When Ellen Ripley found herself cornered with little to fall back on after loosing Dallas and with the crew's morale now almost non-existent, she turned to MUTHER. A rather mute A.I. that was responsible for perilous detour to LV423, one of the three known moons of the gas giant Calpamos, an ominous planet adrift in deep space. Desperate for answers, she activated an emergency override and queried the classified order 937 and was greeted with the cold and merciless instructions given to ash (the only synthetic aboard the Nostromo)
Now before I continue, I just want to point out that it is far too late to review ALIEN Covenant since most of you have already seen it. I also want to point out that I am not unforgiving when it comes to flaws in films unless they affect the enjoyment and entertainment factor of the film itself. I have no intentions of being pedantic over petty issues and small continuity errors. Now, with that being said I will continue my review of the ALIEN prequels as a whole.
Big things have small beginnings . . .
I am fairly new to the ALIEN franchise. I was completely unaware of these films until AVP came out in 2004. My curiosity for both the Xenomorph and the Yautja drove me to backtrack through years of ups and downs for both franchise. After seeing them all for the first time, I found myself aligned with the ALIEN franchise solely for the great design of the creature (rest in peace HR Giger, may your work inspire generations), the mythos surrounding it, the derelict space ship as well as Weyland-Yutani's intentions.
Sadly all of these were never touched on again as the quality of the sequels took a sharp decline over the years. And then unexpectedly, a film called Prometheus took on the ambitious task shedding light on these mysteries that avid fans hold so dear and have debated about for years. I for one actually defended Prometheus. When I saw the film, my concerns were never about the idiotic scientists or the lack of any organisms resembling the classic Xenomorph but rather the answers cleverly hidden within the film (perhaps hidden too well):
The foreboding Murals:
The engineer's appearance:
The name LV223:
And the creation of the Deacon:
The backlash of the fan boys and the peace offering from Ridley . . .
Unfortunately, it seems as if I was part of a minority that found Prometheus to be an intoxicating enigma. Tirelessly investigating the film frame by frame after watching it several times to unravel the mysteries of this amazing fictional universe.
I began to appreciate its elusive nature and embraced it as a film that challenged your imagination. Granted this is against convention as most movie goers expect to be spoon fed at the end of the film (to some extent Captain Janek conveniently explains what exactly happened on LV223 and what the moon is). But in my opinion this suited the ALIEN universe because this is the kind of story telling that made the original 1979 epic so memorable. The sudden birth of "Kane's son", the exponential growth of the organism and of course; Weyland-Yutani's knowledge of said organism. All of these revelations were unexpected which added weight to their reveals and more so, intrigue.
But alas, Ridley Scott (perhaps through the influence of the execs at Fox) decided to abandon this in favor of fan service. On a Saturday morning (a day after the South African release), I sat with a handful of devotees and prepared myself for yet another mystery to be solved. Eagerly anticipating answers as well as more questions to be answered. I was sorely disappointed however with the direction Ridley took. A half baked origin story (which ruins the mystery) for the Xenomoprh, a complete lack of engineers (except for the fairly entertaining mass death scene initiated by David) and dated scare tactics so familiar, I managed to predicate how most scenes would end while watching them.
It would be fair to assume that I am simply being biased towards Prometheus and that I am missing the point of the prequels (which really exist to explain the origin of one of Hollywood's most beloved monsters) but in my defense I am simply staying true to what was established in the first film of the prequel series. I had imagined the prequels to be pieces of an alluring puzzle. A puzzle never intended for the average viewer but rather veteran fans of the series. I relished the prospect of these films accumulating into a satisfying "mini-verse" in the existing alien universe expanding what we know but maintaining something we as fans hold dear, our fascination with the creature and the now presumed creators of it.
Final thoughts . . .
Perhaps it is too early to assume the worst for the franchise. For all I know Ridley could atone for Covenant with his latest installment (currently titled "ALIEN - Awakening") and return the franchise to its former glory. But as it stands, Special order 937 is unintentionally a metaphor for the franchise. Ridley Scott definitely insured the return of the organism we love but ultimately considered the story telling, plot and of course the crew to be secondary and expendable. As much as I want to know the truth about this order and the engineers, I stand with many fans who have lost faith in the founder of this franchise. His actions bare a striking resemblance to the that of George Lucas's when he helmed the Star Wars prequels. Which begs the question, is the original vision really better?
What are your thoughts on the current state of the franchise? Do you have the strength to endure yet another prequel? Please feel free to comment and let me know and as always best regards.
