The movie Alien: Covenant has two main villains, and it is less intelligent than either of them. That’s the problem with trying to write formidably smart characters: if you are to represent them convincingly, you need to either be formidably smart yourself, or work damn hard at your script to make up the deficit. The script of Covenant, it pains me to acknowledge, lets its villains down. Not only that, it lets its rather less intelligent heroes down. This is the sequel to the thoroughly dire Alien prequel Prometheus, and though it’s a much better film than its predecessor, it suffers from the same essential flaw: its plot relies on supposedly smart characters periodically making arbitrarily stupid decisions. Covenant leans on this prop far less frequently than Prometheus did, but the bitter aftertaste of lazy writing still lingers. And yet, to this movie’s credit, it more often than not rises above this admittedly quite profound limitation. Covenant is a handicapped but functional action-horror flick, and when it’s in gear, it packs a solid and grisly punch. Continue reading
Search
-
Recent Posts
- Alien: Covenant May 23, 2017
- Robert Mercer, Cambridge Analytica, and Why It All Matters May 8, 2017
- The Contradictions of Dylan: A Primer for the Unconvinced April 16, 2017
- P. J. Harvey – The Hope Six Demolition Project April 25, 2016
- The Hateful Eight January 19, 2016
Advertisements