Alien: Covenant
Before answering these questions, perhaps we should take a step back and look at what the most popular of the Alien franchise is. I've never been a huge fan of the Alien series, partly because of my personal resistance to thrillers, but more importantly because of the repetitiveness and difficulty of getting into the series. Whether it is "Alien" or "Alien 2", which are classics in film history, or "Alien 3" and "Alien 4", which are spurned by fans, even the prequel "Prometheus" with mixed reviews and two extreme evaluations , and their plots are highly repetitive. In these films, there is always a team exploring outer space, and in this team there is always a group of extremely stupid and unimpressive members, an uncomfortable real person with white blood flowing through his body. Synthetic robots, and a resourceful, vest-wearing powerful heroine. Of course, what is essential in the plot is the stupid disaster caused by the stupid things done by these stupid teammates, and how the powerful heroine is wise and brave to escape from danger.
Of course, to summarize the entire "Alien" series into these general plots above is probably very disrespectful to the series? After all, repetition is not an excessively bad thing. Many audiences care about whether they have stepped on the expected plot points, and whether they are exciting while stepping on these plot points. That's why "Alien" and "Alien 2" are widely admired - while stepping through these plot points that will please a wide audience, they give two completely different films under the guidance of two different directors. The same type of film. Ridley Scott's "Alien" as a thriller makes people uneasy after watching it, and the existence of the monster Alien under the perfect creation of the gloomy atmosphere really makes the audience hopelessly unforgettable. The "Alien 2" written and directed by James Cameron can be said to be in a different style. He is good at big scene production. He has injected elements of action movies into this horror film, and also let the audience They are more likely to devote themselves to the film while being depressed. But in Alien 3 and Alien 4, the slightly absurd plot and lack of overt style have fans of the series wanting to forget they exist. As for the previous work "Prometheus", although the plot is a little confusing, at least the main creator Ridley Scott hopes to explore more philosophical issues through the film. This risky approach has been recognized by many audiences. Yi's voice won a good box office score.
So what kind of "Alien" movie can satisfy the audience? It needs to hit the plot points that fans have been waiting for, and it should preferably have its own unique genre style, and if it can have a rising theme, even better.
Important Elements of Alien Series-Vest Powerful Heroine
Can the new work "Alien: Covenant" satisfy the audience? The answer is probably yes. Does it have a bunch of stupid space explorers doing stupid things that lead to stupid tragedies? Of course there is - these things are so stupid that I couldn't believe several times during the viewing that the writers were so lazy to let the characters do such low-level actions that the audience couldn't easily sympathize with their situation. Does it have that powerful heroine in a vest who is smart and brave? There are, of course — Daniels, played by the lately rising power actress Katherine Waterstown (the heroine of "Inherently Evil" and "Fantastic Beasts"), is not only mentally distant All the members of the Victory Expedition team are even more calm and action-driven. Has that indispensable alien appeared? Of course it appeared, and in addition to the classic aliens, there are other variants. I believe this should satisfy many audiences who are full of expectations. In addition to the above-mentioned classic plot points, the film creates a laudable thriller atmosphere from photography to soundtrack, and the production of action scenes is also of a high standard due to the extensive use of practical effects. , so that the blood of the audience is throbbing.
It can be said that if the producers made a list of the most favorite elements of the "Alien" series of films, "Alien: Covenant" should be able to tick most of the elements in this list with satisfaction.
But if you want to evaluate whether "Alien: Covenant" can be the best work in the series, the answer is probably no. The reason for the denial is probably because it has stepped on all the points that should be stepped on, but it has only stepped on it mechanically. For example, as the movie itself, the weak development of the plot is really not commendable, and the characters that are so stupid that people really can't make the audience have much emotional investment. In addition, what is more deadly is that the movie does not give the audience a good account of these characters, so that when they are inevitably killed by aliens, the audience may not know the names of these characters, and these relationship between roles. Of course, the existence of the prologue short film before the release of the movie is probably to solve this problem, right? But the separate short films are not part of the movie after all, and the vast majority of viewers who have not watched the short films are likely to feel confused about the relationship between the characters during the viewing period.
Michael Fassbender as two of them is the biggest highlight of the movie
If you want to say the biggest bright spot in "Alien: Covenant", it is probably the two synthetic robot characters David and Walter played by "Far Shark" Michael Fassbender. On the one hand, Fasha is really amazed at the precise and consistent performance of these two synthetic robots, which is full of subtle differences. Whether it's David's excessive pursuit of the philosophical question of the creator, or Walter's more mechanical but bewildered situation caused by the situation as an advanced synthetic robot, Fa Shark can present it to the audience with ease. And the discussion of the direct dialogue between the two characters in the middle of the movie should make the audience who love "Prometheus" and the discussion of philosophical issues hooked? But even for the near-perfect setup of these two characters, there is still something unsatisfying in my opinion. Like the ending, how many viewers like me think the more ambiguous answer is the more meaningful ending the movie needs?
Clear answers are not always satisfactory. Maybe that's why the prequels to the Alien series are still unconvincing so far? The mysterious sense of lack of explanation for the alien, a terrifying creature, is what fascinates movie fans the most in the original story. But the prequel works that try to give an explanation seem to be like an opened Pandora's box, constantly damaging the true myth. What's more, these prequels often have less answers than questions while giving answers, which really drives the audience crazy.
Probably only the creator Ridley Scott knows all the answers. In an interview, he said that he still has two prequel works, and he should be ready to enter the production of the next one. As a creator who is more and more indulged in philosophical and belief issues as he grows older, he may also bring us different surprises. And every time I think about it, although in my opinion the absence of the prequels may be a better choice, I still choose to support his "Alien" series works to the end. After all, even if these works are not satisfactory, a work of good quality can still be guaranteed.
And "Alien: Covenant" is probably just that, and it's just a work of good production quality.
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