Alien: Covenant, or why sex is a bad idea in horror movies
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Prometheus indeed stands tall over Alien 3 through Requiem, but it still doesn't stand anywhere near the first two. I liked the cinematography and acting in it as I think Scott is a good director, but the writing really bothered me to a point it got distracting.Ezekiel said:
Perhaps it would be best if I explained my mindset. I'm not that fond of sequels or universe-building. Maybe it's because of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thing going on and everyone's attempt to mimic it, but I've developed an antipathy for it. I like it when things end and that's all she wrote. The characters come into the frame, go through character and story arcs with defined beginnings, middles and ends and then it's over. No resurrections to speak of. It's a huge reason as to why I'll likely never get into comics. It just robs a story of any impact for me when I know that there is absolutely nothing that would actually make it final and irreversible.
From my point of view, there's no reason to keep hammering it out other than the nostalgia for the first two and money that people will throw towards anything with a brand on it (read: Colonial Marines which was fairly successful). Add to that the fact we've been through this song and dance before with this particular franchise and we all know how it goes. It looks like Covenant will be the revival of that trend. Even though I'm not overly fond of the movie, Prometheus and its gaming stablemate Isolation are probably the best possible notes for the franchise to end on. I feel that if it doesn't stop now it only will when any goodwill towards the series and its star director is eviscerated.
I feel the same way towards the upcoming Blade Runner movie as well.
Looks like a rehash.
Very disappointing.
I think they have run out of ideas for this franchise. After Prometheus (which I disliked), I have no excitement for this whatsoever.
Now that I think about it, Alien and Aliens were the only movies that were really any good. They have just been spinning their wheels since.
Very disappointing.
I think they have run out of ideas for this franchise. After Prometheus (which I disliked), I have no excitement for this whatsoever.
Now that I think about it, Alien and Aliens were the only movies that were really any good. They have just been spinning their wheels since.
To be fair, it is only the second outing that plays on that premise. Alien did it, but Aliens, Ali3n and Resurrection all did something different. Ali3n is the closest to the initial formula (in that it is an isolated environment and one xenomorph), but even that did some new stuff with the formula. Both Aliens and Resurrection went to some pretty different places. Prometheus sort of did the same thing as Alien, but in the end it didn't confine itself to just one monster, preferring instead to focus on the bio-weapon angle and how it means all kinds of bad shit happening to the people that came across it.Casual Shinji said:
Covenant might be the first movie to stick more closely to the plot of the original Alien. Ridley Scott isn't known for re-threading old ground, however, and I've got a feeling that the trailer will prove the trope that Trailers always lie.
You're forgetting Prometheus. And Covenant is coming out hot of its heels.Gethsemani said:
And even with the slight variations, every movie from this franchise is hitting those same beats every time. I mean, Aliens was pretty much just Alien, but with more people and Aliens.
Totally disagree. The first movie leaned more towards horror and suspense and was a very slow crawl with a lot of 'show don't tell' elements that elevated the experience and relied almost solely on ambiance while the second one was more an 'in your face' action movie that definitely went overboard in the science fiction department abandoning pretty much the original's horror roots entirely. James Cameron did the same thing with the sequel to The Terminator. I mean, these movies are still good but they are obviously miles apart from the original vision. They lift on the success of the original but with much more commercial appeal.Casual Shinji said:
The trailer for the new Alien movie looks like a parody of itself. Either Ridley Scot completely lost touch and this is a pathetic attempt to stay relevant or he's short on cash for whatever reason and needed a fat paycheck. Prometheus wasn't great but atleast it didn't felt forced and despite the movie being hammy it provided a cool perspective on the origin of the Alien even it was totally unnecessary.
The original Alien had creativity, imagination and a bold vision and rather than still trying to milk that almost 40 years later you wish some of those film makers still had that spark instead of this..movie-by-checklist crap. Right down to the shower scene *sigh*.
Sure, but it hits those exact same beats; Crew is sent out to investigate planet. They get trapped with an alien menace. One of the crew is a traitor. The facility that they escape blows up. When the survivor(s) think it's safe it's revealed an Alien has snuck aboard. Alien gets blown out of airlock.stroopwafel said:
I'm not saying they're similar in tone or quality, just that they keep rehashing the same plot. Just as Prometheus, and seemingly just as this next Alien movie.
Which is what makes me think that this is a case of trailers always lie. If the trailer is to be trusted, we've already seen parts of the death scenes for at least half the cast and basically all relevant plot points besides "killing the alien". It makes me think there's more to Covenant than just a modern re-take on Alien.Johnny Novgorod said:
I enjoy the books / comics which all exist a long time past Aliens and xenomorphs are a known quantity in universe and thus stories can be more than "what's an alien? Ooh no aliens. "
But I think resurrection killed that branch in the film universe by being so terrible
But I think resurrection killed that branch in the film universe by being so terrible
I'd call Black Hawk Down decent, along with Kingdom of Heaven and The Martian. None of them come close to the heights of Alien or Blade Runner, but having a string of decent movies is...well, decent, in my eyes.Fox12 said:
I'm positively biased towards these kinda films and even i'm finding the whole landing on an unknown world teeming with life with 0 environmental protection or hazard protocols way too unbelievable.
Oh well, due to my own personal quirks i'm practically guaranteed to see this film regardless T_T
For context i genuinely enjoyed all the alien films, resurrection and prometheus included. If it's a sci fi horror film with hapless humans running around spaceships or alien planets, i'm almost practically guaranteed to enjoy it. It's both a blessing and a curse.
Oh well, due to my own personal quirks i'm practically guaranteed to see this film regardless T_T
For context i genuinely enjoyed all the alien films, resurrection and prometheus included. If it's a sci fi horror film with hapless humans running around spaceships or alien planets, i'm almost practically guaranteed to enjoy it. It's both a blessing and a curse.
I couldn't watch Prometheus. I tried watching it on-demand streaming service. After 10-15 mins I jumped ahead to see if anything improved, it was still shit. Jumped ahead some more, waited, shit, continued thru to credits. Completely unengaging on any level. If this is related to that then it's not looking good. Only Ridley Scott's name on it has any chance of drawing some interest.
I can't wait to see this and the new Ripley movie. It's milking, but the right kind (aka not AVP/AVP2). I tend to dislike sex scenes in movies, so I'm glad this one goes like that, though they shouldn't have spoiled it for us by putting it in the trailer.