So far it is really nailing the vibes of the first two films. It takes place a couple decades prior to Alien and one of the new plot points is that an up and coming rival corpo city state to Wayland Yutani is porting the minds of terminally ill and disabled children into synthetic bodies.

The cast does a phenomenal job of portraying kids in adult bodies with their mannerisms, humor, and body language and it has all the clicky clack retro sci fi the series is known for an I fucking love it so far.

Definitely a mix of both films in terms of themes and action. There is clearly some Aliens feel with some military grunts investigating a crashed ship and also some Alien vibes with the slow burn of the first couple episodes. I highly recommend for fans of either of those movies.

  • EnsignRedshirt [he/him]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    3 months ago

    Yeah, it’s good. Nails the vibe, the art style, the horror elements, the setting, etc.

    It also feels like something new. Plenty of references to the rest of the franchise, but it isn’t a remake or reboot or legacy sequel. It’s a new story, new cast, new characters, new aliens. Noah Hawley has long-since proven he can handle this, I’m excited for the rest of the series.

  • Ilixtze@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    3 months ago

    Seen up to episode two; On one hand great cinematography, set design and effects. On the other hand The whole “dollar store Pantheon”, “Battle angel Amelieta” adults acting like kids is really turning me off. I also feels like the script is trying really hard to sound smart while delving on a bunch of platitudes.

  • CascadeOfLight [he/him]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    edit-2
    3 months ago

    Overall pretty good, I like the lining up of some corp-on-corp violence which hasn’t been seen in the franchise so far

    One weird nitpick though

    Her flashback where she’s watching a movie with her brother… and it’s fucking Ice Age, and not even the original but one of the sequels, took me out of it completely. One of the most crucial components to the identity of the series is the clunky 70s-style computer systems, which I just can’t possibly imagine being able to produce CGI movies like that.

    Like, is it suggesting that technology and culture in this universe matched the real world until at least 2012, and then just regressed back to clicky-clacky command line terminals everywhere? And also that kids would just be casually watching a movie that could have been over a hundred years old at that point? Peter Pan I get, cause it has a cultural position that’s kind of timeless, but Ice Age?? It just doesn’t feel like something that could exist in this universe, right?

    Edit: Okay, I started watching the second episode and there’s a callback?? Why would he say that? No one would say that! And then as she hacks the robot to deliver the response, Ice Age Sid fucking fades in to accompany the line???

    How the fuck is this a real frame from the newest entry to Ridley Scott’s Alien universe??? This is so jarring, it’s like a parody except you couldn’t make something this funny on purpose. There’s obviously a narrative slot here for the ‘shared media reference’ that these two characters can use to communicate, but it should probably have been something with a little more, I don’t know, gravitas or cultural permanence than the fourth entry in the Ice Age film franchise, and even then the execution didn’t need to be THIS.

    It’s also making me notice how much of the rest of the script and scenario is really kind of contrived, when before I think I was blinded by the excellent production. But whatever, I’m sure I can ignore it and keep enjoying this slop.

      • BoxedFenders [any, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        9
        ·
        3 months ago

        It feels like Ridley Scott doesn’t commit to lore and backstory in his franchises and just wings it as he goes along. That’s why everything in the Alien franchise feels disconnected from each other aside from the two OG films.

        • Nakoichi [they/them]@hexbear.netOP
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          2 months ago

          Fortunately this I think has little if any involvement from him and ep 5 really REALLY fucking pays off. It could have been extended into its own proper homage film to the original Alien. It is SO fucking good.

  • sexywheat [none/use name]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    3 months ago

    Just watched the first two episodes tonight. Overall I really like it but there are some glaring plot holes. Like, (spoilers sorry I am on mobile and I don’t know how to format it manually) why did they send the hybrids to the crash site unarmed? Like wtf are they even supposed to do? And also why did the medic leave the assault rifle behind after being attacked by the alien AND the synth? Is he stupid?

    But other than details like that, I dig the vibe and look forward to watching the rest.

    • Belly_Beanis [he/him]@hexbear.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      3 months ago

      Rifle I think was out of ammo and I think he didn’t want to go looking for the body to find more.

      But yeah they show the synths jumping down cliffs and running a thousand miles an hour but they just kinda saunter around? Like can’t they just sprint up the stairs? Or outright jump? Not having weapons I can understand as them thinking they’re going in as emergency responders, not walking into the den of an invasive species that has acid blood and dismembers people like it’s nothing.

      The soldiers initially sent are going in to steal and aren’t sure how any survivors aboard will react. By the time the kids get there, they’ve confirmed there’s no survivors (that they know of).

  • Hexamerous [none/use name]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    edit-2
    3 months ago

    So far, pretty good. The sound and prop design are true to the original which is one of the best parts of Alien, the gritt. Overall it’s possible that they actually did a good series out of it but I really hope they don’t actually turn the synths kids into “teen superheroes/wizards/vampires” Marvel slop, but it looks like they will.

    Still, the set design alone makes the whole thing better than 99,99% of the slop currently in the trough.

  • Arahnya [he/him, fae/faer]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    3 months ago

    I realized one of the reasons I liked 1-4 and especially 2 is because of my intense lesbian crush on Ripley. Noomi was cute in Prometheus but Romulus didnt quite do it for me, and I am skeptical about Earth despite your glowing review. I’m sure its probably good though! :)

  • Belly_Beanis [he/him]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    3 months ago

    When the scientist was sitting at the computer before the trillionaire walked in to give her backhanded comments about being smarter than her, was that a picture of a Yautja in the background or palm trees?

  • BoxedFenders [any, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    2 months ago

    Ok, I just saw episode 5 and it was INCREDIBLE. The best TV I’ve seen all year. The previous 4 episodes were hit or miss, but showed a lot of promise. But putting the spotlight on Morrow really made this episode shine. Hawley is a genius at crafting charismatic antagonists that steal every scene and Babou Ceesay delivered. My issues are with the Boy Kavalier and the transplanted kids. I’m not sure if its the writing or the acting that bugs me but I cringe whenever they’re on screen. Wendy’s brother is super annoying too.

    • Nakoichi [they/them]@hexbear.netOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      2 months ago

      I think the adult actors doing kid mannerisms are actually great but I get you. 100% agree on episode 5. The entire thing was an hour long homage to the original Alien in terms of set dressing, paranoia, the slow burn to the final burst of action. Fucking PERFECT in every regard no other notes.