Review Alien: Covenant film review by PickleBack
Written By PickleBack on 2017-05-25 00:44:07
"If Prometheus was about investigating the past, Alien: Covenant concerns creating the future."
The reason why these films still stick to my brain is that they pose more questions than give answers. Some people associate that to lazy story writing. What I love about the first film is that I was still talking about it weeks after i've seen it in theaters. I spent those weeks trying piece together plots and meanings. The more I thought about this film, the more it grew on me. I have a personal question in regards to "plot holes." Nobody sets out to make a bad film. That is a given. When people ask, "Why did they decide to explore the planet without spacesuits? Are they stupid? Why did they decide to bring top scientists just for them to act stupid?" I would respond with a quote directly from Ridley Scott himself. When asked by Alexander England, who played Ankor in the film, "When they go to explore this planet, shouldn't they wear spacesuit?" To which Ridley replies in his usual cool way, "Dude, there's oxygen there." I found this exchange when reading The Art and Making of Alien:Covenant. The crew received a message from Shaw who is singing John Denver's "Country Road." It looks like she is having fun. And if you look closely, she doesn't wear her helmet. So if I see a person not wearing a space helmet singing John Denver songs, i'd assume she's safe. But this review isn't about plot holes. I guess where I was trying to go with that is this: Do plot holes exist because of lazy writers? Or do they exist because of lazy audiences? Now on to the actual review.
Alien Covenant is great. And like Prometheus, it will probably grow on me in the next few weeks. By now it is clear that Ridley Scott uses biblical and philosophical references and quotes in his prequel Alien films. I do not mind that at all. Some people however, thinks it is just him being pretentious where they think that even he doesn't know what he is trying to say with his films. I was lucky or fortunate enough to know the piece David played on the piano, and the poem he quotes throughout the film. Most people don't know these references. After my screening I saw a guy whip out his phone to google "Shelly," (author of the poem Ozymandias). The first shot we see is an extreme close up on David's eye forcing the audience to see and think with David. Then we pull out to see him sitting on a throne, and not Peter Weyland. The dynamic is already clearly established with just these two opening shots. Woah wait, is that an android playing the piano...with emotion? Woah, did Ozymandius just describe the reason why David named himself after the statue, stressing the fact that the art (David) outlives it's creator (Weyland)? "Bring me the cup of tea David." But the tea is right there Peter! You go grab it! Oh wait, are you trying to stress the fact that David was only made to serve? Where and when in history have we witnessed people revolt because they're tired of serving? Is it really better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven? Did I just quote Milton's Paradise Lost which was an early title for this film? Wait, am I still on the films cold open? YES.
Sure the Android switch was predictable at the end, because we've watched a lot of movies. I thought it added more suspense in the third act in that it layered on top of the suspense we were getting during the fight with the Xenomorph.
These characters did not need to be multilayered and fully developed because we know they're going to die. If you are going into this film expecting fleshed out characters with multilayered traits and gradual character arcs then you've already ruined your movie going experience. Honor what 900 people involved in the cast and crew who spent years just to present this to you. Be happy that Alien is still alive. Be happy that people still care about Alien.
The most important thing to me was that I left the theater wanting more. No more from the film, but more of whats to come.
"Wagner's piece without a full orchestra is anemic." Peter Said.
The film ends with Walter accompanied by Wagner's piece and a full orchestra. The art has outlived it's artist.
