For Close Encounters
MemberOvomorphJun-17-2017 8:24 PMUpon second viewing (tamped down expectations) I enjoyed the movie more. As others have said, I enjoyed the movie more for what it was because I had reasonable expectations. Consider that we learned more backstory of the xeno, saw new aliens, and more given an open ending that allows many possibilities to come. Specifically, the med-bay scene was equally as thrilling and jaw-dropping. Ambush scene in the field was better the second time as were the interactions between David and Walter, and the movie in general did not feel nearly as rushed .
The things that bugged me still remain, i.e. extremely rapid and unsatisfying pace of xeno growth. And inability to reconcile walter-david switch. I heard that Ridley said in interviews that David merely changed clothes with Walter and cut off his hand. Well, bullshit, or sad oversight. People have mentioned the stab wound ob David's chin, correct. Well, how about the 4-6 inch laceration on Walters face AND Walter's straight hair and David's obviously curly/wavy hair. So. In a matter of minutes David somehow subdued Walter, changes clothes, cuts his hand off, replicates various other outer wounds Walter sustained (which for some reason don't repair themselves now)? Nope. Sorry.
Regardless, I will still buy the blue-ray with hopes of deleted scenes and other fun shit. Please give me some responses to ponder. Thanks
Kethol
MemberChestbursterJun-17-2017 9:20 PMI enjoyed it much more the second time around as well.
I looked for the nail hole in David's chin in the scenes on the Covenant. It is definitely not there. I know what Ridley has said, but the matching cuts on Walter's face, the missing hand, the lack of a chin wound, and the fact that David knows Walter's security code at the end of the film, all point to a mind upload to Walter, not a clothing switch. No time for that though.
There was literally only 1 minute of screen time from the end of the Walter/David fight to when we see David in Walter's clothes out in the plaza. Screen time does not necessarily mean real time, but still, I don't know how that could have worked.
Why are his wounds supposed to self repair? It is mentioned in the book that synthetic skin can heal, but I don't recall that in the movie anywhere. Walter said "There have been upgrades" be he never mentions healing. Going by the novelization, what David did was to punch a secret kill switch to shut Walter down. David did not know that Walter can self reboot if he is shut down. That was the "upgrade" he referred to.
For Close Encounters
MemberOvomorphJun-17-2017 10:33 PMI mention self repair because Walter's neck wound seemed to heal by itself. May be wrong or assuming to much.
joylitt
MemberNeomorphJun-17-2017 11:07 PMFor Close Encounters Yes, I noticed that too. The open wound seems to start closing while you hear this weird and mysterious electronic music...
Has anybody else noticed that Walter seem to be taller than David?
For Close Encounters
MemberOvomorphJun-17-2017 11:50 PMYes, I believe you are correct that Walter seemed taller. Another point, during fight scene, David's voice changed as if to indicate some kink of malfunction occurred by a blow from walter. So...i guess he fixed that somehow as well. Weird.
schachtbau
MemberOvomorphJun-18-2017 3:27 AMWalter seems taller because he is wearing boots, while david is barefoot at all times.
Also where are you getting this 'walters code' from? I think it's very specifically NOT the same code that walter uses in the beginning, but one that belongs to david specifically with access to all weyland(yutani) data/facilities/etc. If I think about the timelines and dates of the missions it seems to me that the Covenant colonization mission was already being planned quite a bit before the weyland-yutani merger.
Kethol
MemberChestbursterJun-18-2017 5:02 AMAfter putting Daniels to sleep, David uses his security code just before entering the passenger cargo hold. Just before the end credits, David's sends a message back to Weyland-Yutani using Walters security code - "This is Walter signing off, security code 31564-M."
So, David somehow got Walter's code, and the ship still recognized his WY security code from over 10 years earlier.
Perhaps Mr. Weyland thought ahead and had instructed that David's security be hard-coded into all WY ships and facilities. He considered Walter his true offspring after all, above his real daughter. Or something more sinister was going on with David and the company long before this.
There are only a few ways David could have gotten Walter's security code.
schachtbau
MemberOvomorphJun-18-2017 5:36 AMOh yes, thank you for reminding me. I forgot that he uses Walters code when he pretends to be him as well. I was thinking you guys were talking about Davids own Weyland security code he uses to open the cargo hold with the colonists and embryos as you're mentioning.
You have to remember though that Weyland industries was taken over by Yutani after the prometheus mission. I personally still think though that the Covenant mission must already have been in planning long before prometheus even happened and Yutani came into the picture. Maybe in the planning stages while it was still just Weyland which is why David has access to the systems.
MonsterZero
MemberXenomorphJun-18-2017 6:16 AMI also noticed Walter was taller. I think David wanders around barefoot and Walter had the big boots on?
Yeah, multiple viewings is the key.
Can't imagine listening to a new music CD by my favorite group and judging/enjoying it with one listen. Need 10 listens. Movies about 5 or more.
Daszkowski
MemberFacehuggerJun-18-2017 12:55 PMAlready seen it 4 times. Gets better with every viewing.
Can't wait for DVD release.
Lawrence of Arabia
MemberChestbursterJun-18-2017 4:51 PMThe Xeno (not really Xeno, it's a Protomorph) rapid growth is a thing that has been since the first film. Yeah, we don't see him immediately in Alien but he grows pretty fast. If that doesn't satisfy you I say it coulb be cuz he's a prototype. It's also been noted that incubation/growth varies depending on the person.
"The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts."
Kethol
MemberChestbursterJun-18-2017 5:05 PMThe fast growth after birth is definitely nothing new. The Alien was full grown within hours after birthing from Kane in Alien. That same fast growth rate inside the host is new though. It seemed several hours had passed from the time the face hugger dropped off Kane to the xeno birth. Seems to be just a much shorter time in Covenant.
There are obvious advantages to slowing that part of the life cycle down, and David has plenty of raw material now with which to fine tune that aspect of the organism.
I loved seeing the neomorph literally growing on screen in Covenant. Ever since seeing Alien I always wondered what that would look like.
NassaDane
MemberOvomorphJun-18-2017 11:31 PMHello,
My second viewing was much better as well however my first experience was remarkable.
Something I was able to take away from my second viewing was that David was shown crying in many of his emotional scenes. Even when dropping genocide on the Engineers you can see fluid coming from his eyes. This could merely be a reaction to being near all the air pressure that would come from opening the bay doors however with the other scenes of tears guide more credibility to crying. Seeing him do this in such emotional events that he willingly participated in show a possible regret for the killing he has perpetrated. A conscience perhaps. At least showing he was at least some what conflicted by his actions.