12 Critical Responses To 2017 Films That Make No Sense

10. Alien: Covenant

Thor Ragnarok Wampa
20th Century Fox

The Film:

The sequel to Prometheus; this time, the Xenomorph is in it, it's got a Ripley-like lead and it looked as if it would be like Aliens, but directed by franchise creator Ridley Scott.

The Response:

Audiences and fans weren't kind, but critics generally gave it a pass and the reviews were positive on the whole.

Why They Got It Wrong:

We've all convinced ourselves at some point a disappointing film is actually solid because we don't want a repeat of the traumas of the Star Wars Prequels. No-one should be judged for that. This seems to be what occurred with Alien: Covenant.

There is stuff to like here. Michael Fassbender is brilliant in his dual role as David and Walter, it looks pretty and there are various interesting ideas and philosophical musings on display. Focus on anything else in the movie however, and it all immediately falls apart.

This wasn't the return to form critics said it was. It's just Prometheus all over again. The dumb characters and emotionally flat tone that plagued Prometheus remain. As if that wasn't bad enough, it's also simply not scary.

This is a film that just insults its audience across the board. It does this with an arsenal of idiotic plot turns, a lack of emotion to support its actually interesting philosophical questions and all the questions from Prometheus not being answered.

Oh, and there's the most painfully obvious plot twist in recent memory.

Contributor

Film Studies graduate, aspiring screenwriter and all-around nerd who, despite being a pretentious cinephile who loves art-house movies, also loves modern blockbusters and would rather watch superhero movies than classic Hollywood films. Once met Tommy Wiseau.