Alien Covenant Fan Reviews

Started by Darkness, May 09, 2017, 05:39:30 PM

What did you think of Alien Covenant?

Loved it. (5/5)
98 (21.4%)
Good, it was enjoyable. (4/5)
148 (32.4%)
It was okay. (3/5)
89 (19.5%)
Could have been better. (2/5)
60 (13.1%)
Didn't like it. (1/5)
32 (7%)
Hated it! (0/5)
30 (6.6%)

Total Members Voted: 455

Author
Alien Covenant Fan Reviews (Read 274,113 times)

Engineer

Engineer

#615
Quote from: oberonqa on May 20, 2017, 04:10:24 AM
Quote from: Hudson on May 20, 2017, 04:02:17 AM
Quote... and I'm still trying to decide whether David kissing Walter was homosexual or narcissistic...

That was also a moment my friend and I laughed at.

I think in the next movie, David should kiss everyone he kills before he does so.

Also, why did no one find it suspicious that David converted his hair to be exactly like Walter's immediately after they met him?

I didn't find it suspicious... I viewed it as David seeing an opportunity to replace Walter and escape the planet with the Covenant crew.  I'm willing to bet that if Orem hadn't blasted the Neomorph, David would have quietly disposed of Walter and the Covenant crew would have left with David masquerading as Walter and that would have been that.  I think Orem's actions triggered the biopolar switch in David that made him go from passive Prometheus-era David into Mad Scientist David and that's what led to the lab, eggs, and chestbursters.  We'll probably never know for sure, but I'd be willing to bet that David's original plan was to get on board the Covenant with his facehugger embryo's and sabotage the crew once they were back in cryosleep (in essence, the entire 2nd half of the movie would not have happened).  Orem's actions likely led to David improvising due to wanting to get even with Orem for what he viewed was the wanton murder of the Neomorph.

EDIT:  And I didn't find David kissing Walter to be homoerotic.  I felt it was definitely narcissistic.

I think he meant why didn't the characters find it suspicious...

oberonqa

oberonqa

#616
Quote from: BishopShouldGo on May 20, 2017, 04:12:08 AM
Quote from: That Yellow Alien on May 20, 2017, 04:01:49 AM
Quote from: oberonqa on May 20, 2017, 03:32:20 AM
I respect your opinion, but I really don't share them or agree with them.  I think Ridley was in top form with this movie and while it is not a perfect film (no such creature, really), it is certainly an enjoyable ride from start to finish.  The few things that I found wrong with the movie are, in my eyes, minor nitpicks at best and hardly worth bringing up as I recognize they are nitpicks and nothing more. 

At the end of the day, maybe one's perception and enjoyment of the movie depends on the expectations and emotional baggage the viewer brings into the theater.  I went into the theater hoping to see an Alien movie and lo and behold... that's what I got.  Maybe if I went in expecting a Prometheus movie, I would be disappointed and likely angry.  But to me, it's an Alien movie and it's certainly a far better Alien movie than anything we've gotten in the last 20 some odd years.  It's a far more coherent and enjoyable film to watch than the theatrical cut of Alien 3 and it's not even in the same dimension as Alien: Resurrection (which is, in my opinion, a pilot for Firefly masquerading as an Alien film).  And it's certainly far more enjoyable than the AvP films. 

It also has the side effect of making me view Prometheus in a fonder, albeit slightly more somber light.  Seeing the depths that David sinks to in Covenant makes his journey in Prometheus far more enjoyable than it already was in the first place.  I can't wait to watch it again now so I can see if I can detect hints of David's bipolar God Complex present in that film.  And of course, knowing that Shaw ultimately dies will make seeing her trials and suffering in Prometheus a more somber experience.  Like the Set Designer that Hicks interviewed a few months back said, I think Covenant will make Prometheus a far better (or at the very least, I'll find it more enjoyable) than it was a week ago when I watched it in my pre-Covenant hype-building marathon.

I was very very willing to give Covenant a chance. I was defending some of the creative decisions before I had even seen it, willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. But I was just not very engaged as I was watching it, but if you where then that's great.  :) But for me, the longer it meandered in David's shop of horrors, the more disengaged I got. And none of the action scenes stood out, in fact I was kind of shocked how "meh" they were coming from Ridley Scott ,especially the last 15 minutes.

It is impossible for me to believe that this was the same guy who just directed THE MARTIAN. That movie had so much energy and kept audiences maximally engaged.

Actually, upon really thinking about it, this was probably one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Just so much confusion. Ridley got so cocky. "I could do this in my sleep!" He wasn't engaged, he didn't think he had to earn it seeing as how he made Alien. Even Prometheus had all of the flair of The Martian, but not this movie.

Seriously, what was with that f**king scene where they fix the solar panels for like 5 minutes? Who f**king cares?! I mean I like that shit but if you're going to rush the movie then transfer over those precious minutes towards sections that f**king count.

Because if he had rushed through the pre-landing segment of the film, he would then be (rightfully) accused of rushing the character setups to get to the planet and sacrificing character development in favor of mindless action set-pieces ala Michael Bay.  As it stands, I think you may be missing the point of the solar sail scene.  The whole point of that scene was to show the crew working as a team much like Brett and Parker worked as a team in Alien.  It also was necessary as they needed a crew member to be far enough away from the ship in order for the suit to pickup Shaw's signal from the planet.  Something that the movie actually pointed out when one of the crew asked why the ship's communications array didn't pickup the signal.  And if you take away the solar sail repair scene, how exactly are you going to get a crew member outside the ship and far enough away from the ship to pick up said signal without coming across as contrived?

Predaker

Predaker

#617
I did not expect to enjoy Covenant as much as I did. Absolutely loved it.

Solid 8/10

oberonqa

oberonqa

#618
Quote from: Engineer on May 20, 2017, 04:13:45 AM
Quote from: oberonqa on May 20, 2017, 04:10:24 AM
Quote from: Hudson on May 20, 2017, 04:02:17 AM
Quote... and I'm still trying to decide whether David kissing Walter was homosexual or narcissistic...

That was also a moment my friend and I laughed at.

I think in the next movie, David should kiss everyone he kills before he does so.

Also, why did no one find it suspicious that David converted his hair to be exactly like Walter's immediately after they met him?

I didn't find it suspicious... I viewed it as David seeing an opportunity to replace Walter and escape the planet with the Covenant crew.  I'm willing to bet that if Orem hadn't blasted the Neomorph, David would have quietly disposed of Walter and the Covenant crew would have left with David masquerading as Walter and that would have been that.  I think Orem's actions triggered the biopolar switch in David that made him go from passive Prometheus-era David into Mad Scientist David and that's what led to the lab, eggs, and chestbursters.  We'll probably never know for sure, but I'd be willing to bet that David's original plan was to get on board the Covenant with his facehugger embryo's and sabotage the crew once they were back in cryosleep (in essence, the entire 2nd half of the movie would not have happened).  Orem's actions likely led to David improvising due to wanting to get even with Orem for what he viewed was the wanton murder of the Neomorph.

EDIT:  And I didn't find David kissing Walter to be homoerotic.  I felt it was definitely narcissistic.

I think he meant why didn't the characters find it suspicious...

You mean the characters that were clearly traumatized after surviving the Neomorph attack and probably weren't thinking clearly?  Or perhaps there is a deleted bit of dialog where David tells them to make themselves at home, or at least, as much at home as is possible inside a Necropolis while he goes and cleans himself up to make himself presentable for his guests. 

Actually, I'm going to go with the deleted bit of dialog excuse.  Since David was still in passive Prometheus-era servant mode at that point in time, him wanting to clean himself up so as to be presentable for his guests would be in keeping with the servant persona that he established in Prometheus.

Hudson

Hudson

#619
The dialogue where he tells everyone to make themselves at home wasn't deleted when I saw it.

QuoteYou mean the characters that were clearly traumatized after surviving the Neomorph attack and probably weren't thinking clearly?

They would have noticed that suddenly, the two androids look nearly the same. He changed his hair color...come on. This movie is full of holes so big at times you can drive a Mack truck through them. Prometheus and Covenant are such a mess together in terms of trying to expand on what was simply plotted as a monster movie that I almost want to root for the next Alien prequel movie to be terrible.

oberonqa

oberonqa

#620
Quote from: Predaker on May 20, 2017, 04:19:20 AM
I did not expect to enjoy Covenant as much as I did. Absolutely loved it.

Solid 8/10

That's the score I would give it as well.  Like I said earlier, it's not a perfect movie, but it is a damn good movie and is, in my opinion, the best Alien movie we've gotten in 20+ years.  It's not as good as Alien and Aliens, but that doesn't take anything away from Covenant since there's no way any movie could ever be as good as those two movies.  To even try would most likely be met with derision or outrage. 


Quote from: Hudson on May 20, 2017, 04:27:00 AM
The dialogue where he tells everyone to make themselves at home wasn't deleted when I saw it.

QuoteYou mean the characters that were clearly traumatized after surviving the Neomorph attack and probably weren't thinking clearly?

They would have noticed that suddenly, the two androids look nearly the same. He changed his hair color...come on. This movie is full of holes so big at times you can drive a Mack truck through them. Prometheus and Covenant are such a mess together in terms of trying to expand on what was simply plotted as a monster movie that I almost want to root for the next Alien prequel movie to be terrible.

I quoted the scene as it was presented in the film along with what I think was likely the snipped element.

DIALOG IN THE MOVIE:
DAVID:  Make yourself at home, or at least as much at home as is possible inside this Necropolis.

UN-EDITED DIALOG:
DAVID:  Make yourself at home, or at least as much at home as is possible inside this Necropolis.  I will return after I have made myself more presentable.  Ten years of solitude has left it's mark on me, I'm afraid.

I can certainly see the dialog being cut down as it would have been viewed as unnecessary exposition.

Hudson

Hudson

#621
Wait, so you're assuming that there is deleted dialogue, which you are using in defense of a total lapse in the characters' plain observations of what's right in front of them?

Not valid.

oberonqa

oberonqa

#622
Quote from: Hudson on May 20, 2017, 04:27:00 AM
The dialogue where he tells everyone to make themselves at home wasn't deleted when I saw it.

QuoteYou mean the characters that were clearly traumatized after surviving the Neomorph attack and probably weren't thinking clearly?

They would have noticed that suddenly, the two androids look nearly the same. He changed his hair color...come on. This movie is full of holes so big at times you can drive a Mack truck through them. Prometheus and Covenant are such a mess together in terms of trying to expand on what was simply plotted as a monster movie that I almost want to root for the next Alien prequel movie to be terrible.

With all due respect, perhaps the issue is with your own expectations on what these movies should be doing rather than what they are actually doing?  Mind you, there's nothing wrong with this per se.... and I don't ask that to be combative or argumentative... am merely suggesting that the holes you are seeing are a result of the movies not meshing with your own ideas rather than any actual holes in the movies. 

To me, Covenant does a pretty good job of avoiding plotholes.  Yes it does take certain liberties that fans like us are sure to take issue with, but I wouldn't call those liberties plotholes necessarily.  The Aliens in the movie are not the same as the Big Chap, so I'm OK with them having a shortened gestation time, for example.


Quote from: Hudson on May 20, 2017, 04:34:55 AM
Wait, so you're assuming that there is deleted dialogue, which you are using in defense of a total lapse in the characters' plain observations of what's right in front of them?

Not valid.

There's an awful lot of assuming going on right now on both sides of the fence.  If I choose to believe there was a bit of dialog snipped from that scene that would explain something, there's no harm in that.  Not like I'm the only one to make assumptions about elements of this movie, am I right?  =)

Hudson

Hudson

#623
There are tons of plot holes in the movie. If there's a question you have after experiencing a narrative that is not either answered by that narrative or suggested in some way between the lines, then it's a plot hole.

QuoteIf I choose to believe

:laugh: Okay, Shaw.



oberonqa

oberonqa

#624
Quote from: Hudson on May 20, 2017, 04:37:22 AM
There are tons of plot holes in the movie. If there's a question you have after experience a narrative that is not either answered by that narrative or suggested in some way between the lines, then it's a plot hole.

QuoteIf I choose to believe

:laugh: Okay, Shaw.

LMAO.  =)

426Buddy

426Buddy

#625
Just watched Alien Covenant, have to think it over a bit but i really enjoyed it. Im thinking 7.5 out of ten.


Hudson

Hudson

#626
But seriously though, to be clear:

What you're saying is that it's okay that none of the characters notice that David is suddenly suspiciously looking identical to Walter because you choose to believe that there's a possibility some dialogue was deleted from the scene.

This is the exact opposite of the definition of empirical. When that deleted scene doesn't appear in special features when the hard-copy is released, I will remember this exchange.

EDIT:

So here are two questions rephrased for anyone who wants to take them up. 1. By the logic of the story, why does the chestburster do a ridiculous imitation dance (it doesn't deserve to be called anything other than a dance) with David? By the logic of the story and not speculation on what may have been edited, why do the characters make zero note of David's suddenly changed appearance to imitate Walter?

Hudson

Hudson

#627
Quote from: Predaker on May 20, 2017, 04:49:36 AM
Oram confronted David.

Care to elaborate? I'm not asking these questions to be antagonistic, I actually do want an explanation. Remember, I am a fan. I wanted to like this movie. I still want to try. I just saw the movie today but I don't remember the exact dialogue where Oram asks David why he changes his hair.

Another question, did anyone find the reaction to finding Shaw's dog-tags and photograph extremely subdued?

"Oh, yeah. Shaw. She disappeared. Whatever." It seemed like no one really cared.

oberonqa

oberonqa

#628
Quote from: Hudson on May 20, 2017, 04:44:11 AM
But seriously though, to be clear:

What you're saying is that it's okay that none of the characters notice that David is suddenly suspiciously looking identical to Walter because you choose to believe that there's a possibility some dialogue was deleted from the scene.

This is the exact opposite of the definition of empirical. When that deleted scene doesn't appear in special features when the hard-copy is released, I will remember this exchange.

EDIT:

So here are two questions rephrased for anyone who wants to take them up. 1. By the logic of the story, why does the chestburster do a ridiculous imitation dance (it doesn't deserve to be called anything other than a dance) with David? By the logic of the story and not speculation on what may have been edited, why do the characters make zero note of David's suddenly changed appearance to imitate Walter?

You can remember the exchange if you feel you must.  Even if it doesn't show up on the special features, I'll still stick to my theory and that'll be that.  Why?  Because special features are not all-inclusive.  I don't remember seeing the Spaihts script in the special features for Prometheus, for example. 

As for your questions...

Q:  why does the chestburster do a ridiculous imitation dance (it doesn't deserve to be called anything other than a dance) with David?
A:  It is mimicking the behavior of the individual it is imprinting as it's "parent".  Many creatures in nature do this and is a primary way for parents to teach their young important skills.  Additionally, the Neomorph was behaving in a similar fashion before Orem blasted it, mimicking David's actions. 

Q:  By the logic of the story and not speculation on what may have been edited, why do the characters make zero note of David's suddenly changed appearance to imitate Walter?
A:  Your looking for an answer to something that by it's very nature requires speculation in order to answer.  If you won't accept speculation, then you are in essence rejecting any answer that can ever be given if it doesn't conform to your own thoughts on the matter.  You want objective, you need to be objective.  =)

Hudson

Hudson

#629
You are speculating on the editing/production of the film. I'm asking about the characters and the story.

QuoteOram says he saw the devil as a child and asks David what's really going on. I think that line worked better than, "why'd you cut your hair?"

That wasn't spoken as a result of the character's change in appearance, it was spoken after Oram watched David have his moment with the neomorph. Completely different and way delayed. I'm not asking that.

Jesus Christ. I'm asking about the initial moment it happens and everyone gets a look at him. It's extremely f**king suspicious and none of the characters seemed to notice or care. And yeah, they were traumatized. Would that not put them in a heightened state of awareness?

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