Alien Covenant - Movie Review

[@AngryJoeShow]

Glad someone else saw it like I did. Alien Covenant is infuriating for big Xenomorph/Alien Fans. Mass Audiences will be fine with it as throw away action/horror/sci-fi, but its damaged the franchise IMO.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thanks Joe! Yeah, this was a major step down.

[@XxVendetaxX1]

AngryJoeShow Also, you said you saw it at a horrible time when you were tired and cranky and crabby you honestly didn't want to be in there and it shows in your review. You honestly didn't want to see the movie at the time and it shows, don't make movie reviews when you're in a shitty mood and that's pretty much all the time.

[@DMJ1978]

Joe, first I want to say I dig your channel. But to speak for all "big xenomorph/Alien fans" is ridiculous. I have been a fan of the films and Giger for what... maybe 25 years, and I loved covenant. We all have our own opinions, but for me the film was pretty much way better than I dared to hope for. What I am trying to get at is, yes people have different opinions, but sometimes I think a big part of our enjoyment of something is down to ourselves: good mood/bad mood, company we watch it with, other peoples opinions, expectations... we carry that with us and that sort of ends up influencing the outcome. Now of course its fair to say one does not like it, or that its 'shit'. I just don't.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

A major step down from Scott's previous works. There also is a difference between enjoying some B movie fare and holding the standards a bit higher for a cherished IP that has an enormous budget and is helmed by a seasoned, award winning director. Beyond that, relax. There is no need to get so upset over a difference in opinion. I'm glad you enjoy the film. I wanted to but it just didn't do it for me.

[@TheSean5995]

AngryJoeShow I hated this movie Joe. the lore is so fucked.

[@alcalshel]

Found unknown planet - just walk down with no protection suit.

[@LouisMinett]

Actually they scanned the atmosphere first, there's actually a great chunk of the film exploring that .. Dumbass.

[@nicholasseamans4946]

Just because the atmosphere is o.k it doesn't mean that there are not death inducing microbes as clearly shown in the movie.

[@KalusBane]

Nicholas Seamans YUP, fucking thank you, analyzing the atmosphere doesn't determine the biological threats that could exist. Corinne still needed to take samples when they were planet-side, they didn't know what the hell they were getting into.

[@azraelswrd]

Yep. When Sam Rockwell from Galaxy Quest is smarter than the crew from Mass Effect Andromeda, you have problems. LOL

[@TheOutlawed1000]

Wouldn't it be nice if the movie didn't have a plot?

[@EddyBKronos]

The best part of this film was when those two crew members from the medical bay kept tripping on blood and got killed by a 1-foot tall alien, slapstick humor at its finest. There were moments in this film which would fit better in a parody of Aliens rather than a serious entry.

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

Quite true.

[@hin3sher0es70]

To paraphrase Jim Carrey from Liar Liar 'Ridley Scott is old! He should have been out of the game years ago, but he can't go home because he hates his wife!' =D

[@ChAn-dv9to]

LOL

[@TheNeedmoneybad]

Okay I'm done with this channel. I can understand not liking covenant, the David twist was way to obvious. But this guy said hunger games, terminator genysis, and many other idiotic movies were good. Wtf. I'd rather watch covenant 20 times in a row than have to watch any of the movies this guy endorses as good..

[@planetschlock]

Ridley Scott was one of my favorite directors, but even I have to admit that he just doesn't have it anymore.

[@aesircorporation1924]

I liked The Martian.

[@jasontorres5001]

TheNeedmoneybad I don't think it was a twist , I believe it was to add tension between the surviving crew to give the audience wondering if they'll notice.

[@jackthompson3453]

Scott's obsession with the "Chariots of the Gods" concept, along with dropping in the "Alien" universe, doomed this franchise. The two do not mix. Plus, the addition of idiot characters doing idiotic things doesn't help.

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

Very true.

[@Mrcryptidsarereal]

David's science room was basically the film's art department.

[@HansDampf1911]

You're completely right. Even the main plot that David tries to create a "perfect organism" is a major plothole since the Neomorphs are so much more effective, deadly and terrifying than every Xenomorph ever was. It's an insult to both Alien and Prometheus which are both masterpieces with little flaws.

[@lukashepp5157]

The short growth time was propably because the Alien in this is a different Alien. Its not a Xenomorph, its a Protomorph. It walks on all fours and the design is different.

[@markwing1975]

I must be the only one that loved this and Prometheus

[@adam_williamk8280]

Yes you are. Both films had some good parts, but they are weak and pointless prequels. The reason the Alien is so frightening is because we don't know what it is, where it came from. The unknown. Ridley has tried his best to ruin that. So he doesn't understand his own creations.

[@xipetotek8366]

​@@adam_williamk8280blame James Cameron. Ever since Aliens came out they've just been space bugs. Aliens ruined the franchise long before the prequel movies existed

[@RawbeardX]

I get the feeling Ridley Scott doesn't give a fuck anymore.

[@duffman18]

Rise from your GRAVE That's pretty much every ridley Scott film. The theatrical release with him is always worse than the directors cut, sometimes significantly so. You'd think the studios would know that by now. The most recent film of his I've really enjoyed though is Matchstick Men, one of the times when Nicolas cage does a good performance

[@thewayfarer8849]

Bullshit. More excuses for Scott, never any holding his feet to the fire. People swallowed Prometheus even though it was one massive excuse for itself. Any self respecting director wouldn't just kill his previous movie by killing the main character and themes off screen. How is making a terrible B movie "for the fans"? The fans of Alien didn't want this at all. This is why things like Covenant and Exodus came out, because Scott is not given any focus or real opposition, and you get the arrogance and George Lucas effect

[@nickmattio3397]

"One Does Not Simply Think Ridley has anymore Fucks to Give Anymore."

[@IceLizardsUnited]

Rawbeard "How many times do you want me to tell the same story?" -Ridley Scott

[@nickmattio3397]

The question for u is does Sloth Still Love Ridley?!?

[@harlequin75]

15 minutes is still more than what we got with Godzilla :-p

[@MyScorpion42]

Fun fact: There was more Godzilla in the 2016 movie than in the original '54 version

[@thewayfarer8849]

I honestly think that Alien 3 had a better plot with more suspense, and I don't even really like that movie beyond Charles Dance and the fact that some of the actors tried the best they could. Unlike Prometheus, which I can accept just for how good David was as a character, this movie is even worse in its hollow bullshit, how can you piss on Alien fans by making a shitty action movie with bad GC and lazy scares (while snubbing Aliens because "muh action", nice try Scott) AND Prometheus fans simultaneously by not exploring or explaining the alien creators crap that you DECEITFULLY SOLD PROMETHEUS AS, THAT WHOLE MOVIE IS A TEASE THAT GOES NOWHERE, AND YOU KILL OFF THE SURVIVING MAIN PROTAGONIST OFF SCREEN?! WTF?! All that cheese about Shaw looking for her maker, that could have been good...and you pissed all over that idea, the central idea to the last movie, it reminds me of the Transformers movies teasing space like "okay, now you can get to the answers and good movie next time" before pulling the rug out from under you. I guess the creator story wasn't worth telling...even though that was your entire conceit last time, boy that really reinforces the idea that Prometheus wasn't pretentious and hollow because it wouldn't actually go anywhere, I really wanted to be proven wrong and see some good motives or words come out of the Engineers, but oh well. God is dead and all that. As other people here have pointed out, the mural depicts the facehugger and original xenomorph (not the back burster mini aliens, how the fuck..what..we light Alien 3 and Resurrection and effigy for their shitty subspecies Aliens but just accept these CG abominations, fuck at least I could buy the dog/cow Alien, and the idea was interesting because it showed biological alterations that was new lore instead of "God Robot built them from Magic Goo"), so the lazy hacks that wrote this couldn't even watch THE LAST FILM and write something that made sense. I thought Prometheus was asspull, but this...this is embarrassing. Everyone somehow gave the fucking magic goo (Goo?!?!) a pass and the snake was fine, but spores? Magic..spores now? What is the point? In the next movie the cardboard cutouts may as well be struck by alien rays and implanted, what happened to the horror and art of ideas like the original facehugger? Scott makes gorgeous movies, but beauty alone doesn't make a good movie. There was real honest to God potential in Prometheus. It felt like Shaw and David going to find the Engineers would have actually been a good movie. David literally building his personality from scratch is a *fantastic* scene. You could make a series from him alone. But they blatantly could not find the talent to tell that story. This was lazy, Scott repeated the backbone story of a colony being wiped from a film he dismisses from his high horse, such a scummy move. "The fans made it bad" is a pathetic excuse as well, *pathetic* because any creator with self respect (let alone a guy as iconic as bloody Ridley Scott) wouldn't scuttle a project he cared about and make shit due to pressure. It doesn't work that way, who would kill their baby, it doesn't make ANY sense as Alien fans will watch anything, and the proof is in that movie. If anyone else made this movie, it would be booed for the CG shitfest it was, a disgrace to the franchise. And Scott alone is what's stopped that. So isn't it the opposite? How are his fans the problem, when they are so loyal to him even when he makes a bad movie? He clearly didn't care enough about Prometheus and it's themes to follow them up, which is sad in a way as I hate feeling right in thinking that it was a hollow film that never planed to cleverly break new ground, and it didn't. We didn't see a new take on the Alien Astronaut stories, just "poof, Shaw's dead, the Aliens were made by David even if that doesn't fit, now watch an action movie about a colony being killed, Fassbender's acting will carry the film like last time". And by the way, Fassbender belongs in a Blade Runner movie, or just BETTER films, recently I feel bad that he's in shit like Assassin's Creed, he could be the star of our generation, he just needs a film worthy of his performances. This movie is like the Metorid Other M of the franchise, EVERYTHING aside from Alien and even that is of dubious cannocity, because George Lucas syndrome kicked in for a guy who already left the series to others, and is flailing like a child because Blade Runner was taken out from under him, and he wants to sate his ego. This garbage was shat out because Scott couldn't handle Blompcamp maybe making a really good film, something that could challenge the first 2 (Aliens WAS a masterpiece action movie and I don't give a fuck what the snobs say about it), and mark me on this, this movie in time will have the rightfully earned reputation as a pile of shit, at least Resurrection is so bad it's funny, and 3 tried a little. This movie was lazy, full of shitty characters, and if it wasn't made by Ridley Scott everyone would have dived on it for the utter waste it is. I know that Blompcamp's last two movies were bad, but he could have sorted out his act, done something new, and given us something original. This film is not original in any way. The characters, the twist, all of it belongs in B movies that the Alien movie itself buried so long ago. It gave us real characterisation, revolutionary effects, a wonderful new universe. This has all the originality and care that you find in a modern horror reboot. (Forgive the wall of text, but I wanted to put my thoughts here. If you love the film, fair play to you but I just don't understand the praise. For the record I'm a big fan of a lot of Scott's work and his brothers, and while I wouldn't say I'm an Alien "fan", the series is iconic for a reason, and the first two films are easily in the top five of their respective genres)

[@dsandoval9396]

I read everything and... On your first and second paragraph: RIGHT FUCKING ON!!! That's 100% exactly what I thought! Left off on a cliffhanger, then, 'Oh yeah, that planet they were going to, no, David killed everyone. Setting up Shaw as as the new Weiver, nah, she's dead too. Anyways......' What a fucking 'FUCK YOU' to the audience. Third paragraph: Might as well call this new franchise "The Goo!" right? But really, it could make a really good horror "The Blob" remake. Fourth, fifth, and sixth: Never heard about 'the fans made him do it' thing but makes sense. Never saw Assassins Creed movie or played Metroid Other M game. Seventh para: Not going to lie, I like Resurrection... as a guilty pleasure, but I don't take it seriously. Yeah, I think if Covenant DIDN'T have the Alien name attached to it and if these first two were known as a spin-off, like in the same universe but not "Aliens", then I could, kind of, maybe, sort of see working. At least that was my thought before watching Covenant, what a fucking piece of horse sh... nah, horse shit isn't that bad, DOG SHIT, yeah, what a steaming pile of dog shit. As of now I won't watch the third installment even if I can see it for free, just not worth my time.

[@uhoh6706]

Unpopular Opinion: I actually liked the movie But still the aliens growing up was fucking way to fast. They grew like 7 ft in 10 minutes.

[@ThePinkfloydd]

I feel like your entire analysis was my car ride home. Nailed it! "We are on a random planet and no idea about bacteria or virology....but they have oxygen so no space helmet! Just breathe in that fine other-world air.....and poke some stuff while you are at it."

[@dicnar]

Well. I disliked the movie but saying that it's a bad movie because there's only 15 minutes of Aliens in it, is not right. There was approximately 5 or 6 minutes of Alien on the screen in the first movie and you wouldn't call it bad. Would you?

[@LoveDoctorNL]

I could've gone with 0 aliens in it, what I was really looking forward to was the Engineers and their reasoning to seed the earth with life and why they seek to destroy us. None of that gets covered!

[@ffejgib]

The ending (which I won't spoil for anyone) made me starting thinking to myself "WTF JUST HAPPENED?!?!"

[@starflyer77]

I refer to this movie as David: Covenant.

[@dune3001]

I went to Rotten Tomatoes website before going to the cinema, and not only does this movie have a super high percentage, all the critics were in love with it. I felt like somebody promised me the best cake in the world and I walked up to find a literal mud pie.

[@dianarendon4037]

"I need to get this off my chest" lol

[@tommargarites2811]

It would have been funnier if he had said "I need to get this OUT of my chest" rather than off, but I smiled anyway.

[@danielkuehn3801]

I liked the movie, but a lot of these complaints are valid.

[@HLX13Gaming]

But the Alien in the original 1979 movie only had 4 minutes of screen time and didn't show up till an hour into the movie.

[@cretinousjester3475]

VINDICATE: It was the execution that mattered.

[@HLX13Gaming]

True, true but I just thought I would point it out

[@cretinousjester3475]

Oh yeah, it's good that you did. I'm not knockin ya so if I came off the wrong way, I'm sorry. To be fair, it's hard to get a fair comparison on some merits for both films because they each come from radically different eras in film.

[@HLX13Gaming]

Oh no you totally didn't come off the wrong way I totally understand what you mean and yeah it is hard to get a fair comparison between the two due to coming from completely different eras hahaha

[@Harry_S._Plinkett]

One could say it was the most disappointing thing since my son

[@TheOutlawed1000]

Shut up Plinkett you fucking hack fraud murder. Go make the next review.

[@michaelcullen5308]

There's so much going on in each frame. And it took 12 years to make.

[@91lifetime23]

nah keep reviewing your star wars films, you dont know shit of the best horror movie franchise of all time

[@erikwilliams1562]

🤣🤣 Jesus dude!!

[@cjamesfelts]

The ending was so fucking obvious tht it really soured the rest of it for me

[@rkitchen69]

Christopher Felts yeah by the numbers slasher film ending. I expected some twist, reveal but no.. nothing.

[@MrSlimShot]

Ryan Kitchen i would have liked it so much more if David somehow convinced Walter of his idea (because i feel like they kind of explored the idea in the movie) instead of just David winning the fight and acting as if he was Walter. maybe they have a certain idea for David's character so that's why he had to survive but i'm not really sure abozt that

[@Konranjyoutai]

A movie that is a prequel to other movies had a predictible ending?!!?!? holy shit....

[@nickmattio3397]

"Was it? Was it really?? Please tell me how you used your Sherlock Holmes powers of deduction to see that coming..."(Willy Wonka Extra Condescending)

[@cjamesfelts]

Brandon F That condescending attitude would be applicable if the ending had something to do with the original but alas it's in vain because the ending had nothing to do with the original. It was just a bad predictable ending they thought was so clever but it wasn't

[@wulfgar6749]

I saw Alien Covenant last Saturday with my Dad, I thought it was pretty good for what it was but my Dad was really disappointed with it. He felt it was a re-hash of Alien, Ridley Scott has admit he made a lot of changes in the early stages of the film because of some of the criticism from Prometheus.

[@carterjensen9217]

I like Alien Covenant

[@neonsoldier117]

same

[@romas1995]

The mess started from the moment they decided to make Prometheus an pseudo Alien prequel. They should have made it an original story that is vaguely connected to Alien via the Space Jokeys. Prometheus was a bit stupid but at least it asked some serious questions and it had this Lovecraftian mystery for at least 50% of the film. Coventant is an ever bigger dumb-down.

[@91lifetime23]

nah both are great

[@MrAJzilla]

I completely agree with everything you said. The funny thing is, I think this movie would have been so much better if it had just been a sequel to Prometheus and not trying to cram in the xenomorph. Like, the way the relationship between Shaw and David is explained sounds like it could have made for a movie all on it's own. We could have seen even more of the downfall of David and the destruction of the engineer home world and the betrayal of David on Shaw and (what I would assume would be) the birth of the first xenomorph as an ending. That sounds like a way more interesting film! Like, I feel like this movie could have been explained in a few sentences in the next film easily, and the bits they explained in this movie could have been the actual fucking movie. Overall, the movie has a terrible identity crisis. It wants to be an alien movie but still wants to try and cling on to the themes and aspects of Prometheus, and this movie shows exactly why those two don't mix together well.

[@orokinprme6013]

MrAJzilla [EriEvans] yes I agreed

[@LoveDoctorNL]

MrAJzilla [EriEvans] I totally agree, I wanted Engineers and Shaw+David. An explanation of the engineer seeding proces and the black goo pathogen and the reasons for all of it.... But no, a mad robot with daddy issues makes the xenomorph instead :(

[@LouisMinett]

That wouldn't have worked because dumbass cinema goers would've been like "DURGH WHERE'S THE ALIEN THIS SUCKS MORE BLOOD N' GUTS"

[@totalmetaljacket789]

Louis Minett That's what execs think and why they meddle every movie into oblivion.

[@azraelswrd]

True. I recall the "fighting-action" scene in Prometheus where the crew meets Fiefield 2.0 was changed to fit Fox's demands for more action. Hence why that scene really felt awkward (let alone how stupid it unfolded.... literally) and notice how nobody mentions it afterwards.

[@Nada-fj8ij]

Most fans: Prometheus was terrible and the worst alien film Ridley Scott: Hold my beer

[@LoveDoctorNL]

The ghost of Sammy classic Sonic fan Comedy Gold 😄

[@milkytoad8388]

MrFlipperInvader782 Resurrection was at least entertaining

[@otiscarter1356]

GAME OVER MAN!!

[@tylermane77]

Pffft. Covenant is the best since Alien 3 Assembly Cut.

[@qq-hk3so]

The ghost of Sammy classic Sonic fan prometheus is good now if you excuse me I must bord up my house to keep out the angry fans

[@Zerofightervi]

Do we need to know where the Aliens come from? Is this a question anyone asked?

[@6661313]

I thought that parts without the alien were the best parts, you knew something was going to happen, but once the alien comes into play any suspense is over

[@KlingonCaptain]

Dude, David hasn't finished his experiments yet, the final version doesn't even exist. We still have a long way to go before we get to Linguafoeda Acheronsis.

[@deathcannonx]

Am i misunderstanding or did you not notice that in Prometheus those aren't Xenomorphs? Trying to understand what you meant about changing the aliens origins .

[@DragonSemi]

Quick question, didn't Scoott just handle the first movie? When you said he's handled it many times, it got me a little confused, since the other 3 after the first were made by James Cameron, David Fincher and, wasn't it Joss Whedon who made Ressurection, I can't remember?

[@coolpaulmechanic]

what's worse than alien covenant, are the haters that are like the face huggers trying to infect hate towards an exceptional movie, it was really awesome and suspenseful.

[@zaphero5518]

Dude, the reason people hated Prometheus was because the characters didn't make sense from being editted into oblivion/not talking or reacting like actual people. Having poor characters and plotting is the kiss of death for many people and for film quality in general.

[@zaphero5518]

+Bobb Sanders​​ Have you even read any reviews? Have you seen the Honest Trailer or Hishe videos that mostly had issues with stupid actions? Seriously? From the RT page: "the characterizations are thin and one-note, leaving most of its talented cast members without much interesting to say or do before they get [killed]" "It's a gutsy effort but the screenplay from Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof isn't strong enough. I was struggling with the characters from the very beginning." ""Alien" had great characters, unrivaled shocks and a claustrophobic atmosphere. Prometheus ... looks great!" "Hobbled by a script that largely ignores its marginally implied protagonist" "The characters are sketchy, and the plot is scrawny. " "I think it even got to the point of being quite silly." "There is no tension. Nothing to get you chewing your nails. You know going in very few characters are coming out." "I appreciate a good scare and a good story. Unfortunately, not much of either is present in this script." "What we have here is less a bad film than a genuinely maddening one, which has sequences of tremendous skill and moments of keen promise. But it's such a mess." "this anticlimactic exercise too often plays as though it has been cobbled together from archetypes, imagery and tropes from countless other movies." "Striking CGI, inept narrative" "This tale of an interstellar search asks cosmic questions about the meaning of life, but comes up with lame answers in a script that screams attention-deficit disorder." "Narratively, it's a mess. There's a through-line Darwinism vs. creationism thing going on that ping-pongs big religious and philosophical ideas, but whiffs the return." "Visually stunning, wildly ambitious, but ultimately as emotionally involving as the icy core of a dead star." Have you never heard any of this? People hate the story and characters. Fans focused on improving the characters in fanedits.

[@zaphero5518]

*****​ No they aren't, e.g. Hicks has a drastically different personality to Bill Paxton in Aliens, and each character reacts in a different way in Alien, heck the robot in Alien was an alternate antagonist. So are you saying that every character was the same to you in Prometheus even though they are supposed to be living by different philosophies?

[@johnparadox9429]

The biggest gripe for me was the same problem with scifi "shapeshifters": Where does the additional mass from the "growing" alien come from? They would need to eat/consume SOMETHING to go from the size of a cat when they burst out to the 7 foot xenomorph.

[@bsgtrekfan88]

If David annihilated the Space Jockeys and LITERALLY created the xenomorphs in 2104: How does an ancient Space Jockey with a ship full of eggs end up on LV-426 in 2122? YOU CANT JUST ERASE THE LORE AND HISTORY OF A SERIES OF FILMS!

[@rmc52482]

Just one note as I'm listening. You mention there is only one shuttle-craft and how would it ferry all those thousands of people. Well I would imagine that is more like a scout ship. With all that heavy equipment I would think the Covenant would land and everyone would dock that way. While I agree there probably should be 2 scout ships on a ship that size, I can see why they didn't as it would probably only be used the one time to send the scout crew down and check out the planet before landing the Covenant.

[@sardonicus-76]

I'm really disappointed, I was hoping this movie would be awesome, I'm glad you reviewed this critically, you always do a good job

[@spiderjerusalem100]

What is the black goo? Why did the geologist guy in Prometheus turn in to a zombie and attack everyone? Why do the engineers hate humans?

[@skello5]

I thought it was really good. and i think that the explanation for the quick growth cycle is the fact that its an imperfect version of the xeno. like the xeno in alien 3 it goes straight to young adult phase. and im assuming that the missing chestburster phase makes them more feral. idk. but i liked it a lot.

[@KeemIbarra]

I enjoyed the movie a lot. I disagree with a lot, IMO this was the 3rd best alien flick i've seen.

[@MidnightatMidian]

Yes I found it pretty cool, I hope there will be a director's cut, cause I found there was quite a lot of deleted scenes that looks awesome.

[@deletedscenes]

I've yet to see Alien: Covenant, so I'll save my opinion for a later time. The mixed reviews trouble me, as they did with Prometheus. A flawed movie for sure, but not as bad as was made out. The comment about only having one shuttlecraft for a crew of 2,000 is equally troubling. You would think they'd have a spare just in case something went wrong (crash, mechanical issues, etc.) I'm currently working on a screenplay in a similar genre, so I'm a stickler when it comes to story points. I believe the Alien franchise suffers from the classic case of too many cooks in the kitchen. Get one writer (or two, if they're a team), come up with a great storyline (and actually stick with it), then write the best version that you can. Then find the best director who will cast the best actors and most of your problems will be solved.

[@duffman18]

Stephen Otten That's the issue, it doesn't matter how good a writer you are if any script you write will be altered so much later that it barely resembles what you first submitted. It's apparently very depressing being a screenwriter for that reason. So I hope you stick to it and find some success, as it's a little frustrating to hear about working in that field. I write scripts and books but only as a hobby because of that

[@LouisMinett]

The studios have had their claws on this franchise from the beginning .. Originally Ridley wanted to go back to the origins of the derelict in the first place but Cameron made a kickass sequel instead, then when Alien 3 came along (as much as I enjoy the assembly's vibe) it was once again abandoned, rehiring people, firing people and in the end we had a very emotional 'downer' of a movie that most people hate but I enjoy. As for Resurrection we had a guy who never even watched the original fucking movie, making a weird softcore lesbian sci fi which is filled with over the top action and comedy .. Not exactly a 'dark house in space' movie. Covenant is more about the process of creation not about trying to recreate what people liked about the first movie because that just becomes a reboot.

[@LouisMinett]

Not to mention the producers forcing 'CGI' on every movie for the last decade or so .. It's an easy thing to complain about and people think they're smart for doing it, but they are not. It's right infront of you, it's the same thing with 'The Thing (2011)' we know it can't compare to Bottin's work and why? The studios .. They cheapen everything and alter whatever the fuck they want. If every director was given artistic freedom then no one would be bitching about these movies anymore, I'm already sick of 'super hero' 'CGI' crap fests ..

[@deletedscenes]

duffman18: Thanks for the kind words. It's more of a hobby with me too, but who knows, maybe I will start writing professionally. Never say never.

[@deletedscenes]

Louis Minett: The recent version of "The Thing" was a disappointment mostly on the account of the overabundance of CGI (not to mention not needing to be made in the first place.) I personally didn't get a "softcore lesbian" vibe from "Resurrection," but opinions vary.

[@MashupsByMandy]

Movie started showing in theaters here in my country about a week ago, now it's barely available, I guess people watched the early reviews and completely abandoned the idea of going to watch it.

[@pdzombie1906]

Wow, someone didn't get the movie... go, figure. Ridley Scott wanted to make a film within the Alien Universe to reflect on the origins of human creation, but the studio suggested, why not make three? Then Prometheus came out and fan boys were: (read the next words like a whiny little bitch) This sucks because there are no aliens in the movie!!! Now comes Covenant and to do fan service, they put way to much aliens of different kinds (Neomorphes, facehuggers, and yeah, just 15 mins. of XENOMORPHES). If a director tries something new... it's terrible because it's not like the original. If he repeates himself... terrible, he's ripping himself off!!! I don't think Prometheus or Covenant are great films (they're very flawed), but they don't deserve the hate you are throwing at them, specially when you think most 'straight to video' movies are "competent" (yeah, that's your key word). I don't even like Scott much as a director, I think he made two great sci-fi classics and he now lives from the subsequent fame, but to call his work "sloppy".... No, no, sir... I love your channel and I usually respect your opinion but we can only agree to disagree on this one. Now to the story (spoiler warning): because most of the planet is infected with the black goo, there is no animal life; in such pure form the creatures resulting from the infection by spores are way faster in growing. I think David understands that either you kill your creator or it kills you, that's why he has no regard for engineers or humans, and to prove himself as worthy, he experiments in order to create the perfect creature: the xenomorphe...(which needs a longer life cicle to achieve such perfection). In the next film (Awakening), I assume David will create the queen and experiment with the colonists to create the ultimate xenomorphe. A reaminder group of engineers will hunt him down and take the eggs to experiment with them, but they will get ran over by the creatures and end up in LV-246 to connect with the original Alien film. So, stop comparing the original movies to these ones. You are inches away to start chanting that Ridley Scott ruined your childhood like the Star Wars fans did to Lucas for the prequels. Because of people like you, established directors don't take more chances... Sorry if I got carried away, I usually like your rants, but I think you're being unfair, and not thinking enough about the good ideas behind the story.

[@gokusondbz]

Personally I feel like you're being a bit biased against the film 🤔 .

[@twistedskillzstudios]

Great review! Another big complaint about the movie is that the film was missing MANY scenes from the trailers and sneak peaks. What the hell?

[@Skw1p-0]

I kind of feel like the changed gestation period is because this is a more "pure" form of the alien. Before the DNA gets diluted over many impregnations and DNA modification through multiple hosts. The maturation process would be more potent, and as a result it would take less time, providing a more developed xenomorph when it emerges. Basically, we see a chest burster because it is a very slowly developing alien. This pure Xeno develops very quickly and is only in the chestburster/snake stage for a fraction of the time, so arms, legs, and tails develop quickly after, earlier in the life cycle, and without a ribcage to contain it, it will rapidly grown once it emerges. This proto-xeno is more akin to the black goo, and still has those stem-cell properties, rapid cell growth and the ability to develop into many types of cells (for example, why a neo-morph could take a lot of damage and still seem fine). After a ton of DNA dilution through multiple hosts, the ratio of primortial goo to host DNA becomes more and more diluted, giving it less flexible qualities, and creating a longer gestation period as the species no longer needs to rapidly grow as a new, struggling to survive, life form. Incubation does not need to be as rapid, as it becomes more established as a species, especially once it develops a hive-like structure in which a matriarch can look after its children. There are definitely problems with this film, the gestation period and xenomorph versatility did not feel like one. We know the xeno takes on characteristics from its host and incorporates them, and we saw in Prometheus how the goo went from a liquid to a infected sperm, to a fetal squid, to a giant starfish-hugger, to impregnate an engineer to make the deacon alien. That was just in the course of one life cycle, one "facehugger". And that decon came out fully developed as well, and relatively quickly, the larger engineer body allowing it to grow more before needing to burst. The Xenomorph we know is a far cousin to these early models, so it makes sense that they would be very different.

[@jabob93]

I feel that there was a lot cut out of the film that we just didn't get to see in the theatrical release. I mean the fox youtube channel was showing 'clips' of the film that just wasn't in there. I have a feeling it wasn't Ridley but maybe the studio that has sawn it's way through the film shortening or changing stuff...Although it could just be Ridley not doing very well anymore but I want to remain optimistic! Directors cut plz?

[@DMJ1978]

I had that feeling as well. I must admit I really liked the pace of the film, but I would like to see a cut with maybe 10-15 more leading up to the first infection. Maybe setting up the couples interaction on the covenant and fleshing out their reactions to the situation and the power struggle between the new captain and waterston about landing on this new planet. A lot of people point out the fact that they do not wear a suit when they land, so a short explanation for why it should be safe or why they dont wear a hazard suit could be done. I had no problem with this though. Then I would like a bit more neomorph suspense, not seeing the creature maybe but just a few minutes in the wheat fields before David shows up. And finally maybe 10 min more in the dead city, to show a bit more time passing before the cheasburster/mini alien bursts out. I 'seemes' a bit fast after infection in the way the movie conveyed the time. Oh, and I disliked the shower kill scene, but not enough to distract me from the movie. The "I'll do the fingering" flute comment though... awful.

[@dferrari6794]

The life cycle is shorter cause the black goo speed-up the process, even the eggs were huge. On the old movies, the goo isn't present on the environment, so the growth is longer. Another possibility is that the final version of the creature will have a slower life cycle.

[@rob5687]

My 60 year old mom for her birthday asked for me and my sister to take her to Alien C.(she hadn't been or wanted to go to the theatre in 5+ yrs for a movie). But after she saw the trailer & a showtime BTS promo she was all in. Aliens(2) was always a big fav in the house growing up with my bro and sisters. My mom was so pumped to see AlenC she even rewatched Prometheus to prepare for the movie(a movie she dislike and felt was confusing with a lot of unanswered questions). After coming out of Alien:C with my mom I felt so bad. They sold the movie like the next alien2 instead we got Prometheus 2. I just felt super bad for my mom she was so excited to see the movie after watching the promos. gonna RP

I loved the line "if that's the direction they wanted to go: fine, but i don't have to like it". It's by far the most sensible reaction to this movie i've heard or read on the internet about this movie. It's obvious that Ridley Scott is older now and wants to talk about other topics: life, creation, artificial life and what is "artificial". Prometheus' fire is life in this movies. I enjoyed both movies, covenant and prometheus, because i just don't think Alien or Aliens will be followed up satisfactory. They are things of their time and i love when directors i like do different things.

[@joecoates0]

One thing I dislike about Prometheus and Covenant (I'm not even calling it an Alien movie) is the fact they try to give the most terrifying movie monster a backstory. Part of Alien's appeal is the mystery that surrounds these creatures, they have Queens, they are the perfect predator, that's all you need to or should know about these things. Giving them a backstory just takes away that mystery and suspense. Btw good review

[@Juanhernandez-zx7kt]

I feel they just made this film just to pander to the people who didn’t like Prometheus. People complained that there wasn’t a xenomorph in Prometheus, they put a xenomorph in here. People complained that David wasn’t truly evil, they made him the bad guy in this and there’s much more.

[@kennethmartin8715]

it's a prequel... it's supposed to be predictable!!!

[@totalmetaljacket789]

Kenneth Martin: homeless in Houston Not really other than where it connects to the film it is a prequel of...

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

I'll say it again. Ridley Scott does NOT define Alien canon. There is only one person who can do that, and that is Dan O'Bannon. It's Dan's story, and he was initially supposed to direct, but the producers got cold feet and brought in Scott. Dan was involved with the production, and made sure that it at least mostly stayed pure to his ideas. No Dan, no canon. So the "series" was over with one film. Anything after that is simply cashing in on the name. And Cameron should be completely ignored.

[@PoilishedMahogony]

This movie had bits in it that i've seen a lot these days with major movies, which is scenes that are shot wonderfully, well paced, well shot, well thought-out. Then there are other scenes that seem rushed and thrown together. There's sequences in this movie that feel like they were on the drawing board for years, others that seem slapped together

[@abdool1972]

@06:50 "...maybe my expectations were set too high" ... you are right about this.

[@Terrordome3000]

Short gestation time? Both xenomorphs took hours to gestate in Covenant.

[@damagedcatdad]

literally the best part was the callback to the original title sequence where parts of the title faded in at random lol

[@ripleygrimes]

There was only one shuttle for the few people on the crew, the 2000 people would only be woken when they reached the destination since they were the colonists, and at that point they would've landed the Covenant on the planet

[@silverscreenreviews8521]

Ridley still has one of the best eyes in the business in terms of looks!, but dam the script and direction of these two movies have been all over the shop!. Come on Ridley pull it together!, the Martian showed us with a great script and your visual eye you showed us you can still make a great film!

[@c.walter7890]

The reviews for this seem to be split between: dislike, it's okay, or good, but not great. I'm still looking forward to seeing it.

[@AwkwardE]

i saw it and i agree with ALOT of what you said, but it had a lot of redeeming quailties.I liked he beginning and the third act .. the middle was very "C'Mon!" but it had promosing moments that had me very like "ur almost there but ..(anticipation) nnaaahhh" i was very excited but it ulitimately let me down a bit I love ur videos btw I love ur point of view ! good job with ur vids.

[@wahfulprints9524]

I generally really enjoy and agree with your thoughts and opinions, but I've got to say I disagree. I rather enjoyed this movie

[@TheIronfishy]

I think one of my main issues with the film that wasn't bought up here was the scoring of the film. There was barely any silence during the scenes, just orchestral swells telling you how to feel. The original pulled off silence so well that is was disappointing to see/hear the score handled in this way

[@bruhb7611]

I can't believe that after watching this movie, I appreciate Prometheus hundreds of times more. This movie has done the same thing to Xenomorph mythos as Matt Ward has done to the Warhammer 40k universe.

[@jasonsousley]

I think you really missed something with this movie. I really liked it. He took both Prometheus and Alien and did something different.

[@katanaridingremy]

I obviously need to see the film for myself, but it sounds like I'll leave the theater hoping Blomkamp still gets a chance to make his Alien movie.

[@MrPuschel]

I fear the only thing the executives will take away from the criticizm is "bring more aliens in" and the next movie is just an onslaught of marines versus cgi aliens.

[@TheBaronVSP]

You can easily explain the shorter gestation time: David hasn't perfected the Xeno yet. It's a helluva killer, but it's not as mature and clever as the later Xenos would become, which is why it was also killed somewhat easily. The single landing craft: The colony ship itself would land on the planet, they weren't going to ferry thousands of people on one small craft. The only reason they didn't land the colony ship on Paradise was because the storm would've tore it apart. Poor decisions by trained colonists: Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. The human element took hold, and emotions beat out reason. Look at the scenes where Tennesee wanted to land the colony ship to reach his wife, but the 2 characters kept trying to talk him out of it using logic. Lack of Alien: The original Alien had the Xeno on screen for what, maybe 5 minutes tops? Aliens didn't show the first Xeno until an hour in.

[@gagewoitel1264]

I understand why you hate that the gestation period for the facehugger was shorter but those were not xenomorphs......they were protomorphs which is why they develop faster. I loved all this movie gave us.

[@nickbeilschmidt411]

I agree with his opinion. The aliens were there for a while it seemed, but then they weren't as prominent later on in the movie. But the scene where the alien rips out of the guy's back in the infirmary freaked me the hell out. At least, it did with the gore and shock factors.

[@scruffybasterd2209]

I think a sweet plot twist, and I can't be the first to think of this, would have been David somehow infecting Walter creating H.R. Giger's biomachanical xeno we know and love. Then David turns out to be the original engineer found on L.V. 246.

[@dreamylildreamdog]

was really looking forward to this. still wanna see it but guess I'll wait till vod

[@dorkidori]

I am hurt and really broken up over this film... it took Prometheus and flushed it down the toilet. The pacing was HORRIBLE. It was like "Ok, we need to rush EVERYTHING possible!". Like, literally, there was NO pacing! Forget it. Forget the detail, depth and philosophical questions put forth in Prometheus because they dont exist in the film. Prometheus is explained away in about 15 seconds... Goodbye Alien franchise, you were once a mighty and noble creation! I feel like my childhood that I spent devouring every detail, every comic, every bit of lore possible, plus the amazing feeling Prometheus left me with of mystery, ideas and philosophies was literally set ablaze earlier this evening during the 7:00pm pre-release showing Ive been waiting 5 long years to have presented to me! RIP Alien Franchise

[@Toolness1]

I'm glad I am not so damned critical and picky. I enjoyed the movie. I loved Prometheus too. Hell, I am even entertained by Alien 3 and Resurrection. Guess I'm easily entertained.

[@docsdomain]

The Thing is people act like this is Ridley Scott's property and it's not. He's just the first director of the franchise. I think they should have gotten a new director for every film instead of begging Ridley to make another but the fans believe that they know what should happen and sometimes then get what they wanted and it blows. I would love to see John McTeirnan make an Alien movie. Love the channel dude keep up the excellent work.

[@nicholasseamans4946]

20 minutes of androids kissing and playing their flutes.

[@nicholasseamans4946]

Half the theater giggled at this.

[@Dparish24]

I agree. I loved Prometheus I thought it stood really well as it's own film with some nice ties to Alien. I was looking forward to the sequel back when they called it Paradise and we were we'd get to see Noomi Rapace's Elizabeth on more adventures. Oh well I'll just have Prometheus, Alien and Aliens as a trilogy.

[@bigfisher42]

I'm willing to bet the first Alien didn't have a lot more footage of the actual Alien than Covenant. I think the complaint would rather be that the alien is not the main focus of the movie and we don't anticipate his intervention as much because there is so much stuff distracting the story.

[@Uliseh]

Fun fact, this movie was rated G+7 here in Chile (7 years or older) , i saw a girl watching the movie with her mother, needless to say the girl was shocked and the mother was furious, good parenting in a nutshell.

[@drbenzer01]

Danny Mcbride was better and I though, I also though that he was the funny man. I liked this film and I want more.

[@Danazawa]

Ridley Scott has a reputation as a superior filmmaker, but is it actually deserved? When you look at his resume he has made a couple of bona fide classics: Alien, and Blade Runner; some good movies: Gladiator, The Martian, Black hawk Down - and a great number of forgettable dross.

[@raptorbadger3131]

Have you seen The Void? it just came out recently. It's a modern horror B-movie with lovecraftian elements.

[@wormsT17]

Somebody may have asked this already, but would you say this is worse then AVPR ? (To me that did a lot what you said, only 11 years earlier !!!)

[@megamoviez]

3:00 You realize that was a Neomorph so we don't really know how they act

[@Bl00dyCh33rry]

Oh man, I was really worried they were riding off of Alien when I saw the dinner scene. Your review makes that fear valid...

[@TheBlackKnight1o1]

Prometheus was almost good, but they should've changed 3 things to make it actually make sense.

[@AzeezGabsi1129]

I'm a huge fan of your channel but I have to strongly disagree with your review. I actually really liked the directing. I loved the visuals and the cinematography. I thought the villain was was one of the best parts of the film. I also thought that the film did a great job connecting with Prometheus (a film I did enjoy) and I liked how the story explored more into the Alien creatures. I did have some issues with the film. The creature's CGI was bad and some of the characters did make stupid decisions. Overall I liked the film but I do respect your opinion.

[@Seriouskai]

As someone who grew up with Aliens, watching it with a friend of mine every single weekend for several years because it was just the best movie ever, I was so disappointed on Prometheus and Covenant. Yes, I even did enjoy Alien Resurrection, but that's probably because I saw the movie posters at the cinema as a 9 year old and was so in love with the whole franchise at that point. These days it's not as good, but I still consider the first 4 movies proper movies.

[@bunji666]

David Davids David 3 David:Resurrection

[@Marauder1981]

Whenever I hear/read Alien Covenant my inner old Mexican lady goes in a silent sigh "ay caramba -.-"

[@badas45]

I saw this in theater and was furious when It was over, I came to the conclusion Ridley Scott has been doing "Hollywood crack" not to be confused with regular crack.

[@OnlyDeltaMan]

The direction wasn't bad, the acting was really good and the cinematography was good. I also feel like Ridley is trying to make Prometheus tie in more with the original Alien, and I feel like it's working. I do agree, however, with your opinion about the short time of growth of the alien and with the weak second antagonist. I liked the movie, but it could've been so much better. And I'd also like to say that I think this movie could've been more interesting if most of the horror was on the big ship, not the engineers' city, or the planet at all. Although, I did like the corpses everywhere, it was a little horrifying, shame they didn't show it for long.

[@dareka9425]

The main thing that bugged me is the fact that they can build intelligent human-like synthetics but they couldn't build drones to scout ahead. How hard is it to slap a synthethics CPU onto a floating drone? Right now people are putting all manners of stuff onto drones. Prometheus showed floating drones and their only job is to do geological scans. Then fast forward a decade to Covenant drone tech devolved back into wobbly 21st century Mars Rover while synthetics can heal themselves and have MMA skills. In the subsequent Alien movies drones became mere stationary gun platforms while the androids achieved independence.

[@MegaMyrow]

It's funny seeing Ridley Scott doing the same things he hated in AVP a damn shame

[@khartog01]

To think the small shuttle was going to bring the colonists down is idiotic. It's clearly implied the Covenant would have landed considering it had all the terraforming machines in it.

[@HolyApplebutter]

I got an ad for this movie right now. "A masterpiece of fear" it said.