Gaming History 101

At a certain point, many horror franchises follow a simple formula.  This is especially true of the Alien franchise, which has pretty much followed the same key points since the first.  Ridley Scott, director of the original, returned with Prometheus in an attempt to break that mold, but many fans were displeased with the fact that it wasn’t really an Alien movie.  Well, Scott has done it again.  This time, instead of sending you to a movie not marketed as an Alien film but taking place in the same universe, you now get a flat out sequel to Prometheus with the Alien label.  Not only that, but this film’s actual plot is basically omitted from the trailers, which is why this review is completely spoiler free.

It’s a delicate balance that Scott manages to dance within both the concept of Prometheus and the cannon of Alien without having to make concessions.  That said, for all his clever weaving, Alien Covenant does get trapped into what begins as the basic franchise formula.  Sure, it’s not actually that, but you’ll still be forced to watch nearly an hour of setup that tricks you into thinking that’s what is happening.  This begs the question, does it really break the formula or merely hide behind it?  What results is a tried and true origin story that in areas delves into the philosophical but doesn’t forget you’re here to see a hideous creature rip people to shreds.  On that point, it does not disappoint.

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