Alien Covenant: Initial thoughts

killswitch, Xenomorph, 7 years ago

Hi all

I'd love to read your initial thoughts on Covenant.

I was relatively disappointed with the film.

What did you think and why?

Deathdrop, Xenomorph, 7 years ago

I really wish I lived in the UK so I could see this fucking movie already and not have to browse the internet as if I were sneaking through a flasher convention, trying desperately to avoid my eyes drifting in the direction of some hideous spoiler/cock.

In all seriousness, I've heard mixed things, but I'll probably enjoy it regardless. I'm expecting the same deal as Prometheus: It'll have its share of problems, but the world-building will be so incredible I won't mind.

I'll have a review up by Friday (since it's gonna take another week to come out here...). I'm really curious to see what everyone thought.

Unrelated: "Spoilercock" would be a good name for a punk band.

FireHunter, Xenomorph, 7 years ago

I saw Alien: Covenant last night and I loved it! My only real complaint is that they used heaps of CGI.

Michael Fassbender's performance should win him an award. I won't spoil anything but he is nothing short of incredible in this film.

Without spoiling anything at all, this movie is fucking awesome. I love it as much as Aliens (for very different reasons and in very different ways) and seeing it in the cinema is the way to go! A quality addition to the franchise!

Argonian, Xenomorph, 7 years ago

I must say that I throughly enjoyed it. I honestly went to the cinema with very low hopes of watching something interesting, but when I came out, I must admit that I was surprised with how much I liked the movie.

I will admit that I do have conflicting feelings, however, as there are some parts on the story which I feel that they conflict with some parts on the comics and other sources on which the Alien universe has been built on.

I do enjoyed the CGI, and the setting is impressive. I do feel that a great deal of detail went to its creation. While I do think that it is too much at times, and some parts would have been benefited when using suits, I still believe that the way it was showcased was good.

Also, I liked the way they showed characters. I certainly felt attached to them, and most of them really stood out on their own. Of course, they had some moments when I couldn't help but sigh and shake my head, though some did felt more out of characterization than anything.

It was an amazing movie though, even with its flaws. I do want to watch it again soon.

tawganator, Xenomorph, 7 years ago

Just got back from the cinemas and I loved it. Very interesting and I was seldom bored while watching it. I wish I could talk about it in detail but I think we should save that for a few weeks or at least in a Spoiler thread for the movie.

Deathdrop, Xenomorph, 7 years ago

God DAYUM.

Disclaimer right off the bat: it might be that it seemed better than it was because my expectations had been so lowered by all the mixed reviews, but I really, genuinely enjoyed it. In fact, I'd say it's my favorite since the first two; it certainly blows Prometheus out of the water, and I say that as someone who actually LIKED Prometheus.

It's not perfect; there are one or two creature shots where the CGI looked pretty iffy, and a couple moments of blatant character stupidity to keep the plot moving (though nothing like as bad as Prometheus), but overall, I thought it was incredibly well done. No idea whether it'll hold up on subsequent viewings, granted, but for now, color me impressed!

The key for me is this: at no point did I feel like I was TRYING to enjoy myself. No effort on my part was required at all; the movie did all the work and then some.

By the way... Can Ridley Scott direct an outer space scene, or can Ridley Scott DIRECT a goddamn outer space scene!? Incredible. That sequence with the solar sails... WOW. Anyone with even a passing interest in space travel will pop a boner.

Also, Fassbender... What can I say that hasn't already been said? Dude brought his A-game, big time.

First time since the original Alien that a chestburster scene has left me speechless.

I understand where people who didn't like it are coming from, but I personally had a damn good time watching it.

tawganator, Xenomorph, 7 years ago

You talking about the "backburster" or the one in the field or the mini-me scene?

Deathdrop, Xenomorph, 7 years ago

They were all good, but Mini-Me's entrance literally made my jaw drop open.

tawganator, Xenomorph, 7 years ago

There's so much I want to discuss about this movie. Does two weeks after the movie was released seem long enough before we start a discussion on a Spoiler Thread? Obviously not everyone can make seeing a movie immediately after it comes out and we want everyone to be a part of the conversation. So to be fair let's set a date for it with this in mind.

FireHunter, Xenomorph, 7 years ago

Give it another 3 days and we'll make a thread for those who've seen the movie and tag it with a spoiler warning. Lots I'd love to discuss!

daveberg, Xenomorph, 7 years ago

Absolutely incredible film.

Both Prometheus & Covenant have injected life into a stale franchise, adding depth to what was essentially, just a monster movie in space.

Fassbender is fucking amazing and I'm loving every second of watching fan boys squirm, knowing that Ridley has canonised the origin of the creatures now, and people are throwing their dummies out the pram because it doesn't fit with their own interpenetration of how it all began. Boohoo bitches.

One of the best films in the franchise, for me.

killswitch, Xenomorph, 7 years ago

I did intend for this topic to contain spoilers since it's a thread for people who have seen the film. :P

On Ridley. If anyone is interested, he recently took part in an interview with Empire podcast for the film. As mentioned before the interview begins, there are plenty of spoilers involved in this chat, so If you haven't already seen the film, maybe give this a miss for now.

http://www.empireonline.com/people/ridley-scott/empire-podcast-alien-covenant-spoiler-special-sir-ridley-scott/

It was quite amusing to see the critics discuss a particular line in the film about experiencing evil. They felt it was haphazardly placed and wanted more on this. I felt Ridleys take on this was nearly a metaphor for the whole fan boy paradigm. You can want more, you can demand more, and you can speculate until your heart is content. However in the end, the answer might just be a little half developed brain fart that came into the directors head. You can spend years developing an online echo chamber to resinate the smell if you're not carful.
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People seem to have generally received the film positively including those I saw the film with. I felt the set-up was a bit boring and I never really recovered from that. I saw the film after a long Friday. I was nearly nodding off which didn't help matters. By the time generic canon-fodder crew member 3 were stepping on minacious shit spores, the roadmap was obvious and even Bender wasn't enough to save me...(which is unusual because I could watch that man paint a shed and be captivated). I'll give this another watch soon.

Deathdrop, Xenomorph, 7 years ago

Apropos of nothing, but "malicious shit spores" is my headcanon name for those things now.