Alien: Covenant Proves 'Franchise Fatigue' Really Means 'Boring Movies'

Alien: Covenant is a decent film about android consciousness and ancient secrets wherein Michael Fassbender proves he can play an excellent android. But it has one big problem: In order to earn the "Alien" name, director Ridley Scott was forced to rehash a lot of moments from his 1979 sci-fi classic. Not even Scott, who seems much more interested in making connections to his 2012 prequel Prometheus than in filming another slobbering xenomorph. The result is a movie where the biggest money shots feel largely obligatory--just killers and filler, nothing more. Even documentaries are getting follow-ups now.