Alien: Covenant (2017)

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: Alien: Covenant (2017)

Let's hope ditching Damon Lindelof allows this movie to be as good as Prometheus should've been. That movie was such an aggravating pile of rubbish. One of the few times I've left the theater angry. I hate how plot holes have become en vogue with some writers, as if tying up a storyline to make sense and not relying totally on a macguffin would be a horrible thing to do.

I, for one, don't think the beasts are played out. In a good story, with decent acting, an eerie vibe, a good score, some adherence to science and logic, and mediocre direction, I don't see how they'll ever be played out.

Yup. Just rented Alien: Covenant this past weekend and it beat my expectations. I made the mistake of reading some reviews on imdb beforehand so I almost didn't pony up the $5.99 or whatever (the "most helpful" reviews all gave 1 or 2 stars out of 10...probably voted on by an army of bots), but I'm glad I did even if the David/Walter situation at the end was ruined. The fact that I liked this movie confirms my suspicions that the key difference between a movie that aggravates and one that excites is competent screenwriting.

I thought it was visually stunning. Some of the outer space scenes were a treat and I couldn't help but noting that the Covenant ship looked a bit like a face-hugger when it was "charging up." The forest they traveled through was majestic and vibrant in an eerily doomed sort of way. The final action scenes were great. The flashback scene with the engineers and David's arrival was especially jarring.

The vibe was most definitely eerie. The teal glow from the instrument panels was a nice visual touch instead of the usual neon green or just making it too dark and gritty. The vibe was atmospheric and made me really uncomfortable--this coming from someone who has seen all the prior Alien movies and is super jaded to tolerate horror flicks. My only quibble was that the pinkish neomorph/xenomorph thing moved a little too obviously in a CGI fashion. The thing skittering toward the screen at some point in the lost city didn't look as good as the rest of the film. Maybe a combination of practical effects and CGI would've worked better for that?

What's more is the film didn't treat the audience like it's full of idiots. Did characters do stupid and uncharacteristic things? Of course, it's an Alien horror movie. But, every time the plot called for something to go off the rails (illogically), it was on purpose and Katherine Waterston's character "Daniels" aptly commented on it as a sort of wink and nod to the audience from Ridley Scott (as if to say, 'yes, I know this is irrational behavior and stupid for someone, least of all a trained expert to be doing, but this is the direction these flawed human characters under a bunch of duress are going'). Just acknowledging that: (a) going off course on a sleeper/colony mission is being objected to by one of the lead characters and; (b) basic quarantine procedures are at least being mentioned by one of the characters (even if laughably followed) makes a big difference in suspension of disbelief. That the film is aware of, but discards best practices for the sake of horror and chaos is far better than an idiot screenwriter who characterizes science and scientists--out of ignorance--much like an uber-dork would characterize the inner workings of the "hot" sorority on a college campus. It automatically makes the film smarter for the plot/script to recognize and protest illogical behavior, even if the behavior still takes place in the end. And, yeah, still assuming that they have some hardcore scanning technology aboard these ships because they regrettably keep taking the space helmets off right upon landing. lol

If you are somewhat like me and really like the Alien franchise, but saw Prometheus and disliked it--I think this movie will be more to your liking.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Alien: Covenant (2017)

Yup. Just rented Alien: Covenant this past weekend and it beat my expectations. I made the mistake of reading some reviews on imdb beforehand so I almost didn't pony up the $5.99 or whatever (the "most helpful" reviews all gave 1 or 2 stars out of 10...probably voted on by an army of bots), but I'm glad I did even if the David/Walter situation at the end was ruined. The fact that I liked this movie confirms my suspicions that the key difference between a movie that aggravates and one that excites is competent screenwriting.

I thought it was visually stunning. Some of the outer space scenes were a treat and I couldn't help but noting that the Covenant ship looked a bit like a face-hugger when it was "charging up." The forest they traveled through was majestic and vibrant in an eerily doomed sort of way. The final action scenes were great. The flashback scene with the engineers and David's arrival was especially jarring.

The vibe was most definitely eerie. The teal glow from the instrument panels was a nice visual touch instead of the usual neon green or just making it too dark and gritty. The vibe was atmospheric and made me really uncomfortable--this coming from someone who has seen all the prior Alien movies and is super jaded to tolerate horror flicks. My only quibble was that the pinkish neomorph/xenomorph thing moved a little too obviously in a CGI fashion. The thing skittering toward the screen at some point in the lost city didn't look as good as the rest of the film. Maybe a combination of practical effects and CGI would've worked better for that?

What's more is the film didn't treat the audience like it's full of idiots. Did characters do stupid and uncharacteristic things? Of course, it's an Alien horror movie. But, every time the plot called for something to go off the rails (illogically), it was on purpose and Katherine Waterston's character "Daniels" aptly commented on it as a sort of wink and nod to the audience from Ridley Scott (as if to say, 'yes, I know this is irrational behavior and stupid for someone, least of all a trained expert to be doing, but this is the direction these flawed human characters under a bunch of duress are going'). Just acknowledging that: (a) going off course on a sleeper/colony mission is being objected to by one of the lead characters and; (b) basic quarantine procedures are at least being mentioned by one of the characters (even if laughably followed) makes a big difference in suspension of disbelief. That the film is aware of, but discards best practices for the sake of horror and chaos is far better than an idiot screenwriter who characterizes science and scientists--out of ignorance--much like an uber-dork would characterize the inner workings of the "hot" sorority on a college campus. It automatically makes the film smarter for the plot/script to recognize and protest illogical behavior, even if the behavior still takes place in the end. And, yeah, still assuming that they have some hardcore scanning technology aboard these ships because they regrettably keep taking the space helmets off right upon landing. lol

If you are somewhat like me and really like the Alien franchise, but saw Prometheus and disliked it--I think this movie will be more to your liking.

I bought it on Bluray on Cyber Monday for 8 bucks. My wife and I watched it last weekend. We loved it even more the second time around. And we were big Prometheus fans to begin with.

My rankings now:

1) Alien
2) Aliens
3) Alien Covenant
4) Alien 3
5) Promethus
6) Alien Resurrection
7) AVP
8) AVP 2


I enjoy all of the films. But that is my rankings. And yes I don't consider AVP part of the series (IMO). But fun times with those films in a different kind of comic book like way.