Alien: Covenant is the sequel to Prometheus, taking place before the original Alien film from 1979. It is directed by Ridley Scott and continues the story leading up to the events of the first three Alien movies. The film follows a colonization ship named the Covenant on a mission to Origae-6, a lush planet with promise for a new human civilization.
As with almost every other Alien film, the journey takes a few unfortunate turns, resulting in an unyielding amount of bloodshed and terror. Like Prometheus, Alien: Covenant presents audiences with a handful of mysteries, but most of them are painfully predictable. Luckily, the film features an excellent performance from Michael Fassbender, as well as some entertaining action scenes and grimy gore.
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The Movie Review
Alien: Covenant takes place in 2104, 11 years after the events of Prometheus. During their long trip to the planet Origae-6, the crew of the Covenant are awoken from cryo-sleep early due to an impact that interrupts the ship’s power. While attempting to fix the ship and reboot power, a crew member named Tennessee (Danny McBride) intercepts a mysterious message with surprisingly human connotations.
Against the wishes of second-in-command officer Daniels (Katherine Waterston), Captain Oram (Billy Crudup) sets a new course for the uncharted but hospitable planet where the cryptic transmission originates from. When they finally land on the surface, they unknowingly walk into a horrible trap.
Instead of reproducing the slower and more science-heavy storytelling of Prometheus, Alien: Covenant gives audiences a bloodier experience similar to Aliens and Alien Resurrection. The horror is often gory and disturbing, ripe with inventive ways for the crew to meet their demise. Unfortunately, many of the scares and deaths are predictable, with only a few sequences standing out as truly suspenseful.
For those who were disappointed in Prometheus’ lack of xenomorphs and other franchise-specific monsters, you’ll likely be satisfied with the creatures on display in Covenant. There are a lot of callbacks to other Alien movies in both the plot and the action, resulting in a mixed experience of fan-service and originality.
When compared to the other Alien films, Alien: Covenant is a mixed bag of success and failure. While the plot is more straightforward and action-heavy than Prometheus, it loses a sense of mystery and intrigue, mostly due to the unintelligent and mostly mediocre cast of characters. The movie has some really over-the-top action scenes, which contrast the mostly serious horror sequences.
While some of the fan-service can be a bit on the nose, it’s still a lot of fun for veteran fans of the franchise. Much like Prometheus, there’s plenty of spectacle in Alien: Covenant, working to various degrees. If you’re in the market for a violent horror flick that mixes the classic Alien creatures with a more modern horror movie formula, Alien: Covenant is worth the watch. As long as you don’t expect the startling originality of the original movie or the complex storytelling of movies like Aliens and Prometheus, you should be satisfied with what Alien: Covenant has to offer.
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Storytelling, Pacing, and Performances
Alien: Covenant builds memorable tension and character chemistry, keeping the narrative focused from the opening sequence to the final act.
Cinematography, Soundtrack, and Viewing Appeal
Thoughtful visual framing and an engaging musical score give Alien: Covenant lasting appeal for streaming and digital download collections.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Alien: Covenant connect to Prometheus and the 1979 Alien film?
Directed by Ridley Scott and set in the year 2104, Alien: Covenant takes place ten years after the Prometheus expedition and roughly eighteen years before Ellen Ripley’s encounter aboard the USCSS Nostromo in 1979’s Alien. It bridges the two stories by revealing what synthetic android David 8 did with the Engineers’ black pathogen and how he bred the classic biomechanical Xenomorph.
Who stars in Alien: Covenant and does Michael Fassbender play two roles?
Katherine Waterston leads the human crew as terraforming specialist Daniels alongside Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, and Carmen Ejogo aboard the colony vessel Covenant. Michael Fassbender plays dual roles as both Walter, the ship’s loyal newer-model synthetic, and David, the rogue Prometheus android living in the ruins of the Engineers’ homeworld.
Why is Alien: Covenant rated R?
Alien: Covenant holds a strong R rating for sci-fi horror violence, bloody creature bursts, disturbing body-horror imagery, pervasive strong language, and brief sexuality. True to Ridley Scott’s franchise roots, the Neomorph back-burster sequence in the medbay and the third-act corridor hunt feature intense gore intended strictly for mature horror audiences.
Where can you watch Alien: Covenant online in 4K?
In many international markets, Alien: Covenant streams inside the Star hub on Disney+, while US viewers typically find it rotating across Hulu, HBO Max, or FXNow. It is also widely available to rent or purchase digitally in 4K UHD on Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu, and Google Play.
