Alien Covenant (with spoilers)

[HanaBi]

To me Scott is very much like Robert De Niro - had such glittering beginnings when he was hungry to learn and expand on his art; but over time has become bloated, blurred and totally disenfranchised with giving people (especially his fans), something completely out of the box!

Instead its just one of those "another day at the office" routines; painting by numbers directing, a vague interest in the script, some random editing (making sure to keep some minutes back for the "director's cut" release a few months later), job done, pay cheque please; next!

In the old days when I saw the words "A Ridley Scott film", I would feel a tingle of excitement and anticipation. But these days its more like "yeah, whatever!"

 

[Toby Frost]

I must admit that I was very relieved to find that he wouldn't be directing the new Blade Runner.

 

[Vince W]

I must admit that I was very relieved to find that he wouldn't be directing the new Blade Runner.

Same here. I just hope he didn't get all handsy with it and make Villeneuve's life hell during the whole process.

 

[Dave]

I haven't seen this yet, and quite frankly, I think I would be wasting my life after having read your comments and watched that Honest Trailers, however, it might be worth it for that flute playing section.

 

[Vince W]

Well, it's not exactly Jethro Tull you know.

 

[Toby Frost]

This one time, at space camp, I stuck my tail through a colonist.

 

[Judderman]

I just watched this on a flight. I hated much of Prometheus and am a big fan of the old films. But I had lowered my expectations for this and was very pleasantly surprised. Not brilliant but parts of it had good atmosphere and the action was pretty good. I didn't like the spores stuff but the film was very watchable. I wish Prometheus had been more like this.
There is a little twist which wasn't too surprising.

 

[Judderman]

That said, there were good set-pieces. I especially liked the creature in the quarantine bay; not so much for the effects, as for the pacing and the fight that followed.

Yes that was one of the exciting scenes.

 

[Dave]

I've now eventually seen this and pleased that I didn't spend any money to see it. Sorry, but I learnt nothing from the flute playing, except that superior androids are not taught music, but are taught more advanced unarmed combat. I agree with VB on almost everything except the one question I have had since 1979:

But Ridley Scott has, I feel, gone full Lucas with these prequels (and there should be one more, right, to get everything set up for the Nostromo )

So, the Covenant is going to crash on the original Alien planet that the Nostromo visits. The embryos will be born, but the colonists will be infected by David and all die, leaving behind the eggs for the Nostromo to find.

However, the eggs were inside a ship; the ship with the "Jockey" alien in the pilot chair. It fails to answer who the "Jockey" alien is. Secondarily, it asks another question, what happens to David?

 

[Judderman]

I'm not certain these films are actually direct prequels to Alien. They seem to be though I have read they aren't. At least not involving the Nostromo.

 

[Dave]

I'm not certain these films are actually direct prequels to Alien. They seem to be though I have read they aren't. At least not involving the Nostromo.

Maybe, I have no idea. They were originally hailed as "sequels" when first announced.

Reflecting on this film overnight, I think it has a very serious problem. In the "original" films, I cared about Ripley living or dying. I cared about Newt. I was interested in the fate of Hicks, Gorman and Vasquez. Here, I didn't care about the crew in this film at all. I knew they were all going to die and after the final two were put into stasis, there was no shock moment.

 

[Toby Frost]

I agree. I can't quite work out why, but none of the characters in the new films (with the possible exception of Shaw, who has a certain earnestness) are appealing, while the ones in the first two films are. It might be because nobody does anything downright stupid in the first two, although the new characters are unappealing even before they've had the opportunity to make stupid choices. It's also not the dialogue: the style of dialogue is quite different in Alien and Aliens (the first one feels much more improvised, the second contains jokes and speeches). It might just be the quality and style of the acting. Whatever it is, I've just stopped caring.

Or perhaps Scott himself isn't really interested in them. Even the Alien seems not to be as important as the adventures of David. Prometheus was just a bit dull, and didn't hold up to basic logic. Covenant has an awkward mix of pretentious/serious stuff and schlocky horror (floating heads, people being killed mid-sex, etc). I'm not sure how much life there is in the franchise no matter what, but I wish Neil Blomkamp had been able to make his film. It probably says a lot that, after the first two films, the best sequel is the recent computer game.

 

[Dave]

I forgot I'd seen this before and started watching it again. It wasn't until I got to the flute playing.... pretentious, full of hubris, dull...

Nothing beats Alien for horror. I saw it at the cinema and had no idea what was coming. Nothing beats Aliens for action-adventure. All the sequels and prequels are derivative of both and completely unnecessary.

 

[J Riff]

Alien:Convenience .... was ... I can't remember.

 

[Rodders]

I still haven't seen Alien: Covenant yet, although it is on my "To Watch" list.

 

[Elckerlyc]

Alien: Covenant is forgettable. That's the best I can say about it.
Alien: Prometheus was... unforgettable, because of it's silly plot. But at least it was watchable.
But I agree with @Dave: anything beyond Aliens is a waste of effort and money.

 

[Toby Frost]

I wonder about the spin-off stuff? The only really good bits I've seen have been the Colonial Marines Technical Manual by Lee Brimmicombe-Wood and the computer game Alien: Isolation (and the better making-of books). Those particularly captured the feeling of the first two films. Everything else I've seen has tended to be rather generic space soldiers shooting things - just another bug hunt.

 

[Foxbat]

The one thing I've gained (beyond the first two excellent movies) from this franchise is an appreciation of H.R. Giger's work.

 

[Vince W]

I wonder about the spin-off stuff? The only really good bits I've seen have been the Colonial Marines Technical Manual by Lee Brimmicombe-Wood and the computer game Alien: Isolation (and the better making-of books). Those particularly captured the feeling of the first two films. Everything else I've seen has tended to be rather generic space soldiers shooting things - just another bug hunt.

The old game Aliens vs. Predator from is perhaps the best game they ever did for the franchise. There were many moments in that game that caused me to jump out from being startled. I need to play it again some dark night.

As for Alien: Covenant, I can only describe it as a film I once saw.

 

[Venusian Broon]

As for Alien: Covenant, I can only describe it as a film I once saw.

The most postive thing I said about the film after watching it was: Danny McBride's performance was a highlight.

Then I ran out of postive things to say about it.