Depicting God. Review of the film ”Alien: Covenant”
In 1979, Ridley Scott released the film Alien. First of all, the tape was distinguished by a special approach to space topics. The director did not follow the lead of the fashionable "Star Wars" or "Star Trek", which came out a little earlier. He decided to focus on exploiting the canon horror. 38 years later, Scott is releasing yet another story, which should become the first link in a trilogy, leading up to the events of the start of the franchise ...2104. The Covenant spacecraft sails through endless space, heading towards the planet Origae 6. Two thousand colonists and a dozen crew members are aboard in cryosleep. The synthetic Walter monitors the serviceability of the devices. A freelance dramatic situation forces all crew members to come out of sleep urgently. After the consequences of force majeure are eliminated and mourned, it turns out that there is a planet relatively close to the ship, which is also ideal for creating a colony. The captain decides to make a reconnaissance flight. However, the appearance is once again deceiving ...  To begin with, it should be said that the xenomorph franchise has been created by different directors over its almost 40-year history. This means that everyone brought to the film series the genre in which it is more convenient for him to work. The first film was a real horror movie. James Cameron, who directed the sequel, created a dynamic blockbuster, David Fincher directed a thriller, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet - an almost superhero movie, where Lieutenant Ellen Ripley got superpowers. Five years ago, Ridley Scott returned to the franchise with the controversial Prometheus, which hid social and psychological speculation behind a screen of special effects and bumpy script. The new picture has become a whole genre aggregator ... So Ridley Scott decided to tell a story about where these xenomorphs came from, how they evolved, etc. The decision is controversial, if only because the unknown a priori frightens and intrigues until it (the unknown) is examined under a microscope. In the new film, the director continues to talk about eternal themes. This time, the divine principle and immortality are at the forefront. The director does not seem to be at all interested in the plot sagging and far-fetchedness of some moments. He doesn't care much about most human characters. He reveals the stated topics using synthetic androids and, in fact, xenomorphs, and positions people mainly as a background. The background is stupid, illogical and predictable (however, in this case, a reasonable question arises, how were they even sent on an interplanetary flight?). Through him, the director also conveys fear: claustrophobia, nervous chewing of a cigar, trembling from the rolling horror, etc. People are afraid and await death, while xenomorphs develop at this time, synthetic David teaches synthetic Walter to play the flute. While people wander in three pines, androids with a God complex quote Shelley, discuss the nature of creation, analyze the reasons for the rebellion against the creators, and enjoy Wagner. In a word, it is an unambiguous stone in the garden of the human race, and if the director concentrated only on this topic, the film would have every chance of becoming a masterpiece. But Scott decided to launch an offensive in all directions ... while the xenomorphs are evolving, synthetic David teaches synthetic Walter to play the flute. While people wander in three pines, androids with a God complex quote Shelley, discuss the nature of creation, analyze the reasons for the rebellion against the creators and enjoy Wagner. In a word, it is an unambiguous stone in the garden of the human race, and if the director concentrated only on this topic, the film would have every chance of becoming a masterpiece. But Scott decided to launch an offensive in all directions ... while the xenomorphs are evolving, synthetic David teaches synthetic Walter to play the flute. While people wander in three pines, androids with a God complex quote Shelley, discuss the nature of creation, analyze the reasons for the rebellion against the creators, and enjoy Wagner. In a word, it is an unambiguous stone in the garden of the human race, and if the director concentrated only on this topic, the film would have every chance of becoming a masterpiece. But Scott decided to launch an offensive in all directions ... analyze the reasons for the rebellion against the creators and enjoy Wagner. In a word, an unambiguous stone in the garden of the human race, and if the director concentrated only on this topic, the film would have every chance of becoming a masterpiece. But Scott decided to launch an offensive in all directions ... analyze the reasons for the revolt against the creators and enjoy Wagner. In a word, it is an unambiguous stone in the garden of the human race, and if the director concentrated only on this topic, the film would have every chance of becoming a masterpiece. But Scott decided to launch an offensive in all directions ...  Cold claustrophobic interiors of a spaceship, massive vaults of caves, unambiguous winks to original films - creating a gloomy atmosphere of the film, the director for some reason refuses to endure it to the end. Not letting the viewer be saturated with this majestic horror, Scott begins to kill. Moreover, to kill quickly, not allowing the heroes or the viewer to recover. He shows sophisticated ingenuity in terms of ways to give birth to a new life, but this very ingenuity goes against the canons of the previous parts. And this is far from the only direction that causes conflicting sensations when viewing. A large number of self-repetitions also affects the perception of the tape not in the best way. For example, Ridley Scott tries to give the world an analogue of Ripley , but does not give the character of Katherine Waterston due attention and time. Again we see the heroine, who travels with her husband (like Noomi Rapace in Prometheus ), arguing with the captain of the ship (like the same Rapace - with Charlize Theron). And her closest friend once again becomes an android ...  As for the cast, there are only two Michael Fassbender better than Michael Fassbender. Alien: Covenant has become an absolute benefit to this wonderful actor. Each scene with his participation, like a diamond, sparkles and shimmers with all facets, decorating the film. For these moments, the director can be forgiven at least half of the flaws and mistakes. But if no one doubts the talent of Fassbender for a long time, Danny McBride has become a real discovery. It turns out that he is not only a great comedian, but also an excellent dramatic actor. His character turned out to be the most elaborate and lively, apart from the heroes of Michael . As for the rest of the good actors (Carmen Ejogo, Demian Bishir, Billy Crudup), they might have come up with something interesting, but they definitely have nothing to play: it is not accepted to work out motivation for "cannon fodder". Taking into account the considerable budget of the production (different sources name the amounts from $ 97 million to $ 111 million), a logical question arises: why the visual special effects of the film are not effective enough? Of course, you can't find fault with them, but old man Scott does not demonstrate anything new in this regard. But he knows how to amaze - just remember "Blade Runner" (keep in mind the year of creation). Moreover, from year to year the production of VFX becomes cheaper (if you use ready-made developments, and not deal with new ones). For example, special effects for the large-scale blockbuster "Skyline" about the invasion of aliens on Earth cost the creators $ 10 million. The camera work of "Covenant" also does not show any revelations. The same camera spans have long become an integral part of the franchise, and in general, it seems difficult to come up with something new.  The result was a movie with curious and pretentious arguments about the creators, immortality and heaven, which turned out to be hell. However, numerous "but" and various kinds of reservations significantly spoil the overall impression of the viewing. Yes, the personality of Ridley Scott certainly deserves respect and even admiration, but this in no way applies to Alien: Covenant . The Topic of Article: Depicting God. Review of the film ”Alien: Covenant”. |
