Alien: Covenant - "The Link Between Prometheus and the Alien Saga" (Film Review)

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Alien: Covenant is the newest installment of the Alien franchise. With the number of films released in this franchise over many decades, it's crucial to understand the timeline and how they are all related. In 2012, Ridley Scott introduced Prometheus, a new film within the Alien universe that served as a loosely related prequel. Alien: Covenant picks up 10 years after the events in Prometheus. If you haven't already gone to see the newest installment that came out this past Friday, I'd suggest watching Prometheus beforehand, as it would help draw some lines between the newest film and all of its predecessors. Although I enjoyed many aspects of Prometheus and the change in direction that was attempted, like most, I had a number of issues with the film and felt that it left some questions unanswered. Alien: Covenant, though not perfect, is quite enjoyable for a fan of the Alien movies, taking two steps forward from Prometheus and heading more so in the direction of the original Alien.

To further clarify the timeline, forget about all of the AVP movies altogether, and let's focus on Alien, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. The original Alien movies take place further into the future, while Prometheus and Alien: Covenant are both prequels. And while Alien: Covenant is a sequel to Prometheus, it draws much more of a connection to the original Alien films. Even with that connection, however, there is still a 20 year gap between Alien: Covenant and the very first Alien. Some reports have indicated that Ridley Scott plans to make two more sequels to Alien: Covenant that would take place within that gap, and would lead up to the original Alien movie.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

The film opens with a brief introduction in which the character Peter Weyland of the Weyland Corporation is having a conversation with his creation, David (characters introduced in Prometheus). However, their age in this scene indicates that this conversation is taking place years before anything that transpires in Prometheus. This introduction, along with a number of the events that take place in the previous film, provides important insight into the motivation of the actions by the android, David, played by Michael Fassbender.

The story continues with the Covenant ship en route to a new, habitable planet on a colonization mission. If you've seen any promotional videos for the film, it's no spoiler to mention that Michael Fassbender plays two different android characters in this movie. The first is David, the one to whom we are introduced in Prometheus, and again in the opening of this film. The other is Walter, an updated version of the previous android model, David. While over 2000 colonists and crew members lay in cryo-sleep on this colonization mission, Walter is responsible for maintaining the ship throughout this seven year journey. An unexpected external problem with the ship forces Walter to awaken the crew from cryo-sleep a number of years earlier than planned. Upon awakening and losing a number of crew members in the disaster, including the ship's captain, the remaining crew and new acting captain are faced with a big decision. A habitable planet appears on their radar, significantly closer than the one they are seeking for colonization. This leads to the crew questioning their course of action. Will they take the risk and explore this new planet, or proceed with the original plan, go back into cryo-sleep and reach their intended planet in seven years? Well, I think we can all guess the answer to that one. But what transpires next?

Alien: Covenant (2017)

I thought that this film was strong and I enjoyed the way that Ridley Scott drew a connection between Prometheus and the original Alien films. Michael Fassbender's portrayal of both androids is exceptional, mastering the robotic stiffness and stoic expression that is crucial for making the performance believable. Billy Crudup as Oram, the new acting captain, and Katherine Waterson as Daniels (a Ripley like character) were also impressive. In terms of the remaining characters, they were mostly underdeveloped and irrelevant. As always, I very much enjoyed Scott's visualization of the planet and all that comes with it. It was refreshing that the film didn't rely quite so much on CGI for depicting the surroundings. The film also did a good job of maintaining suspense throughout, and I'll admit that there were a couple of moments I watched through my fingers. Overall, I'd say that a fan of the Alien franchise would not be disappointed by Alien: Covenant. It left me looking forward to what's to come of the subsequent films. This is a difficult film to review without discussing spoilers. So, with that said, check out the section below once you've already seen the film. 

**SPOILERS**

 The way in which this film most differs with the original Alien movies is its emphasis on philosophical concepts. Scott first went in this direction with Prometheus, exploring the origin of humanity in the storyline, and many were surprised by where he went with the movie. This film incorporates both the feel of the original Alien while maintaining the philosophical aspects of Prometheus. The story focuses on David, and continues to explore the concept of creation. The introduction of the film indicates that David was made with the ability to create, perhaps not in the same way as humans, but in a way that allowed him to play a song or draw a picture. This is an ability that was withheld from the subsequent android model, Walter. 

However, many factors led to David's obsession with creation on a grander level. One of those factors was a comment made by the character, Holloway, in Prometheus who stated to David, "we made you because we could." After doing some experimenting of his own in Prometheus and seeing the effects of his actions, Alien: Covenant shows just how far he is willing to go. We come to find out that David's years of experimentation lead to the creation of the Xenomorph we are all familiar with from the original films. David evolves into quite the antagonist, and in a (quite predictable) plot twist ends up succeeding in fooling the crew and taking over command of the ship and the colonists on board. With David in full control, the next installment should show what diabolical plan David has in store for the crew and colonists. 

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