*** Alien: Covenant ***

[stewski]

Hmm I don't mind depressing films if they are engaging but it's tough to be drawn into a 'philosophical tragedy' that is, ultimately, dull due the lack of likeable characters and wafer thin plot (let alone lack of 'fun'). How it was padded to 2 hours 30 I'll never know.

If I was to ignore how it followed up the plot of Aliens in entirety I might increase my score up to a 4... but ultimately it's 3, sorry

For reference, I'd give Prometheus a 5.5/10 (same as covenant).

Seems this series has far more misses than hits now....

You are entirely ignoring the tension of the impeding arrival of "the company" who in many ways eclipse the alien for sheer evil.

I agree from killing two surviving main characters from aliens via the credits to reducing most of the action back to alien pacing it is a misfire, technically if it was a standalone film I'd be a fan, as a continuation of Aliens it doesn't work overall for me.

 

[Nitefly]

You are entirely ignoring the tension of the impeding arrival of "the company" who in many ways eclipse the alien for sheer evil.

I didn't find that aspect of it tense at all. The company finds out about Ripley and the alien and they want them. It doesn't get any deeper than 'kill the alien before the company get here'.

 

[elmuzzy66.]

I didn't find that aspect of it tense at all. The company finds out about Ripley and the alien and they want them. It doesn't get any deeper than 'kill the alien before the company get here'.

Wonder if David had a way to communicate with the company and organize or influence the events in Alien. The company does seem hell bent in bring it to earth and david has a taste for genocide. Apart from that I struggle to see how they get to Alien from Covenant.

 

[edscdk]

Wonder if David had a way to communicate with the company and organize or influence the events in Alien. The company does seem hell bent in bring it to earth and david has a taste for genocide. Apart from that I struggle to see how they get to Alien from Covenant.

you are giving the film too much credit, they blew their actor budget on Fossbender so grabbed some randoms off the street to be the rest of the cast, then they filmed a load of scenes (some for a film to be called alien, some for a film to be called morons in space) accidently dumped all the scenes into the same pot... stitched the scenes into something long enough to be called a movie...

 

[EddScott]

Apart from that I struggle to see how they get to Alien from Covenant.

I have a theory in my spoiler over the page. Would tie up engineers with humans and set scene for Alien.

 

[Punt]

Well I enjoyed it

 

[ttaskmaster]

Spoiler

Prometheus was interesting in its own right but frustrating in that it asked more questions than it's actually answered.

No no, that part was all fine. It obviously leaves some things open for future films. A few less if you read the interviews with Ridley, but then I feel a director should never have to explain the up-front plot elements of their film... except maybe a few arty-farty types who make weird flicks like Pi and Eraserhead.

Spoiler

The scene with the lead getting into the tub to remove the alien was far better than anything in covenant.

What, the "magic machine" thing?

Nah - Deus ex machina. Sonic Screwdriver. Nothing more. Stretching the imagination and asking too much of the audience.

Spoiler

Covenant I thought was fairly naff and, for the first third, a complete retread on Prometheus.

It wasn't good, no and some aspects were revisited as if Ridley has run out of ideas...

Both films are somewhat marred by characters doing ridiculous things.

But Covenant less so, IMO.

Spoiler

Prometheus had things like the geologist and botanist (or whatever they were) who spent the whole film running scared of every single imagined shadow, but then randomly stop and switch mid-panic to calmly make friends with this little black liquid alien snake with teeth... Or how THE most important mission in the history of humanity is undertaken by a "team" who don't even meet each other until after they leave hypersleep.

Covenant's crew made some silly mistakes, but nothing so jarring and film-breaking as Prometheus.

This is why I said both films seem amazing on paper, but how they were realised and fleshed out really sucks!!

(some for a film to be called alien, some for a film to be called morons in space)

Another remake?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089622/

 

[ChrisD.]

Covenant's crew made some silly mistakes, but nothing so jarring and film-breaking as Prometheus.

What like stepping out onto an Alien planet with no protective gear whatsoever or even respiratory kit? The egg scene had me cringing, what could possibly go wrong. It could have been done so much better but it just seemed to be a 'meh, it'll do, people will still go and see it' approach.

 

[ttaskmaster]

What like stepping out onto an Alien planet with no protective gear whatsoever or even respiratory kit?

Given that they seem able to tell how well a planet can sustain life just with a distant scan, I assume they can do enough checks to mitigate the need for PPE, to a reasonable extent. I also assume they have detectors and emergency breathers in their backpacks, or something.
If you knew how often people ignore basic safety in real life, you'd know what Covenant did is pretty realistic and run-of-the-mill, to be fair.

What I find a far greater plot hole is this new planet.
They're colonists. They're going to colonise Planet A.
Presumably they're colonising because humanity needs to expand.
So when the rest of humanity follows up and journeys to Planet A expecting to find a nice colony there and ready for them, how upset will they be when they learn Covenant has set up on Planet B instead!!!

 

[ChrisD.]

Or how that planet was completely missed on their scans.

 

[ttaskmaster]

Or how that planet was completely missed on their scans.

I assume those scans were done from back on Earth, while the ones done on the ship when closer are more thorough.
Or that WY already located the planet but dismissed it and covered it up, because they already know David is there and engineering a weapon for them... cue Film 3 plot...

 

[AdladUK]

There were so many parts in this movie that were just silly and ridiculous. And was the switch at the end suppose to be a surprise? That was obvious the moment the camera panned to the knife when they were fighting.

Regardless of that, did anyone else just not find it even remotely scary? I mean it's an Alien movie and one of it's primary genre classifications is horror and there wasn't a single moment I felt scared or even tense... Maybe that's just me though

 

[Kyo]

The new Film Alien Awakening is about to start production in 15 weeks. Ridley Scott has hinted that this is the first of 3 to 4 movies to come.

 

[AdladUK]

What like stepping out onto an Alien planet with no protective gear whatsoever or even respiratory kit? The egg scene had me cringing, what could possibly go wrong. It could have been done so much better but it just seemed to be a 'meh, it'll do, people will still go and see it' approach.

Yep, the egg scene was really silly. Another was the signal logic at the start... That was the basis for the entire movie... Why exactly would a guy a few hundred meters out be able to receive a signal, but the insanely powerful ship that can send/receive data across space would not?

 

[ttaskmaster]

The new Film Alien Awakening is about to start production in 15 weeks. Ridley Scott has hinted that this is the first of 3 to 4 movies to come.

He really doesn't want Blomkamp to have a bash at this, does he!!

 

[ChrisD.]

Yep, the egg scene was really silly. Another was the signal logic at the start... That was the basis for the entire movie... Why exactly would a guy a few hundred meters out be able to receive a signal, but the insanely powerful ship that can send/receive data across space would not?

There's just so many flaws and plot holes which make the rather uninteresting story progression much harder to stomach. I think it was worse than Prometheus.

 

[Kyo]

He really doesn't want Blomkamp to have a bash at this, does he!!

Unfortunately he was trying to pitch a new film which basically continues and ignores 3 onwards but the studio already quashed that possbility and said they want to go with Ridley Scott's ideas and direction. So who knows what will happen when Fox start meddling and do *we know what we are doing, cough xmen cough etc". Finger's crossed.

 

[SkeeterUK]

Spoiler: My thoughts on the film

Watched it on Saturday. Expected it to be a bit different to what I got but nevertheless I did enjoy it. Shame promethious 2 won't come as kinda wanted to see the women from 1 go get some answers but from watching this film we can see what happens in the end to her.

The tweaking of the alien creation device stuff is interesting. The end result was good but it wasn't so much a alien as ud say from aliens which were the best types it was more of aliens3 type as in its speed and movements but had a body of a aliens or alien 1 kinda. Hard to describe bet I defo felt it acted and moved a lot like aliens3.

It looked good but I hated that there was just the one or was it two of em.

With the eggs that David led the bloke to I was itching to be met by a queen alien as after all that's where they typically come from. But nope. Which I really missed cos the queen is the best alien IMO.

Ending with the colonists and David, I wonder what will happen.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I said 3 things during the movie.

WTF!
Idiot.
That's predictable.

 

[Flibster]

Another Adam Savage behind the scenes...