Alien: Covenant (2017)
Ridley Scott
Writers:
Jack Paglen (story), Michael Green (story), John Logan (screenplay), Dante Harper (screenplay), Created by Dan O'Bannon, and Ronald Shusett.
Cast:
Michael Fassbender (David / Walter), Katherine Waterston (Daniels), Billy Crudup (Oram), Danny Mcbride (Tennessee), Demian Bichir (Lope), Carmen Ejogo (Karine), Jussie Smollett (Ricks), Callie Hernandez (Upworth), Amy Seimetz (Faris), Nathaniel Dean (Hallett), Alexander England (Ankor), Benjamin Rigby (Ledward), Uli Latukefu (Cole), Tess Haubrich (Rosenthal), and Lorelei King as the voice of Mother.
Opening Credits:
Alien: Covenant was a film i really tried to shy away from. But under certain circumstances, one has to make changes, so i decided to review the film. Now for those of you who are extreme Aliens fans like myself, i will give this review a shot at 100 percent honesty. I have a lot to say so my usual introduction to the film will not happen this time around.
We all know the other Aliens films so try and keep those in mind. The characters archetypes, a well balanced story, action that made sense to the environment around them. Keep all those things in mind, because in order to give you a review i must dig deep into the core of what vision Ridley Scott wanted to go for. Sometimes directors get into so much that they forget the simplicity of a story. Those little things that we as part of the audience catch. That mind set, a picture perfect setting of the Alien world. So lets get this party started and review this summer movie.
Review:
Imagine a space craft holding about 2000 colonist. The ship gets into some extreme trouble, which is expected in space. Flares, anomalies, all that stuff that can happen. Ok then we have all the hibernation pods open, awakening the crew members of the Covenant. Pods implode, killing some crew members and colonists. You see the other pods the colonist in the background, but the main characters here are the crew members of the Covenant. Walter (Michael Fassbender), Daniels (Katherine Waterston), Oram (Billy Crudup), Tennessee (Danny Mcbride), Damian Bichir (Lope), Karine (Carmen Ejogo), Ricks (Jussie Smollett), Upworth (Callie Hernandez), Faris (Amy Seimetz), Hallett (Nathaniel Dean), Ankor (Alexander England), Ledard (Benjamin Rigby), Uli Latukefu (Cole), Rosenthal (Tess Haubrich), and Mother the voice on the ship, Lorelei King.
So we established the characters, the problems, and issues, especially when the got the distress signal. An uncharted planet, with a distress call on it. At this point the Android, Walter (Michael Fassbender) could've pretty much fixed the problem. But who's going to dare point that out. I mean an Android making no mistakes, fearless. The hibernation pods were in danger, so the crew all wake up the hard way. Debris, solar flares, anything at this point could've been avoided. Usually ships of that size especially holding the future of mankind would at least have sensors, a scan so they could safely stop the massive ship in a location where it would not get hit with anything. I know space is unpredictable, all that stuff. But what if they could just stay put in a spot that is safe. The ship has to recharge, you would think it would scan a safe location. So either way the ship gets hit, pods blow up, and some of the colonist as well as some crew members die as they awaken. The flames within kills them painfully. Daniels husband died a horrible, painful death, not cool at all.
Afterwards the crew members must decide to deviate the 8 year travel plans or check out the planet that just might be hostile. I mean somebody was sending out a distress call. Wouldn't you think about what out ways the issue at hand. 2000 colonist vs 1 person on a unknown planet that might be hostile. If the planet isn't hostile then why would the person be sending out distress calls for help. Common sense would tell you that something went wrong, and the chances of dangers are definitely there. So the great intellect, and idiot interim Commander of the ship tells everyone to head on over to the hostile planet. New and exciting adventures starring the crew of the Covenant and the unknown dangerous planet with extreme storms, more to come. Yes Oram (Billy Crudup) wants to be a man, savior, so he convinces folks to head onto the planet.
So you see the characters start losing mental prowess, because they get stuck on stupid when they take a select few to the planet. Ok a bit more than a few, but what i really don't understand is the way they approached it. No head and body protection. Granted they did a scan the planet, but at this point who cares, safety first. Just because the computer says it's breathable, doesn't mean it is. The planet could have a different atmosphere. Instead everyone gets off the drop ship without protection of thr very known hostile environment.
The pilot lands in water, instead of land which was 100 feet away. The main reasoning behind that is beyond me. It just tickles me with laughter, i mean they land in water. What if the water had thousands of small parasites that when attached to flesh, it eats away at your insides. Anyway the dangers was noted, and the characters just went the way of the story, forced to die without reason.
Fast forward:
Ledward (Benjamin Rigby) was infected by the inky black parasite that floated inside his ear. He would've been ok if he had a suit, helmet, something to protect you from the harsh environment that is noted from watching the film. So the guy gets infected, taken to the drop ship which was a stupid idea because he's infected. Obviously the dude was all vomit like, Exorcist meets Ghostbusters. Yup he was in pretty bad shape, then the Alien which was a parasite comes out of body through his spinal area. Was the scene cool? No, because the suspense wasn't there, it was all visual not emotional, nobody cared about the character getting killed.
Remember in Alien (1979) the whole scene with the Alien coming out his chest was very suspenseful, and darn scary. The scene was set. Everything was in motion. The crew weren't morons, they knew what they had to do in order to live. In Covenant the characters had no idea what they were really doing, because if they had known, things would've gone very differently. The pilot to the drop ship shot everything, especially those lethal locations that could make the ship go boom.
David / Walter (Michael Fassbender) was the only saving grace of this film. The whole plot twist, which was not even a twist, it was almost expected to happen the way it did. David was an Android that evolved in some way, through experience, and i guess the Weyland industries has a stranglehold on everything. David had taught himself about life. It all started at the beginning with that conversation about the creator, or in David's case, his father the one who had made him. The point was not so simple which could've been more here, but instead the writers left out so much. David / Walter to of the same but yet different. The magnificent performance by Fassbender gave in this film was epic in every way. The film was barely making any suspense, towards the end i was on the side of the aliens. Trying to communicate, controlling them was the worst thing a story could have, but yet the premise was all over the place. Android bad, Android good, David / Walter. One followed protocol, while the other followed a hidden protocol.
The Past:
Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), Alien: Resurrection (1997). Alien (1979), and Aliens (1986) had great memorable characters that made the film a treat to watch. The suspense was amazing, it managed to take you with them. The story was that engaging. In Aliens the Marines were strong, made mistakes, but smart. They held their ground. Solid writing that made it suspenseful; a well crafted story that turned out beautiful in the end. The story developed the characters into relatable human beings, which was so important, made something more. Not like in Alien: Covenant where the characters were shallow, lifeless cardboard cutouts of real people. The simple things were overlooked, and it showed in the style, and film making process.
The main reason for this film's epic failure is the mechanics of the story, and how the people reacted to a situations. I understand it's fiction, but not like this. Underdeveloped characters drive any story to the ground. Look at what happened to Alien 3 where they killed off Newt, and Hicks, two iconic characters in Aliens that the third installment decided to just kill off. Bad idea to kill off the major part of the suspense, which brings audiences to watch a good Alien film, but that was not the case here.
End:
Alien: Covenant had to many issues, the special effects to the Alien themselves, and the way the so called experts acted throughout the film. Ridley Scott at one time had great ideas, so with that said remember filmmakers make changes because they think it's the right thing to do. Sometimes you need someone to say no that's not going to work. The movie could've had a new dynamic in the series, but instead it suffered. It really didn't have to suffer because a great story would've made a film like this soar. Imagine a smart crew, great effects. keep the Aliens simple, don't over complicate things. Why explain the mythos, keep it real and continue with the mystery. What's wrong with a story with Aliens, not the origin of mankind, or what not. Aliens is about suspense, danger, this movie forgot all about that, which killed it.
Remember how Ripley went back for Newt in Aliens. The scene where she fights the Queen, and the Android Bishop came back for them in the end. Suspense, action, a sense of isolation, like waiting for Bishop, in the end he came back. You could feel Ripley's heart rate go up, while she was fighting the Alien Queen. Now let's take you back to Covenant. The ending wasn't suspenseful, it was missing elements that make a great movie. Like the music kicking in when something happens. The reality of films like these are so hard to watch sometimes, because either the effects suck or the story. Coming up with a great story is half the battle, and clearly Covenant did not.
Comments