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 274,089 times)

juxtapose

juxtapose

#30
What does cgi stand for again. .Computer Generated. . ?. .dunno what the I stands for. .instance?. .perhaps?. .we used to just call everything FX back in the day. .even tho i am a keen 3D modeler snd have worked on some game models i myself sometimes find it difficult to distinguish the difference between practical and cg. .but i must admit that i am and always have been absolutely facinated and mesmerized by cg. .it seeming a little unreal almost makes it even better sometimes. .on the other hand practical is so f**king clever it also never fails to astonish me. .the hair growing fx in american werewolf in london was done by holes in a puppet with hair protruding. .they pulled the hair sricking out back into the puppet and filmed it and played it in reverse. .so it looked like the hair was growing rapidly fast. .how f**king clever. .it won awards for best makeup. .that werewolf transformation scene is still one of the most chilling scenes i have ever seen in any film till this day! 

Corporal Hicks

Corporal Hicks

#31
I'm still hoping for photorealistic CG Aliens that compare to the Prawns or Chappie.

Quote from: juxtapose on May 10, 2017, 02:35:32 PM
What does cgi stand for again. .Computer Generated. . ?. .dunno what the I stands for. .instance?. .perhaps?.

Computer Generated Imagery.

juxtapose

juxtapose

#32
. .thanks hicks!

John Doe

John Doe

#33
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on May 10, 2017, 02:14:51 PM
I completely disagree with that. It was noticeably CG to my eye but it wasn't to the level of AvP's. Definitely looked better.

Yep, maybe i taked my problems with the CGI to the extreme.

Xenoscream

Xenoscream

#34
OK guys just got back from seeing it... I'll put spoiler tags in as needed.

My overall feeling is that it was a decent film, but had some flaws, and as an Alien fan a few things really pissed me off.

I felt that the start of the film, up to the landing on the planet was all solid stuff, the characters were all decent, and even though I didn't know some of the names no one came across as extra or unlikeable ala Prometheus.

The first obvious flaw for me was the going to the planet and not even a mention of a breathable atmosphere etc, or any acknowledgement of the forests everywhere etc - this may have been trimmed out I guess, I just had to kind of accept this was missing and say "hey it's sci fi" and let it go.

The neomorphs were pretty cool in their own way, again I thought the acting around them was very well done - some great reactions from the crew etc. One lady specifically does a great job of being scared out of her mind. The first one or two scenes the CGI was pretty bad though, after that it recovers somewhat.

In some ways my biggest problem was with David, he's got a God complex that's for sure... but I felt the "why" was missing a bit from it all.

There were some interesting scenes with him and Walter, but they didn't quite pay off for me, it was close, with the creation stuff, but didn't quite hit the mark. This movie does make you hate David though, he is a huge douche.

Oh and for the record (MAJOR spoiler)
Spoiler
f**k David inventing the Xeno, I mean really Ridley, f**k you for ruining the mythos
[close]

The final act of the movie is pretty predictable, it's still enjoyable though, it was pretty tense and I was overall happy about it.

On the Engineers (minor spoilers):

Spoiler
Basically written out... WTF why is no one from the crew saying "f**k me an alien civilisation, how amazing!" I thought it was a travesty that Scott has f**ked the Space Jockey with the big bald human engineers in a suit and then not follow through with them, I could forgive it if he has gone more into their mythos, but it's completely clear to me that engineers are now an abandoned concept
[close]

Alien life cycle is AvP fast.

Also
Spoiler
Alien vision ala A3, which imo was completely unneeded
[close]

On Shaw (big spoilers):

Spoiler
Again a complete waste, she's just been written out. The cool biomech prop on the front page is not in the film, there is a dead Shaw prop but she looks a lot more normal, apart from her chest is open (it's the big open chest we saw in old set pics)
[close]

Overall as I said to my GF going in I expected this to be a kind of reboot, but what Ridley has done is write off all threads of Prometheus, further screwed with the Alien mythos, and elevated David. It's kind of like he knew Prometheus was a bit crap, and decided to axe all the bits that didn't go down well, and make the story all about the popular supporting character.

What we have in the end is a good film on many levels, but on the Alien mythos level (which we all care about) it's all over the bloody place. Now don't get me wrong I still enjoyed it, but as an Alien fan more and more I'm seeing this as a spin off series which can be enjoyed for what it is and not a core part of the franchise.

The movie is left completely open for a sequel,
Spoiler
I actually loved the last scene with Daniels
[close]
but my advice to Ridley would be this - don't tie it in with Alien, LEAVE ALIEN ALONE. This Prometheus spawned series should be allowed to be it's own thing, and I think we as fans would be able to enjoy it a lot more like that.

To summarise - a mostly well made movie, good acting throughout, decent characters which are all believable, nothing too complex or jarring like Prometheus, shits on the Alien mythos, completely wastes story threads from Prometheus, focuses too much on David. Oh and the music was great - lovely remixes of the original Alien score in places which I loved.

I'd give it a 7/10 for enjoyability, could easily have been an 8 or a 9 with some minor changes and a couple of additional scene to smooth it out. I will be really interested for the deleted scenes on this one.


cucuchu

cucuchu

#35
Quote from: Xenoscream on May 10, 2017, 04:49:08 PM
OK guys just got back from seeing it... I'll put spoiler tags in as needed.

My overall feeling is that it was a decent film, but had some flaws, and as an Alien fan a few things really pissed me off.

I felt that the start of the film, up to the landing on the planet was all solid stuff, the characters were all decent, and even though I didn't know some of the names no one came across as extra or unlikeable ala Prometheus.

The first obvious flaw for me was the going to the planet and not even a mention of a breathable atmosphere etc, or any acknowledgement of the forests everywhere etc - this may have been trimmed out I guess, I just had to kind of accept this was missing and say "hey it's sci fi" and let it go.

The neomorphs were pretty cool in their own way, again I thought the acting around them was very well done - some great reactions from the crew etc. One lady specifically does a great job of being scared out of her mind. The first one or two scenes the CGI was pretty bad though, after that it recovers somewhat.

In some ways my biggest problem was with David, he's got a God complex that's for sure... but I felt the "why" was missing a bit from it all.

There were some interesting scenes with him and Walter, but they didn't quite pay off for me, it was close, with the creation stuff, but didn't quite hit the mark. This movie does make you hate David though, he is a huge douche.

Oh and for the record (MAJOR spoiler)
Spoiler
f**k David inventing the Xeno, I mean really Ridley, f**k you for ruining the mythos
[close]

The final act of the movie is pretty predictable, it's still enjoyable though, it was pretty tense and I was overall happy about it.

On the Engineers (minor spoilers):

Spoiler
Basically written out... WTF why is no one from the crew saying "f**k me an alien civilisation, how amazing!" I thought it was a travesty that Scott has f**ked the Space Jockey with the big bald human engineers in a suit and then not follow through with them, I could forgive it if he has gone more into their mythos, but it's completely clear to me that engineers are now an abandoned concept
[close]

Alien life cycle is AvP fast.

Also
Spoiler
Alien vision ala A3, which imo was completely unneeded
[close]

On Shaw (big spoilers):

Spoiler
Again a complete waste, she's just been written out. The cool biomech prop on the front page is not in the film, there is a dead Shaw prop but she looks a lot more normal, apart from her chest is open (it's the big open chest we saw in old set pics)
[close]

Overall as I said to my GF going in I expected this to be a kind of reboot, but what Ridley has done is write off all threads of Prometheus, further screwed with the Alien mythos, and elevated David. It's kind of like he knew Prometheus was a bit crap, and decided to axe all the bits that didn't go down well, and make the story all about the popular supporting character.

What we have in the end is a good film on many levels, but on the Alien mythos level (which we all care about) it's all over the bloody place. Now don't get me wrong I still enjoyed it, but as an Alien fan more and more I'm seeing this as a spin off series which can be enjoyed for what it is and not a core part of the franchise.

The movie is left completely open for a sequel,
Spoiler
I actually loved the last scene with Daniels
[close]
but my advice to Ridley would be this - don't tie it in with Alien, LEAVE ALIEN ALONE. This Prometheus spawned series should be allowed to be it's own thing, and I think we as fans would be able to enjoy it a lot more like that.

To summarise - a mostly well made movie, good acting throughout, decent characters which are all believable, nothing too complex or jarring like Prometheus, shits on the Alien mythos, completely wastes story threads from Prometheus, focuses too much on David. Oh and the music was great - lovely remixes of the original Alien score in places which I loved.

I'd give it a 7/10 for enjoyability, could easily have been an 8 or a 9 with some minor changes and a couple of additional scene to smooth it out. I will be really interested for the deleted scenes on this one.

Good read and thanks for your review.

You mention that you are giving your opinions as an alien fan. If you were to go into this just expecting a good SciFi horror/thriller movie and are not too up-to-date or aware of every detail of the Alien mythos, how would you say the film performs in that regard?

juxtapose

juxtapose

#36
 . .well i was a bad boy. .i think. . .
I know sci fied is trowned upon, but i also know i am not the only one who went and read their review from the chris guy that runs the show. .odly his take of the movie was very similar to hics and he bought up more or less the same qualms with it.. . .he did mention that the shower scene showed of the xeno and was perhaps one of it's most iconic moments in covenant . Also complained a bit about pacing towards the end. .but yeah it was worth a read. .still prefer and value the corporals iponion. .but just saying. .

Imbrie

Imbrie

#37
Quote from: juxtapose on May 10, 2017, 07:21:36 PM
. .well i was a bad boy. .i think. . .
I know sci fied is trowned upon, but i also know i am not the only one who went and read their review from the chris guy that runs the show. .odly his take of the movie was very similar to hics and he bought up more or less the same qualms with it.. . .he did mention that the shower scene showed of the xeno and was perhaps one of it's most iconic moments in covenant . Also complained a bit about pacing towards the end. .but yeah it was worth a read. .still prefer and value the corporals iponion. .but just saying. .

You're allowed to read whatever you wish to. I think the Scified guy gave a pretty balanced review.

Cosmik

Cosmik

#38
Just saw it. Since it's late, I'm going to be quick :

- The film, overall, is good in m opinion.
- The CGI are sometimes amazing ( spaceships, planet... ), but sometimes a little bit... well, "meh" ( especially on the aliens ).
- The score and the visuals are outstanding.
- The first hour was perfect, but when David appears, the movie starts to go fast. VERY FAST. The movie doesn't breathe at all and is edited like a transformers movie ( a flaw Prometheus had ). Some characters dies so quickly in some shot that you can"t even see who dies.
- The neomorph are awesome. The design of the xeno were... strange. And they were reaaaalllly dumb, what made the Alien scary is that it was intelligent. Here, it's the same as in AvP : they jump everywhere, kill, and are more "primal". I know it can be an artistic choice, but it could have been a pleasant contrast from the neomorph's savagery.


And then, the Alien life cycle. I'm sure Ridley showed the crew a drawing of the alien life cycle, said " Here's how we're gonna do it", and pooped on it. Seriously, there's only TWO 30 seconds scene between the moment Oram get facehugged and the moment the alien burst from him. And then, two scenes later ( which is in the movie 15 minutes later, if we goes by what's Daniels saying ), we have a full grown xeno. Come on. Same with the second facehugger scene, this one was a premature one  ;D

David is the redeeming factor. Don't get me wrong, the movie is flawed but it's enjoyable ( better than Resurrection and the two AvP, even Prometheus ), but it's mainly because of David ( and Walter ). He's scary. And the ending, when he listen to Wagner... That was scary if you think about it ( imagine being Daniels in this scene ).

Overall, it's a solid 3,5/5. Maybe Awakening will be "the one" we're waiting since forever.

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯

Quote from: Stolen on May 10, 2017, 05:21:25 AM
My rank
Alien - Aliens - Prometheus - Alien3 - Resurrection - Covenant

Damn. Sorry to see that Stolen. I know you were quite excited about the film. You've been posting on this board since long before they even shot the first frame of film.

The film doesn't seem to have gone down that well in France overall, has it?

echobbase79

echobbase79

#40
Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on May 10, 2017, 09:31:49 PM
Quote from: Stolen on May 10, 2017, 05:21:25 AM
My rank
Alien - Aliens - Prometheus - Alien3 - Resurrection - Covenant

Damn. Sorry to see that Stolen. I know you were quite excited about the film. You've been posting on this board since long before they even shot the first frame of film.

The film doesn't seem to have gone down that well in France overall, has it?

His review seemed very positive though?

Ingwar

Ingwar

#41
Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on May 10, 2017, 09:31:49 PM
Quote from: Stolen on May 10, 2017, 05:21:25 AM
My rank
Alien - Aliens - Prometheus - Alien3 - Resurrection - Covenant

Damn. Sorry to see that Stolen. I know you were quite excited about the film. You've been posting on this board since long before they even shot the first frame of film.

Worse than A:R? Cannot be. Stolen, you should be whisky like I did :)

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯

Stay clear of the Scotch Ingwar, you've done enough damage on here already!   :P

Stolen

Stolen

#43
 ;D
I love every Alien movie. (Even Resurrection, the atmosphere is great. but yes somehow it's the weakest film of the franchise).

Covenant is definitely a better movie, lots of good ideas, but there are also lots of bad decisions. In fact I don't know if I adore it or I hate it. Very weird movie, in good way.
I think the film is not going to please the public, it's really too bizarre, uncomfortable. And even you, you will be disappointed by many things i think.

It's definitely a sequel to Prometheus, but absolutely not the one we expected. It's pure horror. The planet is a real hell, as I had never seen it before. it's in dark all the time, it's raining, it's bleeding, the atmosphere is macabre, David is scary as the devil.

And my expectation was really naive, Ridley Scott unleashed the underworld!

And I still think it's very average as an Alien movie. A first part too long and not interesting. And the last one is way too fast. Creatures are useless.
But many will hate the second part, while I loved it. The most shocking and strange.

I would add that Fassbender is phenomenal. It's not every day that we have a great antagonist in the cinema. The other characters are less memorable ...

And even if the film doesn't bring many answers to Prometheus, there are many things in sub-texts, and the visuals give a lot of indications about engineers and other mysteries.

In terms of filmmaking, it's different from Prometheus, no contemplation here, it's brutal, furious, and sumptuous. The cinematrography is surprising, only dark tones (except the intro). The sets are absolutely great. The rhythm is too flat.

Between 7 and 8 for me, is a good note.
But I tell you, many of you will hate it.


No matter whether you like it or not, don't forget it's only a movie.
We had a great time on AVP Galaxy in recent months, and I hope it will be the same for the next movies!

Whos_Nick

Whos_Nick

#44
the 2nd act is the best part of Covenant, when David is introduced and they are going through the Engineers stuff

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