Alien Movie Universe

Acting in Alien Covenant

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Goddamn Tropics in here

MemberFacehuggerApr-30-2017 12:24 PM

After watching the Prometheus/ Alien double bill last Wed, what I couldn't believe is how well the acting in Alien has held up over all of these years.
Each and every crew member believable and just how a human being would react facing that situation , you feel for ever single one of them.
Prometheus on the other hand is totally glued together by Fassbender and some decent moments by Idris. Let's face it, you do not feel for the rest of the crew at all, which for me was the biggest flaw of the film
I really do hope the acting in AC is on par or near to Alien levels
From the footage shown to date, do you think that this will be the case or am I expecting too much?

26 Replies

dk

MemberTrilobiteApr-30-2017 12:34 PM

Agree. Fassbender did the heavy lifting imo. Vickers was just ok (linear running aside) but could have been really good with some better writing.

Tom

MemberFacehuggerApr-30-2017 12:43 PM

Yeah the acting was better in Alien but I did hate Lambert, I thought she sucked. 

Goddamn Tropics in here

MemberFacehuggerApr-30-2017 12:54 PM

DK - I concur with the writing as well, let's hope writing and acting come together as it's looks amazing

@Tom, I've always thought Lambert's performance was one of the best, gradually loosing it and becoming more petrified by the minute!

dk

MemberTrilobiteApr-30-2017 12:58 PM

I didn't care much for Lambert but got to like her character much better after reading the 1978 script.

Raido

MemberFacehuggerApr-30-2017 1:05 PM

Hmm. I actually feel that the acting in PROMETHEUS, while not perfect, is better than modern Hollywood's standard for movies of its kind. I certainly felt for Shaw, Vickers, Janek and his mates, and David. I despised Holloway not just because LMG isn't a great actor, but because Holloway was similar to a classmate I had to share air with as an undergraduate--I was oh-so-satisfied when the scientist died a fiery death. Fifield and Milburn reminded me as well of some other classmates in college, but the dudes in question (fellow Zoology majors) were stoners, not arrogant d!ckbags. I'd have liked Weyland more if we'd seen more of him, but alas the proposed scenes of him on Mars talking to Shaw and Holloway, as well as his flashback memories of life as a young and healthy man, were axed and never shot.

Personally, I think the acting in PROMETHEUS was rather decent, for a modern-day big-budget Hollywood SF film. Compare the other big-budget "sci-fis" Hollywood's been throwing at us for the past decade or so: the atrocious Star Trek reboots, the increasingly stupid Marvel superero-flavor-of-the-month flicks (which are usually categorized as SF, although I find that insulting to the genre), the Star Wars prequels (which I liked), The Force Awakens (which I didn't), and Rogue One (which was infinitely better than TFA but lacking in adequate characterization), and the abominable Transformers series. I'm sure I'm forgetting others, but I don't pay much attention to modern movies outside those I actually care about (or get dragged to the theater to see by friends who aren't as picky as I).

I do agree with your assessment of the acting in ALIEN, however. It still feels real. Even though there isn't much in the way of character depth, you still find the crew believable. Do I think COVENANT will have a similar caliber of acting? Yes--but only from a certain point of view. I think by modern standards, the acting will be better than average, but today's "average"--or even star-making--performance is far inferior to the standard of previous eras. For example, Chris Pratt cannot act, yet he is the star of both Guardians of the Galaxy (which I loathe) AND Jurassic World (which I found so horrifically bad that it's impossible for me to describe my hatred for it). Let's face it, there's no modern-day, non-elderly actor who is of the same caliber as say, Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, Barbara Stanwyck, or James Stewart. Those that can pull off performances on-par with them are aging rapidly; Sidney Poitier, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Morgan Freeman, etc... Michael Fassbender, as well as MARTIAN standout Donald Glover, give me a glimmer of hope for the future of Hollywood-produced films, but not much.

Thankfully, Fassbender is in COVENANT, and Ridley is certainly wise enough to utilize him well. I was also impressed with Danny McBride's performance in his little "Crew Message: Tennessee" clip, and am eager to see how he holds up in a two-hour-long feature. So, yes, COVENANT's acting will likely be better than that of PROMETHEUS, and definitely better than the acting in most modern "sci-fi" movies, but it won't hold up to that of ALIEN. That's what I'm predicting, anyway.

(Sorry if this post comes off as overly-pessimistic. I'm just not a fan of the way Hollywood is going presently).

Raido

MemberFacehuggerApr-30-2017 1:11 PM

I'd also like to add my agreement with the folks above me about Lambert. (By the Fates, woman! Parker is trying to save your arse, stop standing there crying and GET THE F#CK OUT OF THE WAY!)

That scene still irks me.

Roger55

MemberChestbursterApr-30-2017 1:24 PM

Faris performance is the best I have seen so far till now, very credible. We will wait for more footage to judge the full cast.

Goddamn Tropics in here

MemberFacehuggerApr-30-2017 2:12 PM

@ Radio - You make some good points about what Prometheus is up against and I guess you have to measure things on a modern genre basis

Acting Pools 30-40 years ago were also on another level and social media didn't exsist, so I guess it's not apples for apples anymore

Alien - I guess each death was surrounded by so much tension. Lambet - Any human with her nervous disposition would freeze and  even piss herself, so her reaction was spot on, frustrating as it was to some folk

Prom - I guess that tension was not there for each death, I suppose it was more tounge in cheek and not apples for apples with Alien. Janek's heroics however were spot on

Vickers - The film would be the same with or without her and when she got jug squished, I didn't know what to think!

AC - The 10 mins of footage showed some signs of great exchanges in the lander scene and Waterstone and Mcbride show real promise

I'm just such a fan of the crew of Alien, anything less than this bar will be disappointing, however the world has moved on since 79

 

Regular Parrot

MemberOvomorphApr-30-2017 2:16 PM

The acting in Alien is really good.  The script helps but look at the cast: all of them are fabulous actors: Yaphet, Tom S, Weaver, Ian Holm and Joh  Hurt for goodness sake!  Even the cat was a star!

I agree about Prometheus.  I thought there was some top notch actors in it but the script...not good.  Fassbender had the lines Shaw and Vickers had a few good lines.  I fund the script was the let down here.  Sir Ridley and the actors did their best.

From what I have seen in AC I really like the acting.  I especially like the touch by Carmen E. (Karine) when she tries to comfort the guy with a hug.  That was a real human touch.  It cries of: you are in pain and there is nothing I can do to help".

Today I have been dedicated to post on as many topics as possible until I pass out from drinking too many beers. 

dk

MemberTrilobiteApr-30-2017 2:17 PM

Another thing was that for Alien, RS actually stressed/surprised the actors so what we saw sometimes was the real deal and not really acting- face slap and chest burster to name two.

Goddamn Tropics in here

MemberFacehuggerApr-30-2017 2:22 PM

DK - That is a very good point, esp the chestburster scene

dk

MemberTrilobiteApr-30-2017 2:28 PM

Regular Parrot-

That was a real human touch.  It cries of: you are in pain and there is nothing I can do to help".

Yes, that was a nice brief detail and made me sympathize and appreciate her trying to be supportive the only way she could.

Goddamn Tropics in here

MemberFacehuggerApr-30-2017 2:37 PM

@ RP, I hope AC springboards a few actors careers

I would take 5 or 6 good performances now ( genre considered )

Starlogger

MemberChestbursterApr-30-2017 2:38 PM

I think HELL YEAH the acting is better than prom and may come close to alien, and like others mcbrides acting has already impressed me. He really does bring a lot to that character, so I guess ol Ridley sort of knows what he's doing, eh?

Starlogger

MemberChestbursterApr-30-2017 2:38 PM

I think HELL YEAH the acting is better than prom and may come close to alien, and like others mcbrides acting has already impressed me. He really does bring a lot to that character, so I guess ol Ridley sort of knows what he's doing, eh?

Regular Parrot

MemberOvomorphApr-30-2017 2:49 PM

At Starlogger.  Exactly.

Today I have been dedicated to post on as many topics as possible until I pass out from drinking too many beers. 

Svanya

AdminPraetorianApr-30-2017 3:58 PM

The acting was fine in Prometheus, yes Fassbender was a bit better than most but still it was good imo. It was the writing that made a mess of that movie. 

joylitt

MemberNeomorphApr-30-2017 4:02 PM

I think the acting in Alien was so good not only because they are all good actors, but also because some of their reactions were real, like when they went filming the chestburster scene without actually knowing what was going to happen. The experience must have been much more immersive for them, and actually they had to endure lots of discomfort, choking inside their helmets and having difficulty breathing from the smoke used to create that characteristic fuzzy cinematography. How I miss that smoke. I don't think Ridley is allowed to use it anymore, maybe to avoid getting sued or something. You don't see the textured cinematography that made some Ridley's early movies look so great.

AdamPD

MemberFacehuggerApr-30-2017 5:28 PM

That's one of the things about old films vs new films

Older films didn't have flashy CGI or computers, so the acting tended to be of a higher quality.

Newer films seem to use CGI/computer imagery or half naked attractive men/women, to make up for lacklustre acting.

Lol, Alien and indeed Aliens were two films, which I think had great actors/actresses.

You know they were good if you can still remember their character names decades later. 

airshaft_surprise

MemberFacehuggerApr-30-2017 6:29 PM

@Regular Parrot, yes Alien had a list of legend actors, i ain't saying the actors were not good in Prometheus, they were only doing the best they could with the final script, hell Pearce, Elba, Rapace and Fassbender and Theron are very sort after actors its screen presence and projection of character, anyways by the look of the trailers i don't think there is anything to worry about.

Regular Parrot

MemberOvomorphApr-30-2017 6:50 PM

@airshaft; agreed.

Today I have been dedicated to post on as many topics as possible until I pass out from drinking too many beers. 

Tom

MemberFacehuggerApr-30-2017 7:37 PM

One thing that particularly is annoying for me in Prometheus (I love the movie though) is that Milburn (rafe spall, a British actor I think is great normally) has this strange thing where he is speaking in a crappy southern American accent at the beginning, but not the rest of the time. Does anyone else think that is weird? I chalked it up to his character trying to be "funny" when he meets fifield at breakfast, but it seemed almost more of an accident, like they had him do a southern accent for some takes, but then decided against it, and used one of them anyway in the film.

Neomorph

MemberChestbursterApr-30-2017 8:29 PM

All the acting I've seen so far in A:C is fantastic.

Lone

MemberPraetorianMay-02-2017 4:06 AM

Raido I tend to agree with your assessment on the state of modern Hollywood acting. Also why are there so many British actors appearing in Marvel movies etc? I usually find their performances to be hammy and find their accents particularly annoying and I'm from the UK! 

Ridley has always said that he "got really lucky" with his cast on A L I E N. They were wonderful character actors who he could fully rely upon to improvise and often the first take was all it took to capture what he wanted.

The performances were so believable and understated that they appeared effortless. If you study any of them: take John Hurt in the Chestburster scene for example- his ability to convey Kane's agony still blows me away.

To be fair to Veronica Cartwright, the vast majority of the population would freak out if they came face to face with Giger's MORB! I think the MORB had some freaky capability where it could immobilise you, same thing with Brett, he just stood there transfixed, looking at it before it attacked, then screamed and writhed as it dragged him upwards to the vents. 

I was a tad dubious about some of the casting for A:C, but I am happy to say that I particularly like how Danny McBride is coming across. It's a real challenge and departure for him to prove his acting chops.

 

THE LONE GUNWOMAN

"Let The Cosmic Incubation Begin" ~ H.R. Giger

IllegalAlienSignedUp

MemberOvomorphMay-02-2017 9:04 AM

In a different, but related aspect, the music seems to be vastly more symbiotic in the small piece we saw. There was too much brass in the Prom ST for me in places where it didn't belong. One expects the music to cut out for special effects to take lead in the gory scenes, ala Medbay, but I was distracted in Prom a few times by weird compositions.

I am reminded of A2 for this idea, the APC scenes specifically. There was so much tension created by the tempo and timbre alone, that the performances of the actors were enhanced.

I hope there is sensible use of the tempo in this ST, as we've seen the options as far as the names and probable placements for each track.

Ryan_C

MemberFacehuggerMay-02-2017 9:41 AM

Ive never been quite sure why everyone hated Holloway or Logan Marshall-Green acting.  I though his acting was fine.  Charlize was the worst by far...  As far as covenant we haven't seen much but the acting looks good so far.  Seimetz, Ejogo, Crudup, and McBride look like they are going to bring it.. 

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Alien: Covenant is a sequel to 2012's Prometheus as well as a prequel to 1979's ALIEN. Alien fans looking to know more about Alien: Covenant should check back often. Alien-Covenant.com is an information resource for film enthusiasts looking to learn more about the upcoming blockbuster Alien: Covenant. Providing the latest official and accurate information on Alien: Covenant, this website contains links to every set video, viral video, commercial, trailer, poster, movie still and screenshot available. This site is an extension of the Alien & Predator Fandom on Scified - a central hub for fans of Alien and Prometheus looking to stay up-to-date on the latest news. Images used are property of their respective owners. Alien: Covenant, Prometheus and its associated names, logos and images are property of 20th Century Fox and are in no way owned by Scified and its related entities. This is a fan-created website for the purpose of informing and exciting fans for Alien: Covenant's release. If you have any questions about this site, its content or the Scified Network in general, feel free to contact Scified directly.

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