“Alien: Covenant” is the big, scary older sibling of previous installments in the Alien franchise. No scene is left to the imagination as aliens graphically burst out of human bodies and tear the characters to shreds. This film is not for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach. It is awesome. It’s difficult to compare any two films that were made nearly 40 years apart, especially when it comes to science fiction films that rely on special effects to bring their world to life. You can never beat the mystery and slowly building tension of the original story, but this “next generation Alien movie” enhances the series as a whole by opening our eyes to the true terrors enacted by the xenomorphs. The line between the horror and thriller genre is often blurred (M. Night Shyamalan’s “horror films” should actually be categorized as psychological thrillers with a disturbing theme) but the graphic nature of “Alien: Covenant” makes it a clear-cut horror film. The standout performance comes from Michael Fassbender as two separate androids with identical looks and very different personalities. He layers these characters to the point that one can impersonate the other in a way that we can still keep track of who is who. Katherine Waterston also shines as the brave-yet-terrified heroine of the film. Guy Pearce's cameo as Peter Weyland is stunning, though it left me wishing that the writers could have incorporated him into the entire film. All of the acting is satisfactory for a science fiction film but this is really all about Ridley Scott’s visionary atmosphere and the breathtaking special effects. The vivid CGI makes it is easy to believe that we are actually seeing the characters travel through space and makes Scott’s industrial future feel like the present. Meanwhile, the creatures are so realistic that nightmares are inevitable. “Alien: Covenant” isn’t the best storyline of the series but it delivers all of the terror that belongs in this franchise.
[Pictured: Amidst the terror, there is still plenty of room for Ridley Scott's iconic style]
No comments:
Post a Comment