SPOILERS ALERT

Unrelentingly bleak and uncompromising, Ridley has done away with the sermonising and nonsensical Star Trek style plotting of Prometheus and has made something harsh and brutal. AC elevates the beast to a mythical status inviting us to worship at the altar of madness.

Previous Alien films had Ripley to root for, and with it came a warmth and humanity that shone in the darker places, while Katherine Waterston's performance is great, she is a traumatised victim from the get-go. As for our hero Shaw, suitably befitting the bleak tone...well you have to wait and see if you don't already know.

It's really Fassbender's film though, how actor's must love the opportunity to play roles facing off with themselves - finally he has someone that understands the minutae nuances of his performance.

So, another joyless dirge that this time plays out the full horror of genocide that the previous entries only alluded to and thankfully avoided.

Nothing to hope for. No-one to root for. There will probably be a sequel.

Loved it

...

A cheap copy of the original with awful acting

Film is ok. Not a touch on Alien once again or very scary but well acted and reasonable story.

The problem I have is the quality of the iTunes 4K version seems very poor. Even more so since the update to iOS 12. Dark scenes suffer most with loads of blocking.

One of the worst let downs in my cinematic experience. An awful, heartless, boring mess. Enough Ridley this damaged the franchise more than Prometheus. Looks good though...

This is not 4K in any way, it’s just HD upscaled. Looks no better than the HD release. The film was shot at a much higher resolution but the studio has given us a crappy transfer. Please fix.

This predictable film involved a bunch of supposed scientists running around like headless chickens, making the kind of stupid decisions you see in the average slasher movie. It’s anti-science at every level too, challenging the theory of evolution with the utterly debunked Von Däniken idea that aliens created us. This is probably the reason Scott decided to portray the scientists as such idiots.

That aside, the plot is full of holes, clichés and contradictions. The CGI aliens are incredibly poor, and there’s little in the sense of true horror or suspense. There’s also a revelation in the film that will possibly spoil your enjoyment of the original Alien films.

An utter waste of time; here’s hoping Scott doesn’t make any more of these films.

Overall the film didn’t give a new sense of direction, appeared to follow many predictable traits that have been continually worn out. The Alien franchise has always bound a strong connection for me, this was heavily boring and found this lost my interest.

There storyline had great opportunity to provide change but failed.

Amazing film ... no need to say anything else

There were a couple of “what are you doing?!” moments in this film, but it does build up different types of horror throughout, giving a real fear factor that echos the original movies’.

The film is basically The Talented Mr Ripley set in space. Lazy writing, poor unfocused direction, barely aware acting. Scott is, equally, the best and worst thing to have happened to Alien. All the rawness of the first films is gone.

Nothing special / good music and photos, that’s it.

A particularly dark tale in the Alien universe. Enjoyed the escapism and masterful direction. Watch in the dark!

Not very exciting, lack of scare and tension. Bit like its predecessor slightly wanting.

if you like it...ok...if not then fair enough. we are not all the same. watched it several times now and got more from it each time. i agree the characters didn't get enough air time, and i would have amalgamated a few of em into a slightly smaller crew.

Mostly polished effects but for a moment I thought I had time travelled back to an episode of Space 1999 with the shots of the mother ship at the begining of the film which was probably a precursor of things to come as I found the film lacked any degree of originality, suspense or drama. When you find yourself rooting for the alien to kill the bland characters its maybe time to leave a masterpice alone before or you can continue to scribble over a grand master with biro thinking its a good idea at the time....

If you have grown up like I have with the Alien films, you undoubtedly be keen to watch this new film. Knowing Ridley Scott was at the helm again, I couldn't wait to watch it and I wasn't disappointed. The end is an anti climax for some movie goers, but I asked myself this....what has Ridley Scott got planned next. Great film and nothing has been lost on this new edition the trilogy. I have given four star because iTunes have hiked up the rental price for standard definition from £3.49 to £5.49, which is getting a bit silly and close to rental purchase price now.

was in 4k now only hd. ☹️

Another good instalment of the Alien Saga an update which is a similar feel to the original Alien very tense and plays like a horror with some very gruesome moments! But still a long way off to beat the second movie Aliens!

I enjoyed this more than most of the Alien films, although nothing beats the original. This was much more engaging and creative than Prometheus, and I was pleasantly surprised as many reviewers seem a bit disappointed. The plot does make sense, Michael Fassbender is a joy to watch, the other actors were also good, it was all very picturesque as you'd expect from Ridley Scott and in general the film was rich enough to hold my attention throughout, and a bit too scary to watch in places. Worth a watch, especially if you like the series.

This story is more about the dangers of AI rather than Alien. Although going in the right direction and revealing the origin story, I just felt the emphasis was on AI.

As usual, Ridley Scott excels with cold, dispassionate characters, but slips up where genuine warmth is required. This leaves the film feeling emotionally imbalanced and frosty, and doesn’t add to the Alien franchise with anything more meaningful than a monster in a shower.

Had to watch it. Alien after all directed by Ridley Scott. There's no happy ending. Katherine Waterston - the heroine - eventually rescues the movie from Michael Fassbender. Fassbender is very very good but also super creepy. The plot, all too predictable and takes a long time to get going.

Enjoyed the atmospherics. The special effects. Will watch again in 4k and report back.

If this was the first Alien movie!?

Predictable camp rubbish. Fassbinder is absolutely rubbish and takes up far too much time in a film that could and should have been better. Without spoiling it any prequal is not worth watching. I expected more from Scott... Alien is over..

Fell asleep ... predictable.

really enjoyed this one , thought it better than prometheus , rented it the bought it as i liked it so much

looking forwards to the next 6 films :)

Watch Alien or Aliens then dare to give this film 3 or more stars.

Why was this even made? I watched this at the cinema and nearly walked out half way through. Every character in this film gets on my nerves. Let’s hope they don’t bother making any more or if they do let James Cameron have a shot at directing it!

Although I can see why some disliked Prometheus, I really enjoyed the film and the questions it raised. It carried on the great feeling of uneasy awe that was felt when the alien ship was discovered in the 1st film. Covenant just ignored all of the potential of Prometheus and left us with a crew, just as stupid, but stripped of personality. So predictable it almost hurt to watch each crew member clumsily wonder into their own death scene - and the ending was no less predictable... The filming, effects and Fassbender keep the film from being the worst in the series (that honour falls to Alien Resurrection) but Covenant cannot touch Alien 1, Aliens or Prometheus and is left wallowing behind Alien 3. I felt quite confident this would be a great film but am now very worried about the next installment. Very disappointing...

A L I E N: Covenant is a continuation from Prometheus but shown through the crew reaching 'the' planet and stories told. Covenant is short on action and where there is some it's brief. The special effects are not outstanding and the plot is weak......and the further continuation of this franchise is only going to deliver much the same we have seen before - I only hope if RS is on board he has a major rethink about the direction. If you're a fan of the Alien frnachise I'm sure you'll either thoroughly enjoy it or view it as I have.....there is still life in this franchise but I believe it needs to change and more risks in story telling taken.

This film follows a really weak & predictable plot, its just another sci-fi film. Spaceship lands on planet, aliens on planet, everyone but one dies, twist at the end, film over. Alien films - put it to rest now

I liked this film and I am looking forward to learning more about the 'Alien universe'.

Thoroughly surprised by this film. I heard alot of reviews from top critics that I respect and friends opinions that said it wasn't that good, and well.. I really.. really enjoyed it!! Its a great addition to this new (I think Trilogy) that Ridley Scott is making. I've never been a huge fan of the Alien Franchice (I enjoyed Aliens). This has a great backing about the ideology of "creation" itself. I love how they've implemented the themes, ideas and the developement of David and the mirror that is Walter.

Great and spine tingling film!

What a boring film. I was on the point of putting it off all the way through. They need to buy in a decent writer.

Lenta y predecible

Well in short its ok.

Bit longer, What the sweet name of all thats the Nostromo is going on with the story. Its messy I will agree the characters seem more like a collection of red shirts with lines. The synth twist is.... Well not much a twist more a meh. It does feel like there is two stories that have been squeezed together and the blend is very off putting. The original Alien,(if you haven't seen that for the love of all thats Ripley go and watch it.) Had an original strong story, amazing sets and costumes. I can't see how the hell they are going to link these films to these stories. The whole "David" story arc has jumped the motorbike with a jet powered shark. Oh don't get me started on the egg to Alien action figure thing.

There was some good pieces in there. The idea of the colonists in the sleep beds like slabs of meat in storage boxes was a nice touch. Some of the set design was nice but seemed to be too polished compared to the Alien set designs.

I would recommend renting this more then buying it. Although if your a download fan get Alien and go from there.

Why does this even exist!

£5.49 to rent???!!!!

Watch the film last night, was somewhat disappointed. Had great potential to expand on the story of Prometheus and the engineers, but failed dismally. The usual bloodbath and and the breaking of procedures, how did these people get picked to go on these missions ? The only thing to be highlighted was that David had a god complex and was psycho.

Maybe Wayland had never heard of Isaac Asimov and the 3 laws of robotics ? or may be they didnt exist in that time frame.

Not a bad film in itself, but no doubt Ridley is planning a sequel to try and extract more money from the franchise ??

Rant over........

I was really disappointed with the film expecting loads better .. it still does not beat ALIEN @ ALIENS .......

A great follow up from Prometheus, however, some story elements still need explaining.

Bravo👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Great Sci-Fi 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👽👽👽👽

Super predictable. Rubbish script. A solid attempt at ruining the mysterious alien origins. Yawn.

I've been a huge fan of the Alien franchise since I was a small kid. Sneaking my first underage viewing of Alien plunged me into a world of agonising, unbearable tension. Artful, subtle, beautiful and utterly terrifying.

Alien Covenant just takes a huge stinking runny poo over those memories. It butchers the whole Alien story retrospectively and delivers it in a package with so many flaws I can't even be bothered to list them. The CGI looks like it came from a 2004 video game cut-scene and... well, just... everything about this film is atrocious down to the last detail.

Hands down the most soundly dissapointing movie experience of my entire life. Disgustingly bad.

This movie was amazing. A big improvement on Prometheus and so hope studio lets Scott continue his story and at some point do the movie that fits between the two. A welcome return to Classic alien

Has a director ever set about destroying his own reputation so comprehensively as Ridley Scott? After the unintelligible Prometheus this represents an improvement but only because it's pretty much an an unnecessary retread of Alien. Next up for the autoannihilation of Scott's reputation - a Blade Runner remake.

A complete nonsensical mess.

I would bother downloading even if it was free!

Dull as ditch water, sorry attempt at squeezing more money out of a tired franchise.

Despite amazing cgi which we all take for granted, the film lacks depth in the characters and the claustrophobia which gave energy to the original film. Tired retelling with ridiculous dépendance on 20th century weaponry.

Seen it all before...