Abishai100
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Alien: Covenant is a 2017 science fiction horror film directed and produced by Ridley Scott and written by John Logan and Dante Harper, from a story by Michael Green and Jack Paglen. A joint American and British production, the film is a sequel to Prometheus (2012), the second installment in the Alien prequel series and the sixth installment overall in the Alien film series, as well as the third directed by Scott. The film features returning star Michael Fassbender reprising his role as David from Prometheus and Katherine Waterston, with Billy Crudup, Danny McBride and Demián Bichir in supporting roles. It follows the crew of a colony ship that lands on an uncharted planet and makes a terrifying discovery.
Alien: Covenant premiered in London on May 4, 2017. It was released on May 12 in the United Kingdom, and on May 19 in the United States. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising Fassbender's dual performance and calling the film a return to form for both director Ridley Scott and the franchise. The film grossed a worldwide total of $240 million against a production budget of $97 million (source of information from top: Wikipedia).
The humanity-crew of the colony space-vehicle Covenant is awoken from hyper-sleep after a solar flare hits their ship. They decided to make a detour from their intended goal (a planet called Origae-6 which is ripe for human colonization) and go to another planet from which there seems to be emanating an intelligent radio-transmission (a John Denver song!) and where there seems to be much organic life. The captain (Oram) decides to explore the planet (which is Earth-like) and consider colonizing there instead of on Origae-6. The third-in-command, a woman named Daniels who lost her husband (second-in-command Branson) during the solar flare hit on the Covenant, is very wary of scouring the uncharted planet, but Oram insists it's practical.
The crew of the Covenant discover that an android-servant of the Company (Weyland Corporation) named David 8 is hiding on the unexplored planet, claiming that he was stranded after the vessel Prometheus crashed on the planet. The Covenant has its own Weyland android-servant, Walter 1, who is more 'advanced.' However, David 8 exhibits strange 'human-like' idiosyncracies, and Walter 1 wonders if David 8 is trapping them in some grand 'betrayal-scheme.'
Two crew-members of the Covenant are infected by an airborne substance which causes the Xenomorph infant to explode out of them. One of these Xenomorphs grows to be big and begins hunting the Covenant crew on their ship and on the planet.
David 8 shows Walter 1 all kinds of strange art he's composed while hiding on the planet. It is soon discovered that David's intentions are hostile (for some unknown reason). It is now up to Daniels (after Captain Oram is infected and dies while giving 'birth' to yet another Xenomorph) to help the surviving members of the crew get back on the Covenant and escape from the planet and even try to destroy any Xenomorphs lingering around or chasing them.
The planet seems to be some staging-ground for fertilization and hunting, and it is meant to 'lure' in other intelligent beings as prey. David 8 seems to be part of some plan to 'incorporate' these Xenomorph creatures (for Weyland Corporation) for some unspecified 'hybridization project').
This film is very tightly-made and though it was somewhat under-appreciated, it was a real achievement for director Ridley Scott who intends to make another Alien film (a sequel to Covenant).
What we see in Alien: Covenant is a specific focus on the visceral terror associated with encountering a predatory alien-intelligence which awakens humanity to the 'cold reality' of complete morphological devastation, transformation/mutation, and even extinction.
That's what makes Covenant such as sensory-shock film, and it's why I'd compare it to a 'species-awakening' sci-fi horror film such as Leviathan or Species.
I do agree it's a return for Ridley Scott's original stark and provocative vision of humanity engaging with a truly-disturbing 'alien-intelligence.'
Alien: Covenant should generate much imaginative chatter among sci-fi horror-film fans! Plus, it's a terrific IMAX and Blu-ray/HD cinematic experience for modern cinema.
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The internal artwork and designs in Covenant regarding 'pseudo-archaeological' depictions of the Xenomorphs evolving, devolving, preying, and hybridizing is quite stunning.
There is a 'cold-feel' to the entire film, and we're invited more (as compared to the other films in the now-iconic Alien franchise) to ponder how these terrifying predatory Xenomorphs would actually 'merge' or 'absorb/ingest' human physique and make it 'part' of their own demonic 'evolution.'
The Xenomorphs in Covenant themselves are quite lethal and arguably more monstrous than ever(!). We therefore see extremely graphic depictions of the 'physiological consequences' (i.e., violence) of the pure wrath and survivalism/predatory fury of the Xenomorphs and what the creatures are 'willing' to do with humans who are more or less nothing more than 'resources/entertainment' for the terrifying creatures.
When Captain Oram (portrayed nicely by Billy Crudup; in fact, the entire cast does a good job!) releases a Xenomorph from his chest (after David 8 leads him to an infection Xenomorph birth-pod), we see an infant Xenomorph standing in the moonlight and in complete resolute 'happiness' about coming into his/its own sense of wrath-gauged 'immortality.' Fear and pain are therefore 'philosophical' as well as 'apocalypto' themes in Covenant.
Daniels (portrayed nicely by Katherine Waterston) is a lot like Ellen Ripley, and she serves as the bravado-force and sanity-guide after Oram is debilitated effectively. Daniels and co-Covenant crew-member Tennessee try to wrestle with the ship and the Xenomorph stalking them, hoping to salvage themselves and return the Covenant to its intended course towards Origae-6. Meanwhile, it seems there's confusion now whether it's the Covenant's own android-servant Walter 1 who is assisting them now or in fact David 8!
The scenes with the infected humans giving birth to infant-Xenomorphs exploding out of their bodies are quite visceral, graphic, very bloody, and very scary. We really get the feel that science-fiction horror (as a genre) is meant to scare us about the uncertainties of evolution itself!
We also get a rather 'artistic' view of what it means to evolve to serve as a democratic citizen of a 'friendly republic' or evolve as a predatory 'soldier' to reign as a stalking 'warrior' of a demonic evolution-obsessive 'species.' We wonder therefore if Covenant should be compared (conceptually) to 'species-dissection' sci-fi films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind or Mimic!
In conclusion, Alien: Covenant should be a great inspiration for comic book writers, sci-fi horror fans, and alien-folklore aficionados alike! I think Covenant and Alien are the best films in the Alien franchise thus far --- and they're both Ridley Scott trophies! Covenant has got me thinking (at least) about why/how wrath/fury (as compared to empathy/peace) can drive the forces of evolution and yield 'beast-like beings.'
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Alien: Covenant premiered in London on May 4, 2017. It was released on May 12 in the United Kingdom, and on May 19 in the United States. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising Fassbender's dual performance and calling the film a return to form for both director Ridley Scott and the franchise. The film grossed a worldwide total of $240 million against a production budget of $97 million (source of information from top: Wikipedia).
The humanity-crew of the colony space-vehicle Covenant is awoken from hyper-sleep after a solar flare hits their ship. They decided to make a detour from their intended goal (a planet called Origae-6 which is ripe for human colonization) and go to another planet from which there seems to be emanating an intelligent radio-transmission (a John Denver song!) and where there seems to be much organic life. The captain (Oram) decides to explore the planet (which is Earth-like) and consider colonizing there instead of on Origae-6. The third-in-command, a woman named Daniels who lost her husband (second-in-command Branson) during the solar flare hit on the Covenant, is very wary of scouring the uncharted planet, but Oram insists it's practical.
The crew of the Covenant discover that an android-servant of the Company (Weyland Corporation) named David 8 is hiding on the unexplored planet, claiming that he was stranded after the vessel Prometheus crashed on the planet. The Covenant has its own Weyland android-servant, Walter 1, who is more 'advanced.' However, David 8 exhibits strange 'human-like' idiosyncracies, and Walter 1 wonders if David 8 is trapping them in some grand 'betrayal-scheme.'
Two crew-members of the Covenant are infected by an airborne substance which causes the Xenomorph infant to explode out of them. One of these Xenomorphs grows to be big and begins hunting the Covenant crew on their ship and on the planet.
David 8 shows Walter 1 all kinds of strange art he's composed while hiding on the planet. It is soon discovered that David's intentions are hostile (for some unknown reason). It is now up to Daniels (after Captain Oram is infected and dies while giving 'birth' to yet another Xenomorph) to help the surviving members of the crew get back on the Covenant and escape from the planet and even try to destroy any Xenomorphs lingering around or chasing them.
The planet seems to be some staging-ground for fertilization and hunting, and it is meant to 'lure' in other intelligent beings as prey. David 8 seems to be part of some plan to 'incorporate' these Xenomorph creatures (for Weyland Corporation) for some unspecified 'hybridization project').
This film is very tightly-made and though it was somewhat under-appreciated, it was a real achievement for director Ridley Scott who intends to make another Alien film (a sequel to Covenant).
What we see in Alien: Covenant is a specific focus on the visceral terror associated with encountering a predatory alien-intelligence which awakens humanity to the 'cold reality' of complete morphological devastation, transformation/mutation, and even extinction.
That's what makes Covenant such as sensory-shock film, and it's why I'd compare it to a 'species-awakening' sci-fi horror film such as Leviathan or Species.
I do agree it's a return for Ridley Scott's original stark and provocative vision of humanity engaging with a truly-disturbing 'alien-intelligence.'
Alien: Covenant should generate much imaginative chatter among sci-fi horror-film fans! Plus, it's a terrific IMAX and Blu-ray/HD cinematic experience for modern cinema.
====
The internal artwork and designs in Covenant regarding 'pseudo-archaeological' depictions of the Xenomorphs evolving, devolving, preying, and hybridizing is quite stunning.
There is a 'cold-feel' to the entire film, and we're invited more (as compared to the other films in the now-iconic Alien franchise) to ponder how these terrifying predatory Xenomorphs would actually 'merge' or 'absorb/ingest' human physique and make it 'part' of their own demonic 'evolution.'
The Xenomorphs in Covenant themselves are quite lethal and arguably more monstrous than ever(!). We therefore see extremely graphic depictions of the 'physiological consequences' (i.e., violence) of the pure wrath and survivalism/predatory fury of the Xenomorphs and what the creatures are 'willing' to do with humans who are more or less nothing more than 'resources/entertainment' for the terrifying creatures.
When Captain Oram (portrayed nicely by Billy Crudup; in fact, the entire cast does a good job!) releases a Xenomorph from his chest (after David 8 leads him to an infection Xenomorph birth-pod), we see an infant Xenomorph standing in the moonlight and in complete resolute 'happiness' about coming into his/its own sense of wrath-gauged 'immortality.' Fear and pain are therefore 'philosophical' as well as 'apocalypto' themes in Covenant.
Daniels (portrayed nicely by Katherine Waterston) is a lot like Ellen Ripley, and she serves as the bravado-force and sanity-guide after Oram is debilitated effectively. Daniels and co-Covenant crew-member Tennessee try to wrestle with the ship and the Xenomorph stalking them, hoping to salvage themselves and return the Covenant to its intended course towards Origae-6. Meanwhile, it seems there's confusion now whether it's the Covenant's own android-servant Walter 1 who is assisting them now or in fact David 8!
The scenes with the infected humans giving birth to infant-Xenomorphs exploding out of their bodies are quite visceral, graphic, very bloody, and very scary. We really get the feel that science-fiction horror (as a genre) is meant to scare us about the uncertainties of evolution itself!
We also get a rather 'artistic' view of what it means to evolve to serve as a democratic citizen of a 'friendly republic' or evolve as a predatory 'soldier' to reign as a stalking 'warrior' of a demonic evolution-obsessive 'species.' We wonder therefore if Covenant should be compared (conceptually) to 'species-dissection' sci-fi films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind or Mimic!
In conclusion, Alien: Covenant should be a great inspiration for comic book writers, sci-fi horror fans, and alien-folklore aficionados alike! I think Covenant and Alien are the best films in the Alien franchise thus far --- and they're both Ridley Scott trophies! Covenant has got me thinking (at least) about why/how wrath/fury (as compared to empathy/peace) can drive the forces of evolution and yield 'beast-like beings.'
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