★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Ridley Scott loses the plot somewhat in this bold and barmy
return to the Alien franchise. Ten
years on from the disappearance of the Prometheus,
a colonization ship intercepts a transmission from the missing crew. Acting
Captain Oram (Billy Crudup) makes a beeline for its point of origin, against
the express wishes of terraforming commander Daniels (Katherine Waterston).
Upon landing, the colonists encounter a long-derelict spacecraft, a deadly
pathogen and a single living soul: the android, David (Michael Fassbender),
last apparent survivor of the Prometheus mission.
A far cry from the doomed optimism of Prometheus, the tone here is
one of heavy portent. The colours are a grey wash, smiles are rarely cracked, and
the narrative plunges a downward spiral to oblivion. Covenant has the chutzpah to pick up from its 2012 predecessor in
narrative form, but the inclusion of Alien
in the title and marketing shackles it to the franchise, and not always for
the best.
It’s a viscous, bulging sac of visionary ideas struggling to
burst forth from a largely uninspired narrative. Stop me if you’ve heard this
one: shipmates woken early, a distress signal found, one wrecked spaceship, several minutes of screaming (and a
partridge in a pear tree). After the lukewarm, and even hostile, response to Prometheus, it feels like Scott had to make
certain concessions before Fox gave the reins back, hence why every horrific
moment or action pulse-pounder feels like an ‘in your own words’ answer to an Alien trivia exam (Jerry Goldsmith’s
original music cues are brandished too, with the slyest of grins).
However, Scott still gets his own way: the viscera is unabashed
and grotesque (H.R. Giger would be proud), the special effects and visuals are
slick, and there’s a generous helping of weirdness the likes of which we haven’t
seen since Blade Runner. His
opus is referred to throughout, in small dialogue notes (“That’s the spirit!”)
and the many exchanges between David and the colonists’ own doppelganger robot,
Walter. Doctor Tyrell’s “More human than human” echoed endlessly in my head as
the two examined, probed and prodded each other. Fassbender proves his mastery
once more by giving both roles distinct idiosyncrasies and literally creating
sexual tension with himself.
Not all of it works. The literature-heavy screenplay and
po-faced discussions about the nature of artificial intelligence grate just
occasionally, with some audience members giggling outright. The same derision
was also aimed at the human characters’ casual approach to alien eggs and dark
rooms, a staple of the franchise now wearing thin. I didn’t care one jot about
the colonists, either. I have a sneaking suspicion we’re not really supposed
to, but if that’s the case, why are there so many of them? Waterston and Crudup
proved more than capable exceptions to my apathy (the former especially), but
they’re side-lined in favour of everything else rolling about in this great
tumble-drier of a film.
It’s predictable and overstuffed; a rush to connect this set
of prequels with the original films that simultaneously takes too long to get
going and sprints to the finish line, stomping inconsistencies into the ground
in its wake. And yet, I’d argue Covenant is worth the sore feet. Scott remains an
interesting case of authorship in Hollywood, and his dedication to religious themes and future prediction is as unshaken as ever… if only he could only find
a way to balance them better with the xenomorph zealotry we all know and love.
