Neverending
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Post by Neverending on May 18, 2017 14:30:15 GMT -5
10 years after Prometheus, a crew led by Danny McBride and Sam Waterston's daughter find the ship and Michael Fassbender and unknowingly unleash the xenomorphs to the Alien universe. If you're one of the many that hated Prometheus, not sure you'll dig this one. It's very much a sequel and follows the exploits of Michael Fassbender. I saw Prometheus once, back in 2012, and I was lost/confused during a good portion of Alien: Covenant. I strongly urge you to re-watch that movie before watching this one. Was Michael Fassbender evil in the first one? What turned him evil? What happened to Dragon Tattoo lady? Did she live? Did she die? What was the purpose of the xenomorphs? I don't remember and this movie didn't really provide answers or help the viewer catch up. Michael Fassbender is very deceitful. I was never certain if he was telling the truth or lying and I was confused about his obsession with the xenomorphs. I also have no idea how the fuck these movie tie up with the rest of the Alien franchise. Wasn't the first Alien about a mining company that randomly finds the xenomorphs and then in Aliens they go back to the planet to extinguish them? So I don't how the fuck they go from Michael Fassbender breeding xenomorphs to that. If you're a super duper Alien fan you might dig the mythology or be angered by it. I was just lost/confused half the time.
Is it a bad movie? Nah, not really. I do like Michael Fassbender. The rest of the cast is good too. There's plenty of xenomorphs action to satisfy the core Alien fans. I just wish Ridley Scott had given us a Sam Raimi style recap at the beginning. Prometheus was 5 years ago and most peopled hated it. Why are you making a direct sequel and not even calling it Prometheus 2? I thought this was just an Alien movie with Sam Waterston's daughter in the Sigourney Weaver role. She probably won't even be in the next one!
This isn't really a review. It's more of a rant until I get around to re-watching Prometheus and put the puzzle together. This movie might be brilliant or a piece of shit. I don't know. For now I'll say it's okay.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on May 18, 2017 15:19:35 GMT -5
I watched Prometheus when it first hit blu-ray. I didn't really like or dislike it, my reaction was more 'eh okay.' I can't really remember what it was about or what the point of it was and I never really had the itch to watch it again. If you recommend rewatching it then this might be a job for Wikipedia.
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on May 18, 2017 15:39:44 GMT -5
this might be a job for Wikipedia. That might be the easy way out. Dragon Tattoo lady is dead. Michael Fassbener is evil and breeding xenomorphs. Those are three things I have zero memory of. This is what I remember: Dragon Tattoo lady wants to discover the origin of the universe, she crosses path with those statue looking people, they take off their mask in a planet (which everyone bitched about on the internet), a virus is unleashed on the ship, all hell breaks loose, there's a skeleton of a xenomorph, the end. How that led to evil xenomorph breeding Michael Fassbender, I have no fucking idea. I was sooooo lost. I don't even remember Michael Fassbender being evil. Wasn't he just the Bishop of movie? Ridley Scott, seriously, what the fuck? |
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Post by daniel on May 19, 2017 2:54:55 GMT -5
I loved Prometheus.
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on May 19, 2017 5:20:56 GMT -5
I took Doomsday 's advice and Wikipedia that shit. The Engineers wanted to kill humanity with a biological weapon, the xenomorphs, but Dragon Tattoo lady stops them and travels to their planet (where this movie takes place) to seek answers. None of that answered my questions. How exactly does Dragon Tattoo lady die? Why exactly is Michael Fassbender evil and obsessed with xenomorphs? The Engineers are all dead, the movie DOES explain that part but it doesn't match the ending of Prometheus if the Wikipedia description is correct. So even if you DO like Prometheus, this might be an unsatisfying sequel. It'll definitely entertain the core Alien fans. The xenomorph stuff is fun, but it's no Alien/Aliens. It might not even be Alien 3 caliber. |
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Post by Nilade on May 21, 2017 6:25:56 GMT -5
this might be a job for Wikipedia. That might be the easy way out. Dragon Tattoo lady is dead. Michael Fassbener is evil and breeding xenomorphs. Those are three things I have zero memory of. This is what I remember: Dragon Tattoo lady wants to discover the origin of the universe, she crosses path with those statue looking people, they take off their mask in a planet (which everyone bitched about on the internet), a virus is unleashed on the ship, all hell breaks loose, there's a skeleton of a xenomorph, the end. How that led to evil xenomorph breeding Michael Fassbender, I have no fucking idea. I was sooooo lost. I don't even remember Michael Fassbender being evil. Wasn't he just the Bishop of movie? Ridley Scott, seriously, what the fuck? This should help clear some things up: |
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on May 21, 2017 16:56:38 GMT -5
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daniel
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Post by daniel on May 22, 2017 0:56:47 GMT -5
I don't like to preface all of my reviews because it seems disingenuous and manipulative, but here goes: I'm the only person I know who has liked everything with a Xenomorph and a Predator in it. Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien Resurrection, Predator, Predator 2, Predators, Alien vs Predator, Alien vs Predator 2, and Prometheus - I enjoyed them all to various degrees. I love the creature design, and as long as there is some degree of mindless action at the very least, then I'm satisfied. Prometheus contained the least amount of xenomorph action, but I still enjoyed the backstory, even amidst the plotholes and idiot characters.
This was difficult to watch. Space explorers' systems fail, and the space explorers wake up to find out they're very close to a habitable planet. Turns out the planet happens to have David from Prometheus hanging out on it, where he is studying and perfecting Engineers he has infected with a biological weapon that turns them into xenomorphs. David's evil plan is revealed, the remaining members of the explorer team escape from the planet back onto the ship, and unknowingly bring a chestburster and David (in a totally surprising twist - David has a good twin who David poses as) back onboard which results in very brief game of "Trap the Xenomorph in the Hanger" so they can jettison it out into space (deja vu, anyone?).
One takeaway is this: the film relies far too heavily on the viewer's knowledge of and experience with the xenomorph world. If someone was new to the xenomorph universe, this is essentially a movie about finding a planet with an evil robot who reveals he is killing humans to create the ultimate pet monster. Said pet monster is revealed at the end and is shortly after jettisoned into space. The end.
3/10 - meh
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Post by Nilade on May 22, 2017 2:13:43 GMT -5
Just a note, I realize the AVP movies aren't really cannon, but this film solidifies that fact.
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FShuttari
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Post by FShuttari on May 22, 2017 3:33:47 GMT -5
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Post by Justin on May 22, 2017 6:20:03 GMT -5
Thought it was great. Brought the franchise back to its horror roots.
Rating: B+
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thebtskink
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Post by thebtskink on May 22, 2017 9:04:08 GMT -5
I liked it. Fassbender and McBride were great. The visuals as a whole, and the whole set piece with the crane were awesome. Storywise, I really enjoyed the themes they explored with David's character.
I give it a 6/10. The only thing keeping this from a 7-8 is most of the characters, besides the androids, Daniels, and Tennessee acting like complete idiots.
Crudup especially.
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on May 22, 2017 9:18:38 GMT -5
acting like complete idiots. Crudup especially. The best were the couple that celebrated their survival with shower sex. |
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Post by Neverending on May 22, 2017 9:19:54 GMT -5
I don't like to preface all of my reviews because it seems disingenuous and manipulative, but here goes: I'm the only person I know who has liked everything with a Xenomorph and a Predator in it. Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien Resurrection, Predator, Predator 2, Predators, Alien vs Predator, Alien vs Predator 2, and Prometheus - I enjoyed them all to various degrees. I love the creature design, and as long as there is some degree of mindless action at the very least, then I'm satisfied. Prometheus contained the least amount of xenomorph action, but I still enjoyed the backstory, even amidst the plotholes and idiot characters. This was difficult to watch. Space explorers' systems fail, and the space explorers wake up to find out they're very close to a habitable planet. Turns out the planet happens to have David from Prometheus hanging out on it, where he is studying and perfecting Engineers he has infected with a biological weapon that turns them into xenomorphs. David's evil plan is revealed, the remaining members of the explorer team escape from the planet back onto the ship, and unknowingly bring a chestburster and David (in a totally surprising twist - David has a good twin who David poses as) back onboard which results in very brief game of "Trap the Xenomorph in the Hanger" so they can jettison it out into space (deja vu, anyone?). One takeaway is this: the film relies far too heavily on the viewer's knowledge of and experience with the xenomorph world. If someone was new to the xenomorph universe, this is essentially a movie about finding a planet with an evil robot who reveals he is killing humans to create the ultimate pet monster. Said pet monster is revealed at the end and is shortly after jettisoned into space. The end. 3/10 - mehHey, fuck you. I love Predator 2 and Alien Resurrection too! |
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thebtskink
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Post by thebtskink on May 22, 2017 9:39:05 GMT -5
acting like complete idiots. Crudup especially. The best were the couple that celebrated their survival with shower sex. That was obviously put in there for a "back to horror" celebration. I didn't mind that. |
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daniel
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Post by daniel on May 22, 2017 21:23:09 GMT -5
I don't like to preface all of my reviews because it seems disingenuous and manipulative, but here goes: I'm the only person I know who has liked everything with a Xenomorph and a Predator in it. Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien Resurrection, Predator, Predator 2, Predators, Alien vs Predator, Alien vs Predator 2, and Prometheus - I enjoyed them all to various degrees. I love the creature design, and as long as there is some degree of mindless action at the very least, then I'm satisfied. Prometheus contained the least amount of xenomorph action, but I still enjoyed the backstory, even amidst the plotholes and idiot characters. This was difficult to watch. Space explorers' systems fail, and the space explorers wake up to find out they're very close to a habitable planet. Turns out the planet happens to have David from Prometheus hanging out on it, where he is studying and perfecting Engineers he has infected with a biological weapon that turns them into xenomorphs. David's evil plan is revealed, the remaining members of the explorer team escape from the planet back onto the ship, and unknowingly bring a chestburster and David (in a totally surprising twist - David has a good twin who David poses as) back onboard which results in very brief game of "Trap the Xenomorph in the Hanger" so they can jettison it out into space (deja vu, anyone?). One takeaway is this: the film relies far too heavily on the viewer's knowledge of and experience with the xenomorph world. If someone was new to the xenomorph universe, this is essentially a movie about finding a planet with an evil robot who reveals he is killing humans to create the ultimate pet monster. Said pet monster is revealed at the end and is shortly after jettisoned into space. The end. 3/10 - mehHey, fuck you. I love Predator 2 and Alien Resurrection too! Did you like all of the movies I listed? If so, you're the first person I know besides myself who has liked all of them. |
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on May 22, 2017 21:50:03 GMT -5
Hey, fuck you. I love Predator 2 and Alien Resurrection too! Did you like all of the movies I listed? If so, you're the first person I know besides myself who has liked all of them. Anyone who hates Predator 2 hasn't seen Predator 2. Alien Resurrection is great schlock. Alien 3 and Alien vs Predator are okay from what I remember. Not sure if I ever saw AvP 2. |
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Post by daniel on May 22, 2017 22:17:57 GMT -5
No one saw AvP2 - the camera work was so dark that you can't make out certain parts of the film very well, ha.
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FShuttari
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Post by FShuttari on May 23, 2017 0:13:51 GMT -5
So finally taking time to put my thoughts on why I think this franchise is very much under-rated.
These movies are all about David and his obsession to find the creators and also now to become the creator. If you wanted these movies to be solely be about aliens your watching the wrong movies.
This is at its best a sci-fi film with ideas of what it means to be human and what it means to have some form of a God/creator.
David is absolutely the main character and his development is how we know The xenomorphs come to populate the universe.
His goal is to make the eventual Queen that makes it so these things can live and breed.
I'm fascinated by david, his characters has done a lot to keep me invested in this prequel of sorts franchise.
I know many are disappointed but if you don't focus on Shaw or any of the humans, you realize they are not important and dispensable characters.
It doesn't matter about the engineers, it doesn't matter about the humans. It all leads to david wanting to becoming the creator of xenomorphs.
Great movie will watch it again
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Post by IanTheCool on May 23, 2017 21:20:05 GMT -5
This was no Prometheus.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on May 23, 2017 23:07:42 GMT -5
Smartphone review: not a fan at all. Why is everyone in this movie an idiot? And couldn't have been more predictable throughout.
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Post by FShuttari on May 23, 2017 23:39:59 GMT -5
Smartphone review: not a fan at all. Why is everyone in this movie an idiot? And couldn't have been more predictable throughout. As far as Ridley Scott is concerned humans are the red shirts of the franchise. A "redshirt" is a stock character in fiction who dies soon after being introduced. The term originates from the original Star Trek television series in which the red-shirted security personnel frequently die during episodes. Focus on David. David see's the humans as stupid and idiotic it's the reason they die so easily and stupidly in fact. Who is the only person who makes smart, intelligent decisions in this story? It's David. Ridley is telling you from Davids point of view, these humans are basically pets or just animals so he doesn't break a sweat when they die. David see's humans as mice ready to experiment on... He feels no sympathy. I think that is what Ridley Scott is trying to portray in these movies. |
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on May 24, 2017 0:55:19 GMT -5
But I don't care about David. I don't care about any of the characters in Alien Covenant because none of them are any good. I don't want to watch a movie about David making new creatures then trying to hijack a ship full of mentally retarded people. I read the Wikipedia for Prometheus like I said I would and I remembered why I wrote it off; because who cares? Why do we need to know the mythology of the 'Engineers?' Why do we need another movie talking about it? Why do we need to see the silly back and forth between characters we don't care about while not seeing the things we came to see? It would be like watching an origin story of the Joker but without him becoming the Joker by the end. Sorry, looks like you need to come back for more movies. Alien and Aliens were perfectly fine without letting the audience know this convoluted, boring backstory. Covenant just tacked some onto it (sort of) but didn't make it interesting. It's bland, boring, and nothing we haven't seen before (how many of these movies are going to be about finding a goddamn ship on a remote planet?). Like I said, the characters are so, so stupid and it's not because they're trying to demonstrate that humans aren't as intelligent as androids, it's because it's a poorly written movie. Everything the characters do goes way beyond their better judgement because the writers didn't really care, they just wanted to move things along.
Also, the CGI in this movie is horrendous. Like I can't remember the last time I saw a movie in this day and age where the CGI was so bad. The 'quarantine' scenes were especially noticeable, it almost reminded me of Mortal Kombat Annihilation quality CG.
A couple hours post-film and I'm really trying to think of anything I liked about it. Anything remotely entertaining is rehashed from the other much better films in the franchise and everything else is forgettable. Unfortunately that's what this movie is, a forgettable, uninspired, unnecessary prequel? Sequel? Sprequel? Who cares, it's not worth arguing about.
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daniel
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Post by daniel on May 24, 2017 0:59:56 GMT -5
The big part where I think this fell flat is how it seemed that this movie couldn't decide if it wanted to be a Prometheus sequel, or an Alien remake. I found the Xenopmorphs to be entirely devoid of the fright they posed in the first two films. If the film wanted to just do some some wild Xenomorph action, it could have given us more than the brief ship departure and airlock jettison scenes.
As much of a tool as the captain was, I still can't believe he was as incredibly stupid a character to really follow David into the creepy catacomb and then peer into the ominous egg. He totally deserved that silly moment where David throws pebbles at his head to wake him up.
I'd prefer they left the David storyline alone in future installments. Anyone who has followed the Alien franchise can fill in the blanks as the origin story of the xenomorphs has now been satisfied. I'd prefer a well-done Aliens-esque film where humans encounter the xenomorphs somewhere interesting and have to survive somehow.
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Post by Doomsday on May 24, 2017 1:14:44 GMT -5
I'd prefer a well-done Aliens-esque film where humans encounter the xenomorphs somewhere interesting and have to survive somehow. Sorry my friend but Ridley himself said that Alien 5 isn't happening. Just sit back, relax and enjoy more Prometheus bullshit that I'm sure is coming our way. |
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