Alien: Covenant (2017) Dir: Ridley Scott
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This 2017 science fiction horror serves as the sequel to 2012's 'Prometheus' - and once again is directed by the legendary Ridley Scott. In line with the prior film, this is visually beautiful, although my one complaint would be an overreliance on, and overabundance of, CGI.
Another repeated strength is the brilliant soundtrack, which helps to create tension and fear so well. The story continues on from its direct predecessor, taking the origin story to a whole new level of strange and sinister.
The writing was pretty strong, though I must admit I preferred the previous film. There was also a twist that, while well executed, was quite predictable if you were paying attention.
Michael Fassbender is once again exemplary in his role, perhaps even more so thanks to his increased screentime in this one. He gets the body performance for his character(s) spot on.
Katherine Waterstone is another key protagonist, and provides a decent and consistent performance, although I will say I preferred Noomi Rapace's character from the prior film.
Danny McBride is only in this in a supporting role, but manages to put in the best performance I've seen from him thus far. He really nails his character's intricacies in my mind.
Another supporting character is played by Amy Seimetz, who is able to sell her character's fear incredibly well. I could've happily seen her appear in more scenes.
Billy Crudup is another who I think deserved more screentime, his acting seemed to get better the more he appeared, especially in the second half of the film. Demián Bichir also deserves credit for what was a relatively quiet supporting role, but one he performed solidly - particularly towards the end.
Finally, I'll mention some of the supporting cast who deserved credit; Guy Pearce, Carmen Ejogo, Tess Haubrich, Jussie Smollett, Benjamin Rigby, Callie Hernandez, James Franco, Lorelei King and Noomi Rapace.
Overall, this was another successful addition to an iconic franchise, and while it may not be among the very best of said franchise, it is still a worthwhile watch for fans of not only the world of 'Alien', but both the horror and science fiction genres as a whole.
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