Alien Covenant: A satisfying follow-up to Prometheus and a proper scary Alien feature (spoiler free review)

Answering the lingering questions of Prometheus and bringing the classic thrills expected of the Alien franchise, Alien Covenant is a frightening, intense film even when it treads into familiar territory.

Depending on how you felt about Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s 2012 pseudo-prequel to his 1979 original, Alien, you may have been either heavily anticipating or dreading his latest entry, Alien Covenant. The good news is however you felt about the aforementioned film (I personally kind of liked Prometheus) you’ll be glad to hear that Alien Covenant can be seen as a return to form, taking everything good about Prometheus, namely Michael Fassbender’s too-self-aware-for-his-own-good-android, David, and bringing in the Xenomorphs we expect from an Alien film.

Beginning with a cameo by Guy Pierce, playing the doomed Peter Weyland from the last film, activating his “son,” the android, David, (once again, impeccably played by Michael Fassbender), who names himself after the Michelangelo statue of the same name, the film then jumps forward to the present, 2104, ten years after the occurrences of Prometheus. A crew of 15 navigates a colony ship containing 2,000 cryogenically frozen passengers to a distant planet for colonization. The ship is operated by Walter (Michael Fassbender), a new and improved android, while the crew remains in hyper-sleep.

A shock wave hits the ship, prompting Walter to awaken the crew, while the captain (James Franco in an admittedly puzzling cameo) is killed when his hypersleep pod malfunctions. The surviving crew includes the new, albeit incompetent captain, Oram (Billy Crudup), pilot Tennessee (Danny McBride) and Daniels, (Katherine Waterson of Inherent Vice fame) the new 2nd in command and the recent widow of Franco’s deceased captain.

Responding to a signal from an unknown nearby planet, the crew lands on the planet, where, despite the fact there is wheat, water, and vegetation akin to earth’s, there are no signs of any actual living organisms. It’s not long before the crew encounters the xenomorphic creatures that give the franchise its name, including some new variations of the monster, as well as its classic form.

From here, the thrill ride starts and never lets up. While lacking the claustrophobic atmosphere of

The 1979 original, there is an unmistakably tense and overwhelming sense of dread that sets in, making this a worthy addition to the franchise, even if there is some occasional plot déjà vu. Fassbender, the best part of Prometheus, remains so in the dual roles of David and Walter, arguably beating out the classic androids Ash and Bishop as the best robot of the franchise. Fans of the franchise will be bursting with satisfaction (sorry) at the genuine thrills and surprises that await them in Alien Covenant.