James Cameron Says ‘Alien: Covenant’ Was “A Great Ride”

Say what you will about Ridley Scott‘s “Prometheus,” but at least that movie had balls. Here was a big budget Hollywood movie with ideas, a philosophical brain if you will, and yet, Scott gave in recently and admitted that he regretted the way he made the film and that he “got it wrong.” He should have stuck to his guns. “Prometheus” will age well in time whereas the disappointing “Alien: Covenant” simply won’t.

The way ‘Covenant’ went back to the narrative structure and survival games of the first two movies was too easy and uninspired. Scott decided to feed the masses and give them what they wanted, a sort of “greatest hits” compilation of “Alien” and “Aliens,” but it fell flat. Scott always had a flair for staging atmosphere and thrills, but in “Alien: Covenant” it all feels empty. Some of the movie did work, including Michael Fassbender‘s brilliant dual performance as David and Walter, which brought frightening personality to the cold-hearted artificial humans. The fireworks that sparked between the two robots, in the few scenes they were together, were the clear-cut highlights of the film and something Scott should have expanded on in his narrative.

With all that being said it is still not a surprise that James Cameron thinks “Alien: Covenant” is a “great” movie. After all, earlier this year, Cameron praised Zack Snyder for “creating a new cinematic language” and mentioned that the ‘Batman v Superman‘ director inspires his own work. That’s fair enough, I can see why he would see that in Snyder. Now, he’s praising “Alien: Covenant,” which feels a little closer to home for him since he directed what many consider to be the last great movie of the franchise, the 1986 classic “Aliens.” In a Facebook Live interview, the director had kind words to say about Scott’s film.

READ MORE: James Cameron Is Mad Josh Brolin Turned Down His ‘Avatar’ Sequels

“I thought that ‘Alien: Covenant’ was a great ride. It was beautiful. I love Ridley’s films and I love his film making, I love the beauty of the photography, I love the visceral sense that you’re there, that you’re present,” Cameron said.

However, he did go on to elaborate that it wouldn’t have been the kind of movie he would have done:

“It’s not a film that I would have made. I don’t like films where you invest in a character and they get destroyed at the end. I would not have made that film. I can’t comment on where Ridley is going with it but I think he is obviously trying to create a greater universe around it and more backstory with the Engineers and so on. I’ll show up for the next one, absolutely,” Cameron added.

Cameron’s outspokeness isn’t anything new. He doesn’t mince words when talking about current cinema, you will always receive a clearcut, honest, passionate response from him. Last year he even said George Lucas’ prequels “had more innovative visual imagination” than J.J. Abrams ‘ “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Whether you agree or disagree with him, it’s refreshing to to hear an iconic director’s opinion on his comrades that isn’t watered-down or playing nice to the crowd. Hopefully he can back up all this talk with a great movie of his own, more specifically when his much-delayed sequel to “Avatar” hits theaters. [AVP Galaxy]