Alien: Covenant (2017) User Reviews

The Most Unprepared (or Stupid) Crew Ever Seen

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 7 September 2017]

"Alien: Covenant" is a sci-fi action film technically perfect, with great special effects and landscapes. Unfortunately the story is terrible with the most unprepared (or stupid) crew ever seen. How could practically all the crew including the captain and the second in command land in an unknown planet without a better analyze of the soil and the atmosphere? They have a skilled android that should go alone and report whether the place is dangerous or not. One of the groups have a sick crew-member and his partner brings him bleeding to the only means of transportation they have to return to the spacecraft. The pilot risks the lives they are transporting and their colonization mission to try to rescue a few survivors. In addition, the performances are soulless and not engaging and the viewer does not care to the characters. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Alien: Covenant"

With strengths at a visual and technical level, it would be much better with a more developed and better written script.

[filipemanuelneto · 6/10 · 21 April 2023]

I don't know if I'm the only person to say this, but I think a horror movie works better if we see some intelligence in the script and in the characters' attitudes, and if the main antagonist is mysterious and able to surprise us. I liked "Prometheus", a film better than expected, albeit with a confusing script. This film establishes a clearer, more palpable link between that film and the "Alien" franchise. The script accompanies the "Covenant", a colony ship filled with people in hypersleep. The ship receives a mysterious signal from a planet that, by all indications, has excellent conditions for life, but quickly realizes that it has stumbled on a place where it should never have landed. After seeing the film, I had the feeling that we were looking at a very solid work that only lost when compared to the original franchise. Perhaps the best way to be fair is really to avoid this comparative exercise, which is seductive and almost impossible not to do.

Shall we start with the good things? Very good! The film is a sight for sore eyes, especially for sci-fi fans and for those who like very visual films with high doses of special effects, CGI or extraordinarily detailed scenarios. There is no doubt that the budget had a generous slice set aside for computer technicians, art and costume designers and cinematography, and this investment has paid off handsomely. Everything is accompanied by an excellent soundtrack and good sound effects. And of course, there are lots of tense scenes. It is one of those films where the tension is permanent, but which never really scares us.

Sadly, that's basically all this movie has to offer us. Fans of the Alien franchise will ensure that the film clarifies several gray points in the narrative of other films, such as "Prometheus", and I agree with this argument, but this does not seem to me to be something that we should overestimate, because it really was the least that could be done. Demanded from this film! At the script level, it is frankly disappointing: in addition to being lazy, making the most of what was done for the other films with which it is linked, it adds few new things. Yes, it creates some new creatures, "cousins" of the original xenomorph, but that's all. The human or semi-human characters are silly, devoid of development and seem to be waiting to be killed.

The film starts out great, but becomes slow and tiresome as it becomes predictable. I have a high regard for Ridley Scott's work, I think he's a very skilled and credited director, but it's hard not to acknowledge that he failed here. The director was dazzled by the amount of CGI potential and neglected the narrative, editing and direction of the actors. Among the actors, Michael Fassbender stands out the most. The actor has given us one of his best works so far. Katherine Waterston also did a very good job. The rest of the cast doesn't have the time or material to do anything special.

Disappointing

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 29 June 2017]

'Alien' is still to this day a tense, shocking suspenseful and frightening masterpiece, one of my favourites of the genre. The bigger and bolder 'Aliens' is one of those rare sequels that is every bit as good as its predecessor. Both are two of my favourite films and the character of Ripley is one of the most iconic female characters in film. 'Alien 3' and 'Resurrection' had their issues but to me weren't that bad, while 'Prometheus' had some fine elements while also some major flaws.

My thoughts on 'Alien: Covenant' is fairly similar to my ones on 'Prometheus'. Not as bad as led to believe (having read reviews that were mostly mixed to negative), but could have been much better considering the brilliance of 'Alien' and 'Aliens'. With a good cast, and with the involvement of a hit and miss but talented (especially visually) director Ridley Scott, 'Alien: Covenant' could and should have been far better. Some undeniable strengths here, at the same 'Alien: Covenant' also commits the same faults as 'Prometheus', and makes even more of the mistake of having little point to it other than providing a few necessary answers to loose ends from 'Prometheus'.

Lets start with 'Alien: Covenant's' strengths. Even when the writing and story weren't up to snuff, Scott's films always looked visually beautiful. 'Alien: Covenant' is not an exception. The settings look tremendous, of sheer beauty and with a real eeriness, the cinematography complements it perfectly and is often powerfully arresting and most of the special effects (apart from the disappointingly cheap-looking ones for the xenomorph) are a feast for the eye. Scott's direction has moments where it is superb, if more in the visuals and spectacle than the narrative.

Jed Kurzel's music score is hauntingly unsettling and recalls one fondly of the music in the original film by Jerry Goldsmith. There are a few scary moments (though this doesn't come consistently) and credit is due for providing much needed answers to questions that were on people's lips after watching 'Prometheus'.

Of a pretty good cast, considering what they had to work with, Michael Fassbender's commandingly and intensely acted dual role is the standout. Katherine Waterston brings steel and vulnerability, yet another performance demonstrating why she is one to watch, and surprisingly Danny McBride succeeds in trying to fully form his character rather than be annoying or looking stoned. Billy Crudup also tries his best with little to do.

However, genuine tension and suspense is replaced by monster/alien action and attempts at character motivations. Sadly too much of the monster/alien action is not that exciting and only sporadically scary, cheapened by at times excessive and gratuitous gore (by far the goriest and bloodiest of the 'Alien' franchise and the approach felt a little out of place). On top of that the characters (in a film where there is too many of them in the first place) are very thinly sketched rather than fully formed and of the lot only Tennessee, Walter and David properly raise above forgettable, David especially being pretty splendidly drawn actually. The constant frustrating decision making from most of the characters also prevents one from properly connecting to them.

Script is also often very weak, even more rambling and cliché ridden than that of 'Prometheus', with philosophising and thrown in references to the likes of Wagner and Michaelangelo that gives a sense that the film wasn't sure of its identity. The story suffers from dull pacing and from being over-stuffed of too many ideas not done enough with. By the time the big reveal came it leaves one with a so what feel, due to it being so obvious too early on, and there is far too much of a you have seen it all before vibe.

In conclusion, tries hard and there's no doubting that a lot of work went into the visual aesthetics and the acting but 'Alien: Covenant' should have been much more. Certainly not awful but a disappointment. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Alien: Paradise Lost

[gogoschka-1 · 21 January 2018]

It seems that in 'Alien: Covenant', Ridley Scott and his writers tried to use the best loved elements from previous Alien installments to appease those fans of the franchise who hated 'Prometheus' - but perhaps also to camouflage their intention to make a far meaner and less conventional blockbuster than what modern audiences (and studios) are willing to accept in this age of superheroes. It was my impression that what on the surface appears to be a very straight forward - and some might even say derivative - retread of familiar story beats is actually just a ploy to delve even deeper into the themes explored in 'Prometheus'. Because 'Alien: Covenant' not only continues to "dissect" the creator/creation/creature dynamic: it brings the android David's storyline to its perverse, if somewhat logical, conclusion.

Now if you hated 'Prometheus', or just dismissed it as a dumb movie where most characters are stupid and nothing is explained or makes sense, you won't find much to like in the less conventional story elements in 'Alien: Covenant', and you might as well stop reading this review now (btw, if you still have questions about 'Prometheus', you'll find a link to an article explaining everything by clicking on my username). But if you DID like it - or at least found its maliciously ironic religious subtext and musings on creation fascinating - you'll probably find some aspects of 'Alien: Covenant' highly enjoyable. As you might recall, the cycle of creation depicted in 'Prometheus' goes as follows: the Gods (aka "the Engineers") create mankind - mankind creates David - David in turn starts to experiment on his creators (the humans) in order to create something new.

The totally insane - and hilariously mean spirited - continuation/escalation of that cycle in 'Alien: Covenant' (beware: spoilers abound for the whole movie follow): David's ambition to make the jump from creation to creator has grown exponentially; it now entails nothing less than to exterminate the Gods, as well as experimenting on them - which makes him kind of hard to top in the mad scientist (or mad killer robot) department. By killing the Gods, he, the unworthy machine and "2nd class" creation conquers "Paradise/Heaven" and becomes the sole creator (humans are degraded to the status of lab-rats), thereby closing the cycle started in 'Prometheus'.

Admittedly, the film is uneven in terms of story and pacing - but I admire its ambition. 'Alien: Covenant' is a fascinating hybrid which somehow halfway through its running time turns from relatively straight sci-fi and very familiar Alien terrain into a brooding, Gothic horror film (at least for a while before it turns back into a more conventional sci-fi/action film). In the Gothic part of the film, the man-made monster/creature (David) has turned the table and assumed the role of Dr. Frankenstein to make creatures of his own design. These creatures - who appear to be the first actual Xenomorphs - reflect and reveal who/what David really is and how deceiving his human looks are. For although he inherited some very human traits from his creator (emotions, curiosity, ego, the urge to create - among others) he is still a machine adhering to a logic that is ultimately as alien (pun intended) to a human being as the Xenomorph itself - and as lethal. Which is why it makes complete sense that David is the "designer" of this perfect, machine-like organism (Swiss artist H.R. Giger, who created the original Alien, called it "biomechanoid" for a reason).

In 'Alien: Covenant', David is the humans' - and humanity's - ultimate adversary; in fact, for the purpose of the story told in the film, he is the Devil (he even quotes Satan's famous lines from John Milton's epic poem 'Paradise Lost'). Now if the Devil in this tale were to create life in HIS own image (his REAL image - for David was only given human features to make interaction with him more "comfortable" for the humans), surely, he would create demons: and isn't the Xenomorph the ultimate demon sprung straight from the darkest pits of Hell? That 'Alien: Covenant' is essentially a riff on Milton's 'Paradise Lost' was the most surprising aspect of the film for me. David's story-line follows Satan's (quite literal) ascent to Heaven (Paradise), where he kills the Gods and starts his own rule, thus turning it into Hell and ending the age of man (and for those of you who think I'm reaching a little here: the film's title was originally supposed to be 'Alien: Paradise Lost'). Now regardless whether you liked the film or not, you have to admit: that's not exactly the texture of a generic, conventional blockbuster, right?

At the end of the film, David is aboard the spaceship Covenant - which he has turned into a perverted version of Noah's Arch - and travels to a new world where he plans to start his new version of Genesis. He might even start a new religion: the Bible as written by a mad killer robot with a god complex (just think about how crazy demented - and completely wonderful - that sounds). Imagine the Lovecraftian nightmare he will create and what creatures will populate "his" version of Earth. I would love a sequel to 'Alien: Covenant' to take us there and finally fully descend into madness. It would be the logical next step: after the human protagonists visited an angry god in 'Prometheus' who wanted to destroy humanity, and then discover that Heaven is empty and the Gods are all dead in 'Alien: Covenant', they should next visit the Devil in his newly created Hell. My suggestion for a title: 'Alien: Genesis'.

Favorite films: IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-Known Masterpieces: imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

In some ways its excellent, but as an Alien film its infuriating

[rabbitmoon · 7/10 · 12 May 2017]

In the first 20 minutes I was so happy with Covenant. It felt sharp, atmospheric, there are interesting character situations, emotive moments and infinitely better writing than we had in Prometheus. As it progresses, this feeling continues - thankfully, a solid sci-fi film that got it right.

Then Ridley starts to indulge in his convoluted ideas about creation and destruction. Its like switching from 1977 George Lucas to 1999 Lucas. You can almost hear Ridley at a writing meeting saying "this'll be cool, and this, and this, and then this" and the writer saying "uh, is this for the same film or later in the series?" "Yeah just cram it all in, make it happen".

You end up with three different films - a first act like a modern Alien which I loved, a middle act of Prometheus style philosophizing that feels like more Westworld, then a last act of two shoe-horned in action scenes homaging Aliens and Alien 3 respectively. Except there is no satisfaction at all, because the aliens are rushed, a bit silly, often awkwardly CGI looking, and not even convincing as threats because we don't care about any of it.

By the end I just have no idea what to think. I just think it would have worked much better if the ideas were done justice in their own film, rather than ham-fistedly trying to ram them into an Alien film to try and please fans and make box-office.

Corporate product

[0Tolerence · 6/10 · 12 May 2017]

This movie is a result from corporate decision making based on marketing data. You take everything that has been known to work in this franchise and you mash it in a single installment. Make sure you have an opening for a sequel in there for cash flow continuity!

Where's creativity? where's the story? where is the plot? It's a typical Hollywood by the numbers movie production that we see all the time these days. Your DC movies, your marvel movies etc. etc. It's all by the numbers. Hence a by the numbers score of a 6. It's so very average without a standout anywhere.

People are being harsh to this movie

[clizmail · 7/10 · 2 July 2017]

I think people have too high expectation to new movies of famous franchises, and when it doesn't come to their expectation, they just freak out and start giving one out of ten. If you have seen lots of harsh criticism for this movie, I say it's not bad at all. It's still quite entertaining. To be fair, lots of good horror movies are barely above 6 out of ten. So don't avoid it just because people say they hate it. It's true that they throw lots of (probably too many) elements into this movie, which might turn out to be less exciting. However, the ending succeeds in opening up to more stories, which is good. Also, keep in mind that this is not meant to be like the previous alien movies. It has totally different theme. I bet Ridley is a totally different person now. I would be surprised if he makes a new alien movie with similar tone to the older ones. And it's sensible for the old Ridley to explore the "creation" stuffs. I think it's a fairly good sequel to Prometheus. Look, now we have a new franchise directed by Ridley Scott himself, which is some what relates to the alien franchise. That is just great.

Visually appealing but there are too many issues

[Laakbaar · 6/10 · 1 June 2017]

The space ship and the alien world are portrayed beautifully in this movie. In that sense it's a beautiful movie. I wish Ridley would explore this further outside of the Aliens franchise.

The "aliens bursting out of the body" theme -- the hallmark of this franchise, I suppose -- was done well in one spectacular scene. If you enjoy that kind of visceral, Cronenburg-esque horror, you won't be disappointed.

Let me list the obvious problems....

One problem is that the visuals are not that different from Prometheus. This movie is quite similar to Prometheus.

A second problem is that there is no real intellectually interesting premise behind it all. No new story really.

No character development at all this time, which is a huge problem.

I don't like this special historical connection the aliens somehow have now with the human race via the Engineers. These Engineers. Who are they again?

"Alien bursts out of body. Alien becomes scary and evil. Woman fights alien." This is the plot of every movie. I'm tired of these aliens.

A third, very annoying problem is that all the crew seem to be paired off with each other. This movie is proof that partnered people should not be in a military unit together, because if this movie is any indication, the minute one's partner is endangered or gets killed the screaming and blubbering and unprofessionalism begins. "Oh my god, my wife might be in trouble, I will risk this huge space ship, and all 2000 colonists, just to save her. She's so important."

My response was: WTF is your wife/husband/partner doing on the ship with you if you're such an emotional mess? At one point, I yelled "stop screaming" aloud at the screen. This is why there are (or should be) rules about this kind of thing. Somehow the edginess of the marines in the first movie has morphed into this. I don't like it.

A fourth problem, perhaps the most annoying problem of all, is that these people seem to have no understanding of the biological dangers of alien planets. I mean, a 10-year-old would know about this from watching cartoons. Why don't they? Why would you get so close to a man who was clearly suffering from some serious alien trauma? Why would you look into an alien pod knowing that the alien planet had somehow infected your mates? How can I rate a movie highly when I was spending much of it rolling my eyes?

A fifth problem is that the David/Walter mix up was so frigging obvious. I saw it immediately. How could the crew not have checked this more carefully? It was just unbelievable that they didn't do this. And how did David learn Walter's codes?

A sixth problem: the movie was confusing. I googled it afterwards to try to sort it out, but I still don't know how the alien got onto the colonist ship after all that effort to keep it out. I suppose David brought it in, but how? In his mouth? And what happened exactly when David brought the ship to this alien world. Where did he get those spores? What were they? Confusing.

Don't listen to the haters!

[anthonyrjwood · 8/10 · 15 October 2018]

There seems to be an awful lot of hate directed at this movie and I can see why - it's simply unlike the original "last person standing" Alien movies, whereby Ripley is there standing strong at the end.

The original movies are great, but I feel the same about the new editions, including Prometheus.

The first Alien movie had lots of unanswered questions: how did those aliens create / pilot that ship to the planet? Who created all those eggs? Why was that ship sending out a distress signal? And with Prometheus, some of these questions get answered.

There's a lot of creationism philosophy in Covenant and it also seems to focus heavily on David. However, these movies are simply expanding the Alien universe, in order to explain events that later happen.

As the new franchise continues and the time gap begins to close, the new editions will sit quite neatly in with the earlier movies.

I suppose it simply comes down to whether or not you'd prefer Ridley to churn out more movies following the same narrative as the originals, or to expand on the idea, so that future iterations can expand from a more diverse foundation.

The only way to watch this is forgetting the past

[dmavroudis78 · 7/10 · 28 November 2020]

I undesrstand why there are so many negative reviews. Notwithstanding, the movie is not so bad, if you try to watch it as an independent one. I mean: don't wait for an alien 5 or something like that. Secondly, try to ignore the stupidity of some script ideas (an unprotected group explores an unknown planet etc). Instead, focus on the two androids, the different xenoforms, the story itself in its entirety and, ofcourse the visual effects.The thing that bothered me the most is the odd participation of James Franco. What the heck was that? In the end, in my opinion, just enjoy...

Where no idiot has gone before.....apart from in Prometheus of course!

[ViktorDrake · 2/10 · 15 May 2017]

So once again, after the debacle of Prometheus, Ridley Scott has proved himself simultaneously a master of visuals and yet utterly incompetent when it comes to creating a believable Alien story.

The single biggest problem I had with Prometheus was the collection of imbeciles and weirdos that made up the crew, and one might have hoped that Mr Scott would have realised that himself and made amends this time round. Errr.... no, sadly not. Once again we're treated to a crew of simpletons who make THE MOST pathetic and unbelievable decisions possible. Are we really supposed to believe that a crew would just ditch it's primary mission (that we're told had been over 10 years in the planning to ensure their destination was safe, etc) just because they happened to stumble on a new planet purely by chance? Just plain ludicrous. And that's just the start. A few more examples :

• Assuming we suspend our disbelief and accept the whole "let's risk all the colonists and everything we have planned for decades for to land on this new unknown planet instead" premise, why do these alleged scientists once again TOTALLY disregard the need for any protective clothing? So no breathing equipment, nothing at all to protect them from any alien pathogens. Good thinking!

• Faced with a choice of sending either an android, or pretty much the entire human crew with no protective gear, to investigate an alien world, who should go? Yeah that's right, send all the unprotected humans!

• Choice of landing right near the source of the unknown signal, or land several miles away and in a foot of water despite there being solid and flat ground a few feet away? Yep, it's wet feet and a huge hike all round folks!

• Little alien pods on this alien world puffing their alien spores into the air? Sure, just get your nose in there and have a good sniff. I'm sure it'll be fine!

• Crewmen get infected by said spores? Don't worry about any quarantine procedures, just carry them back to the ship while getting covered in their vomited-up blood.

• Alien organism just burst out of said infected crewman? Just open up the locked door and try to shoot it, but be careful you don't miss at point blank range and then slip up on the blood.... twice. (When that happened, people actually laughed in the cinema. I was half expecting a comedy sound effect the second time!)

• Tens of thousands of dead bodies, and an enormous dead city solely inhabited by David the android from the Prometheus mission, that the planetary scan managed to NOT pick up from orbit when determining the planet to be "safe"? No need to ask David what happened, just accept that it's all fine.

• Dark basements to go into all on your own? Do it! Nothing bad will happen.

• Huge alien eggs opening in front of you? Just have a good look inside. What could possibly go wrong?!

The list of stupid decisions just goes on and on AND ON!

While visually the film is generally excellent, the all-CGI-Alien was a huge let-down. Personally I found it considerably less convincing than the practical effects used in Alien and Aliens, which is unforgivable considering the creature is what these films are all about!

Additionally the crew, apart from being imbeciles (as is usual under Mr Scott's direction these days), are also completely forgettable. I saw this movie last night and I can't remember a single character's name today. The one exception is David/Walter, and once again Fassbender does a great job. (Perhaps that's why there's two of them - to make up for a lack of any other decent characters).

The other problem narrative-wise is that both Prometheus and Covenant have actually served to make the Alien universe much SMALLER in my opinion. In the original Alien and Aliens, the creature was just an unknown organism from the far reaches of the universe, and all the more scary because of it. (The same went for the Space Jockey for that matter). But these new movies have tried to tie it all back to humanity in some way - i.e. the Engineers (who are also the Space Jockeys) created both humanity and the black oil virus, and then the Xenomorph was apparently created by David (who was in turn created by man) somehow doing some genetic tinkering with the black oil and human DNA, while living in a cave and playing with his flute. Far from expanding the Alien universe, both these prequels have actually shrunk it by making man the centre of everything, while at the same time managing to sanitise and neuter one of the greatest movie creatures of all time. So what Ridley Scott is saying is that the entire Alien series and the iconic Xenomorph itself was just created by a deranged android with God/daddy issues. How very pathetic and disappointing. I personally hate it when movies try to explain everything to the millionth degree because it invariably ends up as a massive anticlimax. What was wrong with the Xenomorph just being some hideous unknown life-form from the far reaches of space???

I could go on and on, but there's a word limit here.

Lastly, the end is just pretty feeble and anticlimactic. The CG- Alien just kind of gets killed and that's it. And the *ahem* "twist" with David/Walter could be seen from a mile away, although David wouldn't have had anywhere near enough time to cut his own arm off and change his clothes and hairstyle.

Please PLEASE Mr Scott, stand aside and let Neill Blomkamp have his shot at an Aliens sequel.

A generous 2 Stars. One for the visuals that are once again gorgeous, and one for a great effort from Fassbender.

A philosophical path in the alien franchise

[andrericardo38 · 8/10 · 20 April 2019]

The mix of AI, alien and human were good. I didn't expect to see this kind of movie so soon. The AI is the center of the film, encapsulated in the Alien world.

I don't need to see extraterrestrial life to be amazed beyond my comprehension, the humans are enough to me. The creation of AI will add more uncertainty, or chaos, in the future and this movie made me wonder not whether, but when the AI will be the creator.

I was reluctant to see the movie because of the rate in the IMDB, but I'm a strange creature and I like movies that a lot of people don't like.

I did not give 10 stars because of the prediction of some scenes and the clear lack of security protocol that I didn't expect to see from humans of the future.

A better Prometheus sequel but a mediocre Alien film

[GODZILLA_Alpha_Predator · 6/10 · 21 May 2017]

When I went into watching Covenant on opening night, I went in with neither excitement nor hesitation but was just curious. I was one of the people who didn't hate Prometheus because I admired the new mythology Ridley Scott was trying to create. However, I could see that it was poorly executed especially when connecting to Alien. Covenant improves on those ideas with better-written characters but in the end mostly fails as a memorable Alien film.

The parts I liked the most surprisingly were the Prometheus tie-ins. The film constantly delves on the ideas of creation, religion and faith without feeling as forced like in Prometheus. From the opening scene of android David's "birth" to the crew of the Covenant being a colony ship carrying couples, the film carries on these philosophical ideas while tying in very well with the origin of the iconic Xenomorph. While it does not explain everything that was left open in Prometheus, it does feel satisfying that Covenant tries to give some answers rather then just leave with questions.

Once again Michael Fassbender proves to be the standout of this film. But this time he shows off double the effort when he plays two androids, the original David and the Covenant's own personal android Walter. David gets to be a lot more fleshed out and we get a better understanding behind his questionable actions. And as Walter, Fassbender displays a more restrained, machine-like personality but still conveying a sense of loyalty to the crew. And seeing the two Fassbender's interact with one with each other were the most compelling scenes in the film even if one scene was unintentionally hilarious. Danny McBride should also be credited for taking on a role more serious then his usual ones in comedy. Billy Crudup also was good as a religious man whose leadership is conflicted with his Christian beliefs. Katherine Waterston did well in the lead role but is not as unique as compared the Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley. And now here is where the film's faults become very present. While the characters are an improvement from Prometheus, the movie's plot forces them to make choices that feel out of character and silly.

Probably my biggest disappointment was the titled creature itself. The Xenomorph does not show up till maybe like 20 minutes towards the end and its presence just feels like a forced afterthought. And I didn't mind the Xenomorph being more cg-heavy when compared to past films but the subtlety of the creature hiding and waiting to pounce from the darkness was gone. With the creature attacking right out in the opening and Ridley Scott showing too much of it on camera, it no longer felt like the intelligent, calculative killing machine I remembered. It became just another dumb generic movie monster. Even the Alien doppelgänger movie that came this year, Life, was a better Alien movie then this actual Alien movie.

The film also has twist ending that leaves a lot of plot holes to examine and is just more annoying and stupid then smart.

In the end Covenant will satisfy those who had problems with Prometheus convoluted mythology with some intriguing sci-fi ideas but if you're looking for a great monster movie then watch the first two Alien films then this one.

In space they can hear you laugh

[Prismark10 · 3/10 · 5 July 2017]

I thought Prometheus was a visually wonderful but hugely flawed film with an incomprehensible plot and characters that constantly made stupid decisions.

In the sequel, Alien Covenant set 10 years after Prometheus stupidity by the characters has multiplied tenfold.

The colony ship Covenant diverts its mission after receiving what seems like a distress call from an earth like planet. The crew beam down without any protective clothing, without any adherence to safety or quarantine protocols. Hell, they do not even have any non slip shoes on. One character even forgets to relief himself at the ship and decides to do it on the alien planet.

The reality is that this planet has hidden dangers and the android David from Prometheus who has been involved with genetic experiments with human DNA and the Xenomorph.

It is hard to believe that director Ridley Scott made the original Alien way back in 1979. The world has waited with baited breath for his prequels only to be disappointed. Alien:Covenant should basically be viewed as a comedy then it makes more sense.

Alien: Covenant ? More like ...MORONS CONVENTION !!

[Dr_Sagan · 5 July 2017]

OK... This "Crew" ...they must be the biggest morons in the whole Universe. Were these people supposed to go and...inhabit an Alien planet? These guys are dumber than the illegitimate child of Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey.

-- Ah a planet that looks like Earth! Let's forget our carefully planned initial destination and let's go and inhabit this one! What can possibly go wrong? It has 78% Nitrogen and 21% Oxygen, so it must be fine. No need for any special precautions. Not even a ...mere gas mask! And while were here why not rest on this comfy rock and light a ...cigarette to pass the time!

Jokes aside, this is more like a semi-horror movie than an actual sci-fi movie. I recently saw "Life" and this is even worst. Nothing original. Nothing new. Just creatures bursting out of the bodies of morons and imbeciles.

I won't bother you with comments about the visuals nor the music. (They are the "usual" stuff) and the acting refers more to screaming queens than to actual actors.

And the very predictable ending you can see it coming from a mile away.

Overall: Ignorant, idiotic, crying babies in Space !

Have a good journey...

[deadmau_5 · 7/10 · 24 May 2017]

Made the cardinal sin of reading reviews before watching the movie. Little middle ground here, people liked it or they didn't. For the newbie to the series, it had many hallmarks (body-horror, psychosexual tension, where did it come from?/now how do we kill it?) of the Alien films. For the hardcore, a semi-return to what made the original film(s) great, yet for the true fan of Prometheus...and thinking that we would finally get to ask the age old questions and receive actual answers from the Engineers themselves on their own turf..it was not to be.

The "God" here seems to suggest that Engineers lead to humans, humans leads to AI and AI develops the Xenomorph to eradicate humanity because somehow humanity is bad and "had their shot" now its some AI's turn to play God...using humans if possible, but otherwise discarding them in furtherance of the consistently trying to perfect the perfect organism.

The track Ridley Scott seems to be taking is once AI finds its ability to uniquely create (and destroy) life, the "humanity" part of the Alien saga ends.

As many of described this movie as a big yawn or "gotcha" movie to show AI creates the Xenomorphs rather than the Engineers or humans, if we are to believe Ridley is loading up at least 2 more films leading to the events of the first film then many of the questions people are left pondering after this film (1. How did the space jockey engineer ship get to LV-426 where the Nostromo eventually finds it? 2. What about an Alien Queen if David is able to simply breed facehuggers without having an ovomorph of some sort--unless he experimented on Shaw for specifically that purpose and found a better way?... 3. How does the crew not realize Walter is actually David until its waaay to late? 4. What exactly does David learn about the Engineers as it relates to development of the Xenomorph that turns him from wanting to help humans/become a God?) are answered somehow by the next 2 films so just sit tight and all will be made clear.

However, judging the film as simply a standalone, while disappointed in the track Ridley took, I felt the film did help shine some light on the varying types of the Alien species (neomorph, xenomorph) and the morphology/embryology behind their creation and maturation whether they were genetically designed that way by David or just the result of failures until he found his successes.

If this film truly is the start of another set of three, then I'm excited to see what this first step ends up with. Yes, the initial setup film in trilogies leaves more questions than answers so enjoy the ride for God's (*wink*) sake!!

Wow, people seem to really hate this movie

[ericstevenson · 7/10 · 23 May 2017]

The score isn't that bad but man are these reviews negative. I mean, I admit it's not as good as the original two movies or even "Prometheus", but it did pretty well on its own. What I like about this movie is that it doesn't even seem like it's going to be a direct sequel to "Prometheus" at first. It's not until far into the film that we get to see David from the original movie. I really liked the connections this had to that movie. "Prometheus" wasn't advertised as being in the same Universe, which is why a lot of people were satisfied by the ending.

And hey, we get to see the Xenomorphs in their original form here! I will admit it has a lot of weak points. It's annoying how it's just a retread from "Alien" with a single creature being on the ship. Still, the acting was quite good and I really thought they had a lot of creative ideas even if they weren't done that well. It gets boring at first, but it gets a lot more intense and watchable later on. I thought it was interesting to just compare this to "Prometheus" and the original "Alien". Hate all you want, but I thought this movie was just fine. ***

Maybe they should stop here, before tarnishing the original!

[RaoulGonzo · 6/10 · 14 May 2017]

The alien movies over the years have mutated manifold from straight up horror to a full on war/action flick then to a mixed backstory starting in alien 3 which was interesting but a massive failure. Prometheus visually stunning as it was was let down by an awful script an dialog in particular.

Where do we come from? Why are we here? Themes from Prometheus continue in the very first 5 minutes before the credits have even rolled. It continues to beat you over the head with its backstory which, for me makes no sense whatsoever. Some of the dialog references other master horror works such as Frankenstein but does so in a way that it's up its own arse. Forgetting what alien actually was in the first place, a coincidence that was never about back story. Characters explain the plot in basil exposition speaking like no one ever would - speaking their thoughts at every opportunity - yes we get it, it treats the audience poorly.

What I did like was the scene shown much in the trailer, a character trapped in concealed room as something happens to her colleague. It was a longer scene that was tense and exciting and I oh so wish the rest of the movie could have come close. In a strange way alien covenant takes iconic moments from the franchise and tacks them on here but makes me wish I was watching alien or aliens instead. It's technically good as always Ridley Scott is a visionary filmmaker, but is unable to turn a weak script into a good film.

Alien:covenant gets locked up in its own self importance while forgetting why we loved alien in the first place. I really wanted to like it but came a way with a huge sense of disappointment.

Alien Covenant is Something old mixed with Something New..

[Sammy56 · 7/10 · 28 May 2017]

This movie is Gruesome in its own right. Where the real monster or sunken into madness, is the Android David.

The feel of this flick is somehow confusing or mixed. Because touches are noted into Alien but much other similarities there is not. If not consider typical things to this movie franchise. Anyway it has some good moments, like when Daniels is watching the design prints about Alien creatures and Dr Shaw. It reminds very much Giger like Art.

Characters are OK. But would be more deeply illustrated. Monsters are nice, i mean not nice but fits perfectly to his product. I'm giving this movie 7 of 10 But the reviews aspect of Rating, would differ some depending what part or thing it is considered to aim at.

In the end. The Alien Covenant is fair continuity to this movie series. And as I'm realist. Lets face it. Its just Entertainment, and no one of us or very few would not know whats the road these Movie series are traveling in first place.Or in the heads of the makers who planned the stories behind these. So, not taking it too seriously. But its not rubbish by any standards.

Can't understand all the negativity

[stelewins-30968 · 8/10 · 23 September 2018]

I really don't get the same vibe lots of other people seem to get from this film? I enjoyed it and have watched it multiple times in fact I'm watching it now! It's got a good mix of action and adds into the story of the alien universe quite nicely and i didn't like Prometheus!?! Maybe I'll have to re watch it?

Like wine, it get's better with age (with some minor flaws)

[joaobluz · 7/10 · 7 September 2019]

I went to the premiere of Covenant, and really enjoyed some parts of it, but left disappointed. As an Alien fan, I expected more Alien, less Prometheus. But the thing is, I watched it again today alongside Prometheus, and this is on another level. Ridley Scott really gave his best effort to make sense to the appearance of the Xenomorphs, and now I can see it. It is indeed a beautiful story/metaphor of the god Prometheus, and David is the ideal antagonist on this plot. I'm not even gonna go on to talk much about the cinematography and the acting, because it's been well reviewed by several users/critics. Fassbender excellently delivered his roles as David/Walter, and made you understand the reason behind his delusional wish of creating life. The only problem with the whole storytelling, was the pacing, I reckon if Ridley Scott was younger the movie would've had a different approach. But I can understand nowadays things work at a different pacing with all the technology involved, and I think movies tend to be rushed a bit more. I can't wait for a follow-up to Covenant, to see what ingenious experiments David was up to after being in comand of the ship. Also a lot of praise for the great detail and respect to H.R. Geiger's artwork.

It's abysmal.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 3/10 · 12 January 2020]

I love the franchise, but it's been on the decline for some years. Prometheus was average, this is worse than poor. I'll be clear, I hate this movie, it's terrible, it doesn't deserve to have the Alien name on it.

It takes an age to get going, and when it finally does it's a shambles, there doesn't seem to be any logic of any kind, multiple flaws in writing, so many times you say to yourself ''that would never happen," unless only the extremely thick people were in charge, which of course they are. I can only put it down to bad writing.

A few points for the visuals, there are some scenes that at least look half decent, the scene where the ship crashes releasing the pathogens onto the planet looked great.

I detest this film, and its awful writing. 3/10.

A bitter pill to swallow

[chirox · 8/10 · 15 May 2017]

I had high expectations going into Covenant, I'd enjoyed Prometheus despite it's well documented flaws and was expecting it to rise above it's predecessor. It didn't. I can suspend belief for some things but others I can't overlook, the crew were well cast but the writing had some major flaws in much the same vein as Prometheus, highly trained people making incredibly bad decisions. You can argue that under pressure mistakes are made but not school-boy errors, taking an obviously sick and infected man onto your ship with no hint of quarantine being a major one. Having said that, I did think the aliens themselves were well projected and frightening, men-in-suits works better for me than CGI so on this point Scott won. The first two acts were good barring the critical errors, but the final act was telegraphed and obvious, it left me wondering where this great franchise can go to next? I will watch it again on disc and will definitely add it to my collection but to feel this disappointed after waiting for another of my favourite franchises to appear it left a bitter taste in my mouth, and it wasn't the Coke Zero.

When It Comes To SciFi/Horror...

[nowmywatchhasended · 7/10 · 9 October 2023]

...there arent many films, if any, that would top the ALIEN franchise. Personally, ALIENS is a flawless film from start to finish. Colonial Marines... can you get anymore badass than Vasquez and Drake?!

I found myself not caring much for PROMETHEUS. It had a few redeeming scenes that i enjoyed but was disappointing, especially considering how long and how much I had been waiting to see it.

On to ALIEN: COVENANT - I enjoyed it very much. It was definitely a step-up from its predecessor. It has plenty of moments that lifelong fans of the ALIEN franchise will love and appreciate. The last scene, to me, was so disturbing that I had to walk outside to get some fresh air. SPOILERS - it occurs in and around a Hypersleep Chamber. It may not bs terrifying to most - but when i imagine myself in the same situation, i get chills. The bad kind.

Billy Crudup is awesome as usual and I wish he was in the film longer. And of course, the always amazing Michael Fassbender is great as David.

In closing, watch the movie and enjoy the ending!

"I played panicky idiot #3....."

[twhiteson · 4/10 · 12 March 2018]

This was dumb.

The crew of the spaceship, Covenant, is transporting 2,000 colonists to a new solar system, but their journey is interrupted by a solar flash which damages the ship. While making repairs, they pick-up a signal from a previously uncharted planet. Upon locating it and determining it can support human life, the captain (Billy Crudup) makes a spur of the moment decision to chuck aside all the planning that was put into their expedition to make this new planet their colonial destination. He gets some slight push-back about this flippant decision from his second-in-command, "Daniels" (Katherine Waterston who looks eerily like her father), but that seems to be the only complaint.

So, the crew set down on this planet with no real plan, no protective gear, and just start winging it with, of course, disastrous results because this is an "Alien" movie.

The crew, especially the captain, appear to have the intelligence of turnips. They proceed to act like the Scooby-Do gang and/or the begging-to-be-victims characters from the "Friday the 13th" and "Halloween" franchises by constantly splitting-up. I groaned every time a character said: "I'll be right back" as he or she walks off alone. And, boy, are they panicky. It's as if they had no training for their jobs whatsoever. Who green-lit this expedition with these fools? (The rampant stupidity of these characters is downright insulting to the audience's intelligence.)

I don't know what's going on with poor Ridley Scott. For him to go forward with this stupid story with all its plot holes that require characters to repeatedly act like irrational fools is sad. The original "Alien" was such a smart movie with believable characters who were intelligent and professional. This is a pale imitation with a recycled plot twist from the original film except grossly embellished. Also, although Ms. Waterston is cute, her Daniels is no "Ellen Ripley."

Most of the other actors didn't resonate at all. Years from now, while they're trying to land new roles and are asked about their previous work they can respond: "Well, I played panicky idiot #3 on 'Alien: Covenant.'"