Alien: Covenant

[Visitant]

Ridley Scott says he's willing to make like 6 more Alien flicks and the sequel to this one is already being written.

 

 

..so you know, fuck you Neil, and your vision of an ALIENS sequel that everyone has said they want

[Da Cap'n 2099]

So I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this one is gonna suck like the last one. These trailers just aren't doin it for me like you guys.

[The NZA]

i should preface my excitement here by saying prometheus (and the alien/predator movies, resurrection etc) have the bar a bit low for me going in

[Little Nemo McFly]

Ridley Scott says he's willing to make like 6 more Alien flicks and the sequel to this one is already being written.

 

Good Lord! A 'prequel trilogy' alone was a gamble - which launched w/ a universally mixed response. I mean, I'm glad he's following through and seeing it through to it's end, but...man, kinda wanna see him just wrap up the 'Alien Saga'.

 

At the same time, I do wish I could see his total vision for the 'Alien / Weyland' universe. Maybe it is kinda cool? But, 6 more films?!

 

So I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this one is gonna suck like the last one.

 

[Visitant]

I dunno man, Scott coming back to Aliens and blocking Neil, Cameron wanting to come back to Terminator to "reboot/fix" it. I really feel like there's just some old directors who are wanting to come back and just revisit/cash in on their old properties instead of letting them involve.

 

I mean a good movie is a good movie and I appreciate that, I just really wanted that ALIENS sequel to happen.

[Keth]

This was aight. Nothing egregiously bad, made sense out of Prometheus and had some fun scares. Still, would rather have seen that other Alien movie.

[Mr. Hakujin]

This was aight. Nothing egregiously bad, made sense out of Prometheus and had some fun scares. Still, would rather have seen that other Alien movie.

Agreed. It was just aaight. Not necessary to see in the theater, and I feel like the least interesting thing in the film was the titular Alien...

 

 

This was really a film about David, and I would've liked more backstory with him and his experiments, as well as about the Engineers and origins of the black liquid. Fassbender made this film. however, that twist ending wasn't much of a reveal as we already knew David's creations make it to LV-426.

 

[Keth]

I was kinda bummed when they revealed that Xenomorphs were just a horrific science experiment. I mean, it makes sense, but there is a lot there that bugs me. Firstly, it squashes any sort of Alien vs. Predator scenario, because we learn that they haven't been around for thousands of years. Second I thought it was cool that it was just an alien creature that happened to evolve in the way that it did. Xenos being experiments makes alot of sense, no doubt, but it just isn't as interesting to me.

[Mr. Hakujin]

 

I was kinda bummed when they revealed that Xenomorphs were just a horrific science experiment. I mean, it makes sense, but there is a lot there that bugs me. Firstly, it squashes any sort of Alien vs. Predator scenario, because we learn that they haven't been around for thousands of years. Second I thought it was cool that it was just an alien creature that happened to evolve in the way that it did. Xenos being experiments makes alot of sense, no doubt, but it just isn't as interesting to me.

 

Damn, I didn't even think about the implications this film has for the whole AVP spinoff franchise. (Can we call it a franchise?) But technically the Xenos we know from LV-426 (Alien & Aliens) are more David's attempt to be human. From David's perspective he is the ultimate achievement of man, an evolution, something created that has surpassed its creator in every way. So he now desires to create life that can surpass himself, ironically one of the most human things he could do. And as a result of that desire for "creation" as he puts it in the film, we now have the Xenos. So, personally, I am down with that origin.

 

What I'm still wondering about mostly are the unanswered questions, from this film and Prometheus. Such as the connection to the cave drawings on Earth from Prometheus and the black liquid facility, or is it more a shrine? Why would the Engineers want humans to go there? And was that planet in Covenant the planet Shaw and David were originally going to or another one? (Pretty sure it's the Engineer homeworld, but it's never stated explicitly.) When/how/why did David fall "in love" with Shaw? WTF up with that giant gathering of Engineers when David was landing in the city?

 

Also, I just saw a video that claimed Ridley Scott said in an interview that the next film is called Alien: Awakening and actually takes place between Prometheus and Covenant. WTF, Ridley Scott!?!?

[Mr. Hakujin]

I think RLM covers most of the plot problems I had with the film in this. SPOILERS, obviously.

 

 

And these two clips would've made the film better, especially the second one as it establishes more of the crew dynamics.

 

 

[Little Nemo McFly]

Finally - got to see Prometheus 2...

 

 

 

Pretty cool.

 

The fact that there's gonna be like, 6 freakin' more...at the end of the flick - I felt like I needed to see the other ones to really understand the full narrative, before I can bash the crap outta this one - LOL! Which kinda sucks - I liked the incomplete nature of Prometheus...but this felt liked a different kind of film...another to be continued? Eh - just not as interesting a cliffhanger. I just hope it's not another 5 years before Scott rolls out another installment.

 

I didn't feel like the movie needed the Xenomorph. I liked that albino / 'gettin' there' creature - from earlier in the flick. I liked how 'David' was essentially a 'almost-human' robot-artist - who was just fixated on and obsessed w/ 'creating' - and responsible for the Xenomorph design. I interpreted him as H.R. Giger...all that concept art pinned up...pretty cool. I liked that - but they should've saved the finished Xenomorph design till much later. That's something they could've played w/ in future sequels - Adam's obsession w/ 'perfection'...huge payoff when he 'gets there'.

 

Aside from that - standard action-fare...LOL - really showed me there's only so many places you can take the 'Alien' series...and be acceptable to general audiences. I liked a lot of what was in Prometheus...there was some of that in this - but maybe more peaks into Weyland-Yutani...'Mother'?...that should've been a corner of the mythos they could've shined more light on and great material to play up.

 

Crew gets infected - Xenomorph onboard. Seen that. How 'bout something like Gremlins 2? A Weyland-Yutani installation gets infected / an outbreak - building on lock-down in order to prevent exposure to the rest of the city. Great way to show the 'world' of the 'Alien' series. Future tech...protocol...regular everyday blue collar shlubs caught in the fray. Could totally bank on the company's obsession w/ the Xenomorph and the lengths they'll go to to cover their tracks. Could still be horror / suspense / action...

 

 

 

[The NZA]

Ridley Scott wants to phase out the Xenomorphs from the Alien universe

 

We went to Covenant to perpetuate the idea and re-evolve the universe of the alien, who—I think the beast has almost run out, personally. You’ve got to come in with something else. You’ve got to replace that.

 

[Iambaytor]

I want to phase out Ridley Scott from the Alien Universe.

[The NZA]

Alien: Covenant Sequel Reportedly Canceled By Fox

Fox has reportedly canceled plans for a sequel to 2017’s Alien: Covenant. Prospects for a sequel have long looked shaky, ever since Covenant limped to just $74 million in domestic box office grosses. Even the polarizing Prometheus was able to scare up $126 million in the U.S.

The sequel to Covenant was originally due to start pre-production this month in Sydney. After the box office results filming was canceled, and a warehouse storage unit full of stuff was auctioned off a few months ago. So the original plan of pumping out another quickly has definitely changed with no immediate plans for anything.

 

...did it do that bad? 

[Keth]

Maybe, but more importantly I'd wager: Disney bruh! They've probably got other plans now. 

[Little Nemo McFly]

I got this flick on blu on Black Friday - I've seen it about 6 times since...like, 3 back-to-back.  Did all the bonus features n' stuff.

 

I don't hate it - there's good stuff in there, but 'the mystery angle' that worked for me in Prometheus, doesn't work here.  The flick needed real answers, more than just...passing lines of dialogue that filled the (prolly the most interesting / intriguing mystery ) gap between Prometheus and this sequel.  Covenant needed an IP shattering / redefining revelation.

 

 

 

David:  "We landed here and I killed everybody on the planet, including Elizabeth.  Oh, and I also designed the Xenomorph.  All offscreen."

 

Kay, now what?

 

The flick ends w/ David basically highjacking a ship full of colonists / sleeping test subjects.  But, w/ the classic Xenomorph design having already been realized...what am I tuning in for?  What else is there?  Tune in for the fate of the ship?

 

If the Covenant sequel had rolled out the next year and the aformentioned ship crashes into a full-blown future city (my dream 'Gremlins 2 plot)...kay?  Maybe that could've been a life-line?  Alien horror in a locked-down Weyland building.

 

I wish they doubled down on the Prometheus stuff.  Felt like 'restructuring of the Prequel series' to incorporate mandatory 'scary' ('scary' HAS to be a Xeno) stuff - cuz that's what 'Alien' is - n' that's what made it all feel 'too uninspired', for me.  There's so much they've could've cut out - and so much they could've / should've held a spotlight on for much longer.

 

David highjacking the ship of sleeping colonists would've been a great opening to a 3rd Act.
 

 

 

I'm curious as hell how Disney is gonna handle these action-heavy / iconic blood-gore fests...'specially knowing that their target audience is an older crowd.

 

These big-budget / blockbuster IPs can't afford to be original / 'not loved by everyone'.  Kinda afraid of how cookie-cutter the future is gonna be...everything's gotta be bigger and louder than the last.  W/ action/horror...I see a point where it's just -

 

Edited December 28, 2017 by Little Nemo McFly

[The NZA]

Alien: Covenant Sequel Reportedly Canceled By Fox

Fox has reportedly canceled plans for a sequel to 2017’s Alien: Covenant. Prospects for a sequel have long looked shaky, ever since Covenant limped to just $74 million in domestic box office grosses. Even the polarizing Prometheuswas able to scare up $126 million in the U.S.

The sequel to Covenant was originally due to start pre-production this month in Sydney. After the box office results filming was canceled, and a warehouse storage unit full of stuff was auctioned off a few months ago. So the original plan of pumping out another quickly has definitely changed with no immediate plans for anything.