The film critic, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, blamed the focus on backstory for the film’s arguably shoddy quality.
“It’s absolutely confirmation for me that Ridley Scott is as good as the script he’s working from,” he said, pointing to films like The Martian and the original Alien as “brilliant” examples.
“What we have is an attempt to do this kind of backstory that firstly has characters speaking in a way like no characters speak on Earth or in outer space; that also has a kind of ponderousness in a way which is so full of its own sense of portent that what it undermines is what was actually driving Alien in the first place.”
He added: “Which was this weird mutating thing… inspired by a wasp that lays eggs in a stunned prey.”
Kermode went on to talk about the thrill of the simplicity in the original Alien’s story; that it was just about mutating creatures turning their attention to humans.
He continued: “Now what we’ve got into is a cycle of movies that are about backstory. Which isn’t ever what Alien was about.”
Alien: Covenant has an approval rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating a generally favourable response, but the writing has repeatedly come in for criticism.
“Nothing extraordinary. But when someone like her says that, you hang on to it for years.
“When I got this job, I thought immediately of that moment.”
Alien: Covenant is out now.
Daily Express :: Entertainment Feed
