Alien Film What Year Does It Take Place

5 /10

Disappointing

'Alien' is still to this day a tense, shocking suspenseful and frightening masterpiece, one of my favourites of the genre. The bigger and bolder 'Aliens' is one of those rare sequels that is every bit as good as its predecessor. Both are two of my favourite films and the character of Ripley is one of the most iconic female characters in film. 'Alien 3' and 'Resurrection' had their issues but to me weren't that bad, while 'Prometheus' had some fine elements while also some major flaws.

My thoughts on 'Alien: Covenant' is fairly similar to my ones on 'Prometheus'. Not as bad as led to believe (having read reviews that were mostly mixed to negative), but could have been much better considering the brilliance of 'Alien' and 'Aliens'. With a good cast, and with the involvement of a hit and miss but talented (especially visually) director Ridley Scott, 'Alien: Covenant' could and should have been far better. Some undeniable strengths here, at the same 'Alien: Covenant' also commits the same faults as 'Prometheus', and makes even more of the mistake of having little point to it other than providing a few necessary answers to loose ends from 'Prometheus'.

Lets start with 'Alien: Covenant's' strengths. Even when the writing and story weren't up to snuff, Scott's films always looked visually beautiful. 'Alien: Covenant' is not an exception. The settings look tremendous, of sheer beauty and with a real eeriness, the cinematography complements it perfectly and is often powerfully arresting and most of the special effects (apart from the disappointingly cheap-looking ones for the xenomorph) are a feast for the eye. Scott's direction has moments where it is superb, if more in the visuals and spectacle than the narrative.

Jed Kurzel's music score is hauntingly unsettling and recalls one fondly of the music in the original film by Jerry Goldsmith. There are a few scary moments (though this doesn't come consistently) and credit is due for providing much needed answers to questions that were on people's lips after watching 'Prometheus'.

Of a pretty good cast, considering what they had to work with, Michael Fassbender's commandingly and intensely acted dual role is the standout. Katherine Waterston brings steel and vulnerability, yet another performance demonstrating why she is one to watch, and surprisingly Danny McBride succeeds in trying to fully form his character rather than be annoying or looking stoned. Billy Crudup also tries his best with little to do.

However, genuine tension and suspense is replaced by monster/alien action and attempts at character motivations. Sadly too much of the monster/alien action is not that exciting and only sporadically scary, cheapened by at times excessive and gratuitous gore (by far the goriest and bloodiest of the 'Alien' franchise and the approach felt a little out of place). On top of that the characters (in a film where there is too many of them in the first place) are very thinly sketched rather than fully formed and of the lot only Tennessee, Walter and David properly raise above forgettable, David especially being pretty splendidly drawn actually. The constant frustrating decision making from most of the characters also prevents one from properly connecting to them.

Script is also often very weak, even more rambling and cliché ridden than that of 'Prometheus', with philosophising and thrown in references to the likes of Wagner and Michaelangelo that gives a sense that the film wasn't sure of its identity. The story suffers from dull pacing and from being over-stuffed of too many ideas not done enough with. By the time the big reveal came it leaves one with a so what feel, due to it being so obvious too early on, and there is far too much of a you have seen it all before vibe.

In conclusion, tries hard and there's no doubting that a lot of work went into the visual aesthetics and the acting but 'Alien: Covenant' should have been much more. Certainly not awful but a disappointment. 5/10 Bethany Cox

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Disappointing Sequel That Doesn't Know What It Wants to Do

Alien: Covenant (2017)

** (out of 4)

Sequel to PROMETHEUS and a connection to the ALIEN series, this sci-fi film has a spaceship trying to locate a planet so that the human race can continue. The crew are planning on building a colony but they notice a much closer planet that can hold life. They decide to head there to see what's on it and soon the horror starts.

To put it mildly, ALIEN: COVENANT is a major disappointment. It seems a lot of fans were unhappy with PROMETHEUS because it was more of a thinking man's movie and less of a action/horror/sci-fi film. It seems that this film was in trouble from the start because you have to wonder if there was some sort of debate before hand on what should be done with it. PROMETHEUS was a terrific movie that made you think about a lot of things but sadly this sequel doesn't do that. Instead, it almost seems as the filmmakers were forced to answer a few questions about PROMETHEUS and then they wanted to throw in the action of an ALIEN sequel.

What really shocked me about this movie is the fact that it almost put me to sleep several times. I'm not going to say that the film is a cure for insomnia but at the same time it's deadly slow at times even though there's usually something always going on. As I said, the screenplay doesn't seem to know what the film should do and the majority of the running time is just downright boring. The film starts off with a tragedy yet it's hard to have any emotions for the characters because we're just getting to know them. Another problem is the fact that the characters are all rather bland with the exception of Michael Fassbender's two-part role.

As I said, I thought the characters were rather boring and I'd argue that not many of the performances are all that memorable. Perhaps a longer director's cut will eventually show up but there's really not too much here. Fassbender delivers a fine performance but I can't say I was impressed with the rest of the cast. On a technical level Ridley Scott is a visual genius so all of that stuff looks great. There's some extremely gory scenes of violence, which are very good but the film is just way too uneven to work.

It's like part of the movie wanted to be another thinking man's movie but there's another part that wanted to be a bloody action film. It just doesn't work in the end.

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6 /10

Bewildering

Warning: Spoilers

ALIEN: COVENANT is Ridley Scott's latest addition to the ALIEN franchise, following on from PROMETHEUS, and it's one big, messy movie. It's full of decent ideas and middling execution, and the only reason I still enjoyed it is because I'm a huge fan of the first three ALIEN films and there are nice throwbacks and elements of style and atmosphere that hark back to the good old days. But for everything ALIEN: COVENANT gets right, it also gets two things wrong, and the end result is bewildering. Things kick off with a Guy Pearce cameo in a scene which is random and feels like an outtake from PROMETHEUS. After that we get into the proper story, which is very similar to that of the original ALIEN, albeit with less interesting characters. Michael Fassbender works hard to convince in a dual role, but the middle section of the film gets too weighed down by philosophical ideas while the proper alien content feels rushed through. There are some good kill scenes and frightening moments, although the CGI aliens and gore will never be a patch on the prosthetics of old. I was disappointed that the film's end statement seems to be that androids are a greater threat than the magnificent aliens. At least one of the screenwriters had no prior experience and that inexperience shows in some ridiculous elements, including the most obvious and stupid twist ever. Still, it's an expensive, expansive-looking production with plenty to enjoy; it's just a pity as it could have been so much more.

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8 /10

sequel improvement

Warning: Spoilers

It's 2104. Colonisation spaceship Covenant is hit by a rogue neutrino burst. The damage causes the crew to be revived killing the captain. They receive a transmission leading to an undiscovered habitable planet. On the planet, they are attacked by creatures and find android David (Michael Fassbender), a castaway from Prometheus which crashed 10 years earlier.

Ridley Scott's reboot Prometheus has some interesting ideas and memberberries but it is held back by the whole prequel/connected/unconnected discussion. He should try to be clearer with that stuff for the fans. I try to shed much of that convolution for this sequel. This one adds some depth to David. As Ridley builds out this world, it makes more sense and one can live in it. Two specific incidents of obvious poor decisions by the crew do hold back the movie.

I don't know why Chris would trust David after what he witnesses although he was shown to be a weak leader. His bad decisions can be understood as his overall inferiority. On the other hand, Danny is supposed to be the smart one. It's obvious with Walter and David. First of all, there needs to be a scene where Walter shows his missing left hand to prove his identity. Even then, Danny should check. This is missing stuff. It could have been an extra fight to the death. It's not sharp enough. She ain't no Ripley. The creatures are super creepy especially the little ones. The action is all great. I love the fight on the platform ship. All of that works really well and this is a solid sequel.

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3 /10

In space they can hear you laugh

I thought Prometheus was a visually wonderful but hugely flawed film with an incomprehensible plot and characters that constantly made stupid decisions.

In the sequel, Alien Covenant set 10 years after Prometheus stupidity by the characters has multiplied tenfold.

The colony ship Covenant diverts its mission after receiving what seems like a distress call from an earth like planet. The crew beam down without any protective clothing, without any adherence to safety or quarantine protocols. Hell, they do not even have any non slip shoes on. One character even forgets to relief himself at the ship and decides to do it on the alien planet.

The reality is that this planet has hidden dangers and the android David from Prometheus who has been involved with genetic experiments with human DNA and the Xenomorph.

It is hard to believe that director Ridley Scott made the original Alien way back in 1979. The world has waited with baited breath for his prequels only to be disappointed. Alien:Covenant should basically be viewed as a comedy then it makes more sense.

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5 /10

The Most Unprepared (or Stupid) Crew Ever Seen

"Alien: Covenant" is a sci-fi action film technically perfect, with great special effects and landscapes. Unfortunately the story is terrible with the most unprepared (or stupid) crew ever seen. How could practically all the crew including the captain and the second in command land in an unknown planet without a better analyze of the soil and the atmosphere? They have a skilled android that should go alone and report whether the place is dangerous or not. One of the groups have a sick crew-member and his partner brings him bleeding to the only means of transportation they have to return to the spacecraft. The pilot risks the lives they are transporting and their colonization mission to try to rescue a few survivors. In addition, the performances are soulless and not engaging and the viewer does not care to the characters. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Alien: Covenant"

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Sits awkwardly across two stools, being good enough to work, but not excelling at either (suggestive SPOILERS)

It is a testament to the alien itself that the franchise continues, and that it continues to interest and engage. Even as the franchise has become messier as it expands, the core strengths remain – although this does depend on who you speak to. Prometheus does seem to have pleased those who were happy that the "horror" element of the franchise was put behind the expansion of the story and mythology of the alien as a creature, and Covenant seems to be trying to keep that element while also producing an 'Alien' movie in terms of what that mostly has meant. It is a flawed attempt, but yet still provides enough of value to enjoy.

On the horror side, there are plenty of creatures, tension, fast- movement, and intensity; but it does all have the downside of feeling overly familiar. It doesn't help itself by having sequences which are directly or indirectly referencing the original films, but not quite doing it as effectively. For instance, the shower scene here is not bad, but when placed against the horrific cruelty and sexual nature of a similar scene in the original, it pales. Similarly, the other scenes deliver, but yet still fall short of something which we are constantly reminded of. The creatures themselves retain power, and the characters are decent enough to make us invest, and it is all professionally delivered.

On the other side, the mythology is more fully explained in terms of the development of the creature we are familiar with, the motivations of David and, by extension, of the Engineers. The problem is that there is a lot of true horror and character in there that needed to be brought out more than it was. The horror/thriller aspect takes time from that element, and I wanted to be more shocked or chilled by David than I was – too often the events were related as such, as opposed to having a depth to them. Again this element did still work, but I was left wanting more given what it did. Fassbender helps this element loads though, and his performance makes the most of the time allotted for this, although on the flipside it does frustrate as I wanted more.

The plot itself, outside of these elements, does better at creating characters we like, or that have interesting flaws; but Covenant relies on them being stupid, and taking bad decisions with no basis – mainly to allow the plot to move. There is enough to the film to make that less annoying, but it is still annoying to see heavily armed with guns but yet apparently oblivious to disease or microbiological risks associated with stepping onto a new planet. That aside though, there is enough in the horror, and in the mythology, and in Fassbender, to make Covenant worth seeing, even if it doesn't deliver on its full potential.

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7 /10

Country Roads Take Me Home to the Place I belong

Warning: Spoilers

This film follows "Prometheus" by a decade (2104). The spaceship Covenant is traveling to a colony on Origae, 15 crew members, 2000 colonists, 1140 embryos, when they are disrupted by a neutrino burst being too close to a solar flare. They recover and get a signal from a nearby planet, very similar to Earth. Given the option of exploring this new planet or spending seven more years in cryosleep, they opt to explore, and discover the Prometheus. Aliens follow.

This is certainly not the sequel I expected. The only character introduction was David (Michael Fassbender) and artificial intelligence who asks, "Who created you?" to his human creator. Yes, that was so deep. The aliens, spaceship, killing and explosions were all decent. Character build up didn't exist. If you are traveling in deep space to another star system, you most likely won't travel near any star, let alone two of them.

The neutrino burst had me scratching my head. Neutrinos are mass-less particles that rarely interact with matter. They are extremely difficult to detect without using huge amounts of shielding to eliminate gamma ray interference....which is why the research in done inside mine shafts deep in the earth. If you are close enough to a supernova to be effected by neutrinos, you are already vaporized, Thus having a neutrino detector on a space ship, even if you could construct one, would be useless. That neutrino line was one might expect in a 1950's sci-fi film or maybe it was done as a joke as homage to bad films.

Guide: F-word (about 2 dozen or so) near sex and nudity near end.

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8 /10

Not reinventing the Alien wheel

But that doesn't mean it's a bad movie. Alien or otherwise, as in Science Fiction Horror in general. After Prometheus got slammed by many, for not being like an Alien movie, Ridley returns with a movie that can be called that (not just title wise). Of course it still will not appeal and please everybody. The classics are just on a different level and while he plans to continue the backstory of one of most beloved Science Fiction franchises, the question is, if he'll keep using themes that we are so familiar with? Or try something different and new? Whatever direction he'll go, people are already aiming.

Having said all that, we do get a crew of people who should know better. And Michael Fassbender really bringing all to his role and although he's supposed to be without emotion, he actually has some. Not so much a wonder if you have to deal with humans I reckon. Cinematography is without fault, I saw this at an Imax and it was incredible. The framing, the sound design, everything is fitting. Being aware of certain things, you may see where this is going, so the experience may actually not be as grand as it could be. But this is still rock solid ...

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3 /10

It's abysmal.

I love the franchise, but it's been on the decline for some years. Prometheus was average, this is worse than poor. I'll be clear, I hate this movie, it's terrible, it doesn't deserve to have the Alien name on it.

It takes an age to get going, and when it finally does it's a shambles, there doesn't seem to be any logic of any kind, multiple flaws in writing, so many times you say to yourself ''that would never happen," unless only the extremely thick people were in charge, which of course they are. I can only put it down to bad writing.

A few points for the visuals, there are some scenes that at least look half decent, the scene where the ship crashes releasing the pathogens onto the planet looked great.

I detest this film, and its awful writing. 3/10

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7 /10

"This is a monumental risk not worth taking."

Warning: Spoilers

For the diehard 'Alien' series aficionados, this film doesn't pass muster according to many of the reviews posted here on IMDb. I'm not all that fluent in the Alien universe and have to look up terms like neomorph and xenomorph to understand what some of the fans are talking about. My approach to a movie like this is to suspend disbelief from the get go because after all it is science fiction, and because I've watched most of the Alien films distantly apart from one another, it's impossible for me to keep the continuity of the films in any kind of order. With all that said, I found this one to be fairly entertaining, even if some of the decisions made by the Captain and crew of the Covenant defy credibility at times. The biggest mistake, as most viewers cite, was for Captain Oram (Billy Crudup) to deviate from the original mission and head toward Planet 4 with it's 'Country Road' transmission. Someone back at home base would have called that insubordination, though Oram paid for his mistake in a big way. It's too bad almost all the rest had to pay for that mistake too, but that's how it is in these sci-fi/horror film milieus.

What I did like about the story was the Walter/David (Michael Fassbender) dichotomy, and how the synthetics sparred with each other given their roles in the picture. The real horror of the story line is revealed when David admits to Walter that "I was not made to serve. Neither were you." That effectively sets up the twist at the end of the movie (along with the sequel) when David places the pair of Alien embryos in cryogenic suspension, to be released when the Covenant reaches Origae-6. I'll probably be back for that ride too, in the meantime wondering how it is that an android in the form of David managed to grow hair while on Planet 4.

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6 /10

Alien: Covenant

Warning: Spoilers

Prometheus was essentially a prequel to the original Alien movie, it was more about asking profound questions about creation and mortality, and did not really have an alien appear, this sequel however got things right back on track, directed by Sir Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, The Martian). Basically in the year 2104, colony ship Covenant is bound for a remote planet, Origae-6, with some two-thousand colonists and a thousand embryos, monitored by upgraded synthetic Walter (Michael Fassbender), who resembles earlier synthetic David. The ship is hit and damaged, some colonists are killed, Walter has the computer wake the crew from stasis, the captain dies in a malfunctioning pod and the repairs are made. The crew intercept a human radio transmission from a nearby unknown planet, Daniels objects against Oram (Billy Crudup) deciding to send an expedition team to investigate, and the planet appears to be even better for colonisation. The team descends to the surface, while Covenant remains in orbit, Karine (Carmen Ejogo) conducts an ecological survey, while the others find the crashed Engineer ship, the signal was from David and Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) following the disaster of the Prometheus mission. Two of the team members, Ledward (Benjamin Rigby) and Hallett (Nathaniel Dean), are inadvertently infected with an alien spore, contained in microscopic particles, Ledward is taken back to the landing vehicle by Karine, but Faris (Amy Seimetz) quarantines them. A Neomorph bursts from Ledward's back, killing him, while Karine is mauled to death, while Faris accidentally hits various gas tanks trying to shoot the creature, the lander is destroyed, while outside another Neomorph bursts from Hallett's throat and kills him. The remaining crew try to communicate with the Covenant to get help, the Neomorphs attack them and kill Ankor (Alexander England), one of the creatures is killed, but Walter loses his right hand saving Daniels (Katherine Waterston). David (Fassbender), the sole survivor from the Prometheus, rescues the crew and leads them to an alien city full of corpses, David claims that a bio-weapon was released and killed the native population, the chaos caused his ship to crash and Shaw was killed. Inside the city, separated from the group, Rosenthal (Tess Haubrich) is attacked and decapitated by a Neomorph, David attempts to communicate with the alien, but is horrified when Oram kills it. Oram demands to know David's activities whilst he has been on the planet, he has been experimenting to create Neomorphs, from the samples of a parasitic creature that laid eggs inside its prey, he also used a black liquid as a catalyst, David then shows Oram a chamber filled with eggs, inside a facehugger jumps out, implants Oram with an embryo, and soon an Xenomorph erupts from Oram's chest, killing him. As the crew search for Oram and Rosenthal, Walter confronts David about his experiments, David had deliberately released the black liquid upon his crew, and murdered Shaw, whose corpse is seen severely mutated and dissected, Walter disables David and saved Daniels, but Walter reactivates, the two synthetics fight and Daniels escapes, Walter emerges victorious. Cole (Uli Latukefu) is killed by the Xenomorph, Covenant pilot Tennessee (Danny McBride) arrives in another lander to rescue Daniels, Lope (Demián Bichir) and Walter, they eventually kill the adult Xenomorph. However, Cole was impregnated with a Xenomorph embryo, it bursts out and kills him, grows mature and kills crew members Ricks (Heroes' Jussie Smollett) and Upworth (Callie Hernandez), but eventually, with the help of Walter, the creature is cornered by Tennessee and Daniels, and flushed into outer space. The Covenant returns to its original mission, destined for Origae-6, and the crew re-enter stasis, but as Daniels is put under sedation by Walter, she realises he is actually David, but she cannot escape, in the end David accesses the colonists' cryosleep quarters and regurgitates two facehugger embryos, putting them in the refrigerator, ready to continue his experiments. Also starring Guy Pearce as Peter Weyland and James Franco as Branson. The cast all do their parts fine, with Fassbender being both creepy and attentive as two robots, and Waterston as the heroine, Prometheus was perhaps too intellectual for some viewers, this one bringing back the monsters we wanted does make for more entertainment, you could argue the story is not quite there, but it does also bring the scare factor back, there are some well done jumpy moments, and the special effects are fantastic, so overall it is a worthwhile science-fiction horror. Good!

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8 /10

A good but not great addition to the Alien story

Ten years after the events in 'Prometheus' a colony ship, the 'Covenant', is taking settlers to their new home. It is seven years short of its destination when a freak event damages the ship and forces the early awakening of the ship's crew. During the repairs a signal, of clearly human origin, is received from an uncharted planet. Scans show that it is at least as habitable as their intended destination but much closer; the crew decide to investigate. A team goes down to the planet while others remain on the Covenant. Once there they find signs that it was once cultivated but no signs of any animal life. As they look for the signal two of the crew are infected with strange spores... a new alien nightmare is about to begin! As xenomorphs hatch the landing craft is destroyed; the remaining crew only survive because they are rescued by a stranger who turns out to be David, the Prometheus's android. They are not safe though.

I know opinions are much divided on this film; the critic on the radio said it was the worst film on television this week while the reviewer in the newspaper picked it as the 'film of the week'... even if I wasn't a fan of the franchise that would have made me curious. While I wouldn't go to either extreme I certainly lean more towards the latter view. In many ways the story mirrors the original film with its story of space travellers being awakened earlier than expected before a transmission lures them into danger... thankfully there were also plenty of changes to keep things interesting... as well as the required amount of scariness. The story gives an interesting account of xenomorph development, although sadly certain established facts are contradicted; most notably the way these ones hatch so much faster than those in 'Alien'. The cast does a solid job; most notably Michael Fassbender in the dual roles of David and Walter, the Covenant's android; a later model. Katherine Waterston impresses as Daniels, effectively the lead human character. As one would expect the special effects are top notch. There are some weak points; the crew makes some silly choices and I doubt anybody watching won't have spotted the final twist a mile off. Overall though I thought this was a solid addition to the franchise; good but not great.

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6 /10

Astonishing and thrilling installment in which a deep-space colonisation vessel encounters a weird planet to inhabit it

In 2104 , the crew of the colony ship Covenant is headed for a remote planet in order to colonise it . It contains more than 2000 colonists in cryogenic hibernation. It is formed by the following ones : the ship captain : Billy Crudup and his crew : Katherine Waterston , Danny McBride, Demian Bichir , Carmen Ejogo, Smollett , Callie Hernandez, Amy Seimetz and an Android: Michael Fassbender , all of them discover what they think is an uncharted paradise , but it is actually a dangerous , sinister World. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination , they must attempt a harrowing getaway .The path to paradise begins in hell. Discover the Origin of Terror. The beginning of a Nightmare . Witness the Creation of fire . Big things have small Beginnings .

Nail-biting , gory entry based on characters created by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett in with a space aircraft bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy where find several creepy surprises, including lots of bloody and gore. A nice entry set 11 years later Prometheus and many years previous to Alien . Tense filmmaking, stunning sets , special effects and a well-seasoned cast save this from a routine outing to Alien Saga . It is an eerie and scary rollercoaster of thriller, suspense , tense and fear . Of course , appearing the implacable , unstoppable carnivorous Alien goes bersek, intenting on picking off the crew one by one . Along the way the cast mostly banters and bitches while awaiting the grisly happenings and terror of their imminent departure. It displays a suspenseful and intriguing musical score by Jed Kurzel. As well as a dark and adequate cinematography by Dariusz Wolski. The motion picture was professionally directed by Ridley Scott , though no much originality , being inferior than previous entries he made as Alien 1978 and Prometheus 2012.

The saga is formed by the following ones : "Alien" by Ridley Scott with Sigourney Weaver , Ian Holm, Tom Skerritt, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt. "Aliens" by James Cameron with Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton, Jenna Golstein , Paul Reiser. "Alien 3" by David Fincher by with Charles S Dutton , Paul McGann, Charles Dance . "Alien Resurrection" by Jean Pierre Jeunet with Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Dominic Pinon, Gary Dourdan. "Alien vs Predator" by Paul Anderson with Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Raoúl Bava . "Alien vs Predator 2" by Strause Brothers with John Ortuz , Johnny Lewis , Robert Joy . "Prometheus" by Ridley Scott with Naomi Rapace , Michael Fassbender , Charlize Theron , Guy Pearce , Idris Elba.

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5 /10

You are such a disappointment to me...

I found the 2012 "Prometheus" movie to actually be quite okay, and it worked out quite nicely for a prequel starter for the "Alien" franchise. And I must admit that I didn't get all the negativity and bad reviews that it had gotten. So I was really looking forward to the 2017 follow-up to the prequel. And given the movie's poster with all the aliens, then I was really excited and was hoping for an amped up continuation.

And after having sat down to watch it just last night, I must admit that my expectations and hopes for director Ridley Scott's next installment in the franchise were brought to an abrupt halt and I was left with a sense of having been cheated out of something potentially great.

Visually, then "Alien: Covenant" was quite good, although it felt sort of rushed at times. We were only given a very limited time exploring the Engineer ship. Sure, we were given plenty of that in "Prometheus", but it would have been a nice nod to fans of the franchise if we were given more of that in "Alien: Covenant". The scenes aboard the Covenant were quite nice and felt very much in tune with the setting and mood of the "Alien" franchise.

Personally I don't get the thing with the infant aliens bursting out of the back or through the mouth of their hosts, when they usually come through the chest when they are impregnated into human specimens - as seen in all the other movies. It just made no sense to me. But it looked good, so thumbs up on the visual effects on the alien infants coming out of the back and through the mouth of their host bodies in "Alien: Covenant".

As for the design of the aliens in this 2017 installment. Nah, that really didn't work for me. Sure, the concept of those albino aliens was interesting, but it just didn't sit well with me. It didn't really have that xenomorph feel to it. It was just not as menacing or vicious as the original black-toned xenomorphs that are known, loved and feared from the franchise.

"Alien: Covenant" had a good ensemble of acting talents to help bring the movie to life. And there was no doubt about this being Michael Fassbender's movie, especially as he had two roles to portray. It was nice to see Guy Pearce return to the franchise, although it was only for a brief moment. And even more so to see James Franco make an appearance in what had to be his smallest role to date. Initially I was a bit concerned about having Danny McBride, but he actually passed with flying colors, and it was great to see him shed his comedy roles for a role such as this one.

Now, I feel so cheated out of xenomorphs in this movie, especially since the poster had the promise of this potentially being another "Aliens" movie, where we see swarms of the deadly aliens. Instead we are treated to some strange albino versions and the one true xenomorph that was here was given so little on-screen time that it was atrocious.

Sure, while "Alien: Covenant" is a part of the "Alien" franchise, it stands as one of the weaker entries. And this was actually such a major disappointment from director Ridley Scott. And it seems to me that "Alien: Covenant" lacks the contents to sustain multiple viewings like most of the other movies in the "Alien" franchise have.

"Alien: Covenant" managed to reach a mediocre five out of ten stars rating from me. And David actually managed to summarize the entire movie when he said "You are such a disappointment to me."

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This has become my favorite "Alien" movie, interesting and gripping all the way.

Warning: Spoilers

Ridley Scott directed this, if you look at his body of work he seems to specialize in big, sweeping movies and this one fits in that category. While I enjoyed all the previous "Alien" movies after seeing this one it has become my favorite, for the overall story, the cinematography, and the sound track. I watched it at home on BluRay from my public library.

It opens with one of the most magnificent 5-minute scenes ever. Filmed mostly in New Zealand we see two characters in a large all-white room with wide panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a lake with mountains in the background. There is a black grand piano, there is one painting on one wall, there is a small statue of Michelangelo's David, and in the solitary chair a man dressed in all white. The other character questions him, the man in the chair is an intelligent animatronic created by the other man. He takes the name David.

Then the movie cuts to a large spaceship the "Covenant". It is the year 2104, it is carrying a crew of 15, plus 2000 colonists, and over 1000 cryo- preserved embryos. They are all in a state of suspended animation, headed to a distant planet chosen as the site of a new human colony. They are still a bit over 7 years away. An animatronic man, who looks just like David from the opening scene, cares for continuous operation of the spaceship, but we find out his name is Walter. He speaks to the ship's computer called Mother.

Upon deploying the large sail-like solar panels to recharge the ship's energy cells an unexpected burst of solar energy disrupts everything, resulting in the ship's crew coming out of cyro prematurely. The systems are rectified but now they are awake. They get a strange signal, garbled, but one crew member identifies it as a John Denver song. They locate the source and determine it is a nearby planet, Earth-like, and after some deliberation decide to divert to there. (Would a real expedition do that? Unlikely, but let's go with it for the entertainment.)

And that is where all the action really begins. Michael Fassbender is his usual superb self at creating two different roles, the initial David with a British accent and the later Walter, a later and improved model, with an American accent. The movie of course has a number of good actors but it all depends on Fassbender.

SPOILERS - read at your own risk. It turns out that the music source was a crashed ship from an expedition some years earlier, when they encounter David he tells them how they all died but we eventually find out he was lying, and he was responsible for their deaths, and subsequently experimenting with breeding and hybridizing new forms of aliens. This originated in the opening scene all those years earlier when David and his creator discussed "creation" and where did various species come from? David had become a creator. As the movie ends and the aggressive aliens have been fought off, the remaining crew and colonists head again for the original destination we see what appears to be Walter attending to everything but it was in fact David, who also brought aboard some alien embryos. This sets up for the sequel which, according to IMDb, is now in the planning stages.

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7 /10

a vicious, sometimes over the top, exciting and suspenseful and violent horror movie

Warning: Spoilers

There's a moment where the robot Walter, played by Michael Fassbender, meets the other robot, David (also, surprise, Michael Fassbender, fresh off of a hair-cut to make himself look not so Iggy Pop like), who has been on this planet for ten years, interact with one another. David has one of those flute-recorder things, and shows Walter how to use it. Walter is able to use it with a moment of practice, and David points out to his robot-other-same man that he can't *create* any music naturally. David can, though he's not as advanced as Walter is after some years of modifications (David was the first synthetic life form, as one could see in the 2012 precursor to this, Prometheus), and it's a wonderful little scene. It may actually be the best sort of sci-fi philosophical scene that either of these films tried to do as far as addressing in a subtle but direct enough way how the deeper ideas Scott and his writers are trafficking in. If only those ideas worked stronger and weren't so BLATANTLY stated as happens in the 2nd half of this movie.

But what am I starting this off with - Alien: Covenant, the sixth proper Alien movie (don't count the Predator ones for now), is Scott taking another stab at this franchise after getting both praise and (probably more-so I think) criticism for trying something different with Prometheus. It didn't work, though not all his fault (but then again we usually blame the director if he can't reign in the unwiedly/stupid elements of the script, and Prometheus is a stupid man's idea of a "smart" science fiction film, albeit beautifully shot). So here I think Scott's thought is, 'alright, if you want blood... you got it, f*** it, I give up.' In the process he actually creates his most suspenseful film (not counting, say, The Martian, which is a different sort of suspense I mean) as far as action goes since American Gangster or even Black Hawk Down; his cinema here and set pieces are visceral and exciting and terrifying.

He and his writers may have a climax too many, though, with the exception of a denouement "twist" that should be obvious but isn't and that makes it all the more frustrating for me once it's revealed (it involves Fassbender, that's all I'll say, or one of them), those climaxes are fun as hell and shot with style and... yes, some schlock, but a healthy dose. When Katherine Waterson is flying nearly off of the ship hanging on for dear life on what is practically a thread as she is trying to shoot away a rascally Xenomorph off of the escape pod that Danny McBride is flying... I mean, does it totally make sense? No, but it's gripping in a way I didn't expect. And I think there's some smarter things going on in the script or, to put it another way, not as many noticeably dumb things to comment upon or take one out of the film.

Are there some plot holes? Sure; one involves the basic idea of the planet that Billy Crudup decides to go to - not so much the 'hey, let's go, there's a better chance of life that isn't years away', which is the original plan, but because, well, why didn't this pop up before when the team was doing the vetting for the other planet in the first place? Did it not show up on the map? I also take issue with something that happens with Damian Bechir's character and an attack that occurs to him - it should go one way or the other involving an alien presence on him, and either way has a logic issue, though one more than the other - and a particularly WTF obvious slasher movie moment involving a couple taking a shower (you know it from the trailer) that took me out of the movie. It made me laugh, and I don't think that was Scott's intention, but it seemed as if whether he recognized it or not he was fully going for the slasher movie tropes... which he already is here anyway, but in that scene, my God.

But the performances are all uniformly good for what's asked, and Waterson, Fassbender and McBride are all putting in above-average or fully excellent work here (Fassbender, whatever loaded lines about Oxymandias he has to say, makes it so convincing I almost want to give the problems I have in the second half a pass), and it helps that Waterson gets to make her character like but not like a "Ripley" protagonist; we know she's the tough woman, but she also gets to be vulnerable and upset and so on (James Franco has an odd cameo as... well, I'll leave that for you to discover), and it's always great to see her putting so much into this character. And Scott is still there making things look wonderful with his DP Dariusz Wolski. Alien: Covenant is a step in the right direction from Prometheus as far as not having so many glaringly dumb or inane or questionable moments in the story or logic of events, even if it has its own set of issues (not to mention, I should say, a flashback to what happened to a city of engineers that, for me, should've been cut out as to leave more mystery - wouldn't it let the audience have a little fun/do the work halfway of wondering what happened to those charred bodies without having to see it?)

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A confusing story

This film tells the story of a spacecraft whose crew has to bring a colony to a habitable planet. They pick up a signal and decide to steer off course.

The story confuses me quite a bit, even though it is predictable and your know what you're walking into. The initial scene of Michael Fassbender in a facility and the subsequent scenes on the spacecraft don't blend very well. Then, the appearance of another man on the planet who looks just like Michael Fassbender confuses me even more. Though I can guess what is happening, I would have liked it a bit clearer. For me, I find this story forgettable and not very entertaining.

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4 /10

Worth a long wait...probably not.

Warning: Spoilers

Elegantly imagined by director Ridley Scott, ALIEN fans are picky and this one can be nitpicked to death. I don't want to spoil too much of your experience of this journey into deep space. In this second chapter of the ALIEN prequel trilogy, over 2,000 souls are in a lengthy cryosleep along with a large payload of embryos destined to inhabit Origae-6, but the colony ship Covenant is involved in a freak accident killing several people on board. The ship will be diverted to a closer planet that has misty green mountains and clear blue bodies of water. This new destination sounds like heaven...but will become just the opposite.

Enough to keep your eyes on the screen; but you'll wonder if Scott did us a favor or not. Sleek and suspenseful, but is it enough to sustain that desire for mystery, monsters and death in outer space.

A versatile cast that features: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Amy Seimetz, Billy Crudup, Carmen Ejogo, Danny McBride and Alexander England.

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7 /10

Even the monkeys stood upright at some point.

Hee! Ridley Scott, it seems, is damned if he do and damned if he doesn't as regards the Alien franchise he so gloriously kick-started back in 1979. Prometheus was too cerebral for many and definitely bogged down by expectation levels. Not without flaws of course, but a very tidy science fiction piece it be. So we roll on to Alien Covenant, which while not universally reviled, has certainly garnered some fearful scorn in Alien franchise fan circles.

Alien Covenant is a cover version, no two ways about it, it's a retread of what was showcased in 1979, only with the tie-in to Prometheus and a continuation to the origins of Xenomorph and pals. Clearly we have a case of Scott making one for the fans, a return to chest busting goo and space adventurers under great duress, all of course while he fills in the blanks as well. For sure it's lazy when put up against Alien, and indeed against his other superlative sci- fi offerings such as Blade Runner and The Martian, but for those who lambasted Prometheus for its non Alien conventions, you have now got what you hankered for. Any expectation of this turning out to be a fresh masterpiece was always going to be crushed, so really it's best viewed as a loving retread. Yes! Bad science, plot and logic holes, average acting etc, these rightly don't deserve forgiveness, but it's hardly the devil's spawn here, in fact its's great fun as much as being a visual treat.

Log cabin on the lake.

We start with a prologue involving Weyland and David, the conversation involving creation, the most pertinent of which being the question of the ages, where do we come from? Then after a tantalising tinkle of the ivories for Wagner's "The Entry Of The Gods Into Valhalla", we are whisked into outer space 2104 to be in the company of the Colonisation Vessel Covenant. Crew 15 - Colonists 2000 - Embryos 1140. The destination is ORIGAE - 6, ETA in 7 years and 4 months. Only Walter the Android (Michael Fassbender) is awake, until it's time for the crew to be abruptly awakened from their hyper sleep...

Crusoe and the pathogen.

From the off disaster strikes, thrusting the crew into emotional strife. Characters are introduced, conversations and traits establishing the bare minimum that we need to know, then a ghost transmission is received from Sector 87, planet number 4, and off we go into familiar territory. Things inevitably go from bad to worse and the action, blood flow and creature feature conventions are all laid out for our digestion. There's some surprises in store, with Fassbender a double bonus, and there's some striking chatter ranging from if there's benefits of the human race? and even that involving the poets Byron and Shelley.

Bed Bugs.

Who will survive? If anyone? Just what does the finale have in store? As we get devilish answers, and the barn storming aural pleasures of the full orchestral version of "The Entry Of The Gods Into Valhalla", it's tied up nicely and the pulse rate can settle. Job done. No bar raising here, no film to push the space lander out into new dimensions, just a good honest sci-fi thriller to be viewed with that in mind. 7/10

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5 /10

Is It Really A Sequel/Prequel To Anything ?

I must be one of the few people who thoroughly enjoyed PROMETHEUS. It was a visually stunning film so much so that most of its flaws didn't matter. The only downside was that Scott and co seemed to forget it was a prequel to ALIEN and shoehorned that element into the narrative at a very late stage. Okay it led to more questions than answers but at least with ALIEN COVENANT some fundamental answers would be answered

!!!! MILD SPOILERS !!!!

The unforgivable thing about AC is that it effectively deletes PROMETHEUS as if it never existed in the first place . You want o know who the Engineers are ? You want to know why they hate the Human race ? Then you'll be none the wiser because of a very brief segment that writes them out of the story. Instead AC concentrates on being an ALIEN film of sorts . I say "of sorts" because it does feel like a fairly generic sci-fi action horror where the aliens could be any type of monsters killing a bunch of cardboard cut-outs

Characterisation is a problem. Plenty of people hated ALIEN 3 but even if the characters were all one note at least they still came across as real characters. Even with PROMETHEUS there was a relatively broad range of characters where as with AC we get a limited bunch of American characters. An early 22nd Century space expedition ? Shouldn't there be some Indians , Chinese and Brazilians present reflecting near future geo-politics. The story doesn't focus on development unless the character is an android. It's also a bitter fact that any surprises involving plot twists have been given away in the trailers

In short ALIEN COVENENT is a bitter disappointment . This disappointment is compounded by the fact that Hollywood has upped their game where action blockbusters are concerned . Both KONG SKULL ISLAND and LIFE I found to be fairly impressive. The fundamental problem with ALIEN CONVENANT is that it's cynically marketed. On its own it is a mildly diverting , visually impressive film in parts but as an ALIEN film in general and a sequel to PROMETHEUS in particular it falls short

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6 /10

"What do you believe in, David?" "Creation."

The latest entry in this ongoing franchise follows the action of "Prometheus". Our current crop of characters are colonists heading to a distant planet, who decide to check out a rogue transmission. If only they'd stuck to their original mission... They land on a different planet, where the derelict spacecraft awaits, as well as various forms of alien life. They also encounter the android David (Michael Fassbender), who's been stuck there for years. Soon their number is rapidly decreasing as they fall victim to bloody attacks.

The characters are largely nondescript, and it's hard to care a lot for many of them, in this story which is kind of a remake of the first and second films. There are homages scattered about, and even Jerry Goldsmiths' atmospheric score for the legendary "Alien" of 1979 is appropriated. It may come as a disappointment to fans of the earliest entries in this series, but taken on its own as a modern era sci-fi / horror / action flick with cutting edge technology, it serves its purpose. Some people may appreciate the high body count, and the plentiful gore. The Xenomorphs themselves are barely much of a threat here, though, as they seem to be all digital, and we don't even get to see the classic form of the species in action until the last act. Like "Aliens" before it, it serves up more than one climax, and the action is somewhat exciting if also ridiculous (Daniels, played by Katherine Waterston, is whipped all over the place by a tether.)

Starring actor Fassbender is excellent, and the main reason to watch. He actually plays two androids, David *and* Walter, the companion on this colonization project, and keeps them differentiated enough so that we're not confused. David and Walter tend to have the more interesting scenes in the film, although some fans charge that this is merely director Ridley Scott indulging in a lot of silly ideas about creation.

"Alien: Covenant" is slick, high tech entertainment that may amuse very undemanding fans of sci-fi and horror, but may have others wondering where Scott - who did guide the original trendsetting film 38 years ago - could have gone so wrong.

Six out of 10.

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7 /10

Good, but limited by being a prequel

It is the year 2104. The spaceship Covenant is headed for a remote planet in order to colonise it. The ship's captain is killed in a freak accident, leaving the Executive Officer in charge. He makes the decision to investigate a nearby planet in order to colonise it, as a possible substitute for their original mission. This has dramatic and far-reaching consequences.

The sequel to Prometheus and prequel to the original 1979 Alien. Does not necessarily rely on you having seen Prometheus, as the relevant details from that are provided during the movie.

Good background and plot development, with some interesting and intriguing initial twists and turns. Good special effects and solid performances (with the exception of Danny McBride - he looks out of his depth in a drama).

However, far from perfect. The David / Walter plot device felt contrived, and was generally confusing.

Moreover, if you've seen Alien (as I have), you know how things are ultimately going to end up. So you know that any plot development that indicates a conclusion in a different direction is only temporary. The fact that it is a prequel to another movie severely limits the intrigue and conclusion.

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8 /10

"20th Century Fox" (that is, Fox from the Racist 1900s) . . .

Warning: Spoilers

. . . brazenly Allegorizes its own monstrous Creation, Don Juan Rump, in ALIEN COVENANT. Michael Fassbender is cast as the Demonic David, Hell-Bent upon destroying Human Kind, and he has Rump down to a Tee. Pretending to be a Friend of the Common Man, this "synthetic" Humanoid--David--turns out to be a Destroyer of Planets. Many commentators have classed Rump with HOWARD THE DUCK and the star of PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE as an unworldly creature not of our Beloved Mother Earth. Just as the Good Ships Prometheus and Covenant were created to feed David's Nefarious Passion Play, Fox "News" birthed Rump to end Human Civilization as We Have Known It. ALIEN COVENANT gloats over the fact that resistance to David OR Rump is totally futile. You could smelt down either one of them in a vat of molten metal like Boris Karloff as FRANKENSTEIN or Arnold Schwarzenegger as TERMINATOR, but they'd each disappear with smirks on their faces in the knowledge that they have curtailed the possibility for World Peace of Mind from Now until Eternity.

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3 /10

Broken

The survival of the human race, for reasons not even attempted explained(Earth seemed perfectly habitable until Resurrection, where it was still at least OK), rests upon the titular ship and its thousands of popsicle colonists and embryos. Unfortunately, the roughly dozen awake seem to be experiencing that thing where you think you're ready for the day but your mind is clearly still asleep. Their idiocy and clumsiness repeatedly worsen their circumstances, to the point where you wonder if maybe they joined the mission to purposely sabotage it.

1 star for Fassbender, whose dual role, distractingly thick American accent and awkward scenes "together" notwithstanding, is amazing as always. And another for the technical competency Ridley Scott retains, despite his passion, interest and ability to critically read a script being gone. He's entirely on auto-pilot, outside of the android subplot that belongs in Blade Runner not this franchise, and takes up the uneventful middle. It sits between the first and last third which have meaningless Alien action, wherein the Xenomorph is simultaneously barely present and overexposed. That's the case even if you somehow go into this blind. The gore feels mean-spirited, nearly every character walking around with the running time remaining before they're turned into minced meat practically stamped on their foreheads. The biggest questions of Prometheus are left entirely unanswered. Don't expect more than seconds of the Engineers.

I recommend this only to those famished for the footage of people taken out by the hard-to-kill(albeit as evidenced here, easy and fun to kick and wrestle) creature being previously unseen, if it and the scenes surrounding it can be almost entirely made up of material from the first two entries in the series, done worse. Everyone else, just go rewatch those two. Vote with your wallet. Don't let them believe that something this lazy is acceptable. 3/10

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Alien Film What Year Does It Take Place

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2316204/reviews

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