Alien: Covenant

Probably the worst entry in the entire franchise, and maybe even worse than Alien Resurrection. The choppy, disjointing editing and glaring plot holes make this movie virtually unwatchable. As a long time fan of of the series, I came into this movie heavily invested in the mythology and characters. What I got was a B-horror slasher flick that lacked any depth despite the movie trying desperately to seem as if it was asking weighty, existential questions. Like Prometheus, this film was saddled by poorly developed characters who often made the most inexplicable decisions, despite supposedly being the brightest minds in different disciplines of science. The characters are so thinly developed, and stupid to the point where you're asking yourself if this is a parody of a horror movie. Sadly, I think the commercial failure of this movie might be the nail in the coffin for the franchise. Or at least until it is rebooted in about a decade.

Saw in theaters. Won't spoil anything, because all the other reviews have that covered. This is a reboot franchise, not a prequel. It wasn't completely hashed out before Alien was made, so lose those pretenses. When asked, you usually get a split fandom of the franchise, fans of Alien, and fans of Aliens. I'm the latter, so let that bias factor in. The bad: too much work was done because he couldn't procure the rights to the aliens' look, so we got a long half hearted explanation of why the aliens looked different. The storyline and direction were equally long winded, and the kill scenes seemed about as worked on as a b slasher flick. Not too excited for the finale.

If you were expecting a good Alien movie then keep watching the first and second movies. So many things here just don't make sense: the captain walking himself into a trap, the character at the end conveniently asking a question that is answered with a twist only after she is locked in a cryo-chamber, or how the smart AI of the colony ship is somehow unable to turn off music during the shower scene despite there being an emergency alarm while shortly after is easily voice controlled by the synthetic to play "Entry of the Gods into Valhalla" and the list goes on. The "horror" sequences are forced and do nothing for the movie other than offer questionable setups and glimpses of what we all came here for: the Alien. Much of the time is bogged down in either boring conversation or ridiculous decision making on a rainy alter-Earth. If you were a fan of Prometheus, questions are answered here, but nothing will go the way you expect. We are robbed of Dr. Shaw's fate off-screen and given only a vague explanation from David and a quick camera view of her remains. If you want to see Michael Fassbender finger a flute and kiss himself then have at it.