Alien Covenant Review - Take that, Life (the Jake Gyllenhaal film people barely saw)

Alien: Covenant finds itself in something of a dilemma from the offset: it has to jump the hurdle of resolving the screenwriting arsery of Damon Lindelof and Jon Spaihts' insufficient Prometheus while offering Xenomorph thrills that have been absent in the franchise since a time when there wasn't even a Predator to crossover with. Fortunately, Skyfall's John Logan has snatched the pen, and if there's one thing he can do, it's revitalise a franchise.

Sadistic old sci-fi enthusiast Ridley Scott sends another group of space-travellers to investigate a distress beacon, led by a resilient female. In other words, its the standard Alien plot template, right down to particular events and when they happen within the narrative. This time Katherine Waterston is that female aboard a crew of fifteen (mostly) dispensable cannon fodder colonists making the journey to a new home when they receive the beacon (lesson: never trust John Denver tunes). It's unfortunate most characters have absolutely no time to resonate or build up proper relations, but those who do are worth caring about despite thin sketching. Billy Crudup's religious de-facto captain, Danny McBride's pilot and Demain Bichir's incidentally gay security officer are given the most focus. It's good to see sexuality being an afterthought rather than a defining trait.

And of course, there's the two MVPs of the film. Michael Fassbender and Michael Fassbender appear as synthetic humans Walter and David respectively. Or is it the other way around? In any case the ever reliable lad gives a dual performance as the returning, insidiously unnerving David and his newer counterpart, updated to have fewer human qualities and a serviceable American accent. As the curious David explores even more of the existential thoughts from the previous outing, Fassbender helps make the character more fascinatingly complex than before, whilst being creeping us out with every minor facial movement, smile and stare. The conflict between the straight-laced Walter and his older 'brother' is so mesmerising it makes recorder recitals watchable, whilst David's filling in of gaps Prometheus left is richly cathartic. The only gripe is a predictable occurrence in the third-act involving Fassbender, not that it's his fault.

Going back to his Steve Jobs co-star, Waterston - the main human lead - further demonstrates her dramatic talents after stealing scenes in the Danny Boyle biopic and Inherent Vice, portraying the rational, grief-stricken Daniels in a raw, empathy-worthy fashion. The entire crew (Daniels included) are married to each other, allowing a lot of the cast some decent acting moments when their spouses are inevitably bumped off. 

Scott and DP Dariusz Wolski construct an aesthetically pleasuring world, as expected based on the director's track record. The addition of a new xenomorph replacing the classic breed for most of the runtime is welcome instead of the disastrous 'New Coke' move it could be, managing to be a chilling, gore-spewing presence. Scott makes us wait long enough too, throwing in a predominately successful twists and turns in terms of who dies when, to a much more effective degree than this year's Alien knock-off Life. Though some character deaths are hard to care about due to little investment, the horror still resonates, falling in between the first two films regarding tension and balls-to-the-war slaughter, combining the two in an unholy cocktail and tracking through ominous corridors and seeing organs fly. Seventy-nine year old Scott hasn't lost it.

FOUR STARS. It's great to feel excited what lies next, rather than feeling empty. Looking at you Prometheus.