ALIEN: COVENANT Thread v.2 (Dragonlord's Review, post #1)

If you have seen ALIEN: COVENANT, how would you rate it?

  • Total voters
    203
The_Renaissance said:
Not much hope for this since seeing the trailer. will still watch, though.
Click to expand...

Basically the same here, but I think I'll wait to see if it shows up on Netflix or the sort instead of hitting up the theater.
 
Enjoyed it. 7.5/10
Great story, enjoyed the explanation of where the xenomorphs came from, the reveals and twists, and the 2 Android characters. There a was a few really thrilling and gory sequences.
It looked and sounded gorgeous.

Problems:
Took too long to get going though, which was a problem when the crew chemistry wasn't entertaining as in Aliens.
Not scary enough...maybe they showed too much of the xeno, but I thought the scenes with the white one were much scarier.

Overall enjoyed it and looking forward to any more entries in the franchise if they are treated with the same care that this was.

Now time to go to sleep.
dont let the bed bugs bite
Michael-Fassbender-as-David-in-ALIEN-COVENANT.jpg
 
Wait, didn't they already show the Xenomorphs in the mural in prometheus?
 
STEVEN SEAGOLD said:
Hell you couldn't tell Ripley was the main character until halfway in.

Both films really didn't have much depth in my opinion. Great atmosphere, but outside of the FEAR factor... Not much emotional resonance.
Click to expand...

You do know that Tom Skerritt was billed above Sigourney Weaver for that reason, right? Being the captain and the lead male it was naturally assumed he would be the one to defeat and/or survive the alien.

Ripley is third in command on the ship and finds her authority usurped by everyone around her. Dallas, Lambert, and Ash defy her stance on quarantine protocol. Brett and Parker crack jokes at her expense. But when shit hits the fan, she is ultimately the one that rises to the challenge, and ends up being the (rightful) survivor.

We literally see her develop as a person during the course of the story, which is kind of the point. Ripley wasn't born badass. She was molded into one by the circumstances she found herself in.

And as far as the films lacking emotional resonance, I strongly disagree with respect to the second film, Aliens. The entire film was literally an ode to the concept of family.

Ripley drifts in space for fifty-seven years and wakes only to learn her young daughter had died of old age just two years before. Grieving over her loss, she just wants to be left the hell alone, and to put the Nostromo incident behind her.

But the nightmares won't let her and she agrees to return to LV-426 to confront her fears and overcome them. In the process she bonds with the survivor Newt, who becomes a surrogate daughter to her. Shit hits the fan again and Ripley rises to the occasion once more, becoming a "lioness" protecting her "cub" from the Alien Queen. At the end Newt even calls her "Mommy," completing her character's journey as a mother full circle. Ripley has a daughter, a potential love interest? (Hicks), and even an android friend (Bishop) who she has grown to respect.

I'm not sure what more you could possibly ask of a film, because it accomplishes a lot of things on different levels. Just watch the scenes of Ripley/Newt, and Ripley/Hicks and tell me there's nothing there. You can't.
 
DIABOLUS said:
You do know that Tom Skerritt was billed above Sigourney Weaver for that reason, right? Being the captain and the lead male it was naturally assumed he would be the one to defeat and/or survive the alien.

Ripley is third in command on the ship and finds her authority usurped by everyone around her. Dallas, Lambert, and Ash defy her stance on quarantine protocol. Brett and Parker crack jokes at her expense. But when shit hits the fan, she is ultimately the one that rises to the challenge, and ends up being the (rightful) survivor.

We literally see her develop as a person during the course of the story, which is kind of the point. Ripley wasn't born badass. She was molded into one by the circumstances she found herself in.

And as far as the films lacking emotional resonance, I strongly disagree with respect to the second film, Aliens. The entire film was literally an ode to the concept of family.

Ripley drifts in space for fifty-seven years and wakes only to learn her young daughter had died of old age just two years before. Grieving over her loss, she just wants to be left the hell alone, and to put the Nostromo incident behind her.

But the nightmares won't let her and she agrees to return to LV-426 to confront her fears and overcome them. In the process she bonds with the survivor Newt, who becomes a surrogate daughter to her. Shit hits the fan again and Ripley rises to the occasion once more, becoming a "lioness" protecting her "cub" from the Alien Queen. At the end Newt even calls her "Mommy," completing her character's journey as a mother full circle. Ripley has a daughter, a potential love interest? (Hicks), and even an android friend (Bishop) who she has grown to respect.

I'm not sure what more you could possibly ask of a film, because it accomplishes a lot of things on different levels. Just watch the scenes of Ripley/Newt, and Ripley/Hicks and tell me there's nothing there. You can't.
Click to expand...
20253336.gif
 
Pugilistic said:
Wait, didn't they already show the Xenomorphs in the mural in prometheus?
Click to expand...
Good catch. Either they goofed or
David didn't really create the Xenomorphs. Edit: Meaning David wasn't the first one to create the Xenomorph forumula.
 
DIABOLUS said:
You do know that Tom Skerritt was billed above Sigourney Weaver for that reason, right? Being the captain and the lead male it was naturally assumed he would be the one to defeat and/or survive the alien.

Ripley is third in command on the ship and finds her authority usurped by everyone around her. Dallas, Lambert, and Ash defy her stance on quarantine protocol. Brett and Parker crack jokes at her expense. But when shit hits the fan, she is ultimately the one that rises to the challenge, and ends up being the (rightful) survivor.

We literally see her develop as a person during the course of the story, which is kind of the point. Ripley wasn't born badass. She was molded into one by the circumstances she found herself in.

And as far as the films lacking emotional resonance, I strongly disagree with respect to the second film, Aliens. The entire film was literally an ode to the concept of family.

Ripley drifts in space for fifty-seven years and wakes only to learn her young daughter had died of old age just two years before. Grieving over her loss, she just wants to be left the hell alone, and to put the Nostromo incident behind her.

But the nightmares won't let her and she agrees to return to LV-426 to confront her fears and overcome them. In the process she bonds with the survivor Newt, who becomes a surrogate daughter to her. Shit hits the fan again and Ripley rises to the occasion once more, becoming a "lioness" protecting her "cub" from the Alien Queen. At the end Newt even calls her "Mommy," completing her character's journey as a mother full circle. Ripley has a daughter, a potential love interest? (Hicks), and even an android friend (Bishop) who she has grown to respect.

I'm not sure what more you could possibly ask of a film, because it accomplishes a lot of things on different levels. Just watch the scenes of Ripley/Newt, and Ripley/Hicks and tell me there's nothing there. You can't.
Click to expand...
About as much depth as a mid day soap.

Continuity matters. Alien had no emotional resonance outside of FEAR. In Aliens they tried to throw everything in there at once, and it comes off as forced and unnatural.

One second Ripley's mourning the death of her daughter, the next she's going off with a group of marines. Absolutely no time to let it simmer.

Compare this to Terminator 1 and Terminator 2. Vastly superior films. Much greater emotional resonance. In both films. And the continuity only helps that.
 
And Newt is completely forgettable. One short scene with her family. Give me John Connor in T:2 EVERY day of the week.

Don't like obsessing over child actors. It gets creepy how some people do. Ie - Logan.
 
Oh yeah. And the worst thing about Aliens was this...

Cameron rendered the Xenomorph as a run of the mill cannon fodder. The best thing Alien had going for it was absolutely shat on. The proverbial Queen was reduced to mere pawns.
 
STEVEN SEAGOLD said:
About as much depth as a mid day soap.

Continuity matters. Alien had no emotional resonance outside of FEAR. In Aliens they tried to throw everything in there at once, and it comes off as forced and unnatural.

One second Ripley's mourning the death of her daughter, the next she's going off with a group of marines. Absolutely no time to let it simmer.

Compare this to Terminator 1 and Terminator 2. Vastly superior films. Much greater emotional resonance. In both films. And the continuity only helps that.
Click to expand...

STEVEN SEAGOLD said:
And Newt is completely forgettable. One short scene with her family. Give me John Connor in T:2 EVERY day of the week.

Don't like obsessing over child actors. It gets creepy how some people do. Ie - Logan.
Click to expand...

"About as much depth as a mid day soap."

incredulous.gif


I'm sorry dude, but the more you post the less I can take you seriously. The emo avatar doesn't help, either.

What "emotional resonance" are you expecting from the first film that you find lacking? This is a horror movie, and these guys are space truckers. Normal people. Smoking, drinking, eating, complaining about work pay, making lewd jokes. What more do you need to know about them? An origin story? Where they were born, what made them become a trucker, etc? Maybe throw in some love interests as well? A sick grandmother they're trying to support on the side? C'mon dude. The film told us everything we need to know about these people. And we don't need a lot for a film of this premise.

You might want to try re-watching the second film as well. Because Ripley did not join the marines immediately after learning her daughter was dead. Here's the scene breakdown from the Director's Cut as a refresher:

>wakes in med bay, Informed by Burke she was asleep 57 years
>transition to chestburster nightmare
>meets with burke, learns her daughter is dead
>board meeting where her license is revoked, learns of colony on LV-426
>Hadley's hope colony, Newts parents go into derelict ship, dad facehugged
>Ripley sulks in her room, Burke/Gorman visit, she learns contact with colony was lost. They try to recruit her with promise of reinstating her license but she says NO
>Ripley wakes from another nightmare, hesitates, then calls Burke to tell her she's in.

I dunno about you, but all of that seems like a logical progression of events. I don't see anything there that is out of character or unrealistic. How much time do you need for her to "simmer" on her daughter's death for you to be happy? Is this an action film with added drama, or a drama film with added action?

It also sounds like you're complaining about Aliens feeling so different than Alien. Maybe Cameron had different ideas in store for his movie? Since he wrote and directed both Terminator films he could easily make one flow into the other. With Aliens, however, he had to deal with a film that was written and directed by people other than him. But he handled it perfectly, imo. Ripley goes into hypersleep and wakes up a woman displaced from time. Everything around her is different, unfamiliar. And so it is with us as the audience. We are going on just as much of a ride as Ripley herself is. It's not supposed to feel the same or familiar because that's not the point. Alien is a horror film. Aliens is an action film. Period.

Ironic, because T1 and T2 are the same. T1 is horror, T2 is action. Yet you praise those movies so highly for "continuity" when their premises are so different.

And what was so great about Sarah Connor's character in the first film anyway? Aside from getting knocked up and being the future mother of humanity's savior, there is nothing remarkable about her. She literally needed Kyle Reese to save her ass almost every step of the way. Ripley on the other hand had to figure shit out on her own when everyone else was killed off.

How much time do you need to spend with Newt's family to feel satisfied? I thought this movie was about Ripley? We know the dad is ambitious, and was eager to explore the sector he was sent to. Obviously that would lead him to engage in reckless behavior and get facehugged. End of story. We don't need to know anything more about Newt's family, because it doesn't matter. This movie is about Ripley.

"The proverbial Queen was reduced to mere pawns."

Yes, the drone aliens are reduced to nothing but cannon fodder, but did it occur to you that maybe it's because their prey is a team of MARINES that have smartguns and flamethrowers and shotguns and grenades and shit? What else would you expect? And despite all this weaponry that supposedly "nerfs" the aliens, the marines STILL get their asses kicked and are nearly all killed off. I'm sorry, did they not get slaughtered enough to your satisfaction?
 
I pretty much agree with Dragon here. To me the film is not terrible but boy was it unsatisfying, specially the third act. A lot of the supposed twists you can see coming a mile away, specially the last one. If you are familiar with the franchise, you know there is no other way it could have ended. I was still hoping until the last second to be surprised and be thrown a curbed ball but when the moment comes, all I could think of was "well, no shit!"

Also, I am not sure if I like this origin they gave to xenomorphs. It seems kind of anticlimactic.

And yes Billy Crudup's character is a fucking moron.

did anybody else find it hilarious when the newborn xenomorph was mimicking David? I thought it was going to break into 'Hello my baby, hello my honey' at any second
 
Dragonlordxxxxx said:
Good catch. Either they goofed or
David didn't really create the Xenomorphs.
Click to expand...

I hope that's the case.
Perhaps the "original" xenos exist somewhere and this is David's variation or something. After all, the chest burster was different from the first Alien.
 
liljoe said:
Ridley considers Prometheus itself to be a goof.
http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/alien/news/a828049/ridley-scott-admits-prometheus-wrong/
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This proves what I thought.. Instead of admitting THEY fked up Prometheus, they blamed the audience and went with the "they are simpletons who wanted the monster" excuse for why the film wasnt well received. They lied to themselves to make themselves feel better. They are dead wrong. It was the potential depth and themes that were not fully (or correctly) explored that EVERYBODY was bitching about. People are nerds now, we've all seen a lot of movies; It wasnt that it was missing monsters lol.

Scott was either delusional himself or had yes-men boosting his ego about why Prometheus wasn't better received.

Damn.
 
The actual alien scenes were pretty awesome. Couple cool kills. The scenery was amazing and I was really impressed but the actual story was kinda crap.

Also i agree to your point regarding the build up to the end.
 
Pugilistic said:
Wait, didn't they already show the Xenomorphs in the mural in prometheus?
Click to expand...

I am assuming experiments from david on shaw. I get the impression she suffered a very long drawn out death and had to give 'birth' multiple times for David's research.
 
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