Alien: Covenant

Ne nézzünk vissza olyan messzire. A klasszikus örökké élni fog, "magányos tökéletességben", ahogy Dávid nevezné a történelemben elfoglalt helyét. És most, harminc év után eljött a téma új felfogásának ideje - egyszerű, de hatékony, a mai kasszasikerek szintjén szórakoztató, nem pedig úttörő műfaji alkotásoknak. Alien: Covenant azért tetszett, mert egy tömött sci-fi horrorfilm fantasztikus vizuális esztétikával, csodálatos helyszínekkel és olyan zenével, amely (végre) utal a hangulatos Goldsmithre és Hornerre. Engem a félelmetesen fokozódó izgalmas jelenetekkel szórakoztatott (a Landerre való visszatérés legelső, talán tízperces része az egyik legjobb a sorozatban), és a műfaj szabályain belül a szereplők jó elhelyezésével a helyzetekben, amelyekben aztán megsemmisülnek. Mire a szereplők kijönnek az egyik balhéból, a néző már tud egy másikról, ami még rosszabbá teszi a helyzetüket. Nem is beszélve a nagy adag brutalitásról és a vérről. SPOILER ALERT: A forgatókönyv elmagyarázza Giger teremtményeinek eredetét, és tetszik ez az önpusztító elképzelés, hogy a végső gonoszt egy ember alkotta android hozta létre. Tematikailag ez Cameron Skynet másik változata. Ehhez jön még az androidok összecsapása, amely érdekes új dimenziót ad az idegen univerzumnak. És egy pesszimista finálé, amely nagyszerű fejlődési lehetőségeket kínál a jövőbeli epizódokban. Már nagyon várom! (2017.05.16)

Someone finally understood the kind of role that viewers would like to see James Franco play. Unfortunately, it involves the only moment when the film allows itself to be concise. Like Prometheus, Alien: Covenant is torn between an effort to provide first-rate fan service through a return to the horror roots of the first Alien (which is referenced through conspicuous allusions) and the ambition to be epic (with captivating shots like those found in Ford’s westerns) and deep-thinking sci-fi along the lines of Stanley Kubrick (to which it comes closest with its minimalist prologue). Following the formula of a mediocre 1980s (i.e. pre-Scream) slasher flick, with characters making the most basic mistakes (climbing and looking where they shouldn’t, often alone rather than in a group, having sex with each other), it is thus impeded by discussions on chance, fate and creation (Mother and various fathers play a role here), which suffer from the same lack of development as the colonisation storyline. The new Alien is paradoxically a good film until an alien appears in it. It works relatively well until the landing on the alien planet, as it offers a number of possibilities for the direction that the narrative could take and for a long time it isn’t clear which one the filmmakers will take. For example, the conflicts between faith and science, between the captain and Daniels (instead of cross around her neck, she wears a bolt, which comes in handy later) start out promisingly, whereas we see an android playing the flute and reciting Shelley in the second half, which, although fascinating thanks to Fassbender, is a somewhat different theme and a slightly different film. Scott is suddenly much more fascinated by the artificial beings and aliens than by the humans with whom we have spent nearly an hour of the film (however, the pairing-off of the characters doesn’t much help the viewer’s emotional involvement, because for a long time it isn’t clear who is sleeping with whom), and he starts to address all of the complex questions of existence by biting off hands and tearing off heads. This smart-looking film thus becomes a goofy (but entertaining) action-horror B-movie with some rather disgusting gore effects, which I didn't entirely care for, especially thanks to the likeable Katherine Waterston (though an android remains the only well-developed character). Though the new Alien is inventively constructed, looks great and offers one very well-made action scene (with an axe), it comes across as half-baked in most respects, as if there wasn’t time and space to flesh out many of the ideas (I consider the inorganically incorporated flashback, which could have been replaced by dialogue, to be not only an example of tremendous screenwriting laziness, but also a sign that the whole thing could have worked better if the film had paid more heed to the point of view of the reminiscing character). 55% (2017.05.16)

After the light-footed The Martian, I assumed that Scott's age is just a number that comes from subtracting the number on his ID card from the number on the calendar, so I wouldn't blame it on senility. Rather (and this is worse), I attribute it to creative indiscipline and an overgrown ego that has become a tumor of a uniquely creative mind that neither respects the canon nor offers a new approach. The opening is confusing and the characters have no background, so we're following a group of really, really stupid assholes. The plot is very transparent, with the banal (the bloody mess) taking precedence over what is in fact really interesting - and in terms of the development of the series - more important (the creature). Scott wants to impress, but the character of David could stand in for Kryten in Red Dwarf, so instead of holding your breath, you're both laughing and cursing through your teeth. Visual variety, Scott's long-standing asset that has saved many a film, is also absent, with this often looking like a more expensive episode of Stargate, which is the level where the rest of the film actually belongs in terms of its quality. PS: Kurzel's audio is a dark nervous fantasy that the film is not worthy of. (2017.07.13)

Once again it’s not the hit we were hoping for, but I think it’s at least a decent sci-fi horror flick. In any case, it’s a pity that it’s so half-assed and unfocused, because the plot arc potential is big. Unfortunately, it’s watered down by dense characters, dense dialogues and some dense scenes, too. The birth of the first real alien was actually funny. Overall, it has the same problems as Prometheus, but a couple of positives things on top. And if you were pissed off at explorers taking their helmets off too soon in Prometheus , here when landing on a new planet, they won’t even bother to put them on. Edit: I have to say that this wore off quite fast. Much faster than Prometheus, to which I returned after the screening. When I think back about Covenant, I mostly remember the negative aspects, which in the previous one was the opposite. And this is a relevant reason to lower the rating. (2017.05.17)

It’s worse than Prometheus and the least interesting film in the entire saga. While the much-criticized Prometheus somehow matures into a better experience with repeated viewings, Covenant is an overripe and completely squeezed lemon. The mythology built around the most famous space killer is not interesting and the result is like a mediocre movie by a mediocre director, which takes place half of the time at night, in darkness, in dim light (Prometheus was much, much more visually engaging and colourful in this respect) and you won’t find any sign of Scott’s visual bravado. The crown is put on by the WTF mutual welcoming of the android and the newly hatched alien, which is like a cut from a Zucker brothers parody. What was that, dear producers? Please let Alien be a milestone in film history where it belongs and don't milk it like a cash cow, the poor thing is already barely hanging on. (2017.05.23)