Ridley Scott's "Alien: Covenant" (Oct 6, 2017) - Part 3

[Filmfan93]

I saw it earlier this week.

It was super dull, the characters where completely forgettable and somehow managed to do even dumber stuff than the Prometheus crew did. Special mentions go to -
[blackout]"I'm in a weird Alien temple, in the aftermath of a plagued genocide, being persued by violent death Aliens. I'm just gonna wander off for a while on my own guys and try and find a bathroom to freshen up... No no, don't come with me. I'll be fine on my own..."[/blackout]
and
[blackout]"Look in my Egg! LOOK IN IT! You'll be fiiinnne there's nothing weirrrrd. LOOKK IN IT"
"Sure, seems legit. Waaaaait, hold on a minute.. is there something in there..."[/blackout]

By the films half way point, every single turn of the script is completely predictable. I was almost pained when [blackout]after David replaces Walter, there's a scene on the ship where his hood blows over his head so the audience might realise he's actually David.. apart from that it's SO obvious that I felt embarrassed on Scotts behalf that he actually thought there was ANYONE in the audience that hadn't already guessed this "twist" by this point. It'd be like Clark Kent taking off his glasses and winking at the camera at the end of a movie, in case any of the audience hadn't worked out he's Superman yet. [/blackout]

Its worse crime though is that it makes the original Alien movies worse and drags them down with it. [blackout]During the first ALIEN it felt like they'd stumbled across something ancient; some secret that could have been on that planet for thousands of years. The fact that it was just a malfunctioning android playing Dr Moreau a decade earlier cheapens the whole franchise.[/blackout]

Spoiler

I think the twist was good. It is introduced in a predictable way (that long lingering shot on "Walter" looking back as he goes out of the temple), but then it confuses you by actually showing Walter actually behaving like himself. It is not until the very end, when it is fully confirmed that he's David.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Seriously, you people need to get over it. David created the xenomorph. Ridley says so himself. The black goo has created other long headed, eyeless creatures (the Neomorphs and the Deacon) but the classic Xenomorph from the original trilogy, as in the black, biomechanical, exosekeletal, double mouthed creature designed by H.R. Giger was created by David, as were the facehuggers. Just get over it.

The black goo contains a virus with its own genetic code. The squid baby from Prometheus with its pointy head represents the closest thing to the virus's true form. When it incorporates DNA from humanoid hosts, you get the Deacon and the Neomorphs. David selectively cross bred a bunch of black goo hybrids together, including some insect types, which created the bug-like facehuggers we're all familiar with.

Okay stranger on the internet, well if you say he created them, he must have .

And that right there is why I will not be seeing this. A filler film. I'm glad I read the plot summary that leaked way back, because I would have walked out on this film if I hadn't.

Filler is an apt description. It's answers some things, but throws up a lot of new questions as well.

http://img.cinemablend.com/cb/c/d/0...c150149616a990b007cc462c322336d8c3e78c8e9.jpg

Also there was this thing. Which is the very last shot of the movie.

Oh but didn't you know? David created the Xenomorph

 

[DarthMuppet]

Scott has contradicted himself then. But I'm sure it will be explained away because he cannot possibly pull a George Lucas. Right?

Spoiler

David now has control of a Colony ship with 2,000 test subjects he can continue his experiments on. A logical conclusion is that in the next film, he will eventually make his way back to the Engineer facilities on LV-223 and continue to "perfect" his creation. There are other Juggernaut ships there as well. One of those Juggernauts will likely end up launching and then crashing on LV-426... with the doomed pilot in the Jockey suit sending out a warning to stay away before they are killed by the chestburster inside them. It also wouldn't be a stretch to assume that the facilities on LV-223 are destroyed at some point in the next film.

 

[Greens]

I thought the film was solid, but most of the beats were extremely predictable. A lot of been there, done that.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Spoiler

I think the twist was good. It is introduced in a predictable way (that long lingering shot on "Walter" looking back as he goes out of the temple), but then it confuses you by actually showing Walter actually behaving like himself. It is not until the very end, when it is fully confirmed that he's David.

Was that even supposed to be a twist? I thought it was painfully obvious to everyone that [BLACKOUT] David had replaced Walter, and that last scene was just meant to be a revelation for Daniels.

Wait, don't we see David actually killing Walter?[/BLACKOUT]

 

[Greens]

I do think it was supposed to be a twist. The camera lingering on his face the whole time was meant to make us doubt what was actually happening.

 

[moviefreak]

Spoiler

David now has control of a Colony ship with 2,000 test subjects he can continue his experiments on. A logical conclusion is that in the next film, he will eventually make his way back to the Engineer facilities on LV-223 and continue to "perfect" his creation. There are other Juggernaut ships there as well. One of those Juggernauts will likely end up launching and then crashing on LV-426... with the doomed pilot in the Jockey suit sending out a warning to stay away before they are killed by the chestburster inside them. It also wouldn't be a stretch to assume that the facilities on LV-223 are destroyed at some point in the next film.

Yep --that was what I suggested as to how Alien event transpired. Likely Scott were thinking about multiple films --one with the event after Prometheus but before Covenant and the other with [BLACKOUT]David & the Colony ship at the end of Covenant[/BLACKOUT].

 

[Matt Mortem]

Got my tickets for the 7pm showing. Not sure how hyped I am, but I do love Alien so I should enjoy it.

 

[terry78]

So Ridley basically tried to replicate Ripley twice now and couldn't do it.

 

[Roose Bolton]

I don't think Shaw was anything like Ripley to be honest, and personally I thought Daniels' Ripley comparisons were mostly skin deep.

I mean, any female protagonist in this franchise is going to have some
comparisons to Ripley, but really when you actually look at these two they've got pretty different character arcs.

 

[CB Fan]

Just got out and this was WAAAY too predictable. Every decision, every twist was all too easy. Honestly let down.

 

[Brother Jack]

I don't think Shaw was anything like Ripley to be honest, and personally I thought Daniels' Ripley comparisons were mostly skin deep.

I mean, any female protagonist in this franchise is going to have some
comparisons to Ripley, but really when you actually look at these two they've got pretty different character arcs.

Even Ripley wasn't really Ripley in the iconic sense until Aliens. Throughout most of the original it's an ensemble piece with Dallas as the defacto lead. It was actually a fairly big twist to have Ripley be the last one standing and helped to pioneer the trope of the "final girl" in the horror genre. You don't have that with Shaw in Prometheus. She's explicitly the lead from the get-go.

 

[Galactus10]

Saw this tonight, it was about as good as I expected it to be. Many plot elements were telegraphed and felt like, "well,duh" but I did enjoy myself.

It felt a little vapid for about half the movie but then it kicks into gear with some of the more profound themes of these two prequels to Alien.

Fassbender made an average sci fi story into a good movie that was more than worthy to be in the mythos. He was fantastic and very effective in several scenes. The end was chilling and wrapped up this entry nicely.

However, the CG was very shoddy and cheap looking until the very end. I also thought Katherine Waterston was close to terrible in this role. Her dumb haircut, mopey overacting, bad delivery on bad one liners.. I could have liked this more with a better actress but the tertiary characters were more believable.

I would say this movie is on the same tier as Predators, maybe a little better head to head. As with Prometheus, the movie has some strong imagery and thought-provoking exchanges. The progression of the plot was fairly dull but it closed out strong, despite a few overused cliches that are all too familiar.

I'd give this about a 7/10.....7.5 on a good day.

 

[JtheDreamer]

I thought the film was solid, but most of the beats were extremely predictable. A lot of been there, done that.

Which was foreshadowed in the first trailer they released.

Damnit Ridley.

 

[Matt Mortem]

I am very disappointed. First of all if you're gonna put Alien in the title of your film then kindly also include the Alien in the actual movie. The Xenomorph felt like a glorified cameo. David's curiosity and pathos worked in Prometheus, but here it felt like an extremely forced over blown version of David. Also the movie felt like Ridley was holding open contempt for every film in the franchise except for Prometheus, and even then it felt like he didn't care too much about it. If I were to rank the films it'd be second worse to Alien 4 or AvP Requiem.

Were it a standalone sci-fi film (as Prometheus should have been) I think it would have gotten away with quite a bit more, but as an Alien fan I'm very disappointed.

Also, the CG was hot dog****. It's 2017 and that's the best an Alien film can offer? Come on.

 

[DACrowe]

Well I saw it, and... better than Alien 3 but worse than Prometheus?

Yeah, I was not crazy about it. It felt like Scott wanted to make a movie about David developing a God complex and shoehorned in the "Alien" stuff, because fans complained too much about how different Prometheus was. But other than the killer (heh) backburster scene, I didn't think Scott's heart was in the straight horror/xenomorph stuff. And what some call the lull (David's little games) is the movie I think Scott wanted to make and I would have rather seen.

I especially am annoyed at how it threw away the Engineers and Shaw, which seemed so intriguing and full of potential in Prometheus. That movie didn't realize it, but there was room for a sequel to deliver on those big ideas and ambitions. It reminded me of Alien 3 how this one just throws away a major character like its trash. And it was in order to do an Alien movie that didn't feel excited about being an Alien movie.

In the plus columns though, the cast was all good with Fassbender being exceptional. Waterston was fine, but her character was Ripley-lite, so I preferred Shaw for being different. But Waterston is a good actress. Danny McBride and Billy Crudup also did some really good character work. Plus it is visually a marvel in every shot.

Overall, this is a disappointment though. And despite that ending, since we now know that we aren't getting any more answers about the Engineers, I am kind of done with the series. I am certainly ambivalent about seeing where it goes from here, since we all know what the xenomorph becomes. Perhaps it is time to put the series to bed.

 

[Matt Mortem]

Well I saw it, and... better than Alien 3 but worse than Prometheus?

Yeah, I was not crazy about it. It felt like Scott wanted to make a movie about David developing a God complex and shoehorned in the "Alien" stuff, because fans complained too much about how different Prometheus was. But other than the killer (heh) backburster scene, I didn't think Scott's heart was in the straight horror/xenomorph stuff. And what some call the lull (David's little games) is the movie I think Scott wanted to make and I would have rather seen.

I especially am annoyed at how it threw away the Engineers and Shaw, which seemed so intriguing full of potential in Prometheus. That movie didn't realize it, but there was room for a sequel to deliver on those big ideas and ambitions. It reminded me of Alien 3 how this one just throws away a major character like its trash. And it was in order to do an Alien movie that didn't feel excited about being an Alien movie.

In the plus columns though, the cast was all good with Fassbender being exceptional. Waterston was fine, but her character was Ripley-lite, so I preferred Shaw for being different. But Waterston is a good actress. Danny McBride and Billy Crudup also did some really good character work. Plus it is visually a marvel in every shot.

Overall, this is a disappointment though. And despite that ending, since we now know that we aren't getting any more answers about the Engineers, I am kind of done with the series. I am certainly ambivalent about seeing where it goes from here, since we all know what the xenomorph becomes. Perhaps it is time to put the series to bed.

You perfectly summed up my thoughts on the film completely.

 

[DACrowe]

I think it would be ****ed up if the Engineers created life on planets so that the lifeforms on those planets could be incubators for the xenomorph's young. Maybe they were coming to earth to unleash the black goo so that humans could be hosts for the Xenomorphs. Essentially the planets they seed would be the Engineer's petri dishes and weapons factories.

If Scott isnt just BSing, the Engineers must have only found the black goo and have been experimenting with it, the way David does, for countless years.

Ignoring the events of Alien: Covenant, which pretty much makes a mess not only of Prometheus but all the Alien films' logic and representation of the "xenomorph," the basic set-up from Prometheus is really clear.

The black goo (spores in Covenant) are the biological building blocks of the Engineers who play with genetics the way we dabble in steel and iron. They used it to make us, they also used it to make the deadly stuff in Prometheus (and the spores in Covenant which line up). Given the final shot of Prometheus, the creatures borne from the goo eventually evolve into the xenomorph over multiple generations.

The reason they did this is to wipe out planets where they think the life there is a failure. Now we never got a good answer why they wanted to kill us (sadly, we never will now), but if I had to wager a guess, the theory that Jesus was an Engineer who was crucified 2,000 years ago seems plausible and very Ridley-ish.

Also, if you see the deleted scene of the Deacon talking to Weyland, he asks why Weyland wants longer life, and Weyland claims he is a god like the Engineers because he made David. Between that and seeing the violence humans have developed (one of them beats Shaw in front of him), he appears enraged. Like the actual Prometheus myth, we are playing god and exceeding our role intended by the Engineers. We are violent and dangerous, and hey we made David who did end up [blackout]wiping them out in Covenant.[/blackout]

However, now that it is revealed in Covenant that [blackout]David created the xenomorph[/blackout] I have no idea why the Engineers had a mural of it on their ship in Prometheus or how that derelict with xeno eggs was clearly thousands of years old in the original Alien. But Covenant is a mess.

 

[Matt Mortem]

I really want another great Alien film, but I do not believe Ridley Scott has the intention of giving us one. He'll keep muddying the timeline and origins of everything.

 

[DACrowe]

You perfectly summed up my thoughts on the film completely.

 

[Matt Mortem]

Seems to me Ridley wanted to make a sci-fi film about David doing ****ed up ****, but Fox would only greenlight if the Xenomorph was there so Ridley said to hell with chronology and lazily slapped a Xenomorph into it. Shame.

 

[MurkeNyou]

I wasn't planning on seeing this anyway, but I was drawn toward spoiler reviews online out of morbid curiosity. Not surprised seeing the mixed response again with this film. Ridley Scott is a great visuals guy, but his storytelling is choppy as hell. I preferred his brothers work, better plot director, even if he had a more flashy directing style.

 

[Matt Mortem]

Another thing that bugged me:

[BLACKOUT]How did David make the Xeno eggs? Did he lay them like a goddamn chicken? Are we just saying the Alien mythos James Cameron advanced in Aliens doesn't exist anymore? If so that's utter ******** from Ridley Scott.[/BLACKOUT]

 

[DACrowe]

Another thing that bugged me:

[BLACKOUT]How did David make the Xeno eggs? Did he lay them like a goddamn chicken? Are we just saying the Alien mythos James Cameron advanced in Aliens doesn't exist anymore? If so that's utter ******** from Ridley Scott.[/BLACKOUT]

Ridley ignored the mythos from his own movies in Prometheus and Alien. I don't think he gives a **** about mucking up what Cameron did. And yes, he did that as well.

 

[Matt Mortem]

Ridley ignored the mythos from his own movies in Prometheus and Alien. I don't think he gives a **** about mucking up what Cameron did. And yes, he did that as well.

So stupid. At least when X-Men muddied their waters they used time travel as excuse enough to justify it. Ridley has no justification.