Review: In 'alien: Covenant,' A Return To Gut-busting Horror

[...] not the crew of the Covenant, a vessel powered by a golden sail cruising through space with 2,000 "colonists" in hyper sleep and years to go until they reach their destination. [...] when a shock wave from a solar flare jostles the crew awake, they soon begin hearing a faint transmission of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" emanating from a curiously Earth-like planet. Covenant is, itself, a homecoming of sorts for a well-traveled franchise. Since Ridley Scott's 1979 original — still the ultimate deep-space horror — "Alien" has passed through numerous directors (James Cameron, David Fincher, Jean-Pierre Jeunet) and a prequel reboot, Scott's "Prometheus." The captain of the Covenant (James Franco, for a heartbeat) doesn't survive the shock wave, leaving the uncertain Oram (Billy Crudup) to lead the crew that includes Daniels (Katherine Waterson, our more demure, less imposing Ripley), the imprudent pilot Tennessee (Danny McBride) and Walter (Fassbender), an upgraded model of David, the android the actor played in "Prometheus." When things go haywire, the crew freak out and make such poor, emotional decisions that you, as in prior "Alien" films, find yourself rooting for the creatures with bike-helmet skulls. The lone human(ish) presence on the planet turns out to be David, who has, ala "Apocalypse Now," been living a godlike existence, lording over his creations. David, trying to unshackle his fellow android from servitude, urges him to make music and teaches him how to play a recorder. Covenant, a 20th Century Fox release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for sci-fi violence, bloody images, language and some sexuality/nudity.