Alien Covenant

*Warning:  This review will have spoilers

Prometheus, this ain’t. While Prometheus had a strong theme about the question of where we come from, Covenant takes that theme and beats it like a rug. I will say it adds a lot to the Alien mythology, but I’m not really sure I like where it is taken. The idea of David behind behind their biology is sort of dumb, and to be honest I think the series works better if the alien race is just a threat that exists out in the galaxy.

I do like that they didn’t ignore Prometheus, but now I sort of understand why some fans were so pissed off at Alien 3 for haphazardly killing off the characters who fought so hard to survive the second film. That happens here as well. I was also quite disappointed at what happened with their contact with the engineer race.

Now lets be clear, this is a competently made thriller in many regards. The film looks great, especially the Alien creatures, with one exception: Billy Crudup’s chest-burster. That looks terrible, and the scene that chaperones it is eye-rolling. Most of the tension works, though I would argue that the second climax here feels really tacked on, even though we all knew it was coming.

I also really didn’t like the end twist.  It feels like its only there for shock value (for the 8% of people who didn’t figure it out already), but will really just piss you off after everything these characters went through.

6/10