This article comes fromDen of Geek UK.
There are very, very light spoilers forPrometheusandAlien: Covenantahead.
I cant think of too many more recent well-deserved sci-fi blockbuster hits thanThe Martian.
I really like the film a lot.
Id also suggest it brought the best out of Ridley Scott.
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Scott came toThe Martianrelatively late in the day.
Nonetheless, he left behind one of the key reasons for the films success: a rock solid screenplay.
And I think it led to his best film in a long time.
Without going into story spoilers, I thinkAlien: Covenanthas the same problem.
And call it fast.
I wondered, at first, if this was anAlien-centric problem, but I dont think it is.
But, perhaps with the exception ofMatchstick Men, they never felt like complete stories to me.
But improve it Reiner did.
Here was a director who knew what mattered, and pushed his writer to deliver it.
Reiner didnt originate the story, but he instead made sure he could make said story as a film.
I daresay he didnt write a single stage direction or a line of dialogue.
But Reiner, nonetheless, is an excellent storyteller.
This is no hate piece.
I dont think Ridley Scott can do that.
Now, however…. And I do get that.
He doesnt help himself when he talks about being able to crank anotherAlienmovie out next year.
I dont think anyone wants to think of Ridley Scott cranking anything out.
You go to Ratner directing school if you want to crank.
I think Ridley Scotts standards are higher than that.
I wish someone would have interrogated the story before filming began and fixed its problems.
I wish him better scripts.