Alien: Covenant reviewed by Mark Kermode 

Alien Covenant script meeting: Exec 1: "The crew members are indistinguishable from one another." Exec 2: "Give one of them a hat." Both light cigars. End of meeting.

I remember being totally captivated by the Derelict and the space jockey in Alien. The mystery behind what it was, why it was there and what happened added so much to the original Alien. All that has been stripped away because films these days have to explain everything and have to come full circle with what has gone before.

My beef with Alien Covenant (and Prometheus, too) is this. In Alien, the human race is unimportant in the grand scheme of things. The alien is utterly indifferent to our suffering, in the same way that a parasitic wasp doesn't care about the feelings of a spider that it implants its larva into. In Alien, we are supplanted at the top of the food chain; the film's horror is the primal fear of the prey animal, confronted by the reality of "nature, red in tooth and claw". In Prometheus, suddenly we *are* important. We were created by the Engineers*, and were deemed sufficiently important to be sterilised by them. Even if humanity is considered a failure by the Engineers, it is *considered* by them; we are the subject of special attention, we're not just the product of random chance. Humans are consequential. It completely inverts the message of Alien, and cheapens it in the process. Basically: Alien is about evolution, Prometheus and Alien Covenant are about creationism. *EDIT: or some other alien race, Scott is a bit ambiguous about that.

ALIEN is great: one of the reasons is the overlapping, semi-improvised dialogue you get throughout the film, which gives it a sense of authenticity. We'd got used to that in the 1970s since early Altman, Coppola and Scorsese. Now everything has to be scripted and emoted within an inch of its life.

One of my favourite elements of Alien was the implication that the company HQ had inferred what the signal might be and sent the Nostromo crew in as a sort of canary in the coalmine. So dark, so relevant.

"The Da Vinci Code is space...." Literally, shot coffee out my nose XD

If Ridley Scott was to ever just watch one review of his movie .... I would demand that he watch this one ..... mark your review was spot on ..... simplicity is the key to the Alien movies and it's now drenched in plot holes and clutter ....

2020: Jaws: Creation. The backstory of a failure of sea man who creates the ultimate shark!

Why can't the American critics be as honest as this? They're too busy trying to get hits on youtube and to get invited to screenings. Love Kermode!

He's nailed it.

"Alien was a horror movie, Aliens was a war movie, Alien 3 was a....disaster". Lol.

The cgi for thr aliens were awful. The aliens looked better back in Aliens.

Oh my god. Finally. Of all the reviews which try to say that the presence of Aliens will satisfy fans, it is SUCH a relief to see someone ACTUALLY state what the problem was with this movie. Thank You! You are 100%, objectively right. It takes the mysterious coincidences of the first movie and UNDERMINES them by giving it a tiny, anthropocentric backstory to explain it. Prometheus already reduced the mysterious fossilised space jockey to a big white dude with human DNA. Now the xeno's themselves are no longer this mysterious, unknown but presumably naturally occurring species. Thank you for the fair, balanced review. You put into words what I struggled to.

Kermode is spot on with this film. For me this felt ordinary and tensionless , tries to hit the greatest Aliens hit and doesn't quite get there and you can see the ending coming a mile off. There is absolutely no surprises or real shock.

" I wish i liked it more... But i thought it was silly. "

Ridley is a great visualist, but terrible story teller, a bit like an architect who isn't an engineer being allowed to build a bridge, then people wonder why it collapses.

this doesn't ruin the legacy of the first two films. this film doesn't have the size to challenge them.

Oh no. I was really looking forward to this.

One of things I love about the earlier films is the sense of mystery surrounding the origin of the Xenomorph. Another of the things I enjoy about Alien and Aliens is the simplicity of the Alien life cycle. This film, along with Prometheus, really muddies the waters in both regards and that frustrates me, sometimes less really is more...

Fassbender probably the only reason I would watch well and the aliens

Saw it last night. Thought it was irritatingly bland for the most part (to the point that I honestly didn't realise that was supposed to be the big climax), and then the last ten minutes were almost insulting. Also, the violent moments had no impact, due to the horrendous shaky cam, and frenetic cutting.

scott seems determined to tarnish his legacy.

Oh no... :(

Completely agree with Mr Kermode. I also thought the ask of David being "big bad robot man" was actually pretty lame and just felt like Blade Runner territory. What would have been interesting, is if David was still working to directives given to him by the Weyland-Yutani Corp, i.e. "Find us a weapon." But no... David is the next Terminator... meh.

Da Vinci code in space. 😂😂😂😂

Quite brilliant review. Thanks Mark!

I've been saying and thinking this for a while now.. Alien was never about "where did it come from", unlike what Ridley Scott says.. If anything, all these prequels can do is take away from the mysterious majesty of the creature.

I bet the scene is the Alien Chestburster scene. I wanted to cry. "Awww. So cute." Oh dear.

This is my favourite of all the Kermode reviews I've ever heard. He really summed it up perfectly.

I acc thought 'Life' was way more thrilling and a bit more a plot. This film was literally a alien concept in the most simplest form. A bunch of people reaching a planet getting infected and then scouring back to safety

I saw Alien for the first time when I was 11. It was a lesson for me from my parents, because I was always questioning their rules about what we can and cannot watch on TV (as opposed to other children at school). After that I stopped questioning them and had some sleepless nights :D . But to this day, Alien and Aliens are one of my favourite sci-fi films of all times. I kind of like the new reboot, but there are many things that doesn't make any sense to me. Visually though, it's great. Whether good or bad, I will watch every single new film from this franchise.

"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" That line takes on new meaning when applied to Ridley's latest efforts.

Saw it last night. Just dire, like a bad parody of an Alien movie. Stunned how poor it was. Only positive is (as expected), it's beautifully shot.

It's been over 30 years since the last good Alien film, no idea how people still have any optimism for them

The original teaser trailer for Alien featured mostly blackness and soldiers running through corridors whilst a siren blared throughout the chaos. And yet this is more unnerving than a movie made nearly forty years later.

Mark absolutely nailed this review. Like he said, if you're invested in the earlier films and Alien had that effect on you then Covenant does make you leave with a heavy heart. I was absolutely gutted after walking out of the cinema as a great lover of the mystery and depth the original had. I'll never stop loving that film but this is one of the rare times it does feel like it's undermined its predecessor massively. To the point where I honestly do not know what was going through Ridley's head.

The movie has a lot of references from the first Alien movie. The soundtrack, the images in the dock ship's screens, some sounds effects. Even the bird that drinks water. The reference when the captain died and the trow the body to space. The medical facility looks a lot like the first movie.

'The Da Vinci Code in space' I LOLIRL'd.

I usually start at 10/10 for a movie review and just subtract a point whenever there is something I dont like: * I'll do the fingering (Such dialogue has no place in a dark and serious alien movie) 9/10 * Breaching quarantine when u can see a hostile lifeform inside, (and then slipping on the blood like a teenager) not pro 8/10 * Shaw offscreen death, no satisfying explanation (slap in the face) 7/10 * No satisfying explanation for the prometheus cliffhanger (slap in the face) 6/10 * Friday the 13th cliche shower scene (sex under music when all your friends just died?) 5/10 * Illogical behaviour of characters (You dont follow an android ANYWHERE after your wife and friends just got killed by his creations and he admitted it) 4/10 * Illogical behaviour (You dont split up after being attacked by hostile aliens) 3/10 * David is the creator of the xenomorph? (Nah not buying that) 2/10 Theres probably more but I cant be arsed :D

Great review. I felt hollow inside when I was walking out the cinema at the end. Not sure I'm interested in where part 3 is going. Thought the ending of Covenant was ridiculous.

Absolutely spot on. Watched it last night...left with a heavy heart.

What specific part do we think Mark was referring when he felt it began to undermine Alien?

I was thinking that this franchise could ruin the original film. It's a sad state that this film leaves the franchise in. You could at least excuse the AvP films as nonsense and pretend they weren't canon!

" I thought it was silly" Say no more...Thanks Mark, you've just saved me the price of a cinema ticket. I shall however, look forward to picking up a copy for £3 in Asda's bargain DVD section, ...hmm, probably November.

That bone flute the robots play...its from her leg isnt it? Two fighting brothers...a mad creator with thousands of drawings of a tortured woman...this is ridleys most personal film

I’m guessing he lost his patience at the flamethrower scene... I too, sat back and thought, oh give over 😒

This pretty much sums up my viewing of it, too. I *really* wanted to love it, I really did. Some of the sequences and set pieces were genuinely good watching - the whole planet landing/alien vegetation part had me gripped - but the rest did fall a little short for me. Pacing issues were abundant as Mr K says and the dialogue felt like it was trying to aim for something bigger, even more grandiose than it had in its lap; space monsters... in space! I don't know what I was expecting from 'Covenant, but it wasn't quite this. It felt like it had been tee'd up for more tension, more horror (in spite of bits coming off people and lots of things popping out of bodies!), and more thematic links to it's predecessors. If/when there is a follow up, I really hope that they can pull it back and bring the tension, the awe, and the feeling of the unknown back in as the stories of Daniels and then the Nostromo cross over. I haven't watched Prometheus since I saw it at the pictures and I really doubt I'll give this one another go any time soon.

I don't understand why they couldn't just continue where Prometheus left off...

couldn't agree more. saw the original again recently, hard to believe it was from the same director.

I can't agree more with Marks summary there. Especially the experience he mentions when first watching Alien. I kind of want to weep.

Hmm, interesting review. I really enjoyed it. Certainly a step up from Prometheus, which I also liked.

I haven't seen this film, but it's good to hear Kermode coming round to the position most people had on seeing the awful Prometheus.

I'm going to see it anyway but I always knew it would cliched and without the atmosphere of Alien.

Just back after avoiding pretty much all discussion and Mark nailed it, this isn't just an unwieldy mess, it actively harms the sense of awe and mystery of the original film, and actually makes the folks in Prometheus look smart.

Maybe I just got Mark wrong, but Alien wasn't really a coincidence encounter with the xenomorph because they kind of get led on the planet by the science chief? Or did he got the instructions after they found the ship? I thought he new this was no emergency call.

Excellent review!

Where did David get the scissors from?!

"Earscraping dialog " hilarious

Mark, it's me, Quinlank, remember? Are we still on for that Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach night over at my place? - Simon

Ridley, like so many of the greats before him, has fallen prey to his own hype.

I'm going in there not expecting much & that will do

Love hearing Kermode's opinions but I personally really enjoyed Covenant. I'm also a huge fan of the original Alien and to me the backstory that Scott is creating here in no way undermines the original movie and xenomorph because it doesn't really change the nature of the creature as being this highly evolved "perfect organism". So the story of the humans randomly intersecting with this terrifying thing in Alien still holds just as it did before. I'm also a little surprised that more people haven't mentioned the connection of these new Alien movies, and Covenant in particular, to Blade Runner. The themes that Scott is exploring in the Alien universe now are very similar and reminiscent of that movie. I really like this direction because while Alien is great in its simplicity, it was also pretty formulaic and would've been boring for Scott to just repeat the same simple story, so I'd rather he try to expand the universe in new ways. One criticism of Covenant that I think is valid is that the characters and cast are not particularly engaging. Just rewatched the original before going into Covenant and the dynamic of the crew is a big part of what makes that movie work so well. I actually thought the characters were engaging in Prometheus too, and by contrast the Covenant's crew is very bland. Part of this could be the story, since a key event right at the beginning sets a pretty bleak tone. Anyways, I'd highly recommend it, but it seems like it will be divisive just like Prometheus.

I can't be the only one who actually enjoyed Alien: Covenant. Can I?

totally agree. what has happened to Ridley Scott?

Looking forward to this so I suppose it is good to have my expectations lowered...

I think the best option for the franchise now, is to go as low budget as possble. Horror movies make a TON of money, because they get made on incredibly low budgets of 10 to 15 million when compared to covenants 150+ million. The genre is too niche for budgets that high. No more spanning vistas or giant set pieces, as gorgeous as they are. My proposed idea If they were to do a Covenant sequel would be to keep the movie ON the Covenant, just like the original spent almost the entire movie on one ship. Hear me out. The ship is relatively large, it has 2000 colonists on it, a rogue synthetic and at least 2 aliens. We saw during covenant that the Alien was somewhat disobedient when it tried to attack David through the monitor, so have something go wrong during one of his experiments and have the two (or possibly more) aliens break free and cause havoc. A handful of the colonists wake up somehow, the Aliens are on the loose stalking the vents and hallways and David is among the colonists trying to be Walter and remain hidden until he becomes a protagonist at the end. It's contained, it's claustrophobic, It's dark, it's scary, it's Alien.

i loved Alien Covenant and Promtheus before it. Dont know why you thought it doesnt make sense ..... not confusing at all.

Mark thoughtfully deconstructing his disappointment in a film is always interesting to watch.

what a way to end the video. "I thought it was silly". 😂😂

The baby groot chest burster scene is where I profaned out loud in disgust. Ridley Scott must have been tipsy whilst making this, because Ridley Scott circa 1982 would have been uninpressed by such average fare.

Thank you for this, sirs.

IV booked to see the film on Sunday but as an alien, aliens and alien 3 fan I'm extremely gutted about the reviews coming out for covenant.

How did the landing and leaving of the Planet have anything to do with Aliens ?...They landed and left( in a hurry),the building wasn't about to explode.

.....I thought this movie just went in the wrong direction. I thought they would have dealt with the engineers and their culture more.

I just come from watching this at the cinema. I did like it. I can see what direction they are taking it into. I wish'd that they didn't use cgi for the alien.

"The Da Vinci Code in space" - I'm not sure I can imagine just how bad that would be.

Can't wait for the Legend prequel :)

Did anyone else notice the Bladerunner reference? "That's the spirit"

Sad to hear it. I'm probably still going to check it out though, cause I liked Prometheus when a lot of my friends, and a big part of the internet community didn't like it. I hope I'll have a similar experience with this one.

Great review

Alien (the title) was supposed to be both a noun (Xenomorph) and an adjective (the environment being 'alien'). In my opinion, they ruined the franchise when they started trying to explain the origins of both the Xenomorphs and Engineers. The mystery that filled the first two Alien films is what made those films great. Too many times Hollywood has 'pulled back the curtain', however what we see never lives up to our expectations.

I've noticed with many modern movies, that it is almost as if scenes are somewhat sequential, and specific and it's noticeable. Let me explain. Before I went to watch the movie yesterday, I watched half of Aliens (the 2nd Alien movie). Later on I watched the Alien: Covenant in Imax (yes lovely quality and sound), and then today I just finished watching Aliens. So with Aliens, I got a sense of the actors being in a massive environment. Multiple things going on, multiple scenes, multiple places, emotions, environments often at the same time (less sequential/specific). I get that movies try to be 'scenes', a bit like going to a theatre. A theatre doesn't really have much to work with, it can't switch constantly between scenes. The world of Alien: Covenant was pretty big, even compared to Aliens which was somewhat claustrophobic and yet felt big. But A:C didn't feel big, it didn't feel epic. The city? Big, but small in perception. It was this scene, and then that scene, and try to add an emotional scene, next scene. I don't know what it is with modern movies (not all of them), but unlike real classics, they appear to be more specific, in a way that you can see it's design, rather than subtle amalgamation of parts to make a real and believable movie that we will remember forever. I heard that this film was going to be more horrifying that all the others. Well nothing compares to the scene in Aliens where the one colonist is supposedly dead and then opens their eyes and says 'kill me' just before an alien bursts out of her stomach. And the music was completely a part of that, expertly done. See in that scene, it was kind of the emotional horror about it. In the backburster scene of A:C, it was merely a glorified scene without much emotion in it. A person died horrifically, hey, nice fx right? Other than that... What made the Alien a truly horrifying entity, is that it seemed to have some kind of intelligence. In A:C, the NeoMorph and XenoMorph, just seemed like monsters in any monster movie. Did anyone notice the Aliens music added to it? It brought a little nostalgia, but certainly didn't live up to it. But didn't do poorly either. It was good 'entertainment', I wouldn't really see it again I don't think. Where as Aliens I would probably rate 9.5/10 (because nothing can be perfect!), I would probably rate this 6.5/10. Prometheus was refreshing because it made a more modern concept albeit a different one, even though it moved away somewhat from the franchise. I have watched Prometheus again because it is one of those movies, interesting to a degree. I'd probably give it 7/10 for being original.

I was wondering why you weren't putting the reviews online anymore, it's not that at all RU-vid HAD UNSUBSCRIBED ME.

mark grew up with the greatest hits of aliens so when he heard they were making a film of it at triple speed, he was very interested.

Personally I have enjoyed it, only that there are some plot lines that could have been done more convincingly. Such as why when landing on an unknown planet, they didn't even put on a full space suit. Even if they know there is oxygen, their could be many other things in the air. Why rush?

I had a huge problem with the rushed nature of the evolution of the xenomorph like creatures too as Mark mentioned as well as a number of "why would you do that?" moments. I kind of enjoyed the film in a throw away sort of way & I'm fine with that. But I guess I came out of the film feeling a little underwhelmed. Maybe that's the problem with us as modern film goers, the marketing machine makes us hope for so much more than films often deliver. I wonder sometimes if we just expect every film to be a classic rather than just going in & hoping for a good film. Thanks for the review guys.

Making a film worse than Prometheus is quite an achievement.

I have to say, I sadly agree with Mark's opinion.

Could not agree more. It starts undermining the entire mystery of Alien, even if it's plausibly bring it full circle, the story didn't need it!

I wanted to burst out laughing several times during Alien Covenant, so I know where he's coming from. When a sci-fi horror movie is attempting to scare you but instead prompts you to laugh there's something really wrong.

Just watched it and I thought it was great.

Perfectly and eloquently said. I felt exactly the same as Mark.

The problem is that David, the robot, is the only crew member over A:C and Prometheus to have an IQ over 50.

I'm tempted to go and see this somewhere cheap, if only to be almost unique in having seen this but not "Prometheus"!

Anyone got an idea what moment Mark mentions at 5:42? Spoil away

I understand Marks points completely and agree with them to some extent. However I really enjoyed the film.

Couldn't agree more! Well said

I rewatched Alien3 (Assembly Cut) a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised how good it was. Considering Fincher went through hell making it - I feel it’s aged pretty well - bar the CGI Alien scenes. There’s some fantastic performances - Charles Dutton, Pete Postlethwaite (R.I.P) and of course Charles Dance.

Did you know when Darth Vader was an 8 year old kid he built C3P0 in his bedroom? The monolith from 2001 is actually an intergalactic vending machine. Unfortunately the bananas are out of stock.

You're absolutely right!