The characters are not full enough, the plot can be deeper, the concept design is still full marks

Myrtle 2022-03-20 09:01:31


The most famous and deadly monster in contemporary cinema, from the long-running "Alien" series, in "Alien: Covenant", the sequel to "Raider" Ridley Scott's "Prometheus", Alien gets a more colorful depiction and gives viewers a terrifying backstory to the Alien series. Settling in familiar styles, Covenant feels both entertaining and frustrating, answering some riveting questions and strictly following a trustworthy (yet cheesy) cinematic formula.

This paragraph has spoilers! ! The events in Alien: Covenant are set between 2012's Prometheus and the original 1979 timeline of Alien, and the film begins in December 2104 with a colony ship heading deep into the galaxy Far away planets fly away. Synthetic cyborg Walter (Michael Fassbender "Farshark") was the only one awake at the helm of the spacecraft when an energy bomb knocked them off the rails, and in an emergency, the crew Wake up from deep sleep. Captain Jacob Branson (James Franco) is killed instantly, leaving Christopher Oram (Billy Crudup) in charge.

crew photo

The surviving crew also includes Branson's wife, Daniels (Katherine Watson), an expert on land formation; Oram's wife, Karine (Carmen Ejogo), and hygienist Faris (Amy Semmez). Along with her pilot husband Tennessee (Danny McBride); security captain Lope (Demian Bichir), and his husband Hallett (Nathaniel Dean). The 2,000 passengers on the "Covenant" continued to sleep. The awake crew tried to stabilize the spacecraft and return to a deep sleep state, but a strange radio led them to a living condition similar to Earth. to a similar planet.

Oram needs to decide whether he wants to investigate the matter, and he finally decides to abandon the colonization plan on the original planet and choose the new one. This choice was not very good, because several crew members in charge of exploration on the "Contract" gradually fell ill and were attacked. The group is rescued by Walter's junior version, David (also played by Fa Shark), who of course is the same cyborg from Weyland in "Prometheus." His presence raises more questions, though it's clear that the artificially intelligent David has creative impulses that could black him out.

Fa Shark plays two roles, and his performance is still strong

After the unattractive 45 minutes at the beginning, "Alien: Covenant" finally found its own rhythm, but the style is still struggling irregularly, and it wants to go suspenseful, and wants to positively reflect the horror of alien creatures. Alien: Covenant is nearly two hours long, and it embodies many of the challenges and problems of this long and successful franchise, for better or for worse. For example, how to cross the line between homage and innovation, while keeping audiences fresh and creative while giving them the content they expect based on the past few movies. The grand and heavy philosophical issues in the film and the "responsibility" that needs to provide familiar action scenes and bloody scenes have created tensions in different directions.

The screenplay was written by John Logan and Dante Harper, and the story was written by Jack Paglen and Michael Green. But nothing in the film was put in without the permission of Ray, who helmed the groundbreaking original and was largely responsible for Prometheus's ambitious resurrection. That's why Covenant's failure to dig deep into some inherently more striking contrasts and big conflicts is all the more disappointing.

Oram's Religious Beliefs Are Not Digged Deeply

Oram is depicted as a man of religious beliefs, in stark contrast to his crew. But after the characterization of the superficial characters, the film does not really explore what it means to be a person who believes in fate and gods in the world of "Alien" - or, as a life destroyed by this belief. How do people feel. Thematically, Covenant explores the unreliability of humans versus the more dangerous flaws of artificial intelligence, before returning to the alien attack scenarios we've all seen before.

Similarly, Lope and Hallett's same-sex relationship is respectable (it's the first time a same-sex couple in the series, after all), but they're no different from the heterosexuals in the film. What's confusing is that not only is their relationship minimal, but the plot setting itself of having a couple on board the Covenant isn't mentioned much. Apart from giving some characters a reason to be more grieving than others, the presence of the couple on the ship is only important to the whole story - when Tennessee's wife falls on the planet's surface, what will he do? Find good reasons for driving your boat dangerously low.

Covenant's art design maintains a consistent high standard throughout the series

These omissions and missed opportunities, along with a bunch of underdeveloped characters, suggest that there may be an extended version of Alien: Covenant, which may not be so fundamentally different, but at least allows the film More flesh and blood, plump.

Covenant's strengths lie in its art design, monster design, and special effects, and the overall effect is creepy, ominous, and terrifying, which certainly isn't surprising. If you watch a movie at night, the rustling and rustling in the shadows you hear and see after you leave the theater will make you think. While Dariz Worski’s photography effectively mixes tan and emerald green with darker colors, the revamped Neomorph (the name has a different meaning) is emotionally subversive.

As for the performance, Fa Shark, as Walter and David, played two roles, showing a strong performance, but with subtle adjustments. Catherine's performance is convincing, but it will inevitably be compared with "the mother of aliens" Sigourney Weaver, which is not a good thing for Catherine. Other actors didn't work well because the characters themselves weren't rich enough.

Katherine inevitably has to be compared to Sigourney Weaver

"Alien: Covenant" started slowly, and the characters' first encounters with the aliens in the film seemed a bit exaggerated. Paradoxically, the more time the crew spends with them before they actually encounter the menacing alien creature, the more real the encounters that follow, which the film doesn't do better. While Raider's new film isn't perfect, Covenant does tell the story of the creation of the aliens, the central characters of the franchise's horror. In this regard, the story in the film is still interesting and important, and it also sets the stage for the next chapter, which brings together Ray's "prequel trilogy" ("Prometheus" and "Alien: Covenant"). ) is connected to the original movie.

Author: Brent Simon

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Extended Reading

Alien: Covenant quotes

  • Oram: What do you believe in, David?

    David: Creation.

  • Daniels: You hear that?

    Oram: What?

    Daniels: Nothing. No birds, no animals. Nothing.