Alien Covenant Review Roundup

[NickisSmart]

So many reviews. In regards to all of them, I have this to say:

Critics speak opinions and can't predict classics or how any of us feel. Keep this in mind when reading reviews about Alien: Covenant (which, seem to be largely positive, so far)!

I can't wait to see it and give my own thoughts.

[900SL]

Ridley Scott is a sellout, he could have done a film that really explores the engineers world and continues the story of Shaw and David in unprecedented ways but instead gave us almost the same movie, while simultaneously f**king up the classic lore and as a result, make Prometheus and ALIEN worse in retrospect. RT score is currently higher than i thought it would be, but having actually read most of the reviews, even the positive ones doesn't imply that it's much more than a run of the mill experience that looks like a 100 million dollars.

What are you even talking about? Sellout? What did he sell out to? Was the original film made strictly as an artistic vision with no real concern for making money? And the classic in only being "f**ked up" because he's not catering to your specific idea on the direction new films should take? I mean, you could just ignore all of it and stick to the very small/well explored world of the first three films that we've all already seen countless times. It seems you've got it all figured out so perhaps you should make your own prequel.

The OP is referring, I think, to the fact that Scott has apparently ignored the big questions that were left hanging from Prometheus, namely:

1: What happened on LV223 to the Engineers?
2: Why were they going to wipe out humanity?
3: What is the relationship between the Alien and Engineer as depicted in the mural?
4: What is the source of the bioweapon?
5: How does this all feed back to the Space Jockey?

He must be leaving these for the sequels/prequels. So keep paying. 

He also appears to have written Shaw out without a word (shades of Alien 3 anybody), spliced in a final third that follows Alien/s tropes, and has a love affair with Fassbender (which I don't have a problem with, because David was the core of Prometheus, and a tremendous character). He may also be taking the whole caravan on a route that doesn't necessarily gell with the continuity set down in earlier films

I'm not a fanboy, but I have certain expectations from films that I choose to pay to see. One of which is that the film respects my intelligence as a viewer, and not treat me like my brain has been wiped clean. I'll give my full review after I've seen the film, but the way I see it right now is that this is at best a filler piece, tangential, and orbits around David.  It may be a good film in its own right, but I'm left with the nagging feeling that Scott and Fox are set to keep stringing the audience along for as long as they keep paying. And I don't respect that.

[Darth Vile]

Ridley Scott is a sellout, he could have done a film that really explores the engineers world and continues the story of Shaw and David in unprecedented ways but instead gave us almost the same movie, while simultaneously f**king up the classic lore and as a result, make Prometheus and ALIEN worse in retrospect. RT score is currently higher than i thought it would be, but having actually read most of the reviews, even the positive ones doesn't imply that it's much more than a run of the mill experience that looks like a 100 million dollars.

What are you even talking about? Sellout? What did he sell out to? Was the original film made strictly as an artistic vision with no real concern for making money? And the classic in only being "f**ked up" because he's not catering to your specific idea on the direction new films should take? I mean, you could just ignore all of it and stick to the very small/well explored world of the first three films that we've all already seen countless times. It seems you've got it all figured out so perhaps you should make your own prequel.

The OP is referring, I think, to the fact that Scott has apparently ignored the big questions that were left hanging from Prometheus, namely:

1: What happened on LV223 to the Engineers?
2: Why were they going to wipe out humanity?
3: What is the relationship between the Alien and Engineer as depicted in the mural?
4: What is the source of the bioweapon?
5: How does this all feed back to the Space Jockey?

He must be leaving these for the sequels/prequels. So keep paying. 

He also appears to have written Shaw out without a word (shades of Alien 3 anybody), spliced in a final third that follows Alien/s tropes, and has a love affair with Fassbender (which I don't have a problem with, because David was the core of Prometheus, and a tremendous character). He may also be taking the whole caravan on a route that doesn't necessarily gell with the continuity set down in earlier films

I'm not a fanboy, but I have certain expectations from films that I choose to pay to see. One of which is that the film respects my intelligence as a viewer, and not treat me like my brain has been wiped clean. I'll give my full review after I've seen the film, but the way I see it right now is that this is at best a filler piece, tangential, and orbits around David.  It may be a good film in its own right, but I'm left with the nagging feeling that Scott and Fox are set to keep stringing the audience along for as long as they keep paying. And I don't respect that.

Covenant is as "filler" as any Marvel sequel or new Star Wars film. It's a film that doesn't need to exist but, if nothing else, is a very well made and enjoyable thrill ride. After seeing it, I'd confidently say it's hands down the best Alien film since Aliens. It's a very contemporary take on an Alien film... and, like the vast majority of populist cinema, it is not perfect because (IMO) the filmmaker's primary objective is to entertain the mass audience rather than satisfy the wish fullfillments of each and every fan (which differs from person to person). Covenant is very much a crossover between Prometheus and Alien...

The film is not duty bound to answer any of those "big questions", and I'm not sure Scott would think he was neglecting them... in so much as he probably thinks that they don't need to be answered. If, by the end of the next film, we know where/which culture the derelict craft in Alien came from... if we know the origin of the xeno itself; then I'd say that Scott has done exactly what he intended to do. Again, that doesn't mean you have to like it.

[Jonesy1974]

Ridley Scott is a sellout, he could have done a film that really explores the engineers world and continues the story of Shaw and David in unprecedented ways but instead gave us almost the same movie, while simultaneously f**king up the classic lore and as a result, make Prometheus and ALIEN worse in retrospect. RT score is currently higher than i thought it would be, but having actually read most of the reviews, even the positive ones doesn't imply that it's much more than a run of the mill experience that looks like a 100 million dollars.

What are you even talking about? Sellout? What did he sell out to? Was the original film made strictly as an artistic vision with no real concern for making money? And the classic in only being "f**ked up" because he's not catering to your specific idea on the direction new films should take? I mean, you could just ignore all of it and stick to the very small/well explored world of the first three films that we've all already seen countless times. It seems you've got it all figured out so perhaps you should make your own prequel.

The OP is referring, I think, to the fact that Scott has apparently ignored the big questions that were left hanging from Prometheus, namely:

1: What happened on LV223 to the Engineers?
2: Why were they going to wipe out humanity?
3: What is the relationship between the Alien and Engineer as depicted in the mural?
4: What is the source of the bioweapon?
5: How does this all feed back to the Space Jockey?

He must be leaving these for the sequels/prequels. So keep paying. 

He also appears to have written Shaw out without a word (shades of Alien 3 anybody), spliced in a final third that follows Alien/s tropes, and has a love affair with Fassbender (which I don't have a problem with, because David was the core of Prometheus, and a tremendous character). He may also be taking the whole caravan on a route that doesn't necessarily gell with the continuity set down in earlier films

I'm not a fanboy, but I have certain expectations from films that I choose to pay to see. One of which is that the film respects my intelligence as a viewer, and not treat me like my brain has been wiped clean. I'll give my full review after I've seen the film, but the way I see it right now is that this is at best a filler piece, tangential, and orbits around David.  It may be a good film in its own right, but I'm left with the nagging feeling that Scott and Fox are set to keep stringing the audience along for as long as they keep paying. And I don't respect that.

He isn't a sell out at all. Hes working in a business and has to work within a business framework. Some of the suggestions I have seen about how the story should have developed are interesting and certainly films I would like to see but would clearly make no money at the box office. You just cant make those kind of movies with a huge budget, 99% of the public are not interested in films like that, they just want to be entertained on a Saturday night!

Alien wasn't high art, it was just a horror movie in space.

[oduodu]

Maybe i am overreacting, i will see it in couple days. Actually after having read the reviews, i'm far from being the only one who thinks that it will further diminish the impact of the classic movies without offering much new to the series.

This^

[Clowndog]

Ridley Scott is a sellout, he could have done a film that really explores the engineers world and continues the story of Shaw and David in unprecedented ways but instead gave us almost the same movie, while simultaneously f**king up the classic lore and as a result, make Prometheus and ALIEN worse in retrospect. RT score is currently higher than i thought it would be, but having actually read most of the reviews, even the positive ones doesn't imply that it's much more than a run of the mill experience that looks like a 100 million dollars.

What are you even talking about? Sellout? What did he sell out to? Was the original film made strictly as an artistic vision with no real concern for making money? And the classic in only being "f**ked up" because he's not catering to your specific idea on the direction new films should take? I mean, you could just ignore all of it and stick to the very small/well explored world of the first three films that we've all already seen countless times. It seems you've got it all figured out so perhaps you should make your own prequel.

The OP is referring, I think, to the fact that Scott has apparently ignored the big questions that were left hanging from Prometheus, namely:

1: What happened on LV223 to the Engineers?
2: Why were they going to wipe out humanity?
3: What is the relationship between the Alien and Engineer as depicted in the mural?
4: What is the source of the bioweapon?
5: How does this all feed back to the Space Jockey?

He must be leaving these for the sequels/prequels. So keep paying. 

He also appears to have written Shaw out without a word (shades of Alien 3 anybody), spliced in a final third that follows Alien/s tropes, and has a love affair with Fassbender (which I don't have a problem with, because David was the core of Prometheus, and a tremendous character). He may also be taking the whole caravan on a route that doesn't necessarily gell with the continuity set down in earlier films

I'm not a fanboy, but I have certain expectations from films that I choose to pay to see. One of which is that the film respects my intelligence as a viewer, and not treat me like my brain has been wiped clean. I'll give my full review after I've seen the film, but the way I see it right now is that this is at best a filler piece, tangential, and orbits around David.  It may be a good film in its own right, but I'm left with the nagging feeling that Scott and Fox are set to keep stringing the audience along for as long as they keep paying. And I don't respect that.

Covenant is as "filler" as any Marvel sequel or new Star Wars film. It's a film that doesn't need to exist but, if nothing else, is a very well made and enjoyable thrill ride. After seeing it, I'd confidently say it's hands down the best Alien film since Aliens. It's a very contemporary take on an Alien film... and, like the vast majority of populist cinema, it is not perfect because (IMO) the filmmaker's primary objective is to entertain the mass audience rather than satisfy the wish fullfillments of each and every fan (which differs from person to person). Covenant is very much a crossover between Prometheus and Alien...

The film is not duty bound to answer any of those "big questions", and I'm not sure Scott would think he was neglecting them... in so much as he probably thinks that they don't need to be answered. If, by the end of the next film, we know where/which culture the derelict craft in Alien came from... if we know the origin of the xeno itself; then I'd say that Scott has done exactly what he intended to do. Again, that doesn't mean you have to like it.

Yes, I get the feeling that Ridley has no interest in fully answering any of those questions. I still think Prometheus is a terribly misunderstood film.

Almost all the "big" questions from Prometheus are just Lindelof-isms that Damon Lindelof never intended to answer, he was brought in as a writer to increase the "mystery" of the script. Unfortunately Lindelof is too good at creating that without giving any resolutionsand so it over shadowed the actual focus Ridley Scott had for the film, which was David.

[T Dog]

Rotten Tomatoes consensus:
"Alien: Covenant delivers another satisfying round of close-quarters deep-space terror, even if it doesn't take the saga in any new directions."

That consensus is kind of funny because it's dividing people due to the new direction.

I think the only people who will be remotely divided are fans... and that's basically fandom for you.

Which, again, is what I said.

Covenant "reshapes" the franchise. It's a bold piece. But it could've been executed much-MUCH better.

So just like Prometheus then?

[SPECIAL FORCES]

Love and respect for everyone here (i think i fought with/against some people here since avpgold and avp2010)...i have some questions for those who watched the film.10 more days 4me. 

1)The ''tracking'' clip had bad cgi for the alien.Did not look real enough.Did they correct it? like with the alien trying to break the glass shot from the trailer.Same question about the shot with the neomorph opening its mouth.I dont mean to make it perfect but at least to give some weight to the beasts.Hope those were unfinished shots.

2)Do they explain whats with the alien's vision? (tracking clip). Just curious if there is any resemblance with the avp games.

3)Is there an intense ''long'' scene with facehuggers? like the 2 Burke released on aliens.Except the egg scene from the trailer i mean.

***please no spoilers!

Exciting times!! remember like yesterday watching alien 3 in the cinema as a child...couldnt sleep well for a week.

[Cheeseburgers]

Sadly not.

Whose idea was it to not have Franco as Oram.

Yeah I think he should have been given that part.

[Xenorgue]

New good French reviews

http://www.lepoint.fr/pop-culture/cinema/alien-covenant-quand-ridley-scott-se-prend-pour-dieu-09-05-2017-2125903_2923.php

http://www.premiere.fr/Cinema/News-Cinema/Alien-Covenant-la-lecon-d-art-de-Ridley-Scott

[The Cruentus]

What about the rest of them?

Looks like a 6-7 on average. Seems to be quite divisive, depending on whether you have much invested in the earlier films. 

Personally I really liked A, A's and A3. Prom had a mindblowing premise but Scott struggled to deliver a plausible and coherent film. Despite that, I was hoping this film would address the threads left hanging from Prom.

Unfortunately while the film seems to be on the good side of the scale, plausibility and continuity go out the window in this movie 
If you have read Hicks and Huda's review then you know what I am talking about but basically

Spoiler

the alien life-cycle is once again screwed up and while technically these ain't "normal" Xenos, they are almost identical with a exact same life-cycle, meaning they should obey the same rules...that said, even the life-cycle of tradition Xenos was inconsistent...but that was down to eu and AVP films. Here, we have some guy attacked by a hugger for only a few seconds and is infected.

[close]

Which character gets

Spoiler

s attacked by a face hugger for seconds?

[close]

You will have to ask Hicks or Huda as

Spoiler

both of them mentioned it in their review. I didn't think Ridley Scott would do something stupid and pull a Defiance(alien comic)by doing that.

[close]

[Stargazer]

I wasnt too impressed by the first trailer. Thought the second traiker was good though. Haven't seen any other clips or trailers. I dont want to get myself hyped up for the film too much like i did with the previous film years ago.

But i did not expect this film to get so much positive reviews. Holy shitballs, has ridley scott truly redeemed himself? :O.

Well now im hyped. Now just to stay away from spoilers and not even read the reviews. Ahhhh

[900SL]

The OP is referring, I think, to the fact that Scott has apparently ignored the big questions that were left hanging from Prometheus, namely:

1: What happened on LV223 to the Engineers?
2: Why were they going to wipe out humanity?
3: What is the relationship between the Alien and Engineer as depicted in the mural?
4: What is the source of the bioweapon?
5: How does this all feed back to the Space Jockey?

He must be leaving these for the sequels/prequels. So keep paying. 

He also appears to have written Shaw out without a word (shades of Alien 3 anybody), spliced in a final third that follows Alien/s tropes, and has a love affair with Fassbender (which I don't have a problem with, because David was the core of Prometheus, and a tremendous character). He may also be taking the whole caravan on a route that doesn't necessarily gell with the continuity set down in earlier films

I'm not a fanboy, but I have certain expectations from films that I choose to pay to see. One of which is that the film respects my intelligence as a viewer, and not treat me like my brain has been wiped clean. I'll give my full review after I've seen the film, but the way I see it right now is that this is at best a filler piece, tangential, and orbits around David.  It may be a good film in its own right, but I'm left with the nagging feeling that Scott and Fox are set to keep stringing the audience along for as long as they keep paying. And I don't respect that.

Covenant is as "filler" as any Marvel sequel or new Star Wars film. It's a film that doesn't need to exist but, if nothing else, is a very well made and enjoyable thrill ride. After seeing it, I'd confidently say it's hands down the best Alien film since Aliens. It's a very contemporary take on an Alien film... and, like the vast majority of populist cinema, it is not perfect because (IMO) the filmmaker's primary objective is to entertain the mass audience rather than satisfy the wish fullfillments of each and every fan (which differs from person to person). Covenant is very much a crossover between Prometheus and Alien...

The film is not duty bound to answer any of those "big questions", and I'm not sure Scott would think he was neglecting them... in so much as he probably thinks that they don't need to be answered. If, by the end of the next film, we know where/which culture the derelict craft in Alien came from... if we know the origin of the xeno itself; then I'd say that Scott has done exactly what he intended to do. Again, that doesn't mean you have to like it.

Scott himself is personally quite invested in origin theory and this is why Prometheus went the way it did. I'm pretty certain that he will maintain a connect with Prom, and answer the questions it raised, at some point. He has said as much in previous interviews. I guess I just expected more denoument in AC

[Darth Vile]

Scott himself is personally quite invested in origin theory and this is why Prometheus went the way it did. I'm pretty certain that he will maintain a connect with Prom, and answer the questions it raised, at some point. He has said as much in previous interviews. I guess I just expected more denoument in AC

That's the thing; this is all bound up in our own perception of what constitutes 'answers' and the criteria for what constitutes 'origins'. Alien: Covenant, like it or not, pretty much gives us the origin of the xeno. The only thing left to do is to put the derelict on LV-426. I can certainly understand why some don't want to know the origins, it's not something in particular I longed to see demystified... however, at least Scott has made me care again for a new Alien film (I was pretty much done after Alien 3).   

[Jarac]

A common complaint I notice in these reviews is the pacing. It seems that the movie should have been at least thirty minutes longer. I know Ridley likes to save the longer versions of his movies for the home market, but I feel, like Prometheus, we'll find stuff on the cutting room floor that should have stayed in the film to make it a better movie.