Alien: Covenant is a mixed bag of been there done that

"Questions will be answered."  That was the big tagline for 2012's Prometheus, Ridley Scott's return to the genre and franchise that he created.  Who created the Xenomorphs?  Who were the engineers?  What was that space jockey thing in the abandoned ship at the beginning of Alien?  Going into that movie, I was very excited to dip into the mythology surrounding 1979's genre defining film.  I've always been a major fan of the Alien franchise.  The original film scared the hell out of me and is the high water mark for the entire series.  James Cameron's sequel, Aliens, set the gold standard for action movie sequels.  And I've always been a fan of the much-maligned (director David Fincher hates it) Alien 3.  However, from that film on, the franchise has grown stale.  Be it through a series of direct to DVD quality mashups with the Predator or a failed 4th entry that is better left unmentioned.  That's why I was so excited when papa Ridley returned home.  He was coming back to finish what he started (I've read that he always regretted not making another Alien film).  Unfortunately, Prometheus did not live up to the hype with fans and critics.  It left audiences with more questions than they had going in to it.

I, unlike most fans, actually adore Prometheus.  Like an onion, it reveals more layers each time I watch it, and I view it as a must watch for any Alien fan.  I can admit that it's a flawed film, but it fails in a good way.  It takes chances and doesn't fall into the familiar territory that ended up hurting the later Alien installments.  It introduced the world to Michael Fassbender's, David, the best android in the entire franchise.  It shot for more than just cheap thrills and chest bursting sequences.  And, while it didn't always hit the mark, I will will always defend Prometheus.

Prometheus also made enough money to warrant a sequel.  And here we are with Ridley Scott once again returning to the director's chair for this mixed bag of a film.

I'll start with the good... Alien: Covenant delivers much better action/horror sequences than Prometheus.  The aliens are better in every way (given that the actual Xenomorph didn't show up until the ending moments of Prometheus makes this a given).  They have a couple variations throughout the film, but once the classic Xenomorph shows up, the action really picks up.  The chest bursting scenes are bloody as hell, and there are some genuinely exciting action sequences.

Another improvement in this film is that the human characters have more to them than simply being alien-bate.  I will fully admit that Prometheus didn't always do a great job of injecting life into its characters.  Covenant's characters get more time to develop before the blood starts bursting.  Katherine Waterson, Billy Crudup and Danny McBride all shine in their roles aboard the spaceship tasked with re-populating the human race on a distant planet.  They're all given depth that was previously lacking and their actions have meaning.

My absolute favorite part of this film is Michael Fassbender's dual role.  He reprises his Peter O'Toole-esque, David, from the previous film as well as playing an upgraded cyborg, Walter.  David has gone off the deep end.  He reminds me of Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now... a former company man that has gone off the deep end.  I don't want to ruin much about this character but will say that he is truly splendid in his madness.  Walter, on the other hand, serves as the polar opposite.  He's a cyborg that is fully committed to the cause of protecting humanity.  Fassbender plays him with a baby's sense of wonderment, as he is taught how to become more self-aware.

Now on to the bad... This film struggles to find a balance between Prometheus' mythology and Alien-esque action.  Whereas Prometheus shot for the stars, philosophically, Covenant never gets going in either direction.  It's also a highly predictable film.  Characters go off on their own to check on disturbances and (shockingly!) don't come back.  There's also a big twist towards the end that was about as predictable as a clock.  The final act is a mixed bag of "greatest hits," including air locks, empty hallways and bad decisions.

My biggest beef with this re-booted series is the lack of a strong female character.  Sigorney Weaver's Ripley is the blueprint for how to create a strong female protagonist.  Both Noomi Rapace and Katherine Waterson never quite develop into a top-notch lead character in either of these films, and that's why these recent Alien films have failed to take a hold with audiences.

I'm giving Alien: Covenant 2 out of 4 stars.  It's a perfectly capable entry into the franchise, but doesn't commit enough to the mythology and doesn't break any new ground in the scare department.  It still leaves the audience without answering the big questions.  We still don't know who the engineers are and, judging by this film's poor opening weekend, I fear we may never know.

Guardians 2 is a boatload of fun

The first Guardians Of The Galaxy should not have worked.  They are from the D list of the D list of Marvel Superheroes.  A talking raccoon?  A tree that only speaks one phrase?  Chris Pratt (the guy from Parks & Rec?!?) as a leading man?  None of that should have worked, and yet it did. And it worked in a BIG, refreshing way.  Guardians felt like lightning in a bottle.  There was no way they'd be able to duplicate that, right?  Well, Guardians Volume 2 came pretty damn close.  It's every bit as fun and delightful as the first installment.

Volume 2 picks up slightly after the first film.  The Guardians are protectors for hire (kind of like an interestallar A-Team), and are tasked with protecting a new race of aliens' power source.  Of course, in true misfit style, the Guardians end up pissing their new bosses off and proceed to get a death sentence placed on their heads.  They flee and escape certain death with the help of Ego (played with cocksure attitude by the always great Kurt Russell), a mysterious man who is revealed to be Star Lord's long lost father.  This isn't a spoiler as it was in every trailer for the film.  You also find this out quite early in the film.  Ego seems perfect to every one but Gamora (The great Zoe Saldana).  The shine quickly comes off of Ego's veneer as we delve deeper into his history.  I won't go further than that since I don't want to ruin the storyline beyond that.

Like the first film, the cast shines.  Pratt is as funny as ever, and Baby Groot is a delight (and a hell of a marketing tool!).  The real star of this film, however, is Dave Bautista's Drax The Destroyer.  While he had a lot of funny lines in the first, director James Gunn gives Bautista every opportunity to shine in this film.  He has some laugh out loud moments that had me in stitches.

Another reason why this film works is that while it's zany, dysfunctional and downright silly at times, it is a film that stays grounded.  In this case, it's about family and the things we do for our loved ones.  It's a film that's not afraid to get sappy.  However, it never veers into the cheesy territory as some of its compatriots (cough cough Batman v Superman) tend to do when displaying love and affection.

It's also a movie franchise that (to this point) seems to have little desire in tying itself to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Sure, there are breadcrumbs sprinkled about, but you could watch these movies without ever seeing another Marvel movie and be totally comfortable with the story.  I don't think there is another franchise in the MCU that can say that.

I'm giving Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 3 out of 4 stars.  While it doesn't quite reach the same level of overall awesome as the first one, it still holds its own as a fun Summer getaway.  The cast is superb and the new additions really add to the already strong core.  Definitely go see it and (as always) stay through the credits.  There are 5 (a new record) post credit scenes.

I keep waiting for the wheels to come off the Marvel train, but this machine just keeps on chugging.  Their next challenge might be their greatest... to reboot Spider-Man for the umpteenth time in July's Spider-Man: Homecoming.  Until next time... this has been a Too-Fat For The Movies review.