Beautifully made, ravishing visually, but a muddle headed, fairly pointless story.

Applies to most films of the past 10 years, TBF.

Alien Cubed is still complete toilet, one of my all-time biggest cinematic disappointments.

Am I alone on liking Alien 3? The idea of the alien incubating inside a dog and then adopting some of its mannerisms and physiology was inspired.

Am I alone on liking Alien 3? The idea of the alien incubating inside a dog and then adopting some of its mannerisms and physiology was inspired.

Nope, I love it. The version on the Quadrilogy was a bit different, the Alien came out of a cow. There seemed to be more religious themes than the cinema release.

I just wish they’d made this instead (the original Alien3 story idea)

https://alienseries.wordpress.com/2013/12/14/wooden-world-vincent-wards-alien-iii/

Also I believe there was a teaser trailer for Alien 3 that hinted at an Earth war

There are plot holes in many films I know, and it’s not some art house existential examination of the human condition , but Prometheus just takes that to a new level of super massive black plot hole-ness.

Really? Out of genuine interest could you give me the biggest of the gaping plot holes*? I am being genuine because I don’t consider myself a stupid guy but I am pretty slow on the uptake when watching movies.

*I don’t mean “x combined with y plus super-goo shouldn’t equal tentacles” etc. I mean proper plot holes.

I just wish they’d made this instead (the original Alien3 story idea)

I believe that bathroom concept sketch is one of my Grandfather’s. He was one of the storyboard artists for the film.

Out of genuine interest could you give me the biggest of the gaping plot holes?

David’s convenient knowledge of Alien Technology (and handling of a hologram?!?)
David puts goo into Holloway’s drink knowing (somehow) that he and Shaw would have sex, and an alien would incubate inside her
The air is breathable in here…
The scene with the biologist and the penis/vagina snake
Shaw has major surgery, runs around 10 minutes later
and no one looks for her afterwards
space marines that turn up seemingly from no-where.
Oh, and the med bay robot thing set up for Male only, what kind of stupid is that?
Why would you open the bay door to go and talk to your colleague with his legs wrapped around his shoulders?
there seems to be no good reason for the lie that Wayland is dead
Running from the crashing spaceship… up and to the left, up and too the left…

That’s just off the top of my head mind, so there’s probs more.

Imagine what a spce mission crewed by STWers would be like – Binners, Ninfan and TJ in a confined space together.

At least in space no one could hear them scream.

Oh, the geologist and biologist…they’re mapping the caves, with floating GPS ball thingys, the biologist at one point talks to his wrist communicators telling everyone their location…they have state of the art 3D holographic displays back in the ship and all the technology it takes to navigate to lost stars on the flimsiest of evidence in remote Scottish caves…

And they get lost…

Lol, it’s not Jane Austen! I’m not saying sci-fi can’t or shouldn’t aspire to this standard, but how many great sci-fi movies have managed without it? Most of Arnie’s I’d imagine…

He did it perfectly well in Alien, James Cameron did it in Aliens. Fincher’s Alien 3 did it, and he was having to fend of fifty studio exec led re writes per day.

RS gets dialogue, he gets character development, he just took his eye of the ball gave us people we didn’t understand or invest in doing improbable things for reasons we weren’t explained.

here’s a big green crystal in the room, we’ll not explain that…

Here’s a picture of an alien on the wall, you know that from all the alien movies, but we’ll just save any connection there for another movie…

I said it tongue in cheek, but if alien covenant can close some of the plot holes in Prometheus it will retrospectively make it a better movie.

intersting reading while waiting to finish work:
http://www.movieplotholes.com/prometheus.html

You let that ruin the movie for you? Seriously? Perhaps the engineers come from a planet where different ethnic groups of engineer are bigger or smaller than one-another? Is that such a stretch of your imagination? I mean, you wouldn’t scoff if someone said Dutch people were typically taller than Indonesians etc. etc.

Ridley, is that you? You seem quite upset by my ability to not like a film.

It was pretty naff besides that. We’re not talking a bit bigger or smaller here. The difference is massive. To the point I actually noticed when I’d not seen Alien for years.

The fact that the ship appeared to be crewed by the worst people in their individual fields made it more akin to a slapstick comedy. The first two films were genre defining. I think the hype behind Prometheus pretty much killed it.

Am I alone on liking Alien 3?

I think general consensus is that 3 was better than 4. I’d possibly put them the other way round. Neither are particularly great films though.

Do people get paid each time they utter or type the words ‘plot holes’ or something?

lol @

And why, oh why was there a goddamn flute to activate the alien ship?

I think general consensus is that 3 was better than 4. I’d possibly put them the other way round. Neither are particularly great films though.

Alien 4 is rubbish, but it’s good watching once you know that the crew of the ship were basically prototypes for the Firefly crew. original script for Alien 3, the one based in a monastery, would have made a cracking film 🙁

Yeah, with Prometheus, I’m in the camp that thought it started off quite well, and then went downhill. Main reason I watch it is because the engineer looks like a taller version of one of my old neighbours – so I get to scream ‘oh look, it’s Adrian!……where’s Cath and the kids!’ It’d be so ace if the engineers turned out to be a firm of gas fitters that had landed on the wrong planet:)

intersting reading while waiting to finish work:
http://www.movieplotholes.com/prometheus.html

Damnit, that just took me straight back to disliking Prometheus again!

Reviews are in. Pretty darn good by all accounts.

SFX wasn’t all that impressed.

http://www.gamesradar.com/alien-covenant-review-aggressively-bloody-and-high-of-bodycount-but-rarely-intimidating

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/alien-covenant-review-mad-scientist-ridley-scott-creates-terror/

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/alien-covenant-review-prometheus-sequel-prequel-michael-fassbender-david-walter-a7720371.html

if you’re going to see it anyway I’d avoid reading the reviews, too many spoilers

Empire aren’t so convinced.

I’m not convinced by the whole “it’s sci-fi, stop expecting it to be well written” defence of Prometheus.

A sci-fi (or horror etc for that matter) film should only really require you to suspend your disbelief once and that’s to accept the overall premise of the story. Everything else which happens should have an internal logic and consistency which makes sense within that premise. Additionally, where possible the film should also try and be original and if not then at least avoid the usual tired cliches of the genre.

Where Prometheus failed was by being both cliché ridden from the word go, the “jocks V nerds” tension at the start being the first sign the film wasn’t going to be amazing, and also requiring you to suspend your disbelief at the actions of the cretinous main characters. The “stroking the alien snake” being a prime example. (Not a euphemism ?by the way)

The shitness of Prometheus was, for me, on a basic film making level and not as a result of any inconsistencies within the Alien universe as an entire series.

It would be great if more people made films where the main characters weren’t total knobs prone to petty arguments and utter stupidity but who still got messed up by the alien/ghost/axe weilding murderer despite making the “right” decisions.

It would be great if more people made films where the main characters weren’t total knobs prone to petty arguments and utter stupidity

They are only reflecting current society 😆

Imagine what a spce mission crewed by STWers would be like – Binners, Ninfan and TJ in a confined space together.

And Somafunk, philosophical in the quiet before the storm, trotting out “We only need one law: Don’t be a dick. Simples.”

My biggest problem with prometheus, although I enjoyed it, was, as said, the stupidity of the so called team of experts.

They had the floaty scanner balls in that can detect ‘life’ and create a 3d map.. So why send people in straight away instead of letting the floaty balls do thier thing so they could analyse the place from safety without setting foot in it.

And taking the masks off, so the atmosphere is apparently breathable.. I guess they didn’t account for the possibility of DNA altering black goo..

They had the floaty scanner balls in that can detect ‘life’ and create a 3d map.. So why send people in straight away instead of letting the floaty balls do thier thing so they could analyse the place from safety without setting foot in it.

Maybe the floaty balls aren’t designed for the outdoors? They may need close, defined confines to be able to guide themselves. They may need calibrating. Someone would have had to get them inside.

Maybe the floaty balls aren’t designed for the outdoors? They may need close, defined confines to be able to guide themselves. They may need calibrating. Someone would have had to get them inside.

They could be deployed by a remote control car, or even someone could drive up to the structure on one of those quad bike things, lob a few inside the structure, and hightail it back to the ship.

But no, rather than risk one life, deploy pretty much all the team blind into an unknown artificial structure on a strange planet.

With an incoming storm.. Did they really not do some general environmental /weather pattern analysis before they all went romping about?

But to be fair, a film about them sat in the ship for two weeks doing all that would make for a boring film!

Ivan > right with you there.

My favorite review so far.
“It’s not terrible. Director Ridley Scott didn’t make some kind of hugely annoying, incoherent movie or anything like that.Again”

But to be fair, a film about them sat in the ship for two weeks doing all that would make for a boring film!

Pretty much. I can see the benefit of sending a team in, but I understand your points. Perhaps its to demonstrate the “arrogance of mankind”, or something

Talking of which: It’s on Ch. 4 in 25 mins.

fAliens.
I wanna see a movie where the xenomorph just wins outright. Kills everyone, hibernates and waits for next meal, roll credits.

I’m not convinced by the whole “it’s sci-fi, stop expecting it to be well written” defence of Prometheus.

A sci-fi (or horror etc for that matter) film should only really require you to suspend your disbelief once and that’s to accept the overall premise of the story. Everything else which happens should have an internal logic and consistency which makes sense within that premise. Additionally, where possible the film should also try and be original and if not then at least avoid the usual tired cliches of the genre.
This I totally agree with. I’m perfectly happy to suspend disbelief and I can, and will, accept some holes in the storytelling and internal logic, but I do expect the story to be well written, and be consistent.
I was disappointed with Prometheus, but that’s not to say I hated it; I’m not sure about Covenant, though, just watching the trailer it’s looking too much like what’s gone before, there’s a real deja vú feeling going on there, I’m not sure I can really be arsed going to see it.
Having said that they do cheap showings at my local flea-pit, so I might wander down if I’m home early from work one day/evening.

watching the start of prometheus – wonderful yet deeply irritating all at once

my hopes for covenant are low

Tickets booked to go see on Friday night. I’ll report back on Saturday morning, spoiler free of course. Not holding out much hope for it, but hope I’m wrong

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcBMnlPte9Y#t=53.183666[/video]

Tickets for tomorrow’s Odeon Alien Day preview booked. No expectations of it being any good but you never know…….

Wow, no idea so much work went into the space suits….