The Alien franchise helped make two of the most important filmmakers of our time a household name. In 1979, Alien put Ridley Scott on the map in what was a landmark film in both science fiction and psychological horror. Few instant classics can boast a sequel that is arguably better, but that’s what happened when a young James Cameron took on Aliens seven years later in 1986, and successfully meshed heart-stopping action with breathtaking horror.

Since then, a series of mediocre sequels and a few awful films pitting the Xenomorph (aka Alien) against Predator predictably turned the franchise into a caricature of itself, as it happened with other intellectual properties of that era such as Terminator and Robocop.

With his second prequel to the Alien franchise following Prometheus (2012), Ridley Scott does with Alien: Covenant what I thought was impossible — he makes the titular creatures of the series frightening again. As someone who watched the first two Alien films on VHS and then DVD endlessly in my youth while mimicking the filmmaking techniques with my substandard cameras, I couldn’t help but silently clap as the Xenomorphs made their first appearance in Alien: Covenant, in a scene that was both frightening and visually stunning in all its poetically savage macabreness.

Some may miss H.R. Giger’s original craft of the aliens but I found the CGI to be a terrific modern update. The Xenomorphs move chillingly quick in Alien: Covenant with all the deadly agility that old-school techniques could not allow. I wasn’t the only one captivated by every appearance of these horrific beings, the collective gasps in the packed theatre were distinctly audible as the aliens left blood and guts in their wake.

Ridley Scott’s return to the Alien franchise makes a big difference ... but not enough

What a difference the return of Ridley Scott to his beloved franchise has made, because these same creatures had certainly lost their impact in cinema. Perhaps most surprising is that the Xenomorphs aren’t even the scariest thing in Alien: Covenant. This happens to be the synthetic android David 8 who we last saw escaping a planet in Prometheus, and now has an axe to grind with humanity with the sort of coldness that will give you nightmares. David, of course, is played by Michael Fassbender, who here is spectacular playing two androids (the other being Walter). Interacting with himself in an elder brotherly role of sorts, Fassbender is especially captivating.

Unfortunately, there are some serious flaws in Alien: Covenant, so crippling that I can barely recommend the film. If you look back at Ridley Scott’s career, his strongest suit has always been striking visuals rather than storytelling. Films such as Gladiator (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), Kingdom of Heaven (2005) and more, have been beautiful to look and featured powerful scenes, but haven’t boasted the most flawless of narratives. It now seems that Scott is only growing lazier with age when it comes to this aspect of his films. Prometheus was frustrating to watch because it carried some of the stupidest scientists and explorers to star in science fiction. Alien: Covenant, if anything, is even worse.

The plot holes here are bad enough but the characterisation is unacceptably poor. Take for example a crew of explorers in charge of thousands of colonists. They, with little reason, change their targeted planet from one that was carefully studied for years and trained for, to a planet they just discovered. When exploring the said planet, they don’t send their synthetic being first, but the vast majority of their command. They follow no logical protocols of first contact, don’t bother to shield themselves with space-suits and helmets in a new atmosphere that could carry harmful pathogens, and land in water because it looks cool. When exposed to harm, they panic much like children rather than trained explorers, leading to their own annihilation. And these are only the flaws in the opening salvo, the characters grow only more unbelievably idiotic with every passing minute.

As with Prometheus, the characters in Alien: Covenant only serve as a vehicle to take us from one jaw-dropping set-piece after another, and that’s a pity. As producer and director, Ridley Scott shouldn’t have green-lit the script. This isn’t the ’70s and audiences expect better. Hopefully in the next prequel to Alien we won’t have to check our brains in at the door to enjoy the show.

Rated R for sci-fi violence, bloody images, language and nudity

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 28th, 2017