With Noah Hawley in charge, fans have long expected Alien: Earth to offer a vastly different take on the long-running sci-fi franchise. Still, if the first wave of reviews is anything to go by, the Fargo and Legion showrunner has indeed put a bold new spin on the iconic property.
Boasting a story focusing on synthetics over the expected slaughter of human fodder courtesy of the Xenomorphs, Alien: Earth might not be what everyone wants from Alien. However, critics certainly appear impressed by the show.
The focus looks to be more on Alien: Earth's characters than its aliens, though the majority seem to agree that it still makes for compelling viewing. Some were less impressed (the word "boring" is thrown around), but most appear to approve of how Hawley is approaching the property.
Between this and Fede Álvarez's Alien: Romulus, it seems the Alien franchise is well and truly back, and better than it's been in a long time.
As Variety puts it, "Aliens do not have the inner lives — that we know of, at least — to propel the plot of a show over hours or even seasons, a length that 'Earth' is explicitly aiming for. For that, Hawley turns to Wendy and her fellow synthetics, thrilled and terrified and in some cases destabilized by their new lease on life. They’re not as flashy as the voracious monsters, but they prove a richer vein to mine."
Adds The Hollywood Reporter, "If the first few hours of the season can feel like a slow burn, the last few let all hell break loose with glorious, gory abandon. Suffice it to say that once the dust settles, the monsters have been fed and the fans will have been, too." IGN, meanwhile, concluded by writing, "Alien: Earth is an evolution as slick and scary as every good little Xenomorph should be."
Radio Times shared similar sentiments. "Alien: Earth is really exciting and something I would love to see more of. It's a series that has a lot on its mind, a host of compelling characters, and a willingness to down some offbeat avenues, all while delivering the chills and thrills that Alien fans expect."
As for Total Film, the site calls it "bold, ambitious, and often brutally violent," and ponders whether this is the best Xenomorph story since James Cameron's Aliens. TV Guide notes, "Alien: Earth has plenty to enjoy. It's sincerely weird in the best way, and compellingly inventive. The alien designs are appropriately haunting and disgusting, the show packed with the franchise's signature wet, skittering sounds as the aliens burrow their way inside the depths of Prodigy HQ."
Slash Film was less keen. "Ultimately, the greatest sin 'Alien: Earth' commits is that it ends up being boring. No matter what flaws some of the 'Alien' sequels have, I don't think anyone could ever accuse them of being 'boring.' Even 'Romulus,' a film I didn't really love, kept things mostly interesting. 'Alien: Earth,' in sharp contrast, has strange pacing and overcooked editing that ends up being distracting."
IndieWire did positively review the series, but suggested that its lighter on Xenomorph action than some would like. "By the end of the season, the titular Alien is almost an afterthought — for better, certainly (pushing forward, while uncomfortable, is often necessary when it comes to nostalgia), but what’s worse is needlessly so. (The Xenomorph is still terrifying, when handled deftly.)"
As we first reported on SFFGazette.com, a Rotten Tomatoes score for Alien: Earth has been generated, and is "Certified Fresh" at 90% with 30 reviews. That's a great start, and one which should help to further increase interest in Hawley's series.
When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat in the sci-fi horror series 'Alien: Earth.' As members of the crash recovery crew search for survivors among the wreckage, they encounter mysterious predatory life forms more terrifying than they could have ever imagined. With this new threat unlocked, the search crew must fight for survival and what they choose to do with this discovery could change planet Earth as they know it.
Led by Sydney Chandler, the series showcases an expansive international cast which includes Alex Lawther, Timothy Olyphant, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, David Rysdahl, Adrian Edmondson, Adarsh Gourav, Jonathan Ajayi, Erana James, Lily Newmark, Diem Camille, and Moe Bar-El.
Alien: Earth premieres on FX on August 12.