Ridley Scott’s third Alien film continues with the prequel subplot idea set up in Prometheus. Michael Fassbender is back too. We see him as the android David, being taught by his creator/father Weyland (Guy Pearce, with less make up this time). I’ve not seen this before, it’s strikingly stylish and once again sets a patient tone, but if you found Prometheus too slow, don’t worry this doesn’t mess around. There’s always a spaceship. This time it’s the Covenant. Small crew, but for the first time, thousands of passengers. Everyone’s asleep as usual, the android looking after them in hyper-sleep. That would be Walter (also Fassbender). An emergency onboard, rudely awakens the crew, including Daniels (Katherine Waterson) who’s instantly traumatised by her husband being cooked in his pod. I’m not sure it’s an important detail, but It’s James Franco, who was the captain. A brave move setting fire to an a-lister before they’ve said a word. Oram (Billy Crudup) takes over, but isn’t a natural confident leader. He seems nervous, unstable. Remember these are colonisers not soldiers. They’re on the way to terraform a planet, but need to repair the damaged ship first. When I said stylish, I meant it. We’re a far cry from the industrial mechanics of the 70s sci-fi vision. Like Prometheus, this drags things into the digital age. It looks wonderful. Some things are the same though. They detect a signal. Obviously they should ignore it, but it comes from a planet that looks better suited for human life and terraforming than the one they were headed to. Closer too, but Daniels senses risk. Off they go though, with a small crew and find a rather lovely looking planet (it’s New Zealand), but something is off. Signs of human cultivation, but no sign of life of any kind. It’s a dormant place, waiting. Ledward (Benjamin Rigby) is the first to trigger things. I’ll not spoil anything, but it’s both new and old. Subtle, but classically invasive and soon enough the cycle begins. The planet it turns out is the one from Prometheus and soon they find the Alien ship, signs of Elizabeth Shaw’s… who’s the signal source. As the music tension builds, the infected start to fall and the little band of pioneers lose their minds…. and much more. The Aliens are pasty but fast, visually stunning and instantly get the heart racing. Our cast would be easy fodder were it not for another left behind inhabitant. Not Shaw… David. If one Fassbender stole the show last time out. Two positively rule the roost here. No one else really stands a chance. Although Waterson does well. It’s not scene chewing Ripley levels, but she suits this really well and goes toe to toe with Fassbender. Even if she’s outnumbered. The dynamic between the friendly, simple and subservient Walter and the sometimes comically untethered, poetically prophesying, long isolated, free thinking David is delicious. He’s been busy. There’s a bit of exposition, but this fills in a lot of the blanks between Prometheus and Covenant. In fact, this helps elevate Prometheus. They really work well together as a pair. The body count isn’t crazy, but with much more Alien action, it ticks the gore box easily. There’s some great dialogue. The pacing is wobbly in places, but generally stays on track. There’s even a yahoo cowboy in Tennessee (Danny McBride), who’s rather likeable. Slowly going up through the gears, we learn that David, although an android, is interested in creation over slavery and he’s mad as a box of frogs. He underestimates Walter. Which is just as well or they’d all be screwed. But this twists and turns like a tense rollercoaster. Remember all those sleeping colonisers mentioned at the start… well they’re in trouble. It may still not hit the heights of Alien, but it’s the best film since. Next up, Romulus. The bar, finally, once again high.
8/10
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