Alien: Covenant

2

LycosGBMay 22, 2017

Alien: Covenant is not very entertaining and basically a lower quality reboot of Prometheus. Prometheus had higher production value, better actors and characters.

10 of 32 users found this helpful1022

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1

jbonzMay 22, 2017

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First I will say that "I loved Prometheus". If you didn't, than my review will do you no service.

Now I loved Alien and Aliens as well. All other titles tied to the Alien franchise have been ok, but not great. With Prometheus, I enjoyed Scott's effort to take the story in a new direction, tackling bigger questions about the creation of humanity, why our gods left us, and ultimately discovering that they in fact wanted to destroy us...their own creation. The hero, Dr. Shaw, spearheaded the spirit of the movie, angry at the Engineers at the end and yelling "why do you hate us?" Leaving us with a huge cliffhanger, Shaw and David are able to fly the Engineer's ship with a set course to their home-world. WOW! Now that's exciting! I watched this movie 4 times. I tried to imagine what the first encounter would be like. I was excited to learn if they would be instantly hostile, or would they attempt to communicate. What answers could they extract from our creators? Even though David wasn't completely trustworthy, I was interested to see how Dr. Elizabeth Shaw and David would get along, as she patched him up and showed mercy...essentially she saved him, and together they were going to unlock humanities' biggest secrets.

BUT NOPE!!! I was forced to try and forget about ALL of that. Even though I knew Covenant was going to be focused on a whole new crew, I was encouraged by the YouTube promos as we saw David and Dr. Shaw together, conversing, as he safely wakes her from her long journey. I now realize that was solely an attempt to grab my attention and wallet day one before I found out that it was all misleading. The promos even used James Franco to draw, which convinced my wife to join me to watch the movie, and both our jaws dropped as he gets fried in his stasis pod before ever speaking a single word.

Instead of taking me to a destination Prometheus seemed to promise we were headed, I landed in a place all too familiar. Another mostly generic Alien horror movie. The plot is, crew follows signal to unknown planet, gets killed by Aliens except a few lucky people escape. And because it's an Alien move, you can already guess that one will be a kick-ass female.

So here is the thing, let's forget Prometheus ever happened, because it is now MOSTLY unimportant and only serves as a reason for the paranoid android to end up on this planet. FINE, I'm over it. Just give me a good Alien movie and I'll be happy enough.

NOPE! Denied again! The unbelievable amount of predictability in the movie, compounded by the absolutely stunning stupidity of the crew and their decisions, depriving the film of any connection to realism ruins the science fiction. There are too many problems to list, but I will mention a few of my favorites that caused me to groan and roll my eyes:

1) Perform no eval of the planet. Just drop a ship and lets see what happens. And leave some teammates alone along the way to "set-up shop" even though they were essentially a scouting team sent to investigate a signal. No problem there.

2) A contamination suit on an Alien planet? NAH! Who needs that? Even breathable air was not examined in the movie prior to them jumping off the ship with now helmets. When that happened, I had to tell myself "ok, perhaps they just want us to assume that they tested the air quality of course...why film a scene to prove it?" How about being cautious of airborne contaminants, just to be on the safe side?

3) Two exact replica androids (one evil, one not) get in a fight, one comes back alive with the same clothing and missing hand as the good one...but MAYBE you still may want to do a little questioning since it's a super-intelligent android that doesn't feel pain? Oh, that's right, the bad-ass female hero thought of that as soon as she gets locked into her stasis chamber right at the end. Damn...I could see you were a little suspicious...bad timing on your part girlfriend!

4) The "red-shirts" were all WAY too obvious. To the point that they may as well have been wearing red shirts (if you don't get reference...basically, people who will obviously die). So many pointless characters who received ZERO character building. There was no weight to any of their deaths.

I could go on. David's logic for performing his atrocities were so far fetched and illogical. The Engineers who one would assume are light years more advanced just watched as their ship returned and dropped their own super weapon on top of their heads. Hr Giger's art design that helped establish the Alien franchise is pretty much nowhere to be seen.

This movie was a spit in the face to Prometheus and a lousy attempt to cash in on the Alien formula. I was told, apparently, that Ridley Scott changed his vision after people **** about Prometheus not having enough brainless blood and gore, and couldn't grasp the bigger questions and appeal in that movie. If that's true, than shame on the haters and shame on Ridley for listening to them. RENT THIS… Expand

8 of 26 users found this helpful818

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0

orwellianbob1May 21, 2017

This Movie may be the WORST of the series, it is at least tied with alien 3 for that. Poor writing, uninteresting characters, a stupid plot & over reliance CG sequences. This movie was a major disappointment to me as a fan of the series.

10 of 33 users found this helpful1023

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3

stop9091May 21, 2017

A completely unnecessary film (aside for fattening Mr. Scott's bank account).

It has a good production value, don't get me wrong, but this film doesn't bring anything on the table. What's worse, several turning points of the movie areA completely unnecessary film (aside for fattening Mr. Scott's bank account).

It has a good production value, don't get me wrong, but this film doesn't bring anything on the table. What's worse, several turning points of the movie are typical "DON'T DO THAT, YOU FOOL!!" moments, which are very disappointing.

I give 3 just because even if one wants to spend 2 hours of his time watching a horror/sci-fi, especially this years, there are plenty; facehuggers were cool 40 years ago, today, they're just boring.… Expand

8 of 27 users found this helpful819

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0

zipit321May 24, 2017

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm sorry but I was so disappointed... Prometheus was so much better in every way. I loved prometheus. however, definitely not my impression for Alien conevnant. I found the plot way to predictable and to simple. the 3 aliens were killed so rapidly... I don't know, maybe my expectations were set to high after prometheus. No really, If it wasn't for the marvelous rendering shots of space, the spaceship, landscapes, (etc.), I would've left the theater before the movie ends.… Expand

8 of 27 users found this helpful819

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3

marco34laMay 20, 2017

This movie starts off great. Hits all the right notes in the first 30 mins, then takes a ridiculous turn into boredom and the expected. I saw the ending coming from a mile away.
It's so sad that no one in hollywood can make a movie that isThis movie starts off great. Hits all the right notes in the first 30 mins, then takes a ridiculous turn into boredom and the expected. I saw the ending coming from a mile away.
It's so sad that no one in hollywood can make a movie that is consistent and good from start to finish.… Expand

10 of 34 users found this helpful1024

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0

LujhMay 19, 2017

Alien is my favourite movie since i was 7 years old. I was terrorized after the first movie, i loved the cameron's one too. But the first Alien was a masterpiece. A masterpiece made by one of the most good director, mr Riddley Scott. I alsoAlien is my favourite movie since i was 7 years old. I was terrorized after the first movie, i loved the cameron's one too. But the first Alien was a masterpiece. A masterpiece made by one of the most good director, mr Riddley Scott. I also liked Prometheus with his errors. But i HATE this covenant one. The direction is good, the photography is amazing. The story and screenplay is horrible. The story is full of **** and shame. In reality, a crew like the movie, can't exist. I want to try to spoiler but i will not. This is the most bad movie that i've seen in my life. I will put 0 coz i don't want to see another movie with this potentials ruined by a stupid screenplay. Stay out of this movie.… Expand

14 of 48 users found this helpful1434

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0

twall3May 22, 2017

There's something wrong with a movie that exists as an excuse to show people being violently ripped apart in various ways by something that God apparently created (since He created everything seen and unseen).

10 of 40 users found this helpful1030

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3

SnodogMar 15, 2018

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This movie was, overall, watchable and entertaining. You can't ask much more from a movie. That being said there was very little about it that made me feel like it has much to do with the already established Alien franchise and that has turned a lot of people off of this movie. In terms of a space horror, it's enough to give you creepy feelings and a little anxiety and is all in all generic. The Good: It has Daniel McBride in a serious role done well and he brought a lot of character to an otherwise drab crew. The effects were well done and believable. SciFi action horror that will keep you on your toes. There's not a lot of down time in this film, it immediately starts with conflict and keeps the pace very well. Michael Fassbender does a great job in 2 roles and making them feel like 2 different characters. The Bad: Who else is sick of seeing people who are supposedly experts in their field constantly falling under the slightest pressure? These are assumed to be highly trained individuals piloting a generational ship to another planet to terraform and inhabit. Instead you feel like its a bunch of arbitrary people they grabbed from specific fields of study and threw them all together without any idea of protocol or how to function under pressure. One of my biggest pet peeves in horror movies is making the characters so dumb, its little wonder their in there current predicament. There were zero safety protocols even hinted at in this movie that it takes you out of the moment and say "Hey, shouldn't they be doing x to possibly prevent y so they don't have to deal with z?". Who has ever heard of landing on an alien planet without a suit of some sort to filter out any possible contaminants in the air? Or how medical quarantine suddenly turns a hardened space explorer to tears in seconds? There was a scene when a juvenile alien creature is attacking a woman with a knife. She has a knife in her hands and doesn't once try to stab the thing, literally letting it eat her face. Then immediately after, another supposedly highly trained pilot suddenly starts shooting willy nilly around her lander ship with little regard to puncturing the hull and the explosive canisters that are strapped to the wall. It seemed like the whole situation with the lander was a "Well, we have to get them stuck on the planet somehow..." move by the writers and is quite moronic and childish to believe. Then a few minutes later, they are stranded in an alien outpost with a robot they barely just met who has been there for about a century. This is clearly a 'don't go anywhere alone' situation but what do the characters start to do? You guessed it, they wonder off alone and start getting picked off one by one. Not to mention this is the year 2104, are you telling me I can talk to my friend in Tokyo with the biggest storm raging outside my window yet they can't talk to people directly below them on the planet? We've already communicated with people on the moon and these people are clearly closer to the moon. Are you telling me they have an, I assume, multi-billion dollar ship holding close to 2500 people and 1000-some odd fertilized embryos but they decided to skimp out on the communication equipment? Whats so ironic to me is that Daniel McBride is clearly the most intelligent and capable person on this ship when he usually portrays moronic scum bags. Now we have to get to the whole what robots can or cant do and why its important for you. First of all we see that Walter can heal, to an extent, and he's fairly quick about it. He cant regrow limbs but he can recover from a stab wound in little less than 10 minutes. The earlier David model is lacking this upgrade. So how are people not putting 2 and 2 together when the Walter that gets back to the ship is not healing minor lacerations to his face? Then, why doesn't Walter (who has been replaced by a David with a wound on his chin) have a hole in his chin? Since he is David in disguise, he shouldn't have been able to heal it. Ah well, you know what they say about robots in the future, they do what they want, when they want.

All in all, there were too many plot holes that had you scratching your head to really get yourself into this movie. There were too many fragile threads that led to such a catastrophe that had anyone done the smallest amount thinking would have unwound the whole thing. I'm also not going to mention how this, in no way, felt like an Alien movie. I feel that simply watching it will tell you that it is having a tough time reliving the glory days of 1987.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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2

bigjon1958Apr 26, 2018

This movie was one big disappointment for me. It was pretty much a redo of the first Alien movie released in 1979. NOw, that first Alien movie is one of my all-time favorites. However, Alien Covenant is just a cheap knock-off of the sameThis movie was one big disappointment for me. It was pretty much a redo of the first Alien movie released in 1979. NOw, that first Alien movie is one of my all-time favorites. However, Alien Covenant is just a cheap knock-off of the same story-line. Spaceship has problems, hears a signal from an unknown source, goes to investigate, runs into Aliens, etc. Once I got through the first 20 minutes of the movie and saw the direction it was taking, I pretty much guessed everything that was going to happen afterwords - including the ending which I won't reveal here. But if you have seen the original Alien movie and you then watch this movie you will see what I mean. If you have never seen the original Alien movie then my all means skip this movie and watch the original. A much better movie.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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3

Honest-ReviewApr 26, 2018

When did filmmakers just stop trying? I will start with a positive, Michael Fassbender was fantastic.
As for negatives, Bad acting, Cheesy predictable plot, Boring dialog and the world it was set on was unremarkable.
Im so tired of badWhen did filmmakers just stop trying? I will start with a positive, Michael Fassbender was fantastic.
As for negatives, Bad acting, Cheesy predictable plot, Boring dialog and the world it was set on was unremarkable.

Im so tired of bad storytelling in the film industry, the critics who all voted this film positive must be getting paid off, Every Hollywood film tends to get positive scores across the board, however terrible the film is. Those so-called critics should be ashamed of themselves! Always go by used reviews. They are normally on the pulse.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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3

sulaco426Jul 12, 2021

Not a good movie, but the worst Alien movie. Fassbender and some faceless redshirts on a hostile planet, thats the story. prometheus was promising, but got wasted after that. please, mr scott, retire.

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2

Lord-XaffaxMay 22, 2017

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. "They created us. Then they tried to kill us. They changed their minds. I deserve to know why?" Those were the words of Elizabeth Shaw in the last few moments of Prometheus. To me that was the interesting question Prometheus raised. It raised Prometheus from being another slash horror gore fest with some space ships in it, to a decent science fiction movie. To pose the question "what if?" Stronger even, it dared to take on one of the major themes in Art. Waiting for five years to get an answer is a bit long. But then the question was interesting enough to keep me wondering for five years what answer they would come up with.
In truth I did start to worry a little when they changed the name from "Paradise Lost" to "Alien,Covenant." That implied another movie about aliens, and lets be honest after "Aliens" they were never really scary anymore. The Alien connection was an nice side plot in Prometheus but the real threat were the Engineers. Also, the thought that humans may just have came about as an imperfect side result of some Alien experiment. That we are a species of bastard orphans meant to be wiped out. Not only are we not created by a loving protecting God in his own image. We were not meant to exist at all. We are unloved, unprotected,alone and on our own in a cold universe. That's more disturbing than any horror movie that came before. (And I suspect that's the real reason for the venomous reviews it received.)
However,it was worse than feared.Alien covenant doesn't even give the hint of an answer. And for that reason alone I would have never have rated it higher than a 4.
On top of that it committed one of the mortal sins that Alien 3 was guilty of too. Killing the survivors of the last movie. And even worse you are only told about it. You only do that, when you want to lure the fans of the last movie to come and see your new one, while actually you want to make a totally different movie. It's a rip off. - 1 point for that.
What is left is a remake of James Cameron's Aliens done by Ridley Scott.
The CGI is sub standard(you can see the pixels.) Not only is the new Ripley boring, the whole set of characters is uninteresting. Bland personalities the lot of them. Models not actors. I really didn't care who died and who didn't and in that respect it was like Alien 3.
So a well deserved 2. Please please never make an Alien movie again. Anybody... Do something original...… Expand