UHD Review Alien: Covenant UHD Review (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

Offering the origin story of its infamously designed and executed creatures, Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant offers a few surprises while mainly covering some very well-trod and overly familiar ground.



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[Tino]

Great review. I thought it looked and sounded tremendous too. I like the film more than most.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

Indeed, I think you nailed the film's strengths and pitfalls in your review, Matt. Alien film's are among the few movies that I will ALWAYS head out to the cinema to see, and like Tino, I enjoyed this one more than most. I purchased the UHD version even though I am not set up for it to be ready for when I am. And I can't wait.

 

[TravisR]

...and like Tino, I enjoyed this one more than most.

Alot of folks here at HTF liked it (myself included) so I was a little surprised to see the hate for it in other places (online, critics, people in the real world) that I encountered.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

As a big fan of Ridley Scott I could not bring myself to go to the cinema to see this one after the disappointment I felt seeing Prometheus. I still have not seen it and am still debating if I want to and I really don't feel I should purchase it now based on the probability that I will regret having bought it once I have seen it.

What you mention in your review, that this film and Prometheus are about providing "explanations", is what I find to be the greatest downfall of these pictures. We did not need these explanations and they, in my opinion, greatly detract from the experience.

The thing I most hoped they would not do...

Spoiler: SPOLIER

Have David be the creator of the Xenomorph...and I have to ask does this make sense to anybody that he is the one that developed this creature? I mean it seemed like the "engineers" knew about the Xeno before David arrived on Planet Black Goo in Prometheus and now suddenly he is the creator of the Xeno? Really?

...is exactly where they went and though I know they were not thinking of me when they did this it sure seems like the idea was to alienate me (see what I did there) from this franchise.

Honestly, I am glad others enjoy this stuff and I am happy you can continue to enjoy these films...but I think I have permanently checked out of this series. I'll watch the first film and Aliens and pretend the rest of this never happened.

 

[Tino]

As a big fan of Ridley Scott I could not bring myself to go to the cinema to see this one after the disappointment I felt seeing Prometheus. I still have not seen it and am still debating if I want to and I really don't feel I should purchase it now based on the probability that I will regret having bought it once I have seen it.

What you mention in your review, that this film and Prometheus are about providing "explanations", is what I find to be the greatest downfall of these pictures. We did not need these explanations and they, in my opinion, greatly detract from the experience.

The thing I most hoped they would not do...

Spoiler: SPOLIER

Have David be the creator of the Xenomorph...and I have to ask does this make sense to anybody that he is the one that developed this creature? I mean it seemed like the "engineers" knew about the Xeno before David arrived on Planet Black Goo in Prometheus and now suddenly he is the creator of the Xeno? Really?

...is exactly where they went and though I know they were not thinking of me when they did this it sure seems like the idea was to alienate me (see what I did there) from this franchise.

Honestly, I am glad others enjoy this stuff and I am happy you can continue to enjoy these films...but I think I have permanently checked out of this series. I'll watch the first film and Aliens and pretend the rest of this never happened.

The information in your spoiler is wrong. You have been misled.

And please let's not turn this into another Prometheus bashing thread.

 

[Tino]

Alot of folks here at HTF liked it (myself included) so I was a little surprised to see the hate for it in other places (online, critics, people in the real world) that I encountered.

Most critics (71%) liked it.

 

[TravisR]

Most critics (71%) liked it.

I guess a better way to say it is that I was surprised by how much the people that hated it hated it.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

My disc (regular BD) arrived and I hope to watch it soon. I enjoyed my theatrical showing, but the presentation was seriously compromised by both technical presentation issues and audience behavior issues, so I'm looking forward to seeing this at home without any distractions or issues.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

The information in your spoiler is wrong. You have been misled.

And please let's not turn this into another Prometheus bashing thread.

OK, I could have been easily misled because I have not seen the film and it seemed that much of what I saw about it was...

Spoiler: SPOILER

...indicating David spent quite a bit of time developing/engineering the Xenos into I guess what he felt was a perfect life form and that David has some sort of attachment to/affection for the Xenos. Some sort of idea that David too wants to be a "creator" or some such thing.

And come on, man, if I am saying I don't like or don't want to watch these films that is not bashing anything.

 

[Matt Hough]

Fox informed me that I'm getting the 4K UHD version of Prometheus to review in the next day or so.

 

[Tino]

Fox informed me that I'm getting the 4K UHD version of Prometheus to review in the next day or so.

Heard it looks terrific. I bought it by haven't watched it yet.

 

[Johnny Angell]

OK, I could have been easily misled because I have not seen the film and it seemed that much of what I saw about it was...

Spoiler: SPOILER

...indicating David spent quite a bit of time developing/engineering the Xenos into I guess what he felt was a perfect life form and that David has some sort of attachment to/affection for the Xenos. Some sort of idea that David too wants to be a "creator" or some such thing.

And come on, man, if I am saying I don't like or don't want to watch these films that is not bashing anything.

You have not seen the film, so any information about the intent of the film is second-hand. I get you've read reviews and you saw the previous film and figure you won't like this one. Still, do you really feel you've got an informed right to explain why you don't like this film? I think you've got a credibility gap there...huuuuge gap.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

You have not seen the film, so any information about the intent of the film is second-hand. I get you've read reviews and you saw the previous film and figure you won't like this one. Still, do you really feel you've got an informed right to explain why you don't like this film? I think you've got a credibility gap there...huuuuge gap.

Not at all, mainly because I did not explain why I did not like Covenant. I only stated that I have not seen it and have been debating if I want to see it at all. I can't explain why I don't like something I have not seen. I can say I have reservations about watching it and what causes me to have those reservations. That's all I did.

As I said if I was misinformed about the film by others that have wrote about it I accept that and...

Spoiler: SPOILER

...if David has nothing to do with the creation of the Xenos...

Then great that at least causes me to be a bit more intrigued about the picture and may cause me to give it a shot at some point.

 

[Tino]

I never said what is in your spoiler. Just that you've been misled. Either see the film or don't if you want the whole story. Some of what you said is true. Most is not.

 

[Ushabye]

This was my most frustrating trip to the cinema so far this year. Prometheus is a far more ambitious and satisfying picture than what Covenant turned out to be. It's a side-show of a story that abandons all the achievements of its predecessor. Its two greatest sins are its token messy fate of Elizabeth Shaw and the shockingly lackluster screen entrance of the egg.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I never said what is in your spoiler. Just that you've been misled. Either see the film or don't if you want the whole story. Some of what you said is true. Most is not.

I agree that if I want to post my thoughts on Covenant I need to watch it first. Right now the film is a curiosity for me and only the second Ridley Scott film I have not seen in a theater...the other being G.I. Jane which just did not appeal to me when I saw the trailers.

As Covenant is a "sort of" sequel to a film I really did not like and a "sort of" prequel to a film I love and a "sort of" do over attempting to get things back to Xenos after stating he was done with Xenos when he made Prometheus, made by a filmmaker whose work I tend to really enjoy...well...as you can imagine I am a bit torn about if I should watch it.

This is why I have read some reviews and also in looking at maybe purchasing the film on blu-ray saw comments about the film and special features...so I admit reading these comments or promotional materials has been part of the information I have weighed in going back and forth on it. At this stage in my life I have just lost patience with watching a film that I find horrible and do not want to waste my time or money (because there seems to be so many blu-ray releases I do want to purchase coming out) on doing this.

I also find it interesting (and disappointing obviously) when a director I like makes a film I really find...well...terrible. I am very much looking forward to seeing All the Money in the World and if he does it Battle of Britain.

So, I know I now have a reputation as a "hater" and any entry by me about a Scott Alien sequel or prequel is likely to be greeted with trepidation, can I just be clear I do not hate Mr. Scott and I do not "hate" his work...I just really found one of his films to be dreadful (NOTE: That is my opinion). I am also a fan of William Friedkin but I find his return to horror The Guardian to be an awful picture.

The problem for me is if I like the director I am going to be very tempted to watch whatever he makes. So, I am tempted to give Covenant a shot, because it is Scott, but I know I really disliked his last entry in the Alien franchise and I can't stand all of these explanations they seem obsessed with giving. Were this film made by somebody else I would not even be giving it any thought and would have just skipped it entirely.

 

[TravisR]

The problem for me is if I like the director I am going to be very tempted to watch whatever he makes. So, I am tempted to give Covenant a shot, because it is Scott, but I know I really disliked his last entry in the Alien franchise and I can't stand all of these explanations they seem obsessed with giving. Were this film made by somebody else I would not even be giving it any thought and would have just skipped it entirely.

Covenant has little in common with Prometheus. After all the complaints about Prometheus, it's like they decided to loosely remake the first movie and just have the alien running around killing people because they knew it would sell more tickets. That probably sounds more harsh than I intend since I don't mind seeing a movie where the alien just kills people but they did drop the bigger ideas that were presented in Prometheus.

 

[Tino]

I agree that if I want to post my thoughts on Covenant I need to watch it first. Right now the film is a curiosity for me and only the second Ridley Scott film I have not seen in a theater...the other being G.I. Jane which just did not appeal to me when I saw the trailers.

As Covenant is a "sort of" sequel to a film I really did not like and a "sort of" prequel to a film I love and a "sort of" do over attempting to get things back to Xenos after stating he was done with Xenos when he made Prometheus, made by a filmmaker whose work I tend to really enjoy...well...as you can imagine I am a bit torn about if I should watch it.

This is why I have read some reviews and also in looking at maybe purchasing the film on blu-ray saw comments about the film and special features...so I admit reading these comments or promotional materials has been part of the information I have weighed in going back and forth on it. At this stage in my life I have just lost patience with watching a film that I find horrible and do not want to waste my time or money (because there seems to be so many blu-ray releases I do want to purchase coming out) on doing this.

I also find it interesting (and disappointing obviously) when a director I like makes a film I really find...well...terrible. I am very much looking forward to seeing All the Money in the World and if he does it Battle of Britain.

So, I know I now have a reputation as a "hater" and any entry by me about a Scott Alien sequel or prequel is likely to be greeted with trepidation, can I just be clear I do not hate Mr. Scott and I do not "hate" his work...I just really found one of his films to be dreadful (NOTE: That is my opinion). I am also a fan of William Friedkin but I find his return to horror The Guardian to be an awful picture.

The problem for me is if I like the director I am going to be very tempted to watch whatever he makes. So, I am tempted to give Covenant a shot, because it is Scott, but I know I really disliked his last entry in the Alien franchise and I can't stand all of these explanations they seem obsessed with giving. Were this film made by somebody else I would not even be giving it any thought and would have just skipped it entirely.

I don't think you have a reputation as a hater at all Reggie.

You do have a reputation of frequently stating your opinions as though they were facts however. I think that is what ruffled a few feathers. Not your dislike of Prometheus.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Covenant has little in common with Prometheus. After all the complaints about Prometheus, it's like they decided to loosely remake the first movie and just have the alien running around killing people because they knew it would sell more tickets. That probably sounds more harsh than I intend since I don't mind seeing a movie where the alien just kills people but they did drop the bigger ideas that were presented in Prometheus.

Yes, to me they seem to be trying to "course correct" too much here.

First it was "Well, nobody in the franchise has touched on the big guy in the seat. The Xeno is cooked with an orange in his mouth."

So, they decide to do a film "explaining" who the big guy in the seat is. Then the complaints pour in but I don't think the issue was that they wanted to do a film about the big guy in the seat it was that you dropped the key things that made Alien great...it was mysterious and very strange. The creatures in the film were not explained. They were mysterious and strange...and of course dangerous. I don't think people liked that the big guy in the seat was really a smaller bald super white dude that is...well...mankind's daddy.

"They are us!"

Well, except without a tan and obviously a very nice gym and personal trainer.

So, then we get "Oh well, let's go back to the Xeno." which to me seems like a corporate decision to go back to what they think will sell, the monster. Space ship picks up strange signal, goes to investigate, monsters kill most of them. Really? Problem here is everybody knows you already did this better in the first film and smartly without trying to tack on an explanation of who or what made the Xenos.

All the while people keep complaining about the characters in these films and how bad they are...but that would seem to be because these later films are not about the human characters at all so of course they are just throwaway nonsense. These films are about monsters and androids...those are the feature characters in the films it seems. Again though, this is not what people who liked the first couple of Alien films really expected because they did create characters in those first two pictures you had an interest in.

Now the films seem stuck in this "We need to explain everything and have more monsters and androids." phase. I think that will play to dwindling returns.