Alien: Covenant (Ridley Scott)

[Ezee E]

So I watched Alien 3 last night, and it was NOT the trainwreck I had always been lead to believe it was. In an era where we have so many actual trainwreck movies where you can SEE the studio interference on screen (Suicide Squad, Fantastic Four, Rogue One, Age of Ultron, etc...) Alien 3 is relatively tame in comparison.

Read a comment somewhere about how the first ten minutes is basically unheard of in sequel/studio filmmaking. The heroes from the previous movie are killed. The hero is destined to also be killed.

Can't wait for Friday. One thing I noticed is we see the alien outside. I really can't think of this ever happening??

[Dukefrukem]

So I watched Alien 3 last night, and it was NOT the trainwreck I had always been lead to believe it was. In an era where we have so many actual trainwreck movies where you can SEE the studio interference on screen (Suicide Squad, Fantastic Four, Rogue One, Age of Ultron, etc...) Alien 3 is relatively tame in comparison.

The result might be tame, but there's a lot of very weird decisions made in that movie. The first person view of the alien is a head scratcher. A lot of the alien CGI looks terrible. The logic of the inmates views. And that final shot I hate oh so much.

[Dukefrukem]

Read a comment somewhere about how the first ten minutes is basically unheard of in sequel/studio filmmaking. The heroes from the previous movie are killed. The hero is destined to also be killed.

Can't wait for Friday. One thing I noticed is we see the alien outside. I really can't think of this ever happening??

Alien vs Predator 2!

How are you seeing it on Friday?

[Ezee E]

Alien vs Predator 2!

How are you seeing it on Friday?

Ope. I thought it was out on the 12th.

[transmogrifier]

I'll be seeing it tomorrow.

[Skitch]

Read a comment somewhere about how the first ten minutes is basically unheard of in sequel/studio filmmaking. The heroes from the previous movie are killed. The hero is destined to also be killed.

This is one of the big reasons I approve of this movie...its against the sequel playbook.

A lot of the alien CGI looks terrible.

I've said this for years, then last week I watched an extensive behind the scenes only to discover it looks terrible because its a practical effect. They shot a puppet on green screen and composited. The only CGI shot in the whole movie is the cracking on the aliens skull as the lead cools moments before it explodes.

[transmogrifier]

I feel an Alien marathon coming on.....

[Dukefrukem]

Reviews:

SOURCE: Comic Book Resources

Alien Covenant is a film of very little faith. It doesn’t have faith that you’ll notice how formulaic its story is, and it doesn’t have faith that you’ll see the most predictable plot “twist” in years coming half a movie away. And when someone doesn’t have faith in you it’s only natural to feel the same way about them. Alien Covenant is so familiar, so disposable, and so baselessly self-important that it might just make you lose faith in this franchise altogether.

SOURCE: Crave Online

Instead of looking to the franchise’s future, it is hopelessly stuck in its past, reworking old tensions with a few new jumps and blood splatters that quizzically stay bloodless. It might end with a set-up for another sequel, but that threat is merely the closest it comes to a genuine scare. [**]

SOURCE: Den of Geek

Much like The Force Awakens did with the first Star Wars, Covenant succeeds by recreating what it feels like to watch Alien. The tropes it plays with are the ones the original created. Here, they’re reproduced so slickly that you remember why you fell in love in the first place. But a well-done retread is still a retread. [B+]

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly

The vu has never been so déja: it’s a greatest-hits compilation of the other Alien films’ freaky moments. The paradox is that though you are intended to recognise these touches, you won’t really be impressed unless you happen to be seeing them for the first time. For all this, the film is very capably made, with forceful, potent performances from Waterston and Fassbender. That franchise title is, however, looking increasingly wrong. It is a bit familiar. [***]

SOURCE: Guardian

Working as a sequel to Prometheus and a prequel to the Alien trilogy, Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant, as the title alludes to, certainly seems to share more in common with the latter, as a self-contained science fiction blockbuster that thrives in its simplistic premise. Where Prometheus was somewhat ambitious narratively, instead this sequel can be appreciated more so as a standalone survival flick simply belonging to the same universe – and the film benefits greatly as a result. [***]

SOURCE: HeyUGuys

Further proving his mastery of creating tension and thrills, Scott has effectively created a satisfying hybrid of "Alien," "Prometheus" and even James Cameron's "Aliens." Those looking for one of the better movies in the "Alien" franchise should appreciate what the latest movie brings to the mix. But it's not for the squeamish or faint of heart. [****]

SOURCE: New York Daily News

For reasons too spoilery to give away, Fassbender is electric, giving a spectacularly skin-crawling performance. ‘Covenant’ has the same beautiful design as ‘Prometheus’ and once again the script is being all clever and profound, asking the biggies: Who are we? Where do we came from? What's missing is one of the franchise’s unforgettable scenes that feed your nightmares for weeks – like Noomi Rapace’s do-it-yourself alien caesarian in 'Prometheus', or the chestbuster in ‘Alien’. And every time a crew member stiffened, an alien about to burst out of them like a blackhead being popped, my mind drifted back to the original. [***]

SOURCE: Time Out

What’s frustrating is this could have been a pretty stellar Alien movie. Waterston, Crudup, Danny McBride (playing a character named Tennessee!), and Demián Bichir are all really great. And Fassbender is terrific as Walter. A new crew! Fun! But then David shows up and forces us to watch Prometheus again. David is such a killjoy.

SOURCE: Uproxx

With everything said, Alien: Covenant is a “fine” addition to Ridley Scott’s space-age terror franchise. It gets back to the more military roots of Aliens while going full-out gonzo gorefest, but the script both overcompensates with backstory (social satire) and dodges other plot-hole-territory details (a David/Walter exchange in the finale). You’ll cringe, whimper and recoil, but not with devastating or lasting repercussions. Scott’s latest is a thrill-ride that blasts through celestial carnage, while building a bigger Alien world that might not be 100% necessary. Out of all the films in the franchise, Alien: Covenant has the least stand-alone potential – but dammit if it’s not a wild, warp-speed-killing-machine adventure.

[number8]

The vu has never been so déja

Call the police before I murder this person.

[Skitch]

Call the police before I murder this person.

Funny, I quoted that line and had typed "This is why you only use EW to wipe your ass", but then I noticed your comment.

[Henry Gale]

Priscilla Page's loving words as well as Robbie Collin's and Clarisse Loughrey's five-star enthusiasm were the first reviews and only reviews I think I needed to see.

I've gone from cautiously anticipating this to outright excited.

[Dukefrukem]

Hey Scott wants to begin shooting the sequel next year.

[Skitch]

Awesome

[TGM]

So I watched Alien: Resurrection last night, and the thing that struck me the most about it was this:

"Written by Joss Whedon"

... Huh.

[Dead & Messed Up]

So I watched Alien: Resurrection last night, and the thing that struck me the most about it was this:

"Written by Joss Whedon"

... Huh.

IIRC, Whedon somewhat famously said that his script was ruined in the execution (wrong cast, wrong tone, etc.), and it is hard for me to conceive of a bigger mismatch of writer and director than Whedon and Jeunet. Whedon's dialogue and wit functions best as understatement, and Jeunet is sort of the opposite of understatement. Weaver sorta gets the mood, but then you have J.E. Freeman snarling out, "Ahh, the intellectual speaks!" (instead of whispering it under his breath or something).

[Skitch]

Written by and directed by are wildly different. Plausibly deniability.

[Ezee E]

I much prefer Jeunet's direction to the awful dialog they were given.

Hell, that stupid Alien-Human baby is the absolute worst thing in that Alien/Predator world, yet Jeunet gets some decent emotion out of the horrible thing.

[Henry Gale]

Found out I'm seeing this tonight!!

[Dukefrukem]

[megladon8]

Found out I'm seeing this tonight!!

Well?

[Dukefrukem]

Well?

http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showth...l=1#post571327

[megladon8]

Ah thanks Duke! Didn't realize the thread had been made already.

[Dukefrukem]

Np. I'm kinda of excited for this. More than I was for GotG2.

[TGM]

[Ivan Drago]

What is it that you like about MovieBob?

I definitely get why people don't like him for his abrasiveness and brash style of criticism, but for me, his reviews are very knowledgeable and fast-paced, and I come away learning a lot about an obscure superhero or an analysis of a famous comic book angle or TV show from his thinkpieces. The man knows his stuff.