Alien: Covenant

"Ridley Scott makes it clear from Alien Covenant’s first scene, a dialogue between Michael Fassbender’s ‘synthetic’ David and his creator Peter Weyland, that it will continue Prometheus’ theme of gods and monsters. Scott revisiting a franchise he started 40 years ago to subvert its history is fascinating, but is it what viewers want from an Alien movie?"

"Alien: Covenant seethes with self-importance yet is never boring or portentous. It can't come close to matching the greatness of the first two films in the series, but at least Scott seems to understand that these movies thrive on ambition."

"Exactly the film all but the most ardent apologists wanted from 2012's Prometheus."

"For reasons too spoilery to give away, Fassbender is electric, giving a spectacularly skin-crawling performance."

"The film is very capably made, with forceful, potent performances from Waterston and Fassbender. That franchise title is, however, looking increasingly wrong. It is a bit familiar."

"If there are to be two more, let us pray they bring back Ripley. The series needs soul, not just bodies."

"We've seen it all before, and better, without the punishingly long interludes for Scott to bore us to tears with his dissertations on the monster's purpose and whakapapa."

"Mixes both the good and the bad as it tries to unspool its terror-among-the-toetoe story."

"Alien: Covenant lays on the gore and ratchets up the shocks to eye-popping extremes."

"An upgrade from Prometheus, Alien: Covenant amps up the thrills but doesn't deliver a memorable crew member or the full-on onslaught of the series at its height."

"Whether you want a Prometheus sequel or an Alien movie, you want a movie that feels cohesive, and there's no denying Covenant is a structurally challenged film that feels more like two movies slapped together in the name of audience appeal."