(06-05-2017 09:08 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  It seems like the franchise is forever chasing the greatness of its first two movies.

I liked Covenant... I liked a lot of elements in it... I liked some of the story elements.... but it felt was missing "the thing".... "the thing" to make it great.

IMHO the original movie set a very high bar because it was nothing like any horror/science fiction movie at that time or made before it. I mean, the stomach birth scene watched for the first time was mind blowing and disturbing for 1979. The storyline/plot, special effects (particularly the face-gripper and alien) and suspense was gripping because you didn't know what was going to happen when the crew discovered the crashed space ship or what they were exactly dealing with in terms of the alien and it characteristics. Now, the "shock value" of the alien species and how they evolve and survive is more known.

(06-06-2017 06:34 AM)BadgerMJ Wrote:  Honestly, I thought it was a bit boring. None of the characters (besides David) were particularly interesting or gave you the feeling of connection. I also thought the "twist" at the end was completely transparent.

What made the original SO good was good story telling, characters you were interested in, a huge amount of intensity and suspense, and an unforeseen twist.

Covenant was OK, but I couldn't help but think it could have been so much better.

See comments above. I was definitely not bored. I thought the action and intensity was pretty steady throughout the movie. The "twist" continues to be the "older species" in the timeline of the story and how they evolved. I thought it was interesting that the the "engineer's virus" absorbed into plant life and it was released into a living animal/human being to start the cycle of the pre-alien species. David crossbred and developed the face gripper eggs to start the generation of post-alien species that we are most familiar with. In any event, like music, movies are in the "eyes" (not ears) of the beholder.