ALIEN Franchise

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  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,368
    FOX is re-assessing the future of the 'Alien' series after 'Covenant' nets only half of the box office of 'Prometheus':

    http://collider.com/alien-covenant-2-status-fox-ridley-scott/#sequel
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    FOX is re-assessing the future of the 'Alien' series after 'Covenant' nets only half of the box office of 'Prometheus':

    http://collider.com/alien-covenant-2-status-fox-ridley-scott/#sequel
    I can safely say this was one of the most disappointing experiences I've had in a theatre for some time, so I'm not surprised. It was just so pedestrian, and completely lacking in spark or energy. At least Prometheus had a memorable score and looked amazing.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,368
    bondjames wrote: »
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    FOX is re-assessing the future of the 'Alien' series after 'Covenant' nets only half of the box office of 'Prometheus':

    http://collider.com/alien-covenant-2-status-fox-ridley-scott/#sequel
    I can safely say this was one of the most disappointing experiences I've had in a theatre for some time, so I'm not surprised. It was just so pedestrian, and completely lacking in spark or energy. At least Prometheus had a memorable score and looked amazing.

    Plus it had the balls to try something completely different. I might not have enjoyed it at the time because I was pining for something more horror/creature-driven, but I've appreciated it more and more over the years. 'Covenant' is one I'll likely never rewatch.

    "It was just so pedestrian" is a perfect description of it.
  • Creasy47 wrote: »
    FOX is re-assessing the future of the 'Alien' series after 'Covenant' nets only half of the box office of 'Prometheus':

    http://collider.com/alien-covenant-2-status-fox-ridley-scott/#sequel

    Good!

    Prometheus looked great but was a mess from a storytelling, editing, and character development standpoint. Covenant was slightly less of a mess in these regards, but still a mess and at the end of the day little more than a B horror flick. It's shocking that either of these were the directorial work of Ridley Scott.

    I hope they reassess completely and do away with all this prequel "leading-up-to-the-backend-of-Alien" nonsense. Just give us straight sequels in the Alien universe by fresh visionary directors that exemplify the best of horror or action or horror/action. Throw in Sigourney Weaver if you want to. I don't care so long as it feels like it belongs to the original tetralogy.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,368
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    FOX is re-assessing the future of the 'Alien' series after 'Covenant' nets only half of the box office of 'Prometheus':

    http://collider.com/alien-covenant-2-status-fox-ridley-scott/#sequel

    Good!

    Prometheus looked great but was a mess from a storytelling, editing, and character development standpoint. Covenant was slightly less of a mess in these regards, but still a mess and at the end of the day little more than a B horror flick. It's shocking that either of these were the directorial work of Ridley Scott.

    I hope they reassess completely and do away with all this prequel "leading-up-to-the-backend-of-Alien" nonsense. Just give us straight sequels in the Alien universe by fresh visionary directors that exemplify the best of horror or action or horror/action. Throw in Sigourney Weaver if you want to. I don't care so long as it feels like it belongs to the original tetralogy.

    Especially when you consider that this is the same person who delivered 'Alien' all those decades ago. I know it's improbable for a director to retain that level of magic over a near-40 year period, but still.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Prequels (and reboots for that matter) are so passé. I know some enjoyed the ending to Rogue One, but I just rolled my eyes.
  • Creasy47 wrote: »
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    FOX is re-assessing the future of the 'Alien' series after 'Covenant' nets only half of the box office of 'Prometheus':

    http://collider.com/alien-covenant-2-status-fox-ridley-scott/#sequel

    Good!

    Prometheus looked great but was a mess from a storytelling, editing, and character development standpoint. Covenant was slightly less of a mess in these regards, but still a mess and at the end of the day little more than a B horror flick. It's shocking that either of these were the directorial work of Ridley Scott.

    I hope they reassess completely and do away with all this prequel "leading-up-to-the-backend-of-Alien" nonsense. Just give us straight sequels in the Alien universe by fresh visionary directors that exemplify the best of horror or action or horror/action. Throw in Sigourney Weaver if you want to. I don't care so long as it feels like it belongs to the original tetralogy.

    Especially when you consider that this is the same person who delivered 'Alien' all those decades ago. I know it's improbable for a director to retain that level of magic over a near-40 year period, but still.

    Exactly! I mean, I know the original Alien had a fantastic screenplay and that's always important to start with, but beyond that Scott was a visual and atmospheric artist who could create sci-fi worlds that felt lived in, authentic, fully immersive, and make use of them in a cohesive film experience that rivets the audience to their seat. I don't know what it is—the changing landscape of filmmaking, technological advances like CGI or whatnot—whatever it is, Ridley's lost that touch.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,368
    bondjames wrote: »
    Prequels (and reboots for that matter) are so passé. I know some enjoyed the ending to Rogue One, but I just rolled my eyes.

    Whereas mine were rolling throughout a majority of the film.
  • Creasy47 wrote: »
    bondjames wrote: »
    Prequels (and reboots for that matter) are so passé. I know some enjoyed the ending to Rogue One, but I just rolled my eyes.

    Whereas mine were rolling throughout a majority of the film.

    Mine were wandering to the ceiling to count the ceiling tiles while waiting for something to start happening. It did. Eventually. But the film was almost over by then.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 7,888
    Let Blomkamp male his film!
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,368
    talos7 wrote: »
    Let Blomkamp male his film!

    Now this would get my ass to pay for another 'Alien' ticket. He's a pretty so-so director to me, but the return of Weaver and Biehn would make me very happy. Sounds like a lot of love would've went into that movie.
  • My thoughts as well on Blomkamp's Alien V. I'm not the biggest fan of Blomkamp and I don't need an Aliens sequel that ignores Alien 3 and Resurrection, but the concept art looked great and it would be sweet to somehow have Weaver (a non-xenomorph Ripley?) and Biehn back.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 7,888
    talos7 wrote: »
    Let Blomkamp male his film!

    Or female it. Or gender-neutral it. You raging sexist.

    ;)

    Hey, Ellen Ridley is the hero, :D

  • Posts: 1,964
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    FOX is re-assessing the future of the 'Alien' series after 'Covenant' nets only half of the box office of 'Prometheus':

    http://collider.com/alien-covenant-2-status-fox-ridley-scott/#sequel
    Maybe this will let Fox give Neil a chance to make his film??
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,368
    fjdinardo wrote: »
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    FOX is re-assessing the future of the 'Alien' series after 'Covenant' nets only half of the box office of 'Prometheus':

    http://collider.com/alien-covenant-2-status-fox-ridley-scott/#sequel
    Maybe this will let Fox give Neil a chance to make his film??

    It can't hurt, unless they choose to throw another $100 million at Scott for another installment, but given how poorly 'Covenant' did at the box office in comparison to 'Prometheus,' that's seeming unlikely. At most, he'll likely get one more under his belt, but even that would be a bit unexpected.
  • Posts: 1,964
    How many more movies did Scott say he was making to connect to Alien?
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,368
    fjdinardo wrote: »
    How many more movies did Scott say he was making to connect to Alien?

    He's changed his mind endlessly, but as it stands, I think he envisioned one to three sequels, including 'Alien: Awakening.'
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    bondjames wrote: »
    Prequels (and reboots for that matter) are so passé. I know some enjoyed the ending to Rogue One, but I just rolled my eyes.

    360 degrees?
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,447
    Alien Covenant wasn't bad, however it was nothing special either. That the problem for me. The film just lacked spark. I too would rather see Blomkamp go forth with the series. However, I guess we like a bit of closure now. Man, that's the trouble isn't it. That's why I'm still waiting for something to close the story of Terminator Salvation and yeah like hell that's going to happen!
  • Posts: 5,767
    Same as with Bond. They need to make a cracking film. Nothing more. Nothing less. Then it doesn´t matter if it´s a presidesequel or not.

    Blomkamp would deliver as effects supervisor, but not as director.

  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 23,102
    I am convinced Sigourney Weaver voices Mother in Alien Covenant? Another actor is credited for the voice on IMDb though I think it's Weaver...
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,368
    Sounds like Scott is still terribly lost on what he wants these new films as a whole to be:

    http://collider.com/ridley-scott-alien-covenant-sequel/

    After Covenant, I've got almost no hope for the rest of the series, if it stretches past one more film.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I liked them both, and looking forward to more, good news.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 23,102
    Covenant was not great in fact only watched it once since I bought it, Prometheus I at least found interesting and had rewatchability. I am suprised another film by Scott is getting green lit, I thought Covenant bombed at the box office?
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited October 2017 Posts: 23,447
    I'm not sure I like where the series is going. Scott seems very much interested in explaining, in full detail, things from ALIEN that could have easily remained a mystery, like where the Space Jockey came from or who he was. For years, I have contented myself imagining the derelict ship as having fallen victim to the same grim dangers that now threaten the Nostromo. Rarely have I wondered about those other creatures. Still, PROMETHEUS, while offering relatively little, gave the series a little push from the left so to speak, with the potential of meeting the well-known "xenomorph" bloodline at some point early in its sequel, moving from an existential crisis in PROMETHEUS to a genuine bit of survival horror in the next chapter, possibly carried forth by Elisabeth Shaw, the series' new female lead (though she's no Ripley).

    But then COVENANT was released. And it was called ALIEN. So naturally I was thrilled. Sadly I could not have predicted that Scott would entirely abandon Shaw, toss her aside like the paper wrapping of a candy bar, and enter the obscure micro-story of David, the dark android, going philosophical and philosophically bad. Presenting our beloved xenomorph as nothing more than David's little science experiment, Scott reduced one of the most powerful fictional and metaphorical antagonists in cinema history to an undercooked bit of casual genetic engineering conducted by a robot who wanted to be Peter O'Toole. While some of the horror scenes in COVENTANT are impressive enough, there's very little that we haven't yet seen before, like the dramatic evacuation of a beast from an open air lock in space. There's also something really uninteresting about David's story, for I am still more intrigued about what will happen to Ripley and Jones when they commit themselves to the voids of space in their escape shuttle, than I am to David's deception and his batch of infected organisms now stowed away amidst a crew in hypersleep.

    COVENANT feels like an elder man's thesis on life and death and the existential fears one may suffer when coming ever closer to the ultimate experience of one's mortality. In truth though, all we really want is some stalker horror with a nearly invincible enemy in the lead role. Symbols and metaphors need not be injected with force, nor do we need scene after scene of heavy dialogue contemplating the mysteries of life. Scott is making a terrible mistake by using a series that continued his epic hit from '79 as a canvas on which to explore something quite different that must have been stuck in his head for several years now. What he's doing is the equivalent of taking the James Bond series in a direction nobody wants, say with Bond visiting a PTS therapist every day, having become a farmer, fighting a battle with some homeless people who threaten to steal his grapes, and praying to god before going to bed, asking forgiveness for the lives he's taken.

    There are still things to like about COVENANT. It's a dark and at times gory film, but the context and tone are needlessly complicated and out-of-touch with the Nostromo / LV-426 adventures we so dearly love. Comics, video games and fan films almost always try to capture the spirit of ALIENS anyway; it is by far still the most popular of the films in this series. Scott is probably too proud to take us back to Cameron's hit, but seeing how much more I enjoy playing the mediocre ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES game than I do watching ALIEN: COVENANT, I wonder if Scott can ever, at all, entertain me with another of his Alien films. The first one was a unique masterpiece, and it led to things that broadened the scope yet remained respectful of that first film. And that's my problem with both PROMETHEUS and COVENANT: they feel as if Scott wants to take a dump on ALIEN and overwrite it with a philosophical essay nobody wants.
  • Posts: 1,964
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Sounds like Scott is still terribly lost on what he wants these new films as a whole to be:

    http://collider.com/ridley-scott-alien-covenant-sequel/

    After Covenant, I've got almost no hope for the rest of the series, if it stretches past one more film.

    Scott needs to man up and give the series to Neill Blomkamp

    Someone on here said Scott was always mad that Camerons movie was always praised more than his hence why he took the entire franchise back.
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    I recently watched the honest trailer for Alien Covenant, I haven't seen the film and after that I won't be sparing any time to watch it.

    Alien is one of my favourite films of all time, I like Aliens and slightly prefer Alien 3 to it, 4 is tolerable.

    I'm not a fan of Prometheus but acknowledge that it tried to do something different. From the breakdown in the honest trailer I can honestly say that I was horrified at what I saw not only did I see sequences that looked like they were retreading both Alien & Aliens but also I saw what looked like retro fitting and demystifying of the original film I hold so dear.

    Ridley just seems hell bent on ruining the leagcy of the series and with this proposed 3rd film I have to wonder if he's not a verge of loosing his marbles. A friend of mine likened Covenant to DaVinci urinating on the Mona Lisa.

    So glad he was only on producing duties for BR 2049 because if he was directing it I can only imagine what a mess we'd being seeing this month.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 23,102
    My biggest question from Covenant was what laid those face hugger eggs, lazy writing to the extreme
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,447
    @Fire_and_Ice_Returns
    I think we're led to believe that David somehow "built" them from ooze or whatever. Like making pots out of clay and lightening them to life or something. It's just bad.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Covenant was not great in fact only watched it once since I bought it, Prometheus I at least found interesting and had rewatchability. I am suprised another film by Scott is getting green lit, I thought Covenant bombed at the box office?
    Couldn't agree more. I much prefer Prometheus. It's visually outstanding (with an exceptional score) despite other flaws, and I can't say the same for Covenant.
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