Alien Covenant (Review)

The #1 thing I've heard about Alien Covenant is that it makes Prometheus better. Now for those of you who don't tread in nerd circles, Prometheus was the prequel to 1979's Alien, that has been mostly disliked by the "fans".

I put quotation marks around fans because I actually really liked Prometheus. While it somewhat complicates the mythos of the original Alien, it stands alone as a great example of science-fiction. It has amazing atmosphere, music, and the production design is, pardon the phrase, out of this world.

From what I can tell the major reason why people didn't like Prometheus was the confusion it adds to the pre-established Alien canon, but as much as I love solid continuity, I'm here to say once and for all that Alien was pretty broken before Prometheus released.

Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection did a great job screwing up the in-universe rules for the series. Resurrection specifically is a really good example of special effects, the rest of the film is a mess.

Not to mention the fun, but somewhat absurd Alien vs. Predator movies that retconned large portions of the series and have been largely retconned themselves.

One could even argue that the fan favorite of the series, Aliens, also broke tons of rules the original set, such as making the aliens more aggressive, along with making major changes to the design of the Xenomorph.

"Soldier" class xenomorph. From Aliens

"Big Chap" drone. From Alien

But this is blasphemy, I know, so let's just move on.

The point I'm trying to make is the fans of the Alien franchise, much like any franchise with a passionate fanbase and a long life, have become impossible to please. No matter what, no new Alien movie will live up to the expectations set by Alien and Aliens. This confirmation bias ignores the fact that Both 3 and Resurrection were really bad movies, and AVP and it's sequel were equally shlocky.

With that out of the way, I have to say that I really enjoyed Alien Covenant, though not as much as Prometheus.

The movies acts as a direct sequel to Prometheus, with a few returning characters and a plot that connects very literally with the somewhat abrupt ending of the previous film. Michael Fassbender returns as an android, but this time one named Walter, and with a southern accent.

Yeehaw.

The questions the movie answers about the universe, the origins of the xenomorph, and the engineers, but unfortunately the film does this at the expense of pacing. The film, while cooley designed and fast moving, at points feels jumpy. The beginning of the film is almost relaxed in its pacing, and you really get to enjoy all the characters. The middle kicks off and starts going really fast with the introduction to several "neomorphs" and other peculiarities of the planet.

But by the end, the antagonists have dwindled and the movie rushes to explain in limited detail vast portions of the plot, instead of doling it out piece-meal.

Aside from that, I really have only one complaint, and it's the same issue I had with Prometheus, the biology of the xenomorph has become very unclear.

At this point in the first draft of this article I had a large analysis of the specifics of the alien life-cycle in all the main movies, but this section was so complex and unwieldy that I just decided to cut it entirely and just post this picture which, from what I can tell, is the most complete and correct description of the aliens thus far, even though it excludes the Queen Xenomorph.

This picture is the best official source of information about the creature's life-cycles. It seems to state that these three forms are indeed separate, but unfortunately this only answers one of the many questions raised by these movies.

Biologically it's entirely possible for a species to resemble another separate species, but considering the implication that the aliens are biological weapons, NOT natural animals, this excuse seems to fall apart.

Ultimately, while annoying, these are mostly minor plot holes with only one major problem. The film (covenant) states that David developed the "New" Xenomorph by biologically engineering a neomorph's DNA.

How he did this in a cave is beyond me.

Oh no

Despite my geeky nitpicking, I did quite enjoy the film. It was a fun ride and I suggest you see it on as big a screen as possible with a good sound system. Alien Covenant is a really good movie.

To clarify what I said above; Alien Covenant is enjoyed best as a direct sequel to Prometheus or as a stand alone movie. It does both of these jobs quite well and those with either a limited understanding of the series or no knowledge whatsoever will get the most out of it. It gets a little sticky when you try to include the original Alien and Aliens in its continuity. With the exception of one particular WTF moment, the characters are smart, likeable and they don't take unnecessary risks.

But this movie is more about the wonder than it is about the answers. Think too hard about it and it starts to become a bit of a headscratcher.

To summarize:

First I play the flute. Then You play the flute. Then we'll both play the flute.