Work on the Sequels Stopped?

[FreeFacehugz]

Watching them, Prometheus, Covenant, Alien and Aliens in one marathon made me realize that Alien isn't a film which aged perfectly in some regards, and I don't mean even the technical side of it, but acting, pacing and "feel" of some scenes. I also realized that some people who probably watched it for the first time and were sitting close to me questioned some of the scenes or thought they were kind of awkward.

FYI, I still think it is a masterpiece and my favourite one, and I kind of regret slightly dozing off for 10 seconds so I kind of missed the epicness of the Derelict money shot with Space Jockey, but couldn't help but point some things out.

Apart from maybe 2 dodgy creature shots (jazz hands) Alien is in a different league with it's acting (much more natural and subtle), screenwriting (not chalk full of cliche lines every 2 minutes) and pacing (probably one of the best paced movies ever made).
All that and not least the visual effects. Side by side, Covenants effects and sets look pretty. But Aliens look f**king real, dark and horrific.

[Salt The Fries]

Watching them, Prometheus, Covenant, Alien and Aliens in one marathon made me realize that Alien isn't a film which aged perfectly in some regards, and I don't mean even the technical side of it, but acting, pacing and "feel" of some scenes. I also realized that some people who probably watched it for the first time and were sitting close to me questioned some of the scenes or thought they were kind of awkward.

FYI, I still think it is a masterpiece and my favourite one, and I kind of regret slightly dozing off for 10 seconds so I kind of missed the epicness of the Derelict money shot with Space Jockey, but couldn't help but point some things out.

Apart from maybe 2 dodgy creature shots (jazz hands) Alien is in a different league with it's acting (much more natural and subtle), screenwriting (not chalk full of cliche lines every 2 minutes) and pacing (probably one of the best paced movies ever made).
All that and not least the visual effects. Side by side, Covenants effects and sets look pretty. But Aliens look f**king real, dark and horrific.

I'm not denying Alien is THE superior film, but I'm just saying how some of the elements of Covenant from the film-making standpoint might be more appealing to the modern audiences or even people who grew up with the originals

[NickisSmart]

She was cleaning her wounds, actually. You seem to invent reasons to dislike what is basically just a scene.

She spent more time washing her face. And even if she was cleaning her wounds, she couldn't do that with someone else standing guard because...? There are aliens running around slaughtering people. She's a soldier there to keep people safe. Having her wander off alone to have a wash in that scenario is daft. I have a hard time buying that a soldier would be so dumb, just like I had a hard time buying expert scientists being such morons in Prometheus.

Did this stop you from enjoying Aliens when Ripley couldn't be bothered to ask someone to watch her while she slept? Personally I found it hard to believe that Ripley could be this dumb (and she makes a ton of stupid calls in that movie). Yet, she is dumb in Alien, too. Things like this happen in all of the films, but why you're making a big deal out of this particular instance seems a little arbitrary to me.

[SM]

Hicks was watching Ripley sleep via the security camera.  Which was mentioned twice.

[Jonesy1974]

Yeah, they did cover this with Hicks and I can't say I ever had an issue with Ripley and newt having a kip even if it clearly is a plot device, it works. Always thought Burkes actions were a little questionable, it was a bit of a risky thing for someone so cowardly to do.

The wound washing moment in Covenant didn't bother me either though.

[SM]

Yeah I can't imagine why it would bother anyone.  They didn't have any reason to think they weren't in a secure location.

[Tonyhartmorph]

"tripping on blood scene followed by the ankle crushing and you will laugh rather than be terrified"

I didn't laugh at all, it was an "Oh, f**k" moment to me, dark slapstick if you want. The room is completely covered in blood there is a creature that has just erupted from a crew members back, A few minutes ago they were having jollies. They don't know anything or what the hell is going on. Her utter panic is completely justified I think. Probably shat herself too is you want to speculate, wouldn't that be amusing? I think some are forgetting that as fans we know what's going on the characters don't have a clue.

Now with that said, their reactions while they were milling around the inside the citadel were rather non existent "There was no, what the hell is this place?

Also, I didn't laugh at the "Fingering" scene that sometimes gets brought up, I'd heard about it before going in and was expecting to, but I didn't. That scene was great actually. If you've ever learned an instrument you sort of get used to the word anyway. It's probably not a word those who laughed at it are used to in the circumstance they were thinking of anyway. 

[Zaxxon64]

Riddles put a bullet in this franchise for me.

[Tonyhartmorph]

"Hicks was watching Ripley sleep via the security camera.  Which was mentioned twice."

Not close enough then really. Burke manages to turn the monitor off behind his back while he smokes a fag.

Idle sod.

[NickisSmart]

That's my point, neither really bothers me that much, but when someone points out one being worse than the other, I don't really buy that. Both are merely writing devices featured in screenplays since the dawn of film; the script demands that this happen, so it does.

[SM]

Simply fobbing things off with 'the screenplay says so' is a cop out.  Stuff can be properly detailed and explained through the story or it can't.  The latter is when things get dumb.

Struggling to think of why Ripley is dumb for sleeping in the medlab, or when "she makes a ton of stupid calls in that movie"...

Smacks of baseless whatabouttery.

[oduodu]

Ripley had a pulse rifle with her she felt safe

Burke switched off the monitor when they were trying get someone's attention

No one thought someone would release facehuggers into the room .
How does this compare to someone  walking of into the dark alone on a strange planet with no one around to protect her?

[SM]

There's really nothing wrong with Rosey walking off in the first place.  Not only did they believe they had nothing to fear, she had a machine gun.

As far as comparisons go - neither are really anything you could classify as dumb. 

[oduodu]

It just so dark. They felt safe because they were to together. I dunno it feels stupid. Couldn't she have waited until daytime?

[Perfect-Organism]

The executives at FOX have been mis-managing this franchise for years...really since Alien 3. I don't think they've made a good decision regarding the Alien films since green-lighting Aliens.

They shouldn't have killed Blomkamp's Alien 5. They really need to remove everything but Alien and Aliens as canon. Knowing the origin of the Aliens cheapens them. Although poetic, their origin  robs them of their majesty. Every good horror writer understands that explaining too much makes the audience feel too safe, too familiar. Scott apparently never learned that lesson.

Mostly in agreement here.  I'm ok to leave the Prometheus and Covenant in, provided that we discover the true source of the aliens eventually, i.e. that thing in the mural in Prometheus.  Otherwise, retcon Alien 3 and 4.  That's where all the trouble started.  We need an Alien film that comes in after Aliens with Weaver, and Fassbender, and Biehn and somebody to play Newt...