Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien: Covenant’ is a creepy delight
The Alien franchise has always been battleground for the philosophical and physical tussles for dominance between human, alien and artificial intelligence. While Alien set up the themes, character types and iconography of this universe, 2012’s prequel Prometheus established an origin story and philosophy, bringing up questions of faith, spirituality and the risks of creating life. Alien: Covenant, once again directed by Ridley Scott, is the second prequel in the series, chronologically following Prometheus, and exploring the fallout from the events of that film, while offering a rich terrain for an epic battle between the differing forces in this world. The questions posed in the film are universal, and primal, and easy answers are never forthcoming.
The humans in the story are a plucky crew of space explorers; a tight-knit group of couples piloting a ship of colonists to a new planet that holds their dreams of a fresh start and new life. Following an accident, the mission is diverted to a closer, previously hidden planet.
Covenant uses the mythology established by Prometheus and fuses it with the story and character types of Alien. Scott explores the tensions between spirituality and science, faith and family, emotional and analytical intelligence, and manages to do all that in the style of a slasher horror film. Covenant rips through plot points and action set pieces with the speed of a xenomorph ripping through flesh.
The story’s main protagonist is played here by Katherine Waterston, who has been toughened up with a bowl haircut and an odd little cap. She is broken, in mourning, trying to put herself back together and keep fighting for her dream. It takes a bit of time, but Waterston ably fills the Ripley-sized shoes of Sigourney Weaver, both physically and mentally. In the Alien franchise, whether human, alien, or artificial, female intelligence is proven to be the most versatile and insightful, and Waterston embodies that with finesse.
But no performance eclipses that of Michael Fassbender, who played the android David in Prometheus and here plays a later model of the same droid, Walter. From Ash in Alien to David, android intelligence has always been in many ways superior, but less easy to predict. Fassbender is given the opportunity to give a wide-ranging and fascinatingly campy performance, and it’s no surprise he steals the show. Many of the spiritual questions about creation are wrapped up in Fassbender’s character, who questions his provenance and if he himself can create. This desire for procreation and preservation of the self – human, alien, or artificial – is what motivates every being in the Alien universe, and in Covenant, Scott sets up a thrilling thunderdome in which we can watch this bloody battle unfold.
– Tribune News Service Alien: Covenant opens today in theaters across the country.