You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Itchingly close now...
Just off to see it now at the advance screening. I'll report back later...
I'm in town tomorrow for a course so may go and see it afterwards.
I will look on here but the days of being excited about Alien stopped after Aliens.
Radio 4's Film Programme had an interview with Ridley Scott today...
I so admire his films, some of them. This interview was interesting but I found his responses pretty annoying....
Really tempted to see this at the cinema.
I'm just not expecting it to be very good.
It's good
Just got back. Really enjoyed it although I kind of expected I would. Yes it has elements of all the other Alien films but it has broader scope than any of them. Not as good as the first two but then it was never going to be. Better than the last two, which I both enjoyed. Builds up nicely, takes its time. Bit of a lul in the middle but then it's edge of seat for the rest of the way. LOVED the ending. It's definitely blockbuster sci-fi.
Also saw last night.
Went away thinkinh *meh* but the more I think about it, the more I like it. Was not really the film I was thinking - certainly more action than expected.
I'd say it was better than Alien3, and better than Prmoetheus.
A few bits still make no sense linking back to Prometheus but I wont put a spoiler up.
One way or another, I intend to watch Covenant in the next 9 days, by chance I have a week off work after tomorrow. The question is, does my better half want to see it or not?!
booked my ticket tonight, will go in in full "Go On then, impress me..." mode
Awe, I'd be going along with an open mind rather than any pre-conceived ideas about its content and form.
I've booked myself a half day and will be seeing it in an hour or so, hopefully I'll have the cinema pretty much to myself.
Regardless of previous plot holes I cannot wait to see how this one pans out
Well I'm back, and I have to say I bloody enjoyed it. Yes there were a few holes but it's science FICTION so belief was suitably suspended for the time being.
My only gripe, and it's a small one, was Danny McBrides character. It wasn't bad but I just couldnt help but expect him to revert to his usual stoner/fart joke type of character throughout the film.
And if that's my worst criticism about it then overall id say RS did pretty well on this one.
This didn't do anything for me.
The story could have been soo much more, the chsracters in this did very little to draw you in and the excessive CGI just ruined it for me.
Ridley Scott was interviewed on R4 yesterday, having heard him I can understand why most of his films are an incoherent mess in danger of disappearing up their own sci-fi black hole.
I went in expecting to like it and I did. But I like Prometheus and although it was quite a change, I liked Alien 3 also.
Covenant has much bigger scope than I was expecting. Only criticism was that a bit of dialogue was unnatural and used to explain things, but that's common these days. Landing on the planet was genuinely scary, opening scene with David was great, end scene awesome. Roll on the final prequel.
Seen it this evening. Was pretty good thoroughly enjoyed it a bit predictable but still entertaining. Agreed about McBride odd casting kept expecting fart and pussy jokes
Complaining about CGI in a sci-fi that has aliens, space scenes and planet exploration is like complaining about too much animation in a Pixar movie.
Heard an advert on the radio today, "Fassbender is electric!" Well, yes...
[sigh]
well, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either. Just resolutely disappointing, it's as if the writers knocked it up in an afternoon by the pool, I can sort of see what they were trying to achieve, but the "plot" just doesn't work.
Paid homage to/stole too many scenes from...Alien and Aliens. you can make up your own mind. It was noticeable that some of the best dialogue and action sequences were lifted directly from these films.
There is an action scene in the middle of the film that you simply can't suspend your disbelief, and I sort of died internally at that point.
too much exposition. But as some-one up there says, many films do this now for the hard of thinking in the audience, it's frustrating but Covenant's not the first to do it, and it won't be the last.
Obvious plot twist is obvious.
He's given the series a bit of focus again. Rather than just 'let's get Ripley back with some aliens'. There is a genuine reason for future films in the franchise now.
That ending was brilliant. Been rolling round my brain since I saw it. Going to go and have to see it again whilst kids in school next week.
Had some good scenes, but Sharknado 3 made more sense.
How did any of the crew pass any kind of selection process? Or did they just grab random people off the street? Why did they do exactly the opposite of what any averagely intelligent person would do?
That ending was brilliant
Um... "blindingly obvious" came to mind.
Why did they do exactly the opposite of what any averagely intelligent person would do?
Are you new to movies?
Had some good scenes, but Sharknado 3 made more sense.How did any of the crew pass any kind of selection process? Or did they just grab random people off the street? Why did they do exactly the opposite of what any averagely intelligent person would do?
oh no its prometheus all over again?
He's given the series a bit of focus again
Driving home, I tried to work out why none of the films have had the same impact of Alien and to a lesser extent Aliens, and I think this is part of the issue. The whole "we have to give the Alien and the Engineer/Space Jockey a back story" nonsense has made the whole thing a huge wobbly mess.
Alien was: "Here is this thing, it just wants to kill you, what are you going to do?" It didn't need a reason or an intro, it was just a scary co-incidental nightmare...Space Truckers meet monster from the dark...
and Aliens worked because it had a plot, it made sense, the characters were believable and it was essentially a war film so easy to drive it on...
the rest have just been flabby, and this one is no better.
Um... "blindingly obvious" came to mind.
Does that make it a bad ending? Many many great films have blindingly obvious endings. Sounds like you are picking holes because you want to.
oh no its prometheus all over again?
It's not quite as bad as that, but it gives it a good run for its money
It makes me laugh this: Everyone goes on about crew selection in the later films and yet no one mentions the members of the space marines in Aliens: How on Earth any of those got into an alleged "elite" armed force I'll never know.
Just back now, thought it was great 🙂
The ending was a little obvious, but they did pull you back and forth on it quite well I thought. Agree that the action sequence 2/3 of the way through was a bit overdone, but overall I really enjoyed it. Not a mellow movie at all though, it's going to take me 30 minutes to calm down!
[keeping thing deliberately vague to avoid spoilers...]
Oh yeah - and having watched _all_ the trailers and analysis beforehand, I [b]really[/b] enjoyed the scene change 1/3 of the way through. Watching it fresh you'd find out later what everything was, but with prior knowledge the change of scene had my jaw on the flaw, absolutely gobsmacked (in a good way)!!
I'm just back from seeing it, Mrs Slim literally had to convince me to stay and watch the whole film. It is DIABOLICAL!
Ridley has lost his mind, either that or he's taking us all for a ride whilst counting the money and laughing.
A sorry sad mess of a CGI shitfest. More drawn out and obvious than anything I've seen in years, God awful plot, god awful telegraphed scenes, ridiculous screeching little waving aliens, just so bad on so many levels.
Saddest part of all, there's now - more obviously than ever - not a chance in hell that Ridley could have possibly made Bladerunner 2 into the classic it deserves to be. I'm warning you.
The best part of the whole night, the fricken Baywatch trailer. I shit you not
Just got back and thought it was a let down. Didn't care who lived or who died. The main twist was blatantly obvious and the whole thing was just a bit meh. If they make another I'll be waiting until it's on the tele.
I'm actually angry that this is what they have deduced is quality fodder for the modern average movie goer.
That they can so blantantly pass this as worthy of one of the last great franchises beggars belief.
That so many of you can possibly find that abomination acceptable, let alone exciting and thrilling, kills me a little bit inside.
If this is acceptable modern sci-fi then I'm out.
I want my money back
No spoilers please.
and Aliens worked because it had a plot, it made sense, the characters were believable and it was essentially a war film so easy to drive it on...
It's also one of the most quotable movies in existence after The Princess Bride.
Were people expecting RS to make a film on a par with Alien? Is that even possible...? His best films were Alien and Blade Runner. He's not come close to equalling them. James Cameron not come close to making anything as good as Aliens. I'll guarantee when Blade Runner 2049 comes out, people will be disappointed. I'm sure it'll be a good film in its own right, but it cannot, and will not compare favourably with what came before.
I'm just thankful that I'm obviously easier to please and thus got a much more fulfilling experience watching the movie.
I went in with pretty much no expectations to be honest. It was a good looking film and that's about all I can say for it. Glad you enjoyed it though. I just found it to be quite dull
I think Slimjim takes things a bit too seriously and has forgotten that after Aliens the franchise went downhill. He has also forgotten Bladerunner wasn't really great just an entertaining film that flopped but then survived thanks to VHS.
Didn't care who lived or who died.
Or me but given the film you kind of expect a lot of people to die.
Mikey74 sed> no one mentions the members of the space marines in Aliens: How on Earth any of those got into an alleged "elite" armed force I'll never know.
They weren't on Earth though, they were in space, where no one can hear you scream "yippie ki-yay...".
Or me but given the film you kind of expect a lot of people to die.
True, but I did expect to be rooting for at least one or two. That could have made it much better IMO. A character who you care about )or at least have an interest in) would have made a lot of difference and added suspense. As I say, I'm glad others enjoyed it, but I just found it to be dull.
Were people expecting RS to make a film on a par with Alien?
I would've been content with a film with a plot that made sense, had believable dialogue, well drawn characters (on that score I'll grudgingly accede), and wasn't daft.
also last night I realised that a line of dialogue was from Bladerunner...which I can't decide if that's just lazy referencing or a hideous foreshadowing of what's to come for BD 2049
Yeah I can see that but do you care about Ripley as she appeared in all the originals?
I cared about Ripley and Jonesy the cat 🙂 and the other characters were well established. Pretty much the same with Aliens, but replace the cat with Newt and Hicks. I also loved Bill Paxton, his reaction is what I would expect from 99.9% of people in that situation.
One of the best things about the first two (and three to a degree) is that you never really saw the whole Alien, just bits at a time or enshrouded in shadow.
Funkmasterp is right, the element of unknown and mystery, even the element of sinister has been embarrassingly unraveled by the lashings of cgi and clunky explain-every-minute-detail approach in the last 2 films.
The characters are all completely bland at best, the plot is harrowingly thrown together.
Blade Runner was an avant-garde sci fi masterpeice with stunning dialogue, beautiful cinematography, a great plot and incredible lead performances. The time to die scene ranks as one of my all time favourite move scenes.
Alien/Aliens rank as a pair of the best tension loaded sci fi horrors of all time, Covenant doesn't even rank as a good sci fi yarn.
It doesn't deserve to lick the boots of the first 2 films.
I don't expect it to be as good as the original, but I expect the same ball park with flavours and craft that compare to them - these new films are to Alien what Phantom Menace is to Star Wars, and that's the best compliment I can make.
Well I enjoyed it as a switch off and enjoy film a bit like Aliens it took no real thought to enjoy, I think you need to find a cinema that serves chamomile tea.
*pictures the xenomorph drinking tea, pinkie out*
An industry that serves up true quality from time to time would suffice. This modern marvel universe shite has a lot to answer for - the dumbing down of the cinema goer has become truly embarrassing. Turning everything into a colourful 12A/PG CGI explosion-romp in order to secure maximum bums on seats is a lazy soulless and tired method.
I thought the [i] I'd post some spoilers but the mods spotted it.[/i]
Just sitting down to watch it, I am the only person here so far!
We're loads of empty seats at my screening too, the legacy of Prometheus?..
Saw it last night and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Yes it doesn't have character development and yes, the plot is predictable, but it's an Alien we've all come to see so there are limitations as to how they can scare/shock the audience.
Talking of which it's clear the film audiences of the Twenty-Teens need more explanation than they did in the late 70s......
But for its faults, as a true fan of the original (I wore my Nostromo cap last night!) i found it great fun!!
Watched it yesterday afternoon , 8 people in the cinema !!!
We enjoyed it way more than Prometheus , some good face suckering , bit to much cgi and dialogue for dummies but a decent watch .the next one should be even betterer .
Just back from seeing it. Such a dull predictable film. And how the line "you blow while I do the fingering " got kept in I will never know
A truly awful film.
Come on its not awful. I love the Alien franchise, big fan. I like that we are getting to find out the back story. Fassbender was superb as Walter and David. In fact I thought the casting was good overall. The cinematography was quite frankly stunning. A tad too many cgi monsters.
Edited.
Er, spoilers!!!!
Come on its not awful. I love the Alien franchise, big fan.
I'm a big fan too, but unfortunately I found this one bland. Not awful, just boring and quite badly plotted. There were also a few unintentionally comedic moments. Fasbender was good especially considering what he was working with. Glad you enjoyed it though 🙂
There were also a few unintentionally comedic moments
This - we found ourselves laughing out loud on several occasions, during scenes in which I expect they were attempting to portray tension/drama.
honestly, I found the editing/plot/script so bad and so wide of the Alien/Aliens (general sci-fi) mark that im staggered it could be passed as a workable movie.
An industry that serves up true quality from time to time would suffice. This modern marvel universe shite has a lot to answer for - the dumbing down of the cinema goer has become truly embarrassing.
I never thought I would say this, but all the good stuff is mainly on TV now.
If you want characters and story arcs and acting talent, you watch TV.
If you want CGI splatterfest flying men alien sex pyramid explosion cobblers for 90 minutes, go to the cinema.
On the other hand there are still decent sci fi films made, I'm sure we had a thread recently about good sci fi films (Prometheus notably absent).
slimjim78An industry that serves up true quality from time to time would suffice. This modern marvel universe shite has a lot to answer for - the dumbing down of the cinema goer has become truly embarrassing. Turning everything into a colourful 12A/PG CGI explosion-romp in order to secure maximum bums on seats is a lazy soulless and tired method.
Nothing to do with Marvel.
If you want CGI splatterfest flying men alien sex pyramid explosion cobblers for 90 minutes, go to the cinema.
I like this 🙂
Nothing to do with Marvel.
My point (which I think you missed), is that if you like colourful fighty boom bang Marvel movies, you are probably the perfect target audience for Covenant - its a formula that has become depressingly common.
For the rest of us, its slim pickings.
slimjim78My point (which I think you missed)
For the rest of us, its slim pickings.
I realise that we're on an internet forum and perhaps it wasn't your intention but your tone seems aloof and dismissive. And saying I missed your point feels like you're trying to win some kind of game. It was a bad point crudely made.
The Marvel movies are just a symptom of blockbuster movie making that's been going on for forty years. They just happen to be one of the latest successful franchises, there were plenty before them, there will be plenty after them. If you need someone to blame then blame George Lucas or Steven Spielberg. Together they are probably most directly to blame for giant effects driven blockbuster films, committee made films, franchise driven film making and the watering down of film quality. Direct your ire at them. While you're at it you should maybe cast a critical eye at Ridley Scott who is little more than an eye for hire who's films are entirely dependent on the strength of the script. An obvious thing to say but he seems incapable of judging that and instead concerns himself entirely with aesthetics.
tried to watch it, my god it is terrible..... should be renamed Idiots in Space with a the byline A crew so stupid they make Red Dwarf look clever
agree klunk
can you imagine sending off a more idotic bunch of people on a multi-billion $$ mission without even bothering to give them basic training, SOPs, or preparation of any sort?
you did miss the bit toward the end where David carried out years of incredibly complex molecular biology & genetics, by just doing some moody charcoal drawings
Alien thread resurrection🕴🕴
Its on Sky Premier 8pm from this Friday 🤙🤙🗣👅
You blow and I’ll do the fingering
I liked prometheus. Great movie. Not the 'best' of the Alien oeuvre (if you're judging by suspense, gore and jump in your seat type moments) but by no means a bad film. Perfectly watchable.
Looking forward to Covenant/Prom 2.
Genuinely cannot decide which out of Covenant or Prometheus I dislike the most. I have no desire to watch either again to find out.
There was a good film hiding in Covenant, but they decided to tell it in flashback with moody drawings, but it could've been a proper creepy grim body horror with David's experiments.