Support NeoGAF

[Mr Reasonable]

I'm quick to shit on him and call him out but once again our opinions align. But the film was trying to pay tribute in a cringy way, not stealing. lol.

I think this sort of nitpicking, endlessly negative video isn't a good use of anyone's time. I watched it as far as he said "...And that's not the only thing they borrowed from other movies. Remember the pulse rifle?"

If that's not allowed, then I wonder what would be allowed to be in the film without triggering the reviewer's monotone ire.

There's a real air of "ok, this is going to be shit, let's find ways to say it is." In a lot of online reviewing (particularly videogames). I'm surprised people have the time for this sort of criticism.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Fanservice. Better the movie avoided it.

Prey using "if I bleeds, we can kill it" worked. It made perfect sense in the time period. "Get away from her you female dog, yolo" Doesn't make sense for the robots to say of course.

Yeah, I strongly disliked that. So lame.

I liked seeing the Reeboks just before though. THAT felt like the kind of reference that fans would get without it being underlined 5 times in black space goo.

 

[Complistic]

Liked this one. The writing and characters held it back, but it was fun.

 

[Doom85]

I think this sort of nitpicking, endlessly negative video isn't a good use of anyone's time. I watched it as far as he said "...And that's not the only thing they borrowed from other movies. Remember the pulse rifle?"

If that's not allowed, then I wonder what would be allowed to be in the film without triggering the reviewer's monotone ire.

There's a real air of "ok, this is going to be shit, let's find ways to say it is." In a lot of online reviewing (particularly videogames). I'm surprised people have the time for this sort of criticism.

Welcome to what Nostalgia Critic and CinemaSins did to movie viewing. I'm not saying those two are wrong for making their content, but people missed the point of them. Nostalgia Critic was meant to be a parody of the overly angry and bitter movie viewer, while the people behind CinemaSins has flat out said multiple times their "method" of nitpicking films is not how film viewing should actually be done. Yet I feel this detail was lost on a lot of people.

TheBirdman (whose main YouTube content is Sins videos of CinemaSins videos, basically pointing out the many things they get wrong) pointed this out well. He said (paraphrasing) that people took these online "critics" way too seriously, and now they can't help themselves but be the same way. Older films are safe from this sort of view generally because they've already decided those films are good before they adopted this new mindset. But so many newer films don't stand a chance because nowadays people, consciously or subconsciously, are going into a new film not to potentially enjoy it but to prove they're smarter than the film. This is also enhanced by the clickbait focus of many "reviewers", either praising something as a masterpiece or calling it total trash as either gets more views than a "it was pretty good" or "it was slightly below average". So now unless a film manages to dodge the vast majority of potential fumbles, it will be generally disliked even if the film arguably had more positives than negatives because so much is pushed as either a positive or negative extreme.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

people, consciously or subconsciously, are going into a new film not to potentially enjoy it but to prove they're smarter than the film.

Yeah, I think there's a weird need to prove superiority going on in a lot of this nitpicking. I think you're right that clickbait outrage /over the top praise is part of social media/youtube culture. And that has fed into the ways people commonly express their preferences or superiority for years now. I see a not insignificant amount of it in posts on here.

Shame, it means people are probably denying themselves simple pleasures as a result.

 

[Days like these...]

Yeah, I think there's a weird need to prove superiority going on in a lot of this nitpicking. I think you're right that clickbait outrage /over the top praise is part of social media/youtube culture has fed into the ways people commonly express their preferences for years now. I see a not insignificant amount of it in posts on here.

Shame, it means people are probably denying themselves simple pleasures as a result.

But in the case of Romulus some of us don't like cash grab soft reboots and blatant memberberries. That's why I skipped this.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

But in the case of Romulus some of us don't like cash grab soft reboots and blatant memberberries. That's why I skipped this.

I have no criticism for you or your brethren who have decided this isn't for you and have chosen not to watch it, what I'm talking about is going to see a film/buying a game/whatever with the expectation that you're not going to like it then finding any way possible to criticise it and sharing it as your review. This is the world we're in, however, and everyone is free to share their opinion. My opinion is, I don't know why you'd waste your time on it.

For the record, as I posted earlier, I disliked the overt loudest callbacks to previous films and found that there were other things I didn't like about it. Overall though, I thought it was good enough. Probably the 3rd best Alien film.

 

[KormaChameleon]

I watched it a couple of days ago. I quite enjoyed it. It certainly need to start fresh. David Johnson's performance as Andy was incredible.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

David Johnson's performance as Andy was incredible.

Definitely the high point for me too.

 

[Tomeru]

Had some nice bits here and there, but overall I didn't like it at all.

Another wasted "reboot". Shame, but not unexpected.

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

Saw it last night. Wife and I really enjoyed it. Though she did comment to me as we left 'did they seem really young to you?' That aside an enjoyable movie.

 

[digital_ghost]

Dad and I were going to go see it. But he checked out after learning it had alot of cussing.

Im like, you say you liked the first one. That one had a lot of cussing aswell.

We can't see any R movie or the cussing bothers my parents.

But where are those good old-fashioned values
On which we used to rely?

Luckily theres a family guy. He's my dad.

 

[analog_future]

Not without it's flaws, but I really enjoyed this one overall.

I thought it played things a little too safe... but then the last 30 minutes happened and it very much so carved out it's own identity in the series. There were definitely a few clumsy callbacks, but none of them were enough to ruin the experience (and some were fun).

The film also added several new iconic scenes to the series:

Spoiler

the updated chestburster scene, the "birthing" of the alien in the hallway, removing the facehugger from the girls face, the zero gravity acid blood, and the creature at the end were all memorable moments

Overall a worthy addition to the franchise, successfully conveying faithfulness to the original films while also carving out it's own path.

I'd rank the films in the series as such:

1. Alien
2. Aliens
3. Alien: Romulus
4. Prometheus
5. Alien 3
6. Alien: Covenant
7. Alien: Resurrection

 

[Hawking Radiation]

What happpened to the 'there's sumfin in da fookin woa-ahh' guy

 

[Doom85]

What happpened to the 'there's sumfin in da fookin woa-ahh' guy

The line is delivered better in the actual film, also it isn't the Captain Obvious moment that the trailer made it out to be (since IIRC the trailer made it look like by that point the group had already encountered facehuggers and/or a Xenomorph, in the movie at this point they've not seen anything ominous aside from one destroyed android).

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

What happpened to the 'there's sumfin in da fookin woa-ahh' guy

 

[taizuke]

We did.

And it was easily the worst of any Alien film, so enjoy those subverted expectations!

Could've sworn the latina chick (who looks a little like Sigourney Weaver) was the main lead, but you're right.

Did you just assume an Aluen Queens pronouns???

But yeah, seems like fair play to take this series which is batting like 8/9 for female leads (was there a female lead for avp2 or convenant?) to become more diverse and inclusive and have Glen Powell star in the next one

To them, a straight while male is probably more horrifying than an actual alien. It just baffles me that Hollywood and entertainment media keep reinventing male characters by gender swapping them (most recently Cyrax and Sektor are now female) but we'll probably never see a mainline Alien film be led by a male actor. It's one of those things that is sacred to female leads it seems.

As for Covenant, the lead actor is Katherine Waterson.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Yes, it would be great to see a man as the lead actor in an Alien film, then the franchise can finally be cast like 99.99% of scifi films.

 

[scoobidoo112]

I've seen it twice now, once in IMAX and once in 4DX.

Both times I loved it, although I must admit that some of those breathtaking shots out in space definitely deserve to be seen on an IMAX screen. Still can't quite believe this was made on a 60-80 million dollar budget.

I will admit that some of the callbacks are a bit too on the nose. Something like the guy at the start playing a videogame, dying, and hearing 'game over man' was funny, but full on lifting pieces of dialog from one of the older movies to this one was just too much. Overall though it's a nice mixture of elements from the various movies in the franchise, and it still manages to do enough of its own thing.

It's beautiful to look at (aside from one particular character), suspenseful, well directed, uses lots of practical effects, and manages to give a new spin to some classic Alien tropes. Lots of influences from Alien Isolation as well, which I adored, you can tell the director is a fan of that game.

The main cast-members, namely Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, are great, with David being the absolute standout of the film. The other cast-members are forgettable, but do their job well enough.

With the success that this movie is having at the box office it seems likely that we will get a sequel. If they manage to resolve some of the flaws that this one has, mainly reining in the overt callbacks, I think fans of this franchise have some amazing things to look forward to, assuming they are sticking with Fede Álvarez.

PS: Other franchises, such as Star Trek and Star Wars, could learn a lot from this movie on how to successfully handle an older franchise with respect. Adding new things to it and and honoring the past without feeling the need to tear it all down.

 

[Ulysses 31]

If they manage to resolve some of the flaws that this one has, mainly reining in the overt callbacks, I think fans of this franchise have some amazing things to look forward to, assuming they are sticking with Fede Álvarez.

It would help if the movie didn't blatantly ignore what's established about the Alien life cycle in the first 2 movies.

The movie is also a great example of modern bad writing tropes of characters not informing others or asking for information when it makes sense. They take the time to listen to the station lore rather than immediately trying to help their friend with a facehugger.

 

[taizuke]

Yes, it would be great to see a man as the lead actor in an Alien film, then the franchise can finally be cast like 99.99% of scifi films.

Equality, right?

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Equality, right?

If there are more leading roles for women in film than there are for men, it's probably worth talking about.

There's some info here that might be surprising if you think that men need more representation in film:

The data that reveals the film industry’s ‘woman problem’

The Cannes Film Festival has been criticised for its gender imbalance – but what’s the real story? Data journalist Miriam Quick takes a look at the numbers.

www.bbc.com

I know you're obviously only joking, but really men ought to step aside and let women have one of the few franchises where women are allowed to take lead roles in disproportionately male dominated genres, in an industry which overall doesn't give women as many leading roles as it does men.

What's more, none of the things that people have issue with in this film would be solved by having a man in the lead role.

 

[taizuke]

If there are more leading roles for women in film than there are for men, it's probably worth talking about.

The Alien franchise is not lacking in female led representation. So, while the above is worth talking about the excuse to not have a male lead should not be because the genre has been predominantly led by men. We're talking about the franchise not the genre. The second you bring sci-fi into the conversation and how it would be dull or uninspired to have a male star in it, of course it sounds lame by comparison.

Listen i'm just saying it would be cool to have a mainline Alien film be lead by a male actor once. Just because the genre is filled with them should not be a deterrent from trying something new even if it ultimately fails.

Edit - Didn't see the other stuff you posted. Took me a while to reply. I'll try address it later.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Oh. You weren't joking.

 

[jason10mm]

Yes, it would be great to see a man as the lead actor in an Alien film, then the franchise can finally be cast like 99.99% of scifi films.

FWIW the specific recurring theme of Alien, a perversion of the maternal cycle of being "raped", impregnation, then traumatic child birth, and ending with rebellious children violently rejecting their parents predisposes the Alien franchise to having leading ladies. Injecting masculinity into it just turns it into a bug hunt of which we have many. It's that feminine quality that makes this series unique. Plus the horror roots are VERY entrenched for a "final girl" type story arc.

I think when the script deviates too far from these principles we get a less interesting film. Encountering a xeno should be LIFE CHANGING (often life ENDING) so for a 2 hour film it has to stay focused. If we could get a TV show set in the alien universe with that analogue grunge-tech aesthetic that deals more in depth with the corp overreach, humanities distress in an uncaring universe, evolution of AI, and stretch out the xeno experience at a more languid pace. But for a film I want that shit to go south in a BAD WAY and having masculinity break in the face of the xeno (or be sacrificed to save the feminine, which is my preferred theme) and maternal instinct win the day is ok.

 

[jason10mm]

If there are more leading roles for women in film than there are for men, it's probably worth talking about.

In the horror genre, which I would argue the ALien series is based, women FAAAARR outnumber men as leads, no fucking quesiton about it.

The data that reveals the film industry’s ‘woman problem’

The Cannes Film Festival has been criticised for its gender imbalance – but what’s the real story? Data journalist Miriam Quick takes a look at the numbers.

www.bbc.com

This kind of data crunching is just "lies, damn, lies, and then statistics". Films that win awards are often based around extreme events and guess what, dudes are WAAAAAY more often to be engaged in extreme events. We explore more, we take more risks, we fight in wars, we are more likely to engage in dangerous occupations, and guess what, we also die younger for it.

Go look at TV, with a stronger focus on story over time, and see how more prevalent women are because the narrative can shift to their stories.

I know you're obviously only joking, but really men ought to step aside and let women have one of the few franchises where women are allowed to take lead roles in disproportionately male dominated genres, in an industry which overall doesn't give women as many leading roles as it does men.

Male dominated genres appeal to MALE DOMINATED AUDIENCES. This is just the facts. Guys gravitate to specific types of conflict and narrative. There is no reason for "giving women as many leading roles" unless it serves the AUDIENCE. And men have shown they are very accepting of certain portrayals of women in their media. May as well argue that soap operas, rom-coms, and family dramas should feature more men and male subjects. But no one says shit because most of that stuff is consumed by women and guys ARE OK WITH IT. Why are only male spaces under assault? Simple reason...follow the money. Currently the comic book genre is $$$ fire so the grifters come around trying to worry away pieces of that carcass.

 

[taizuke]

There's some info here that might be surprising if you think that men need more representation in film:

The data that reveals the film industry’s ‘woman problem’

The Cannes Film Festival has been criticised for its gender imbalance – but what’s the real story? Data journalist Miriam Quick takes a look at the numbers.

www.bbc.com

I know you're obviously only joking, but really men ought to step aside and let women have one of the few franchises where women are allowed to take lead roles in disproportionately male dominated genres, in an industry which overall doesn't give women as many leading roles as it does men.

The problem I have with this is that is one-sided. Female roles are left alone, but male ones are not. And, if the only argument you have is that everything everywhere is male dominated, then that's unfair.

If it's wrong to change something that's predominantly female into male then the opposite should be wrong as well.

And, I'm all for having more female roles and female representation, but not at the expense of male ones. Create new characters instead of gender swapping existing ones.

FWIW the specific recurring theme of Alien, a perversion of the maternal cycle of being "raped", impregnation, then traumatic child birth, and ending with rebellious children violently rejecting their parents predisposes the Alien franchise to having leading ladies. Injecting masculinity into it just turns it into a bug hunt of which we have many. It's that feminine quality that makes this series unique. Plus the horror roots are VERY entrenched for a "final girl" type story arc.

I was actually going to bring this up before but I didn't. Listen, I understand this very well. Having female leads in the Alien films is basically meta commentary.

That said, let's talk Predator. Predator is about a species of aliens that hunt and defeat the most formidable alpha in the universe. The theme of Predator has always been male centered. That is until the movie Prey, a movie which I very much enjoyed. And, while the movie has one or two lines about how the patriarchy doesn't let women fight, it doesn't infect the whole movie with femininity.

So, dismissing the idea of a male lead Alien film because it would be injected with masculinity, is to be afraid of the possibility because you associate it with something repetitive or negative.

 

[jason10mm]

So, dismissing the idea of a male lead Alien film because it would be injected with masculinity, is to be afraid of the possibility because you associate it with something repetitive or negative.

I just think that if you tackle an Alien film purely from the male gaze it quickly turns into "smoke 'em all, let god sort 'em out" deal. You NEED that human vulnerability to bring out the horror of the situation and I think that is better extracted with a female lead (who is actually a female character, not just a man with breasts). We all love Aliens and the colonial marines, but (IMHO) it's the Ripley/Newt wrapper story that propels the film, not the Marines. It's Ripley, losing her daughter to old age/cancer, finding a new daughter in Newt, and then rescuing said daughter from ANOTHER woman(ish) that just got her kids torched that is the real heart of the film. Alien is a uniquely feminine aspect of the horror/sci-fi genre in ways Body Snatchers, War of the Worlds, or Day the Earth Stood Still (kind of templates for the other three types of alien encounter films) don't have.

Predator is really a War of the Worlds story, it's alien strength against human strength. Body snatchers is subversion and corruption, and Stood Still is misunderstood alien superiority reflecting our own insecurities. Alien is specifically the rape and harvesting of bodies in a raw, primal way with no real end goal other than propagation. It's a fertility ritual gone insane.

 

[T8SC]

Watched it last night. I'd put it on par with Prometheus.

I don't mind Easter Eggs when they're obscure and essentially for the hardcore fans to notice, like the little spinning thing on the table (Like on Alien) and the white & red Reebok trainers etc but literally quoting phrases from the previous movies is just cringe and one of them being very out-of-character. At times it felt like a mashup of all the previous movies & also the game, Alien Isolation.

The style and look of the film was good though, along with the sound & score.

Aliens
Alien
Alien3 (Assembly Cut)
Prometheus / Alien: Romulus
... The rest ...

 

[taizuke]

I just think that if you tackle an Alien film purely from the male gaze it quickly turns into "smoke 'em all, let god sort 'em out" deal. You NEED that human vulnerability to bring out the horror of the situation and I think that is better extracted with a female lead (who is actually a female character, not just a man with breasts). We all love Aliens and the colonial marines, but (IMHO) it's the Ripley/Newt wrapper story that propels the film, not the Marines. It's Ripley, losing her daughter to old age/cancer, finding a new daughter in Newt, and then rescuing said daughter from ANOTHER woman(ish) that just got her kids torched that is the real heart of the film. Alien is a uniquely feminine aspect of the horror/sci-fi genre in ways Body Snatchers, War of the Worlds, or Day the Earth Stood Still (kind of templates for the other three types of alien encounter films) don't have.

You could tackle Alien with a male lead Rambo style and that would be boring like you're saying, but you could also tackle it in smart/interesting way.

One of the themes of Alien 3 is purgatory and how the prisoners are not just there waiting to die, but also waiting to be judged by the Alien.

All the themes the Alien movies touch on when it comes to the female experience is great. I just would like a male perspective for once and I think that shouldn't be taboo.

 

[near]

Tickets booked to see this tomorrow! I hope it turns out fun.

 

[SkylineRKR]

Its the best Alien movie since 2. It isn't saying much, but on its own its a solid suspense movie. Spaeny is an upcoming star, she's really good in this. She was also good in Civil War.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

Question to all you face huggers out there.

Would you like another ALIEN film from Fede or Ridley?

 

[Spukc]

Alien
Aliens
Prometheus
Romulus
Alien 3
12 buckets of dog shit
Aliens 3
200 buckets of piss dog shit and asshair
Alien convenant

 

[FunkMiller]

Question to all you face huggers out there.

Would you like another ALIEN film from Fede or Ridley?

Pick any existing franchise you like and ask the same question.

My answer will always be no… I want people to make new things.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

Ridley was trying something with Prometheus and it backfired.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Ridley was trying something with Prometheus and it backfired.

Because David Lindelof wrote such stupid characters.

And Ridley Scott being involved with an Alien movie is not confidence inspiring these days.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

Because David Lindelof wrote such stupid characters.

Ah, forgot about that part.

And Ridley Scott being involved with an Alien movie is not confidence inspiring these days.

I would like another Ridley film because it put the fan base on it's head. This movie riled up everyone including me. What an incredible meme of a film. He only has the power to destroy and not create. I'm down for another one.

 

[Doom85]

Because David Lindelof wrote such stupid characters.

I've read it was actually Ridley Scott who cut out quite a few scenes, which particularly resulted in the film having far more ambiguity and barely any clear answers, while Lindelof cautioned him on this as he knew from feedback post-LOST that fans would not be receptive to such a direction.

Now Lindelof might still mostly to blame for some of the characters making bad decisions, but some of Prometheus' shortcomings definitely came from Scott himself (even if his directing itself was still mostly on point).

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

The trick William Potter is not to derp

 

[Doom85]

Okay, found it. Skimming through it (in the Prometheus section), wow, Lindelof's full script seemed to make much more sense:

Alien - TV Tropes

Ridley Scott wanted to make the film that would be Prometheus as soon as 2002, with James Cameron attached to write the story, but they passed on it when FOX announced they were going to make Alien vs. Predator. When he returned to the franchise …

tvtropes.org

The only part that I would change is the Jesus Christ element (I know the script doesn't confirm it's him, but still), as that's pretty goofy. But other than that, wow. Sounds like Lindelof actually thought all the characters out, and Ridley Scott was all:

 

[jason10mm]

The only part that I would change is the Jesus Christ element (I know the script doesn't confirm it's him, but still), as that's pretty goofy. But other than that, wow. Sounds like Lindelof actually thought all the characters out, and Ridley Scott was all:

I think one of the skills of a GOOD screenwriter is to condense character into scenes that advance the plot, instead of the more TV approach of plot advancement scenes being largely disconnected from "character moments" that can be edited in anywhere based on commercial breaks or larger pacing issues. When you watch older films you can appreciate how they can have a scene that both frames the story, sets the stakes, highlights the challenges the characters face AND has little bits of character sprinkled throughout so in a 4 minute scene we get all we need. These days we would have 5 minute plot scene bracketed by 15 minutes of one character crying about her lost dog (that's really a metaphor for her inability to have kids) and another character engaging in self-asphyxiation masturbation (because they are dark inside and we gotta see a lengthy scene to 'get it'). No wonder that shit gets cut! Of course in older films the side characters tend to be more stereotypes and archetypes that can be easily explained, but that's the advantage of film, you can (nay, you MUST) take shortcuts to convey info to the audience and get to the point!

So if Lindeloff had all this great shit figured out (which I kinda doubt but let's steelman him) then he should have also collapsed it into scenes he KNEW couldn't be cut so the overall experience wouldn't be overly diminished.

I still wanna see the old Gibson script turned into something (was it made into a comic?) with the infected zombies and all that, the stuff that showed up in the Alien and AvP arcade games...

 

[Sleepwalker]

That original prometheus script is great, particularly the ending in which Elizabeth didn't rebuild David and a bunch of ships end up showing up. But even the finished product wasn't bad, it left a lot of unanswered questions that I had no doubt would be adressed in a sequel.

Instead we got another promising character killed off screen and a scene of David wiping the whole planet.

(Even the cut stuff from covenant would have made it a better movie as it explored the events leading up to him murdering elizabeth and foreshadowed what was to come).

I wish they managed those movies better and we got the trilogy out of it, Fassbender was extremely good in that role.



As for Romulus, I watched it. I liked it. For me its a solid 7.5-8/10 depending on the day. Some of the characters were extremely unlikely and hard to relate to. Also a bit too young for the background established, the protagonist having already worked the mines for years while still looking like a 20 year old for example. But these are small nitpicks.

 

[Doom85]

I think one of the skills of a GOOD screenwriter is to condense character into scenes that advance the plot, instead of the more TV approach of plot advancement scenes being largely disconnected from "character moments" that can be edited in anywhere based on commercial breaks or larger pacing issues. When you watch older films you can appreciate how they can have a scene that both frames the story, sets the stakes, highlights the challenges the characters face AND has little bits of character sprinkled throughout so in a 4 minute scene we get all we need. These days we would have 5 minute plot scene bracketed by 15 minutes of one character crying about her lost dog (that's really a metaphor for her inability to have kids) and another character engaging in self-asphyxiation masturbation (because they are dark inside and we gotta see a lengthy scene to 'get it'). No wonder that shit gets cut! Of course in older films the side characters tend to be more stereotypes and archetypes that can be easily explained, but that's the advantage of film, you can (nay, you MUST) take shortcuts to convey info to the audience and get to the point!

So if Lindeloff had all this great shit figured out (which I kinda doubt but let's steelman him) then he should have also collapsed it into scenes he KNEW couldn't be cut so the overall experience wouldn't be overly diminished.

I think our biases and preferences are on opposite ends here, so it makes sense from my perspective that Lindelof knew what he was doing, and from your perspective Scott knew what he was doing. Let's just leave it at that.

 

[Stephen Curry]

This movie was embarrassing.

Felt like a shitty studio attempt to make an "Alien Movie" that has to check all the boxes. Structure is stale and easily predictable if you have seen the other movies, no twists or interesting wrinkles at all, and egregious levels of nostalgia bait. The nostalgic "fan service" is just disgusting. You must really have no shame to rip shots and especially lines from previous movies and shove them into yours even when they don't fit at all with the characters.

Really do not understand how anyone who is familiar with the series can watch this and feel good about it.

 

[Ulysses 31]

This movie was embarrassing.

Felt like a shitty studio attempt to make an "Alien Movie" that has to check all the boxes. Structure is stale and easily predictable if you have seen the other movies, no twists or interesting wrinkles at all, and egregious levels of nostalgia bait. The nostalgic "fan service" is just disgusting. You must really have no shame to rip shots and especially lines from previous movies and shove them into yours even when they don't fit at all with the characters.

Really do not understand how anyone who is familiar with the series can watch this and feel good about it.

It's especially funny how the last lines of the movie are. They were thieves, not a crew of any ship. The names of the others aren't even mentioned anymore.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

My hot take before reading anyone else's comments: Not as good as Alien or Aliens, but better than 3 and 4. I knew Fede Alvarez would bring the tension based on Evil Dead and especially Don't Breathe, and by Joe, he did it. I felt exhausted by the end, similar to after watching Gravity. Shit goes from bad to worse to please make it stop.

Got a couple spoiler questions. Does anybody know if they mention in dialog I missed:
Why didn't the acid from the Xeno that was already dead on the Romulus not burn through all the hulls?

Why didn't Weyland-Yutani go after the research on the Romulus sooner, when a group of rapscallion twenty-somethings were able to get there no problem?


Now to go back and read what you all thought about it!

 

[Grildon Tundy]

I have been watching all these blockbuster movies high af lately. Maybe its clouding my judgement. But when im high as hell on some weed I enjoy the FUCK Out of these movies. Its been so fun this year. Planet of The Apes, Civil War, Alien, The Omen. I have been having a blast in all of them. Like this movie was just awesome from start to finish for me. Do you smoke weed? If not, you should. For me it really elevates the movie going experience, espeically in IMAX.

I don't smoke, but weed makes things super immersive, like you're actually in that situation with these characters. Part being that it turns off some higher-level mental functions, so plot holes don't take you out of it as much. This movie would be a trip under the influence.

Eh, it was fun and suspenseful if not very original. Worth the $10 to see it on the big screen. I appreciated the old school feel of the direction, both in set design and giving scenes time to breath. But it was a bit heavy on the callbacks.

Spoiler

Not sure I think CG Ian Holm was necessary but it was at least pretty realistic looking

It wasn't very inspired but it was inoffensive unlike some of the other trash in the series that came more recently.

I'm with you on the CG, and I feel like I'm taking crazy pills because lots of people in this thread were saying it was fake-looking and distracting. If I didn't know who Ian Holm was, I wouldn't have guessed that was not a real person.

She also has some serious Midwest Arms

I've never heard that term before but I know exactly what you mean

I'd rank the films in the series as such:

1. Alien
2. Aliens
3. Alien: Romulus
4. Prometheus
5. Alien 3
6. Alien: Covenant
7. Alien: Resurrection

Get out of my head!

Both times I loved it, although I must admit that some of those breathtaking shots out in space definitely deserve to be seen on an IMAX screen. Still can't quite believe this was made on a 60-80 million dollar budget.

$60-80M? Nice! It's "only" made $120M in its first week, and I was worried it was a bomb. But it's made about double its budget already (which is what they say it takes to break even), and movies typically make ~50% of their lifetime gross in their first week, so this is on track to make quadruple its budget. I'd watch another one of these for sure.

Question to all you face huggers out there.

Would you like another ALIEN film from Fede or Ridley?

Yes to either, but I'd go with Ridley between those two. And to your question a few pages back about choosing any director? This is a weird pick, but the more I think about it, the more I like it: Ari Aster. An auteur horror director whose unique movies circle around uncomfortable themes. It weirdly fits with the Alien franchise.

 

[SirKicksalot]

The line is delivered better in the actual film, also it isn't the Captain Obvious moment that the trailer made it out to be (since IIRC the trailer made it look like by that point the group had already encountered facehuggers and/or a Xenomorph, in the movie at this point they've not seen anything ominous aside from one destroyed android).

If only they looked up to see the dead xeno, or looked to the right in the freezer room to see the monsters on ice... It's genuinely hilarious how the camera PANS OMINOUSLY to the facehuggers literally chilling right next to the dudes. Then the women get there "omg what's going on". Are all these idiots wearing horse blinders?

Okay, found it. Skimming through it (in the Prometheus section), wow, Lindelof's full script seemed to make much more sense:

Alien - TV Tropes

Ridley Scott wanted to make the film that would be Prometheus as soon as 2002, with James Cameron attached to write the story, but they passed on it when FOX announced they were going to make Alien vs. Predator. When he returned to the franchise …

tvtropes.org

The only part that I would change is the Jesus Christ element (I know the script doesn't confirm it's him, but still), as that's pretty goofy. But other than that, wow. Sounds like Lindelof actually thought all the characters out, and Ridley Scott was all:

Ridley is a ruthless editor. First time you're watching Prometheus it doesn't even register that the women actually do run to the sides, or that the map guy doesn't exactly get lost, or why the biologist pets the monster, or that Elizabeth and David have the same arc.
It's hard to follow because it's too concerned with being efficient. You don't have time to process a story element because it moves to the next one.
Compare the deleted/extended Engineer awakening with the theatrical cut. Theatrical has all the relevant information: the Engineer doesn't like Shaw getting beaten, thinks Weyland is a dumbass, has empathy for David, decides to resume the mission because he got all the confirmation he needed. But it's all in the space of like 30 seconds, so when the murdering starts you're still figuring out that oh yeah David practiced the language on the ship so they understand each other...
Napoleon was cut just as hard but at least it's getting extended (it was rated last month).

 

[AJUMP23]

They call the robot Ani. Somebody goes "Ani are you ok?" Brilliant.


I enjoyed the film. The ending though was ultra weird.

/5

Spoiler: Ending stuff

alien human hybrid was so bizarre and just creepy. I was thankful they did not give it a penis.