Alien: Covenant 2017

hum...
I might be biased but I thought this was a complete waste of my time !
YES this is beautiful, YES there is some action and YES the aliens (and gory scenes) are great in this movie, but well...
I'm not spoiling there but : how can a crew responsible for 2000+ lives in a colony mission be so incompetent ?
I know the whole point of Alien films is to mix human errors and bad luck to make bad times, but this is just too much !
Overall, the scenario was quite hollow.

I'll be spoiling a bit from now on :

really the only enjoyable moments were brought by the Synthetic stranded on the planet, this old generation David who served Dr Shaw was the only one bringing a bit of character depth, in the end I only wished he would "win" and was pleased to see that that's what happened.
The complete lack of responsibility from the crew was numbing : who would risk losing a spacecraft with thousands of souls onboard waiting to create a colony in a raging storm just to hope to have a contact with his half ? Who would again risk all colonists' lives and decades of preparations just to visit a planet they barely know anything of, just because they received a lost transmission of some singing ?
I know these are classic ways to bring this kind of situation in films, but the way it was brought was not subtle in the least.
In the end, while it was pretty clear for me that they had returned with the wrong David, this was the only really enjoyable moment.

Again, I'm encouraging everyone reading me to see for themselves and make their opinion, but for me this was a miss.

TL:DR Watch Alien, then Aliens, then play Alien: Isolation, then watch the assembly cut of Alien 3. You're done after that.

I've thought of a lot of different ways I could open this review, but I'm going to do something simple... and start with a checklist; a list of questions for a typical audience member.

1. Do you want a suspenseful slow-burn gripping horror movie? If you answered yes, you're not going to get it at all.

2. Do you want a memorable and unique action thriller with new and exciting ways to show suspenseful gripping warfare? If you answered yes, you're not going to get that either.

3. Do you want memorable and interesting characters that go through arcs, have interesting personalities, and you eventually become really attached to them? If you answered yes, you're looking in the wrong fucking place, boyo.

4. Do you want a philosophical interesting study of human nature that chronicles the creation of a deadly species; one study that makes you question the existence of mankind? If you answered yes, you'll get a very shallow and uninteresting concept like that doesn't go anywhere, but it's kind of there.

5. Do you want a shitty lackluster horror movie that relies on tons of jump-scares, no tension or suspense, absolutely retarded humans that don't act like real people, sprinkles of exposition and pseudo-intellectual dialogue about creation, absolutely atrocious looking CGI, and constant copycat recreations of stuff that happened in the original Alien? If you answered yes, THEN THIS IS THE MOVIE FOR YOU!

Alien: Covenant is really an anomaly of a movie for me. I've never been so confused at the choices made by a director and a screenwriter, while I was watching the movie. I really want to know what was going through their heads. I want to ask them this one question: "What was the goal of this movie?"

As a horror movie, it fails on every front imaginable. You know that movie "The Cabin in the Woods"? The movie where the scientists release toxins into a typical horror movie cabin to cloud the visitors' judgement, and that explains why so many horror movie characters make really stupid decisions? Yeah, imagine that concept, but it was done for serious. The absolute baffling and obviously illogical choices some of these characters make, actually make me roll my head in utter disbelief at how stupid these colonists are. They don't wear helmets when going onto an alien planet, they don't follow any sort of protocol, they don't follow any code, they decide to poke everything they see, and generally act like incompetent children. The fact these people were given the task to colonize another world and be responsible for the lives of over 2,000 colonists is unbelievable. I don't buy it for a fucking second.

Continued from the last paragraph, there's this one scene about 1/3 into the movie, where one the passengers gets infected with this kind of bionic metal floating thing and instantly becomes sick. He's dragged back to the space shuttle that's landed on the planet and is put into the medical room. Girl 1 gets locked into the room with Infected 1. Girl 2, who was already on the space shuttle, locks them both in and refuses to open the door. Infected 1 starts to shake rapidly and something starts to pop out his back, blood flying everywhere. Girl 1, for some fucking reason, decides to hug Infected 1 like the dumb shit she is. The little xenomorph pops out Infected 1's back in a little blood sac, and proceeds to attack Girl 1. Meanwhile, Girl 2 is acting like frantic spaz and goes and grabs a shotgun. She opens back up the room and walks slowly to Girl 1, who's being ripped apart by the alien. She then slips on the pool of blood like a fucking idiot and accidentally fires the gun. She gets up and tries to scramble out of the room, and then gets her foot caught in door, crippling it, again, like a complete idiot. The alien chases her out of the room into the cargo bay of the shuttle, where she proceeds to just shoot wildly until she fires at a gas canister, blowing up the entire space shuttle, stranding all the other passengers on the planet.

Now, when it comes to logic in movies, I'm not harsh on it at all. I'm actually an advocate for suspending disbelief and just accepting that sometimes, people do dumb shit when they're scared. Yes it's true, people when they're clouded by emotions, will act incoherently or stupidly. I firmly believe that in movies and I know people will write characters like that to make them more believable But this... this scene, was so fucking infuriating to watch. Was it supposed to be silly? Was it supposed to be scary? What was the point of this scene? I was watching a really pathetic human acting like a complete moron acting crazy, until she decides to shoot a gas canister. The entire sequence was really just sad to watch, and not in a good scary way.

And even as an action sequence, it's not thrilling or intense either. I wasn't riveted or on the edge of my seat as the events before me unfolded. I knew exactly what was going to happen, with the xenomorph poping out Infected 1's back, but this raises me to a big point that I want to bring up, one of the fundamental biggest problems I had with the movie, besides the fact it's not scary:

The xenomorphs themselves are not scary at all. I'm actually amazed people are giving this movie a pass, rating it with like a 3/5 or higher. I just don't believe that in the slightest. When I think of Alien, I think of claustrophobic terrifying corridor encounters with a deadly and unknown hostile life-form that could kill you in an instant. This nail-biting and tension-filled wait for the thing to go away. Ridley Scott, with this movie, effectively ruins what makes the Alien scary. I have NO problem with Scott trying to explore the mythos of the alien universe, and even explain where the xenomorphs came from. I don't particularly like it, I think it ruins the mystery of the alien, but I can appreciate Scott trying to do something different. But the way the aliens are showcased in this movie, don't make them out to be the terrifying monsters that lurk in the shadow, waiting to strike and then pounce back into the darkness, just ready to sneak up on you. They're now just generic movie monsters now, not exhibiting any of the familiar traits or behaviors of xenomorphs from the original trilogy. Instead of hiding and lurking in the shadows like a deadly creature, these fuckers are running out in the open, just attack humans aimlessly. I felt like I was watching a Friday the 13th movie, but if Jason Vorhees was just skinned over with a alien suit. When I see a xenomorph just come up behind a naked couple in the shower, I don't think of alien, I think of Shylock cliche horror from other movies that are terrible, especially the Friday the 13th sequels. When I see a xenomorph attack a fucking security camera for no reason, other than to give the audience a little laugh, that doesn't feel like Alien. I'm not saying the movie has to be the same as the original, hell, far from it. I want them to do stuff that's different, but you have to understand the rules and behaviors of the world you're exploring first. It's like Ridley Scott forgot the movie he was trying to make.

Another two problems I have with the xenomorphs, are the visual effects and the animation. It's sad to me to think that human suits from over 40 years still look better than CGI from this year. I don't know who was in charge of creating the digital effects for this movie, I don't know if they were rushed or something, but effects for the aliens was fucking terrible. Not once was I convinced in the whole movie, that what I was looking at was a real alien that posed a threat to the humans. The glossy and horribly modeled xenomorph models looked like they were from a low budget experiment project, not a big budgeted blockbuster. But even with the awkward and awful looking models, I felt the animations were all wrong. Thank about what a xenomorph is: It's an alien that infects it's host and then takes the form of the host it infected. 100% verifiably based on what we've seen in the alien universe thus far, when a facehugger infects a human, the resulting xenomorph looks and moves like a human. It stands upright and walks like a human. When a facehugger infects an animal, let's say a dog, the resulting xenomorph movies on all-fours and acts like a dog. We saw this in both Alien and in Alien 3. But for some reason in Alien: Covenant, when the facehugger takes over the human captain, the resulting xenomorph moves more like an animal... running on all-fours. Which, if you think about it doesn't make any sense, based on what we've seen. Yes, Ridley Scott could just be rectonning Alien 3 because "most fans didn't like it," but this animation fundamentally undermines what the term "xenoMORPH" stands for. The embryo morphs into the lifeform it's taken over. It takes the physical traits from it's host. But besides that glaring error in the choice of animation, the actual digital movement of the xenomorph model looked really fake and stupid. The way it ran down corridors and up and down ladders was not convincing in the slightest.

And even when the horror doesn't work, the action doesn't work either. You'd think they'd be able to get one of these elements right, but nope. Because there's no tension in the air and xenomorphs are just running out in the open like deer or whatever, there's no reason for me to get invested in the close-encounters action that's happening. Sure, some people shoot some guns and there's a part at the end where newcomer-captain Daniels is dangling off a space shuttle, but none of the action feels new and fresh. In fact, most of it feels extremely anti-climactic. It feels kind of tact on, like Ridley Scott was making one movie and realized, "Oh yeah, I have to make this a little exciting for audience members. I'll just throw in an action scene here and there. That'll shut them up." None of it feels earned. It just feels like it happens for the sake of happening, and Scott doesn't try to do anything unique with the direction. I was thoroughly bored in every 2 action scenes. The xenomorph just follows the heroes out onto the second space shuttle that comes down, and chases them like a generic bad guy. What happened to the alien sneaking up and avoiding detection, luring the victims into a false sense of security?
The climax of this jumbled mess was literally a carbon copy of the ending from both Alien and Aliens. New-captain Daniels and Danny McBride's character lure the xenomorph into the cargo bay back on the main ship, and then blow the fucker out into space. Same shit again. Nothing original or done differently. I'm really getting sick of it.

Okay, now will all my grievances out of the way, all of my anger hopefully vented, there is one thing critics and audiences are trying to give this movie credit for, or even justifying their reason for the movie earning a fucking 3 stars or higher. Michael Fassbender. He's the center of the movie. He's the core of what this movie's about. The very first scene is his character David, from Prometheus, having a discussion with his creator. This gets them into a talk about what it's like to create, and where humanity will go. Is the role of humans to die off and make way for the next creation from father? Ridley Scott tries to use Fassbender as a tool to try to talk philosophically about life and death, and the horrors of creation. There's a back and forth sequence in the middle of the movie where David and Walter, another synthetic android that looks like David, have a conversation how David has followed in his fathers footsteps, and experimented to create his own life, effectively building the alien xenomorphs. Yes, the synthetic David actually created the xenomorphs, which, I'm okay with the writers doing something interesting like that, but... it doesn't go anywhere or try to answer real serious questions. It just brings up some empty blanket questions about creation and why it's horrific, but never does anything with it. In one scene with the original captain from the colonist crew, he gets taken over by a facehugger, and later, when the xenomorph chestbursts out of his stomach, sad piano and violin music plays, trying to poise some kind of greater question about the xenomorph. To me personally, it doesn't do anything other than just make the aliens not scary anymore. It actually makes me not scared of the xenomorphs anymore. Now they just seem like toys a man came up with, which is fine idea... if the man who created them was actually scary. Michael Fassbender does a decent job with the material he has, and he's a fine actor, but in no way is he intimidating, and I don't believe for a second that he created the xenomorphs. Also, this raises the question, what about the alien queen in the movie 'Aliens'? Where did she come from? The xenomorphs aren't a race like previously thought? Why isn't this explained? Oh, I have to wait until the NEXT sequel to learn that. Goddamn it.

When it tries to be smart, it doesn't work. When it tries to be scary, it doesn't work. When it tries to be action-packed, it doesn't work. When it tries to add depth to the characters, it doesn't work. I didn't like really anything this movie had to offer. I thought some of the music was decent and Michael Fassbender's performance was alright, but that's not enough to save a movie like this. When I think about Covenant, then I think about Alien, it just makes me sad. The original Alien was a groundbreaking masterpiece that worked because it was filled with tension. Ridley Scott is now just using the Alien franchise to try to act pretentious, calling Alien: Covenant a "thinking man's Alien movie." Oh, bite me, Ridley. Your movie isn't smart in any way. It's terribly paced, horribly focused, not scary, not interesting, and not worthy anyone's time.

This is the Attack of the Clones of the Alien franchise. Ridley Scott is now George Lucas, trying to claim ultimate ownership of the franchise. It's quite sad. Very disappointed in this disaster.

Had no expectations, still was annoyed.
Don't get me wrong, still a good horror movie. Not really sci-fi. But this is the SAME thing as Prometheus; a bunch of seemingly untrained people behaving rashly in a completely unknown and alien planet not caring about what kind of fauna and eco system they might find. It is extraordinary how people whith such responsibilities (they care for thousands of sleeping colonists) can behave so stupidly. I am no writer - yet this is so obviously bad and irritating.
Back to story - bad things happen, lots of them die. At the end, the survivors, along with an android fly away to the unknown. You see that ending from miles away too.
Like I said, this is Prometheus all over again. From the story POV and the characters' writing.

Blomkamp should have made that Alien movie, as it was originally planned. Scott has proven enough that he doesn't have it anymore. Give it to ambitious people with fresh views. I recommend fans of sci-fi/horror to check Oats Studio, the small indie studio Blomkamp created. The short movies they make show they could make cool stuff, if they were given the means and opportunity.

Alien: Covenant is a mix of classic Alien elements and Prometheus-style dialogue and pretentiousness. The film features the return of classic Alien monsters such as the bursters, chest bursters, face huggers, Xenomorphs, and Neomorphs, as well as familiar claustrophobic settings. Set 10 years after the events of Prometheus, the film follows the crew of the USCSS Covenant as they head towards a paradise planet, but a catastrophe causes them to deviate to a new planet where they encounter the monstrous Neomorphs and the return of the Xenomorph. The film boasts stunning visuals and cinematography, intense action and gore, and a strong cast, but suffers from heavy and overly technical dialogue, a slow pacing in the first act, and predictable plot twists.

Alien: Covenant es una mezcla de elementos clásicos de Alien y diálogos y pretensiones al estilo de Prometheus. La película presenta el regreso de los monstruos alienígenas clásicos, como los bursters, chest bursters, face huggers, Xenomorphs y Neomorphs, así como escenarios claustrofóbicos familiares. Ambientada 10 años después de los eventos de Prometheus, la película sigue a la tripulación del USCSS Covenant mientras se dirigen hacia un planeta paradisíaco, pero una catástrofe hace que se desvíen a un nuevo planeta donde se encuentran con los monstruosos Neomorphs y el regreso del Xenomorph. La película cuenta con imágenes y cinematografía impresionantes, acción intensa y gore, y un elenco fuerte, pero adolece de diálogos pesados ​​y demasiado técnicos, un ritmo lento en el primer acto y giros de trama predecibles.

"I'll do the fingering"

I liked "Alien: Covenant" a lot. Didn't have much expectations going in and was pleased of what I saw. It improves a lot of the issues people had with "PROMETHEUS" and brings the original horror back to the series. While I can't say "Covenant" is a great movie or anything (or just another alien re-hash). However, at least this movie gives it's prequel a purpose and opens doors for future films. It's a movie for both fans of Alien and Prometheus.

For me, I really liked Prometheus and was interested in the ideas it brought up. I mean, I do agree the character's were idiots, but I wouldn't call the rest of movie complete sh*t because of that. The criticism were so heavy that it made Ridley Scott change his mind of the original plans for the sequels. By giving us the alien, the space crew, and lots of blood.

How lovely

Ridley Scott once again knocks it out of the park. The intensity, beautiful landscapes, and the almost poetic feel to it. Leaving you sinking in your seat with the amount of terror and gory details on screen. Pretty much a trademark for Scott. It's a slasher film in space, but steps away from being anything generic.

I ain't the first to say this, but at this point I don't care, because Michael Fassbender is such an amazing actor. One of the most versatile actors working today and he kills it in every scene. Playing double roles as David / Walter - who are the most fascinating characters with some compelling scenes together. Quite honestly, he's scarier than the Xenomorphs themselves and the movie is aware of this. The aliens are pretty much afterthoughts. That's how good he is.

However, Covenant has it's flaws. The mash up of Alien and Prometheus could have been a lot sharper, as it kept switching tones and should have been one thing. Especially in the third act which suffers from that tone problem and was too overblown. Without spoiling anything, but there's a twist at the end which was absurdly obvious and easy to predict.

Speaking of predictable, every time a character is going to die (or bite the dust if you like), the film makes it very obvious who's going out. It would have been great if there were some surprises. Like a major character who we thought is the lead, gets killed before the horror starts. It's nothing new, but it's something.

Overall rating: Despite my issues, I was surprise of how much I liked this. I already know this is going to be ripped to pieces by people in a few months time, but like always, I don't care.

Not much is answered in Alien: Covenant - although the unknown is more terrifying.

The story, the pitch:

Chained for a distant planet on the opposite side of the galaxy, the crew of the Covenant colony discovers what they think is an unexplored paradise, but is actually a dark and dangerous world - the only inhabitant of which is the "synthetic" David, Survivor of The Prometheus Condemned Expedition

It stupid story and the aliens are really less scary compared to other Alien (especially with the beautiful Sygourney Weaver) at least the first three aliens really given the scare, the scare. (And there were less special effects at that time)

More light the film is really bad dark fixing to review! ! ! No suspense either! ! !

I give for the moment a score of 4 for this film very dark, neither queens nor heads
I found the movie Alien Convenant on the ADDON ALLUC with kodi
And please in French (average quality) I find the film very dark lighting to review ...
And especially very commercial ... I do not think it is Ridley Scott who is making this film ... For the moment it is a real wounded ....
Compared to alien with Sigourney Weaver nothing to see ... The first few minutes are without any interest ...

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l'histoire , le pitch :

Enchaîné pour une planète éloignée sur le côté opposé de la galaxie, l'équipage de la colonie Covenant découvre ce qu'ils pensent être un paradis inexploré, mais est en fait un monde sombre et dangereux - dont le seul habitant est le «synthétique» David, survivant de L'expédition condamnée Prometheus

qu'elle histoire tant stupide et les aliens sont vraiment moins effrayants par rapport aux autres Alien ( surtout avec la belle Sygourney Weaver ) au moins les trois premiers aliens donnés vraiment la trouille, la frousse. ( et il y avait moins d'effet spéciaux à cette époque )

de plus la lumière du film est vraiment mauvaise sombre trucage à revoir ! ! ! pas de suspense non plus ! ! !

Je donne pour le moment une note de 4 pour ce film très sombre , ni queux ni têtes
J'ai trouvé pour le visionner aujourd'hui chez moi le film Alien Convenant sur l' ADDON ALLUC avec kodi
et s'il vous plait en français ( qualité moyenne) je trouve le film très sombre éclairage à revoir ...
et surtout très commercial ... je ne pense pas que ce soit Ridley Scott qui est fait ce film ... Pour le moment c'est un vrai navé....
par rapport à alien avec Sigourney Weaver rien à voir ... Les premieres minutes sont sans aucuns intérêts ...

========================================================================================

He encontrado hoy para ver la película Alien casa Acordar ADDON Alluc con Kodi
y por favor en Francés (calidad media) me parece la película muy oscura y muy comercial ...
frente Sigourney Weaver extranjero sin nada que hacer ... Los primeros minutos son sin ningún interés ...

I found the movie Alien Convenant on the ADDON ALLUC with kodi
And please in French (average quality) I find the film very dark and especially very commercial ...
Compared to alien with Sigourney Weaver nothing to see ... The first few minutes are without any interest ...

What a great one.

I've read a couple of reviews before watching it and many people said they were dissapointed by the rather formulaic development. The only thing left for me to think now that I've seen it, is that they didn't get the point. It is formulaic -which is not bad per se. Why wouldn't it be if it is part of a franchise-, but there is so much more laying beneath than calling it "superficial" is a mere act of ignorance or disinformation. It is true, however, that the characters are a little bland, but in my opinion, they are here just as an excuse for the bigger image to be fulfilled.

This is a bold movie. It follows the lines of Prometheus, with dark scenery, monolithic architecture and a couple of beautifully shot landscapes. The imagery and the music have been taken care of and set in a compelling manner. Every little piece of the production seems well-thought; and so, the result is a film with a strong personality.

The plot is a direct sequel to the aforementioned movie not only in an aesthetic way, but also in mood, and you should really watch it first to get the most out of this one. Then you would get the grip expected by the director and the script writers. This is not a movie about the Covenant crew as the name would make you think. It is not even a movie about the xenomorph. The first scene of the film clarifies that.

Alien: Covenant is more a suspense / mistery film with action brushstrokes, that the other way around; so if you are planning in getting a generic deep-space, isolation, horror movie, you might be a little dissapointed. However, if you are a lover of the franchise, or are looking for answers left hanging by Prometheus and get some action too, this would be a hell of a ride.

"I'll do the fingering"

I liked "Alien: Covenant" a lot. Didn't have much expectations going in and was pleased of what I saw. It improves a lot of the issues people had with "PROMETHEUS" and brings the original horror back to the series. While I can't say "Covenant" is a great movie or anything (or just another alien re-hash). However, at least this movie gives it's prequel a purpose and opens doors for future films. It's a movie for both fans of Alien and Prometheus.

For me, I really liked Prometheus and was interested in the ideas it brought up. I mean, I do agree the character's were idiots, but I wouldn't call the rest of movie complete sh*t because of that. The criticism were so heavy that it made Ridley Scott change his mind of the original plans for the sequels. By giving us the alien, the space crew, and lots of blood.

How lovely

Ridley Scott once again knocks it out of the park. The intensity, beautiful landscapes, and the almost poetic feel to it. Leaving you sinking in your seat with the amount of terror and gory details on screen. Pretty much a trademark for Scott. It's a slasher film in space, but steps away from being anything generic.

I ain't the first to say this, but at this point I don't care, because Michael Fassbender is such an amazing actor. One of the most versatile actors working today and he kills it in every scene. Playing double roles as David / Walter - who are the most fascinating characters with some compelling scenes together. Quite honestly, he's scarier than the Xenomorphs themselves and the movie is aware of this. The aliens are pretty much afterthoughts. That's how good he is.

However, Covenant has it's flaws. The mash up of Alien and Prometheus could have been a lot sharper, as it kept switching tones and should have been one thing. Especially in the third act which suffers from that tone problem and was too overblown. Without spoiling anything, but there's a twist at the end which was absurdly obvious and easy to predict.

Speaking of predictable, every time a character is going to die (or bite the dust if you like), the film makes it very obvious who's going out. It would have been great if there were some surprises. Like a major character who we thought is the lead, gets killed before the horror starts. It's nothing new, but it's something.

Overall rating: Despite my issues, I was surprise of how much I liked this. I already know this is going to be ripped to pieces by people in a few months time, but like always, I don't care.

Not much is answered in Alien: Covenant - although the unknown is more terrifying.

Ten-plus years after the fate of the Prometheus, a new venture stumbles across its remains and inadvertently sets loose the dark, dangerous secrets contained therein.

Where director Ridley Scott over-indulged his cryptic, cerebral side with Prometheus, here he over-corrects that course and produces a film that seems a dash too superficial. After five Alien films (seven if you include the Predator crossovers) there's already plenty of lore to feed on, and this time Scott seems content to do precisely that, rather than adding another layer to the onion skin. It's an inessential film - apart from the final fate of the preceding crew, we learn very little - but an efficient, well-made one.

I felt more attached to the human element of this cast, which was a problem with Prometheus, so their violent trials provide better tension. Danny McBride is an unusual choice for the hero, and his performance doesn't completely justify the distraction of such a familiar face, but it's not like that's uncharted territory for the franchise so I'm willing to give some leeway. Elsewhere, Michael Fassbender seems wasted in a dual role as matching cyborgs with a weakness for long, Shakespearean monologues.

Strong as an action picture, with some good splashes of horror, but not nearly the all-engulfing experience one might expect from this director / subject pairing.