Alien Covenant Fan Reviews

[HuDaFuK]

I have yet to see the movie but could it be possible that David

Spoiler

somehow uploaded himself into Walters body? I mean, really an AI's mind would be nothing but a software package installed within the AI synthetic persons hardware (their body)

[close]

The film never shows us exactly what happens but I guess that's a possibility.

[USS-Sulaco]

Why did Mother

Spoiler

open colonists' cryosleep quarters for David at the end of the movie? Walter was Covenant's only synthetic not David. No security protocol? She even calls him David but it the final log Walter uses his real name which is a signal for Mother that something's wrong. Confusing.[/spoiler

[close]

Spoiler

I figured he simply accessed Mother by assuming David's personality before entering himself as a valid crewmember.

[close]

Spoiler

I didn't get that impression. There was serious emphasis put on what David says to MUTHR  'special command override David xxxx' like it was a long established code. Most Likely interp = weyland granted him special executive powers (in aid of the search for a way to prolong weylands life) that have simply been overlooked and not rescinded since the Prometheus mission. Or it is part of a grander, longer term conspiracy we are yet to dwell into

[close]

[Corporal Hicks]

Why did Mother

Spoiler

open colonists' cryosleep quarters for David at the end of the movie? Walter was Covenant's only synthetic not David. No security protocol? She even calls him David but it the final log Walter uses his real name which is a signal for Mother that something's wrong. Confusing.[/spoiler

[close]

Spoiler

I figured he simply accessed Mother by assuming David's personality before entering himself as a valid crewmember.

[close]

I have yet to see the movie but could it be possible that David

Spoiler

somehow uploaded himself into Walters body? I mean, really an AI's mind would be nothing but a software package installed within the AI synthetic persons hardware (their body)

[close]

No. You'll realize why when you see it.

[Imbrie]

Why did Mother

Spoiler

open colonists' cryosleep quarters for David at the end of the movie? Walter was Covenant's only synthetic not David. No security protocol? She even calls him David but it the final log Walter uses his real name which is a signal for Mother that something's wrong. Confusing.[/spoiler

[close]

Spoiler

I figured he simply accessed Mother by assuming David's personality before entering himself as a valid crewmember.

[close]

I have yet to see the movie but could it be possible that David

Spoiler

somehow uploaded himself into Walters body? I mean, really an AI's mind would be nothing but a software package installed within the AI synthetic persons hardware (their body)

[close]

No. You'll realize why when you see it.

Spoiler

It was just a simple switcheroo, right? David performed some sort of command over-ride and MU-TH-UR acknowledged him as David.

[close]

[TheBATMAN]

The scene where David bombs the Engineers is a personification of what Ridley Scott has just done to the franchise. People were right, it wasn't Engineers down there after all. It was us, and Jim Cameron.

The film itself wasn't bad but the lore fan in me is dead.

[John Doe]

Im starting to think Alien Resurrection it´s better Alien movie than Covenant.

Studio Adi must return please....

[Evanus]

Im starting to think Alien Resurrection it´s better Alien movie than Covenant.

Studio Adi must return please....

Their designs were terrible, to be honest. The practical aliens for Covenant look great, the problem is that they've been painted over with CGI.

[reecebomb]

Just got back from the IMAX cinema. I'm a bit tired now but i'll write down some of the thought this film inflicted on me, i'm sure there's a lot that i forgot to add. I know i've had a negative attitude towards the film since the first images and clips started to appear but i still didn't believe it would be that far removed from the real Alien films and even Prometheus. So in a way i'm not very upset because it quite easy for me to dismiss it as another non/canon separate fiction a la tha AVP movies. It felt more like a bizarre nightmare that Shaw would see the first night the juggernaut left the LV-223, this is the only possible way i could believe it would take place in the same universe. This is a fairy tale, a fantasy, a genre that i'm also very fond of, but the original movies at least tried to be as realistic as possible (as much as sci-fi space creature feature could be). As i've said before, Alien feels like a documentary next to this.

As a an Alien film i probably hate it, too soon to say. But imaging it being as a non Alien film it's still deeply flawed yet the Fassbenders perfomance makes it interesting in places that certainly is a welcome diversion from the usual Marvel, F&F and other blockbusters.

Here's my ratings for different categories (mostly viewed from a biased fans perspective):

1. Screenplay and story - 3/10

If you thought that the Prometheus characters behaviour was a bit suspect, then multiply it with 2 and you get this. And it's just not Oram, it would take too much time to list all of the problems.
I think the script is also responsible for serious pacing issues, lack of plausibility and other problems, like not being scary at all.
And last but not least there's the controversial revealing of Alien Origins and engineers fate  + Shaw and the changes to the aliens lifecycle. I was open to see if Ridley could sell me these ideas, but you already know the answer. On other hand, when David appeared, the b-movie esque atmosphere was oddly captivating, he did some strange unconvetional things, which i found amusing to witness. That said the creationism etc is right on the nose, all the sublety was flown out of the airlock. It fails both as an Prometheus sequel and Alien prequel.

2. Sound - 7/10 Functional, but nothing stood out as something that would emphasize atmosphere (think the sounds in Nostromo before the crew wakes up). The neomorph sound like clickers from The Last of US.

3. Visuals - 6/10 This is perhaps one of the most generic looking films Ridley has ever made, which was really suprising. Don't get me wrong, it looked good, but nothing stood out as being very memorable or awe inspiring. It doesn't have it's own identity. I liked the practical sets of the spaceship, but the lightning and the camerawork was a bit weak tbh. The creature cgi was inconsistent, sometimes great and sometimes not very good but always there. I just rewatched Chappie and the droid in that looked more believable than the creatures in A:C. So in that regard, i don't think the cgi here is the best the technology could currently offer, it also wasn't terrible. Holding back on the cgi and using practical fx as much as possible would have helped immensly. Neomorphs looked a bit more real then the protomorph. Overall Prometheus is visually much more memorable and expensive looking, although at least A:C didn't have Guy Pearce with that ridiculous makeup.

4. Actors - 7/10  I think the poor characters of the film were not the fault of the actors, they did what they could with the material. Many seem to agree that Fassy is excellent as David. Though i would have certainly changed a few of the actors, for example i didn't like the pair of Jussie Smollet and Callie Hernadez the same way i didn't like Holloway.

5. Music - 4/10 the only music i remember that was there besides the reworked classic Alien music + the main theme of Prometheus, was the sappy piano daytime tv show music during the sadder moments and

Spoiler

wtf was with the music when the xenomorph bursted, was it supposed to be humorous?

[close]

I would have loved something with the same atmosphere of Sicario and Under the Skin, this just doesn't cut it. Edit: the pulsing music (inspired from Alien again) when the shit really hit the fan was pretty good and fitting.


Overall - as Alien fan this gets a 4/10 from me, as it's own thing id rate it with 6.

You see, it requires certain amount of finesse to make a proper A L I E N film, in that regards the Alien:Covenant failed miserably.

That said, I think Ridley could still pull it off if he has a strong script, The Martian was good. But i also sense that he is not that interested with the creature anymore, or hasn't been for some time. The main themes of this film suggest that he would have rather liked to direct the Blade Runner sequel.

And Hollywood, please stop with the prequel bs! It just doesn't work.

Here's my rankings:

Alien - 9 (used to be 10)
Aliens - 8.8
Alien 3 - 7.5

Alien: Resurrection -6 (I find it enjoyable even if it doesn't compare to the original trilogy but it does have it's moments)
Prometheus - 5 (Mostly for the first half of the movie)
Alien Covenant - 4 (after seen it only once)

[John Doe]

Im starting to think Alien Resurrection it´s better Alien movie than Covenant.

Studio Adi must return please....

Their designs were terrible, to be honest. The practical aliens for Covenant look great, the problem is that they've been painted over with CGI.

A really bad CGI and design for this chocolate Alien.

[Game_Over_Man]

It's not Alien. It's not Aliens. It's flawed....but I loved it for every ounce of batshit crazy it presented.

It's a couple of million dollars short of perfection, but I'll gladly watch this over and over again.

[Roberto11]

Saw it last night - my review:

A remake of Alien, shoehorning the Xeno into the film to grab the ££££.

Trying to acknowledge Prometheus, but stop those plot lines dead and move the franchise away from it.

Overall result, an ok film with an overall explanation for the origin of the Alien, that in my opinion makes them far less scary.

[reecebomb]

Im starting to think Alien Resurrection it´s better Alien movie than Covenant.

Studio Adi must return please....

A:R has better editing and pacing, more memorable charactrers, better cinematography, certainly better music and it has it's own identity. The cgi in Covenant has a lot more details, and the creature do more complex stuff, but the movement are as weightless as ever. At least they used lot's of practical effects in A:R. Both are very oddball movies. I remember really liking A:R when i was a kid, saw it like 4 times at the cinemas. Maybe i would have liked A:C too back then.

[SiL]

Why did Mother

Spoiler

open colonists' cryosleep quarters for David at the end of the movie? Walter was Covenant's only synthetic not David. No security protocol? She even calls him David but it the final log Walter uses his real name which is a signal for Mother that something's wrong. Confusing.[/spoiler

[close]

Spoiler

I figured he simply accessed Mother by assuming David's personality before entering himself as a valid crewmember.

[close]

Spoiler

I didn't get that impression. There was serious emphasis put on what David says to MUTHR  'special command override David xxxx' like it was a long established code. Most Likely interp = weyland granted him special executive powers (in aid of the search for a way to prolong weylands life) that have simply been overlooked and not rescinded since the Prometheus mission. Or it is part of a grander, longer term conspiracy we are yet to dwell into

[close]

I thought he said it was a new code for her to register.

[Citadel]

Having sat on the film for several hours this morning I pretty much feel it's equal to Prometheus but for different reasons. It had what Prometheus lacked, yet it lacked what Prometheus had...

I'm probably more optimistic for my second viewing, but it's very disorientating during first watch.

[John Doe]

I saw twice and the second was worst.