I don't disagree with any of this. Prometheus definitely feels like it was built with a direct sequel in mind, however, fleeting reception turned its sequel into a long wait. By the time a sequel was ready to be made, it turned into a mad dash to create a reason to get an audience to buy a ticket - Let's get the Aliens in here, like NOW...fuck what we had planned with the Engineers.
I really don't believe that Covenant was the sequel that Scott had in mind when he created Prometheus, but circumstances forced his hand into fast-forwarding a bit to get the Aliens into the movie...which inadvertently created a narrative that neither Prometheus fans or Aliens fans were on board with.
IMO, it also didn't help that Scott seemed to not understand why his original movie was so effective. Any mysteries that he may have set up with his original movie seemed to have been answered with fan fiction level writing 35 years later. Watching Prometheus and Covenant now almost makes me feel like he simply got lucky with the original Alien, or that he was simply at the right place (with the right people) at the right time.
By the time Covenant happened, I was practically shocked that I'd rather watch Alien: Resurrection, and I really wasn't expecting that. I was at a 5 with Prometheus with the hope that Covenant could elevate it, but now I'm much more interested in someone else taking over. These sequels feel like Terminator movies after T2 - Some of the familiar imagery without any of the soul. What's frustrating is that there's some interesting ideas in these movies, but they're at odds with desires of creating something that will make a lot of money.
Thinking about it now, I think George Miller has been the only one to take an 80s movie franchise (Mad Max), and turned it into something that feels convincingly relevant in recent years. FR is the only movie that I can think of where I don't have to make excuses for enjoying it as much as the originals.
reply
share