aNewDomain 
— Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant delivers the goods — and in the darkest of all possible packages.
With this second installment to the Alien prequel series of films, we get more of what we’ve grown to expect from past Alien films while the spin here is more philosophical with some juicy plot twists in a tale about a ship crew that makes a frightening discovery after landing on an uncharted planet.
Michael Fassbender is ubiquitous in this flick, which follows the crew (Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Carmen Ejogo and Demián Bichir) of a ship who land on an uncharted planet and make a terrifying discovery.
Action sequences are exemplary. Special effects are superb. We also have a satisfying intermingling of characters and storyline with Prometheus. A number of mysteries are resolved, not always positively, as the the crew struggles with technology failures amidst an all out attack from the alien life forms it finds.
There is a lot here that reflects the Alien heritage. Even the music reflects that — and sometimes, it does that quite cleverly.
Sometimes the movie matches and at time exceeds in size and scale what we saw in Prometheus.
But we never lose sight of the characters. Some of my favorite sequences take place outdoors as the crew explores the giant animal-free forests of the new planet they visit in response to a faint beacon heard following the damage to their ship.
There are some plot holes but I’m trying to be spoiler free and won’t go into them. For the most part the story and plotting are quite tight, including incorporation of original Geiger design elements into onscreen action.
Makes you really look forward to the next Alien movie. I know I do.
For aNewDomain, I’m Dennis D. McDonald.
