Is it or isn't it part of the Alien franchise? Of course it is, but for whatever reason, they make it difficult to place in the series. And so people debate whether it's a prequel, a reboot, a completely different thing, or whatever.
In many ways, it doesn't matter. Is it any good as a movie? I think it has a nice look. The acting is okay. The story. Eh. Somewhat predictable. We've seen this story before, and so no matter how nice it looks and how well the actors play their parts, something still feels like it's missing.
That aside, what do we think of human curiosity? Are we worse than cats? Does our curiosity drive us, even when we might rationally know that being so curious is ultimately not in our best interest?
I like Captain Janek (Idris Elba). He's a curious guy to a certain extent, but he knows where to draw the line. He's curious enough to wonder what it would be like to have sex with Meredith (Charlize Theron), but he's not curious enough to see what happens if one of the Makers is allowed to go back to Earth. (Janek and Meredith do have sex? But the scene is only alluded to. I wonder why they don't show it. After all, there's the question about whether Meredith is human or robot, but by not showing any of the sex scene at all, the answer to the question remains a complete mystery.)
The whole premise of the film is that human beings were created, not by God, but by this superior race called "Makers." They more or less look human, but they're bigger. stronger, and don't seem to have anything that would be understand as "ethics."
For whatever reason. Elizabeth (Noomi Rapace) and her partner are two scientists who've made it their mission to meet their Makers, to find out why they create humans. What do they expect in terms of an answer? Is there any answer the Makers could possibly give that would be satisfying?
Then there's David (Michael Fassbender), the AI robot. He was created, too. Why? Because Weyland needed a child -- maybe he already has one, but that's another story. Can David be trusted? By the end, David and Elizabeth are forced to work together. Maybe they share common interests. But what does David really want? Can he want? Is he looking for an answer the same way that Elizabeth is? He actually had the chance, I guess, to ask his Maker questions, he never does. But he does have the impulse to want to live, which is why he makes the deal with Elizabeth. He certainly doesn't want to be stranded on that far-off planet, to wait for what, his battery to wear out?
As a standalone film, like I said, I feel like I've seen movies like this one before. It's pretty well done, and maybe after I watch the next film in the series, my assessment of this one will change; unfortunately, it looks like most reviews like this one better than Alien: Covenant (2017). We shall have to see for ourselves...
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