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 Alien: Covenant 

Rate this film.
A 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
B 8%  8%  [ 1 ]
C 67%  67%  [ 8 ]
D 25%  25%  [ 3 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 12

 Alien: Covenant 
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Extraordinary
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Post Alien: Covenant
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Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world -- whose sole inhabitant is the "synthetic" David, survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.


Thu May 11, 2017 2:23 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
Grade: C

Get ready for ALIEN's greatest hits as directed by Rick Rosenthal.

Act 1 is ALIEN.

Act 2 is PROMETHEUS.

Act 3 is ALIENS.

And none of them are given time to breathe. Scott only seems interested in the PROMETHEUS section (which is easily the most effective of the film), and everything else feels like obligation filmmaking.

Fassbender is fantastic. Billy Crudup is nearly as good. There are singular moments that work.

But then the xenomorph proper is born, and we're talking ALIEN VS. PREDATOR levels of disposable, weightless monster.

When the credits started, I thought this was a B-. But the more I think about it, the more disappointed I am. The inspiration is drowned out by the mundane and familiar.

It's not the worst ALIEN film, but it's easily the most wasteful of its parts.


Thu May 11, 2017 2:24 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
I definitely agree that it felt like a greatest hits version of the franchise, a mashup of all the three films mentioned. But I also thought it was a lot of fun - consistently nasty and entertaining. There are quite a number of good scares and setpieces and the entire cast is great. Michael Fassbender runs away with the movie. B+


Thu May 11, 2017 9:00 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
I am not entirely sure which audience this film is for, but I did not enjoy it very much, and I say this as a huge fan of not only the widely beloved Alien and Aliens, but also the divisive Prometheus. Alien: Covenant attempts to be approximately 25 percent Prometheus sequel, 75 percent Alien-franchise best-of compilation, and it often feels at at cross-purposes and/or unproductive. As a follow-up to Prometheus, it includes, to its credit, the tantalizing return of the android David, now even more assured and diabolical in his creation-and-destruction-minded curiosity and once again played excellently by Michael Fassbender (who also portrays Walter, a newer, more obedient model). However, those of us intrigued by the Engineers, the looming, alabaster alien beings who planted the seed of life on earth and then set out to destroy their own creation, are not well-served, with this thread of intergalactic mystery and wonder rapidly being cut loose and discarded (the Engineers are dead because David dropped their own weapons on their capital city, move along now). Then there is the rest of the film, a type of supercharged-yet-underdeveloped variation on key moments from Alien and Aliens. And it is honestly just never very scary or propulsive; Ridley Scott seems slightly bored directing the myriad scenes of carnage and chaos, and the iconic beats (aliens bursting from people's bodies, the inevitable attempt to jettison one into space) register more as obligatory than visceral. A scene where steamy shower sex is interrupted by a hungry alien feels vulgar and more in the spirit of an Alien vs. Predator cash-in than a high-minded, Scott-directed picture. Other than Fassbender, the acting is fine, but not memorable: Katherine Waterston is a capable-but-slightly-bland heroine; Danny McBride delivers his usual burly charisma; Billy Crudup nobly endeavors to infuse his self-doubting-leader role with more gravitas and soul than is on the page; and everyone else blurs together, waiting their turn to violently die.

C

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Fri May 19, 2017 12:03 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
People annoyed by the questionable safety practices in Prometheus should love, "Hey, maybe we should just change course and land the 2,000 sleeping colonists in our charge on this other random planet." ;)

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Fri May 19, 2017 12:11 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
Entertaining but yeah, the more I think about it the more I'm like 'eh'. Fassbender elevates it though.


Fri May 19, 2017 2:37 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
It's dumb as shit, but I think the scenes make more sense in the context of the film than they do in Prometheus. Some of it did feel like intentional camp, as well.
Spoiler: show
Two characters slipping in the same pool of blood certainly felt that way. All it was missing a Benny Hill tune.


Overall, I ended up having a lot more fun with it than I ever did with Prometheus, but it's not nearly as gorgeous to look at as Prometheus, which had some truly remarkable set design. I'd probably hover around a C currently. Fassbender is remarkably good, even when his character veers into some real weird territory.

"I'll do the fingering".... uh-huh :funny:


Fri May 19, 2017 2:41 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
Was the final scene a shout-out to this or what?

;)


Fri May 19, 2017 2:44 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
The Dark Shape wrote:
Act 1 is ALIEN.

Act 2 is PROMETHEUS.

Act 3 is ALIENS.
This breakdown is kind of intriguing to me, because I'd argue the film is a lot closer to being Prometheus + Alien 3.


Fri May 19, 2017 5:49 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
It feels as if the film has two finales. The final showdown with the alien as they leave the Engineers' planet and the alien loose on the ship. These scenes pile on top of each other more than they complement one another. The latter could be cut, in my opinion. It feels perfunctory (a halfhearted five-minute run-through of the 1979 classic) and just a distraction while we wait for the film to reveal "Walter" is David (because come on).

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Fri May 19, 2017 7:13 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
I wonder how many audience didn't catch on to the twist by time it's revealed. Cutting away from the end of the fight is a dead giveaway, and then there's the smile from notDavid, and then there's that not-so-brief moment looking at the xenomorph through the video camera. It seems kind of cruel to even give Daniels that moment of realization (since, one assumes, she will get done in with as much fanfare as Shaw) and not have David's reveal be a bit more subtle.

Also, after that Collider article a few months ago hyped up the amount of blood in this movie (40 gallon drums! More violent than Saving Private Ryan!), it actually seemed somewhat subdued compared to my expectations. It was actually relieving, in fact.


Fri May 19, 2017 11:51 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
Completely devoid of any horror this is basically a fan service that is elevated by Fassbender's turn as David/Walter here. Given the budget it looks really cheap and some of the character motivations (landing on a different planet) seems odd.

5/10


Sat May 20, 2017 2:02 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
A big step down from Prometheus, which I loved. It's just more of the same and I thought this would concentrate much more on the Engineers. I wasn't exactly bored by it but it could have been so much more than the average-as-hell Alien movie we got. Meh.


Sat May 20, 2017 7:20 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
Who here thinks there will be a directors cut.......youtube wink wink anyone
:funny: :grrr:

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Sat May 20, 2017 8:00 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
Regarding David:

Spoiler: show
The David/Walter climax is too clunky and does not work. In terms of a trick, my mind was unable to accept David reaching for a knife while quoting John Milton followed by a quick cut to (presumably) Walter sprinting towards the cargo transporter.

Immediately it is obvious that something is up especially with the franchise's history of rebellious or evil AI. Why didn't MUTHER recognize the Alien embryos aboard the ship like it did the alien itself?


Sat May 20, 2017 11:21 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
Riggs wrote:
I thought this would concentrate much more on the Engineers

This is what disappoints me most. I still want the sequel Prometheus promised, with Shaw and David exploring the world of the Engineers. The way this film rapidly dismisses them will always annoy me. The problem is compounded by the fact Ridley just does not deliver much of a horror movie, either. It is not a scary or visceral picture.

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Sat May 20, 2017 12:30 pm
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
The greatest sin this movie commits, is completely shitting on the Alien Lore. David doing biological studies on the goo monsters until he comes up with the xenomorph is completely ridiculous and robs them of the sense of mystery they had about their origins. Now they are obedient dogs that wave their hands, mimicking their master....ugh. Not to mention how awful they looked here. Using cgi to bring creatures to life that were previously done with practical effects (in the best 2 movies) is just disappointing and a jarring change. The best way would have been an effective blend between both technqiues, but as far as I could tell, they went almost completely cg with all the creatures here.

Inconsistencies are everywhere, with chestbursters appearing within minutes of the victim being facehugged. Why was the black goo suddenly in small orbs laying on the forest floor that broke into aerosol form when touched? Why did that airborne strain cause almost immediate chest/back bursting of these hybrid creatures? Cringey and seriously awkward interactions between the two androids, including a martial arts fight, because fuck it, why not?! There are some interesting ideas presented with the more machine like Walter and the more free and creative David, but it's just handled horribly. The whole engineer plotline, which I loved from Prometheus, is shit on, as is that whole movie pretty much. Why did they change the look of the engineers? Those people that got wiped out looked far more normal than the engineers presented in Prometheus. Also, what the hell were they all doing gathering in that one open space? And how this ties into there being a derelict juggernaut ship with eggs and a fossilized space jockey on lv-426 in Alien, is still a mystery.

Production values are still exemplary, as is the case with Ridley Scott movies, and the music is quite good (I smiled when the main Prometheus theme came in and even later played on the flute...lol...that's one of the best themes of the last 20 years). And there are some nice action set pieces in the last third. It's just that, by that time, the story had gone so far off the deep end that I didn't care.

Such wasted potential.

ugh/10


Sat May 20, 2017 6:37 pm
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
Yes, the film reduces the intergalactic-traveling, life-creating, Adonis-esque Engineers to a type of trite "native" population who only gaze in awe as they are destroyed from above. I guess at least one is still alive, though: the one Ripley's fellow crew members find dead in the original Alien.

The xenomorph and its oral delivery system is an ineffective evolution considering how fast the airborne spores cause death. David should have stopped while he was ahead.

I swear there were visual references to the xenomorph in Prometheus' production design. Then this film reveals they are the exclusive creation of David. Eh.

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Sat May 20, 2017 6:45 pm
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
ALIEN COVENANT

This is an example of prequelitis. It was almost 100% terrible. I did sit through this but was very frustrated to say the least. I was close to walking out but I had to finish this thing. There are just multiple plot problems that don't make much sense to me on top of just destroying any mystery of the alien organism. Yes, prometheus had a version of it but that wasn't an alien even at the end. This film credits it all to a freaking droid. I'm just so shocked and bewildered by what just happened.

Grade F

* I originally picked a D but I regret being that generous just minutes later *

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Sat May 20, 2017 11:33 pm
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
In an interesting twist, the Alien "ripoff" that was released a few months ago, Life, is a better Alien movie than Alien: Covenant is. This is not a bad movie, per se. It has some decent set pieces and gory thrills. But it feels sort of half-hearted, as if Ridley Scott felt compelled to cram in some gruesome facehugger, chestburster activity after the tepid response to Prometheus. Also, the connection to the characters is nonexistent. Michael Fassbender, in a dual role, is really good. But none of the other actors have much to work with, and poor Katherine Waterston ends up with a bland performance with the unfortunate comparison to Ripley. In some ways, this is a "return to form" for the Alien movies, but the marriage between the philosophical ideals brought forth by Prometheus and alien chaos is a bit uneasy. C+


Sun May 21, 2017 11:41 am
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
Boring and bad, all the characters except david were thin and i did not care for any of them. CGI did a disservice to the xenomorphs, having them be so fast and jumping around everywhere made them look less terrifying. Also the editing was crap, i could see the sorry attempt for the twist as soon as that scene cut away. Just a huge misstep for Scott, he say he wants to make more alien films but this will be his last no doubt. I give it a D


Sun May 21, 2017 12:35 pm
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
I've only seen Alien and Aliens and nothing else in the series, but I thought this was solid. I loved the spaceship scenes in the beginning and found the androids interesting. Glad to see Danny McBride in a semi-serious role too. I definitely thought this move would be scarier / gorier, but was kinda glad it didn't turn out to be.

B


Sun May 21, 2017 2:59 pm
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
David wrote:
I swear there were visual references to the xenomorph in Prometheus' production design. Then this film reveals they are the exclusive creation of David. Eh.
You are probably thinking of this

Image

Which is not only clearly a xenomorph (or a protomorph, as I'm being told the creature in this film is called), but the pose is a reference to what was going to be the reason engineers are so pissed off at humans.


Sun May 21, 2017 3:36 pm
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
Fassbender is great. The movie is boring as shit.

And why was it mentioned repeatedly in the trailer that everyone on board is a couple while the movie itself never mentions it (or if it did it was in such a throwaway line that I didn't even notice?)? Is it because they realized they never even bothered to have the actors have any time to develop chemistry so they ditched it? So much for stakes! And it causes the shower scene at the end to feel completely out of place. It already feel out of place to begin with because why would their first instinct be to fuck? As is it's just fucking stupid. And if you're going to be exploitative randomly, why obscure the nudity? Why not go all out?

At this point I just really want the series to tie itself together and be over with. But hey, at least we'll get another Fassbender performance.

C

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Mon May 22, 2017 7:55 pm
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Post Re: Alien: Covenant
The one scene that proves Scott wasn't asleep the entire time: the quarantine scene. Really well done. It would've been perfect if the two women, especially the one married to Tenn, didn't slip in the blood. Both slips felt extremely forced. That and Fassbender were the highlights.

The chase at the end should've had the same intensity. It didn't.

Also, in hindsight, the David twist is very easy to see coming because of that awkward cut in the last scene the two had together. But it should've been especially easy to see coming when David cuts his hair in pretty much the exact same style and length as Walter's. I like that he's thinking that far ahead of everyone, but it's a bit of a tell.

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