By
Nadia Ranaputri
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| Source: Slashfilm |
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Michael Fassbender,
Katherine Waterston,
Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Carmen Ejogo, Demián Bichir.
Space, gore, and Xenomorphs. All are back for Ridley
Scott's next installment of the Alien franchise, but how does it fair among
1979's Alien?
Alien:
Covenant is the follow-up to 2012's Prometheus (a film with countless of divisive arguments among critics and general audiences), setting up a few years after the events of Prometheus. A colony ship called the
Covenant, carrying 2000 colonists; are heading to their new home on a distant
planet several years away from where they are. During the journey, the
crew discovers a transmission from an uncharted planet. Despite hesitation from
one of the crew members, the Covenant crew is determined to explore the planet,
eventually finding that they were walking straight into a death trap.
When it comes to the performances, none of the cast holds
back. When terror strikes, it's their reactions that make the experience ever
the more terrifying. From Katherine Waterston's strong-headed Daniels, Billy
Cudrup's nervous yet determined Covenant Captain Oram, to Michael Fassbender's
collected David. The emotions that these characters go through are shown as raw
as possible, going from grief to outright horrified at the oncoming terrors
that come to haunt them.
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| Source: Comic Book Movie |
Alien:
Covenant revels in bringing back everything one loved about
the original Alien films, including
the eerie tone and gruesome horror that made the original films memorable. The
gore is so terrifically Alien, that
it's almost a guilty pleasure to relish in. Unlike Prometheus, Alien: Covenant
does feel a lot closer to the first Alien
film, given that its events will eventually lead to the 1979 film. Its
connections mostly linger to what happened in Prometheus, but its tone comes closer to that of Alien, involving those of the opening
title sequence, a brilliant nod to the original Alien title opening, as well as the eerie feeling that you’re not alone, yet at the same
time, you’re isolated and have no one to turn to for help.
There are a couple of throwbacks, the most obvious
being from Prometheus, as the film's
events and aftermath are explained, as well as some familiar aspects from the first
film. Other than the tone, Alien:
Covenant brings back what the Alien
films do best: create tension by terrifying scenes that are completely
devoid of any music. Those particular scenes are much more horrific without
the music, making the scenes raw and remote.
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| Source: Film School Rejects |
Despite
the return to a more familiar storytelling and tone that feels a lot
closer to the essence of the Alien
films, Alien: Covenant manages
to have a story of its own, exploring a new slate for the franchise.
However, it does have its inconsistencies in storytelling, sometimes
focusing on one thing while a much more interesting plot is happening
right next door, which causes a couple of missed opportunities that
would have made the storyline more consistent and fresh.
Moreover, we're not given much time to warm up, or even know about the crew other
than their ranks. There are scenes where we find that this certain crew member
is the wife or the husband of another crew member through dialogue, and that's
really all the information you're going to get from them. Other than that,
they're mostly mere victims walking into slaughter. The deaths are downright
brutal (actually a good thing), yet we only see them as pawns to dial up that
brutality. The first Alien was clear
on the fact that it focused more on story than character, pushing aside character moments to really get their story going. It relied on its main story and atmosphere, and it works, if done in the right way. In Alien: Covenant, they try to give some character moments and more depth to these characters, which in some cases, when clashed with the need to get the story going; isn't as efficient when these character moments are simply fillers, and that's exactly what happened in Covenant. The characters come off as
disposable, with a couple of them meeting their end a lot earlier before we even
know who they are, so you wonder why they even bother to give depth if you're going to kill them right after.
That
being said, Alien: Covenant nails the
visual and storytelling aspect, despite its inconsistencies, relishing the familiar gruesome and isolated tone
that made the original films an experience to watch. In all its gorgeous
visuals and compelling story, its characters aren’t much to be invested in,
given that some meet their end as fast as they were introduced. All that aside, Alien: Covenant is still a riveting film that could be overlooked on its
downfalls, as it triumphs in everything else that makes it what it is: truly Alien.
Stars: 3.5/5
By Nadia Ranaputri
 |
| Source: Empire |
Director: James Gunn
Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave
Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Pom Klementieff, and Kurt
Russell.
Writer and director James Gunn was
once asked how the hell he’d top the first film. In reply, James stated, "I'm
not even gonna try. I'm just going to make it different." After their
successful debut in 2014, Marvel’s galaxy team return to the silver screen as
Marvel’s fifteenth entry in their Cinematic Universe.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 takes place months after the events of the first
film, where the Guardians are now heroes for hire (no relation to the
Defenders). After cutting ties with the Sovereign, the people who hired the
Guardians earlier to defeat a certain creature, by committing treason against
them; the Guardians find themselves on the run. During the bitter encounter,
the Guardians must also face issues within their own internal territory as they
discover what it means to be a real team.
Chris Pratt once again reprises his role as
the swash-buckling Guardians leader Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord. Evidently, he
still brings that same charm that audiences fell in love with in the first
film, whilst also bringing more depth to his character as many have known that
in this installment, Peter finally gets to meet his real father, Kurt Russell’s
Ego.
Zoe Saldana’s Gamora is also given more this
time around, as she tries to set things right with Nebula (Karen Gillan). Their
relationship as sisters may be broken, but it isn’t too late to try and mend
that broken relationship. This gives the two sisters more depth to work with,
which was very interesting to see. Michael Rooker’s Yondu isn’t excluded from
the party either. In fact, the film gives time for his character to grow
by pairing him up with Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), giving the pair
plenty of fun dynamic duo moments. The film’s new addition Mantis (played by
Pom Kelemtieff) not only had some of the funniest moments, but also some of the
heart of the film, especially in a heart-to-heart scene with Dave Bautista’s
Drax that expands Drax to be more than just a humorous figure, but to remind us
that he was once a man with a family.
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| Source: latestnewsexplorer.com |
One would argue that Vol 2 focuses
more on the characters and their arcs than the story. However, I felt that this
was exactly the route that James Gunn was going for. Vol 2 is more
about character than story, and the danger doesn't lie within the bigger part
of the galaxy, it lies within the internal aspects. The galaxy may not seem in
bigger danger as they were in the first film, but Vol 2 explores the danger
within the Guardians themselves. This installment deals with family, the inner
core of the Guardians. They can't save the galaxy if they won't save
themselves, and personally, I felt that this was the route that James Gunn was
trying to convey. Vol 2 felt as if it wasn’t trying to be bigger than the
first, rather it tries to dig deeper than the first. Yes, they’re fun
wise-cracking A-Holes, but they also happen to have a heart.
However, this could also lead to a case of
something more than they could chew. When you've got a lot to juggle in your
ensemble, it can lead to something that's either smooth or muddled. For
Guardians vol 2, it's more smooth than muddled, but the muddled aspect is still
there. Not everyone gets a chance to shine, and even more so, to give many
spotlights to them isn't going to do much of a favor either, considering that
the bigger story is overshadowed by character moments. The film does slightly
fall victim on overstuffing the duration that makes the film feel slower than
it should, especially during the second act; which was the opposite of what the
first film had done to bring a cohesive story into their mix. They're
interesting, to say the least, but the story as a whole didn't feel as solid or
cohesive as what the first film had brought to the table, though it's not an
overall mess.
In addition, if there's anything that the two Guardians films have managed to
do, is that they bring the most fun out of the bunch. Whimsical colors brush
over the gritiness like a colorful candy wrap, making yet another exquisite
range of those aesthetically immersive visual aspects. The same familiar humor
that one would expect from the Guardians is most definitely still there, though
some of them don’t land well as much as it wants to. But beneath all the humor,
there’s that heart and soul that make the Guardians films an experience. Heart
and soul behind humor is the essence of the Guardians, and Vol 2 isn't short
of them. There's more to these characters that meets the eye, and Vol 2 manages to
flesh out just a little more from these little misfits that had captured our
attention (and also our hearts) from the get-go. Simply put, they're the same
lovable a-holes that we've grown to adore. Even then, when the story falters,
it is ultimately the characters that bring it back up to a solid peak.
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| Source: Variety |
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 isn't much of an underwhelming result as it is
overwhelming under a colorful candy wrap that the film blankets over. For a
sequel to a film that once managed to bring in originality and authenticity
into the MCU, Guardians
Vol 2 has plenty of those to look out for, despite its troubles. Vol 2 was
really all about character, because it's the characters that grip the film
altogether and make the film more enjoyable than it should. It's not going to
top the first one, for sure, but it is still a wickedly solid film. It is at
its worst case, possibly something more than they could chew over at times. But
at its best, it is still a solidly entertaining film that proves the Guardians
still has just the right beats to groove to.
Stars:
4.2/5
