relationships the crew has with one and other. “The Crossing” shows a glimpse of what happened to David and Dr. Elizabeth Shaw after “Prometheus,” and how they got to the planet in the first place. These videos can give one clarification on what happened before the events of the movie.
From the creation of life to the garden of Eden
“Covenant” also focuses on a number of themes that are surprisingly thought-provoking. The theme of the creation of life is first explored deeply in the scenes with David and Walter and in the opening scene with David and his creator, Mr. Weyland.
In the opening scene, Mr. Weyland talks with David about his purpose and the reason behind his creation. This leads David to question the purpose of humanity and the reason behind creation, such as who is considered the creator and who is the created.
Religious themes such as the planet representing the garden of Eden as an uncharted paradise are also portrayed in the movie as well. David can also be seen as playing both God and Satan at the same time as he reveals his “creations” and deceives the crew of the Covenant into trusting him.
The movie draws references from John Milton’s epic poem “Paradise Lost” too, such as the poster paying homage to the painting with the same name and the tagline of the film being “the path to paradise begins in hell.” This is shown throughout the movie as the crew dives deeper into this paradise of a planet and uncovers its dark secrets. To quote Daniels, they do “All of this to start our new life.”
These themes are brought out in such a fascinating and intelligent way that one would swear that Stanley Kubrick rose from the grave and took over directing for those scenes. While they were not explored as much as they should have been, it was still a pleasant surprise.
A must see bloody thriller
In the end, I must say that the highlight of this movie is the cinematography. Director Scott impressively combined the use of practical sets and CGI, which made the film visually astonishing. The use of CGI for the xenos is amazing.
While the original effects worked perfectly and still hold up, they have their limits as it is apparent when the xenos are performed by puppets or stuntmen. With CGI, the xenos can move, act, and sound exactly like the feral and savage monsters they are meant to be, thus adding a new layer of terror to these “perfect organisms.”
Overall, “Alien: Covenant” is a bloody, thrilling, and surprisingly fascinating addition to the “Alien” franchise. While this movie has predictable moments and little character development for the crew, Michael Fassbender nails it with his dual performance, the cinematography is captivating, the xenos are more frightening than before, the themes are intriguing and fans will finally get a satisfying origin story of H.R Giger’s perfect monsters.
