Alien: Covenant is director Ridley Scott’s latest installment in his Alien franchise. The first thing I want to say is that I think Ridley Scott is a great director. He seems to always be willing to push the boundaries and come up with very innovative story ideas that raise some really interesting questions. I like how he makes big scale movies still feel grounded in reality. It’s refreshing since a lot of the recent blockbuster releases have started to blend together. 

     In terms of the Alien franchise, I’ve never been the biggest fan. I think the xenomorph is probably one of the most amazing movie monsters every created. If you want to read up on it, it’s a pretty interesting story of how it came to be. I just saw Alien last year and wasn’t blown away. The problem with it is that it’s a movie that feels very dated. However, there’s no denying the impact it’s had on both pop culture and the movie making process. In terms of Prometheus, it’s not my favorite movie but I do like a lot about it. The surgery scene is probably one of the best scenes we’ve gotten from a movie in the past 10 years.

     Now we get to Alien: Covenant!! The sequel to Prometheus and prequel to Alien. First off, I’d highly recommend watching those two movies before going into this one. If all you want is to watch some nerve racking action and horror for a couple of hours you can go in cold. However, if you really want to focus on and understand the story, I’d watch the other films. 

    Let’s get into the positives. As I alluded to previously, it is so refreshing to get big scale blockbuster that is not a superhero movie. I can understand why people like them but they’re too big-scale and unrealistic for me. To be fair, the story of this movie seems pretty improbable as well but it still feels grounded in reality. One of the recent complaints I had about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was the third act climax. That’s not the case here. Again, it feels big scale without going over the top. Aside from that, the special effects are fantastic in this film. You get a lot of the same beats as the original Alien but it’s much more realistic. Plus, you get a lot more blood and gore. While, I do think leaving it up to the viewer’s imagination can be a strong route to take, the choice to show all the violence worked in the case of Alien: Covenant. The casting is perfect. Every performance fits the film. The music also adds a lot to the suspense of the film. It’s a great hybrid of the music from Alien and Prometheus. Last but not least, the visuals. Any review you read is going to be praising the cinematography and it’s 100% justified. Ridley Scott’s movies are always gorgeous to look at and this and Prometheus seem to be high on list in that respect. There are some jaw dropping shots in this film that alone make it worth seeing in the theatre.

     There aren’t to many negative I have with the movie. It is a bit predictable and some people may complain about that but it didn’t bother me. The main issue I had with the film is it doesn’t feel necessary. I like the route they are taking with this set of prequel movies and where the movie ends up. However, I wish Ridley Scott had chosen to make only one movie about the origins of the events in Alien. It’s starting to feel like he’s really milking the franchise. It follows a ton of the same beats as Alien. To be fair, a lot of it is new stuff that adds to the franchise but there are some things that they pull directly out of Alien. The only other complaint I have is that I’m not sure how well the film is going to hold up upon repeat viewings. It really relies on the shock factor so the first time you see it, it’s going to be great but after you know all the surprises, the movie may fall a little flat.

     Alien: Covenant was better than I expected. I think I definitely liked it more than I did after seeing Prometheus for the first time. That being said, Prometheus has grown on me a little bit as time has gone on. We’ll just have to wait and see if the same can be said for Alien: Covenant. As of now, I give it 7/10