"Then what would have saved the film for you, then? A remake of Alien 1 or 3? Because from the sounds of it, that's what you wanted and is why you don't like Covenant."
Yes, I'm ready for something different that focuses on the xenomorph hunting people. As far as covenant goes, what could have saved it would have been a giger-world horror fest, with shaw and david at the center of it.
If you're talking about re-writes, I'm a bit tired, so let's go with the assumption that paradise was the same as in covenant, and not like the interior of the juggernauts.
Had Covenant been about the events surrounding the trip to paradise, it would have been much better. For instance, the engineer technology is basically explained by David, and they depart. After some time, he gains shaw's trust again, and is repaired. We spend roughly 30-40 minutes with them on the juggernaut before shaw is put in cryosleep. Basically a longer version of what we saw in the extra scenes. After Shaw goes into cryo, we follow David for a short time, and see what he discovers, i.e. the true purpose of the black goo and the engineer's plans for our destruction, with possibly some greater motives and details revealed that could come into play in the 3rd movie. Perhaps some Great God figure, maybe the Alien as the Devil or something. Either way, we'd have answers to go on.
They'd arrive at paradise. David is having conflicting views on what to do, knowing the engineers will demand shaw's death, and most likely david's as well. He decides to black goo the engineers, even though it causes David some form of anguish, as he finds their hatred of humanity or perhaps some form of higher technology or ideals to be relatable. Maybe they are just creations of someone else, like him. As he destroys them, shaw is awakened. He is attacked by his beloved, and the ship is crashed. Shaw is infuriated with David, and leaves the city, and uses stores from Vickers pod to plant wheat and other crops to survive.
David, in his loneliness begins to wander the city and study everything. We're shown many beautiful interior and large rooms filled with sculptures and scrolls, great murals akin to the one's from Prometheus. Meanwhile shaw is busy building a basic habitat by the lake (homage to daniels here) During a particularly violent storm, David ventures somehow into a large room with a giant sculpture of the original Alien. Some minor inscriptions later, perhaps engineers worshipping the creature as some form of becoming a higher entity. Regardless, he is fascinated. He has found his purpose and searches the temple records for any data or instructions, thus beginning his experiments.
After some years, shaw returns to the city. She finds david in his temple, and is warmly greeted. David soon becomes evasive regarding his activities during the past few years, and tells shaw that he has located other ships below the city that they can use to get home. At some point, one of David's experiments escapes, and stalks shaw through the city. After a prolonged hunt, David kills the Alien as it is about to kill shaw. Shaw demands to know what David has really been doing. She refuses to understand, and leaves to take one of the engineer ships back to earth. Fearing being alone forever, or having his work undone by a returning human force, he follows and attacks her. Overcome with madness and severely wounded, he eventually releases his perfect creation, (the original face-hugger), which manages to overcome shaw just as she escapes. He says something biblical as the ship speeds away, perhaps "it is done" and dies.
Shaw awakens from coma aboard the ancient juggernaut, she climbs into the cockpit and sets a course for earth. She begins to record some kind of log or speech, in homage to the original Alien. As the movie seems to end, she screams and heaves, as the first chestburster, a queen, erupts from her chest. The juggernaut crashes on lv-426. The cockpit, sensing trauma to the pilot, engages an emergency signal. She dies, as the camera pans down to a smoking hole in the floor.
Mic Drop
C'mon I tried.
"A remake of Alien 1 or 3?"
Not a remake, no. Sometimes people think if someone wants a story similar to any of the original movies, they want a remake. You can have a similar structure without remaking the same film. Would I like the formula to be repeated, yes. Sometimes it pays not to be picky. Give me a ship, some good characters, and an alien, and I'm a happy boy. People tend to forget how simple that first movie was, and yet, it was a masterwork.
