This is my first post since a very long time but I just wanted to share my frustration about Covenant with some true fans.
Lets start - I never bothered following whats going on with Covenant. I knew it was coming but I decided just to wait and see the movie. The only thing I watched was some trailer, just one trailer and I was like "Holy shit that's gonna be a massacre - definitely going to the cinema for this!". Usually I don't go to see the movies at launch at the cinema, I just wait for the DVD.
So, a few days ago I went to see the movie with wifey. I am pointing this out because I made her an Alien fan. She never watched the movies before she met me so I want to share her opinion too as just a normal viewer who liked Alien and Aliens and A:R to some degree but she is not a die hard fan.
The movie started somehow good. The scene with David. But then it became SO SLOW! What was it? An hour before anything happened? Something like that. And even during this "blank" hour nothing character wise happened. We couldn't "touch" the characters, they were just some people with their problems (dying husband, new promotion, etc). The characters were bland, imo. It was not like in Alien or Aliens where the first time you watch the movie the moment you see the characters you feel how strong they are. This is missing in Covenant.
During this hour they were showing some spaceship tech and how it functions. But why? It never had any role with the events in the movie later on. I mean in Aliens for example they show the ship just for a few moments so the viewers can realize how big it is and then they show how the marines prep for the mission - with the guns, used later in the movie, the power loader, the apc. So the viewer can say hey they were showcasing those in the beginning! In Covenant all this showcase is for nothing - its just a filler. I felt ripped off after the movie ended because of that.
Ok, then the planet landing happened. I liked the scene with the human crops. It was so scary and nice for me
Then the spores scene happened and both me and my girl thought This is bullshit but it is what it is, if the rest is good this wont break the system right? Sadly the rest wasn't good. The "infection" process began and we were in anticipation of the good stuff. We loved how the new alien developed and bursted out of the guy, it was nice even if it was too fast for something that came out of a spore. The scene in the dropship was great imo. I liked the bitch acting of the Tennese's wife, how both girls slipped, the explosion after that. After that the ambush with the multiple aliens it was nice also. What I LOVED about the movie was the gun sounds, they sound so loud and deep. And this is where the movie ended for me, honestly.
The rest was shit to say the least. It felt like the whole movie is about the android. The (kinda?) classic xeno part was somehow decent but the CGI ruined it for me. In the end of the movie they tried to make it a horror since they failed at the action part in the woods/field. Well, they failed at both. The movie is not an action film nor a horror film.
After the movie I asked my girl if she can remember any of the characters, he barely remembered Tennese. And this is what I remember too - Tennese and his wife, thats about it. The rest are random people who die like all the nameless soldiers in We were soldiers, Band of Brothers, and so on. She, as casual viewer didn't liked the movie at all. She said its boring for the most part, the action was too little and the horror was non existent. Which is true.
The main protagonist was boring and blank too. The moment I saw Daniels or whatever, I knew she would be Ripley 2.0 as sole survivor doing all the dirty work. How original... For years the movies have taken this "canon" the girl to be the sole survivor, they could have change it a little this time. Its so obvious now.
Aaand of course the alien play was bad - too many CGI, the new (proto?) aliens development is too fast, way too human like (I didn't liked that personally). I'll rather have a movie where both alien species fight each other and the humans are caught in between, something like the first AvP.
The movie is 3/10 at best for me, solely for the sounds.
I know one thing for sure though - I am not going to cinema ever again. Such a waste of money.