History YMMV / AlienCovenant

* MisaimedMarketing: The "She Won't Go Quietly" ad features a contemporary pop hit and emphasizes Daniels as being an ActionGirl... Even though the movie is a horror film and doesn't emphasize action as much as ''Aliens'' did to its predecessor. When compared to the rest of the ad campaign, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was for a different movie altogether -- and that it's a MissingTrailerScene makes the disconnect between the ad and the actual movie even more apparent.

* SpecialEffectsFailure:

** [[http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/alien-covenant-review-1202409157/ The Variety review]] pointed out that having Oram, who's shown to be religious, meet David, whose experimenting with the planet's life [[spoiler:to create Xenomorphs]] resemble an unholy divine act of creation, could have made for an interesting character interaction and spiritual conflict. [[spoiler:Instead Oram just holds David at gunpoint, demands that he explains himself but gets no answers, and is then killed via face-hugger]].

** The scene when [[spoiler: David eradicates the Engineers with their bio weapons is horribly beautiful.]]
* WTHCastingAgency:
** Many fans' response to Creator/JamesFranco being involved in a cameo.
** To some fans, having comedian Creator/DannyMcBride being in a serious horror film counts. He eventually proved them wrong, however.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** A big gripe about ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'' was the decision to make the movie a [[StealthSequel Stealth Prequel]] instead of emphasizing that it was a prequel to ''Film/{{Alien}}'', as the original, unproduced ''Alien: Engineers'' script did.[[note]]''Alien: Engineers'' being the prototype version of what would become ''Prometheus''.[[/note]] Concerns that the sequel would follow suit went away as soon as it was announced that ''Alien'' was part of the title -- then the teaser poster featured the Xenomorph's unmistakable face front and center, and in almost every advertisement afterward. Other fans disagree and lament that Scott didn't do as he'd originally planned, showing Shaw and David exploring space.
** The ''TabletopGame/AlienTheRoleplayingGame'' names the Xenomorphs in this film Praetomorphs, which seems to be a means of [[spoiler:shutting down the FanDislikedExplanation that David created the species.]]

* IdiotPlot: The fact that this film has enough WhatAnIdiot entries for the trope to have its own separate page says it all. So much of the plot is propelled forward by all the characters making incredibly stupid decisions at every possible opportunity.

* TheScrappy:
** Oram, for a few reasons but [[TooDumbToLive mostly for his multiple]] WhatAnIdiot moments (one of which [[spoiler:ends up getting him killed]]), [[{{Jerkass}} refusing to allow Daniels and the crew to properly honour her husband]] and ''his best friend'' and when they do calling it "a breach in protocol", [[ItsAllAboutMe thinking that the crew are somehow distrustful of him despite showing no signs of it]] claiming them and the company don't like religious people and just the fact that everyone who dies (including his own wife!) and every bad thing that happens can be traced back to his decision to up and change course to their Engineer homeworld without putting it to a crew vote. (To be fair, he quickly asked if anyone had any objections to going to the new planet instead and it seemed that only Daniels truly objected, but having no official consensus while deciding to completely screw with the mission, ship damage or not, was ''really'' stupid)
** Faris hasn't got many fans due to her [[LethalKlutz notorious ineptitude]] that causes [[spoiler: the death of Karine, who [[DirtyCoward she locks behind in the med-bay with a soon-to-be-born Neomorph in a panic instead of letting Karine out to ensure her safety]], and herself, when she causes the Covenant boarding shuttle to go up in flames along with her when trying and failing miserably to kill the Neomorph that had escaped from quarantine]].
* SignatureScene: "Fingering" aside, even people that dislike the movie often vouch that the flute lesson scene is a highlight, both for special effects, performance and writing. On the more infamous side, another contender is Faris' lengthy comedy of errors death.

* UncertainAudience: A common critique with the film is that it doesn’t know who it’s meant for. On the one side, fans of ''Alien'' dismiss it for being a sequel to ''{{Film/Prometheus}}'' alone, not helped by the characters [[IdiotPlot making ridiculously dumb decisions along the way]], and [[spoiler:the reveal of David being the sole creator of the Xenomorphs]] left a poor taste in their mouths. On the other side, fans of ''Prometheus'' disliked the film for [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot scrapping the concept of Shaw meeting the Engineers and the potential of learning more about them and their culture]] in favor of [[PanderingToTheBase trying to please the die-hard Alien fans with callbacks and references to the original]], all the while [[TakeThat having David killing off the rest of the Engineers, and later]] [[spoiler:showing Shaw’s dead body as one of David’s Xenomorph experiments]]. Top it off with a [[TooBleakStoppedCaring rather depressing tone and atmosphere from beginning to end]] and the aforementioned IdiotPlot and WhatAnIdiot moments sprinkled throughout and fans on both sides are left with an unsatisfying experience that leave more questions than answers.

* RelationshipWritingFumble: In the opening of the film, Oram is the one who wakes Daniels up, is excited and happy to see her even in the fact of the imminent danger, and gives her several tender touches as the crew wakes up, which seems incongruous with the social ineptitude he demonstrates just a few scenes later. A viewer without the lore background might be forgiven for thinking that ''Oram'' is Daniels's spouse until she panics at the sight of Branson's pod malfunctioning.

* MisaimedFandom: The film received a lot of criticism due to the fact that many fans mistakenly perceived it not as a prequel to the series and the history of the appearance of aliens as a race, but a sequel-restart that changes the traditional forms of life of these monsters.

** David raw scream of pain as he watched the last Neomorph be gunned down by Oram.

* MisaimedFandom: The film received a lot of criticism due to the fact that many fans mistakenly perceived it not as a prequel to the series and the history of the appearance of aliens as a race, but a sequel-restart that changes the traditional forms of life of these monsters.

* HarsherInHindsight: ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'''s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brY7do1tb2Q promo for the film]] has Rick get attacked by a facehugger for a few seconds, only for it to succumb to the drugs and alcohol in his system. In the film itself, [[spoiler:Lope apparently didn't have this excuse and still managed to get infected anyway.]]

* AccidentalInnuendo: David teaches Walter how to play the flute by getting him to focus on his embouchure[[note]]in other words, the posture of his mouth to blow through the instrument[[/note]] while stating, "[[MemeticMutation I'll do the]] [[HoYay fingering.]]"

** David raw scream of pain as he watched the last Neomorph be gunned down by Oram. AdultFear at is finest.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'''s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brY7do1tb2Q promo for the film]] has Rick get attacked by a facehugger for a few seconds, only for it to succumb to the drugs and alcohol in his system. In the film itself, [[spoiler:Lope apparently didn't have this excuse and still managed to get infected anyway.]]

** The ''TabletopGame/AlienTheRoleplayingGame'' names the Xenomorphs in this film Praetomorphs, which seems to be a means of [[spoiler:shutting down the FanDislikedExplaination that David created the species.]]

* WhatAnIdiot: [[WhatAnIdiot/AlienCovenant Also enough for its own page.]]

* {{Misblamed}}: A lot of people and official sites, including Film Brain of WebVideo/BadMovieBeatdown and Reelz Rejects, were quick to blame Creator/RidleyScott and this film as the reason Creator/NeillBlomkamp's proposed ''Alien 5'' was cancelled, sometimes pointing out the aggravation that this film would have probably portrayed much more the essence of the franchise than the more exotical ''Covenant''. However, Scott stated in a few interviews that it was actually Fox who canned Blomkamp's film and that he had been in fact interested in producing it.

* HilariousInHindsight: With the purchase of Fox by Disney, [[https://youtu.be/wGpUOMrbIi8 this fan trailer is borderline]] foreshadowing.

** The ''Alien: The Roleplaying Game'' names the Xenomorphs in this film Praetomorphs, which seems to be a means of [[spoiler:shutting down the FanDislikedExplaination that David created the species.]]

** The Xenomorphs' origin story as presented in the film version of ''Alien: Covenant'' was not well received by fans who prefer what was implied in previous films and outright stated in the ''Alien: Engineers'' script and the novelization of ''Alien: Covenant'' -- that the Xenomorphs are a bioweapon created by the Engineers; or what was established in the Dark Horse comics and ''Alien vs. Predator'' expanded universe -- that the Xenomorphs are a naturally-occuring species from a planet called Xenomorph Prime. It's rather telling that ''Alien: The Role-Playing Game'' explicitly designates the creatures depicted here as a different strand called Praetomorphs.

** If the massive IdiotBall in the story was recognized by almost all the fans and the question was only how much it harms the film, then the incredibly heavy and straightforward religious symbolism of the film caused much more serious controversy, where people argued about whether this work is a very clever and profound philosophy about the nature of "God" and the destiny of mankind, whether it's [[DeadHorseTrope yet another]] ReligionIsWrong message being slipped into science fiction or that this film is merely an annoying mediocre film in its pretentiousness, with the same FauxSymbolism issues as ''Film/TheMatrix''. Whatever the case, one of the early drafts of the script was more heavy-handed as, according to Scott, in that that the birth and life of Jesus was the reason the Engineers decided to kill off humanity.

** Faris hasn't got much fans due to her [[LethalKlutz notorious ineptitude]] that causes [[spoiler: the death of Karine, who [[DirtyCoward she locks behind in the med-bay with a soon-to-be-born Neomorph in a panic instead of letting Karine out to ensure her safety]], and herself, when she causes the Covenant boarding shuttle to go up in flames along with her when trying and failing miserably to kill the Neomorph that had escaped from quarantine]].

** [[spoiler:Shaw's fate. She came so far and sacrificed so much for answers, only to be cheated and murdered by the being she helped to save and came to trust.]]

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Jed Kurzel produces a rather nice, effective score, even incorporating Creator/JerryGoldsmith's iconic theme in the first act. It was even used in the teaser for ''Film/AQuietPlace''.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: It goes without saying in a horror movie, but some viewers found the relentless darkness and [[spoiler:David's continual bastardry, his murder of and experimentation on Shaw, and successes]] to make the film too cynical to really enjoy. Some even accuse some plot points of being {{Ass Pull}}s just to make sure that [[spoiler:David wins]]. In addition, the reveal that [[spoiler:Shaw was killed offscreen some time between ''Prometheus'' and ''Covenant'' has hurt some fans' enjoyment of ''Prometheus'', as all of Shaw's struggles were rendered completely meaningless.]]

* UncertainAudience: A common critique with the film is that it doesn’t know who it’s meant for. On the one side, fans of ''Alien'' dismiss it for being a sequel to ''{{Film/Prometheus}}'' alone, not helped by the characters [[IdiotPlot making ridiculously dumb decisions along the way]], and [[spoiler:the reveal of David being the sole creator of the Xenomorphs]] left a poor taste in their mouths. On the other side, fans of ''Prometheus'' disliked the film for [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot scrapping the concept of Shaw meeting the Engineers and the potential of learning more about them and their culture]] in favor of [[PanderingToTheBase trying to please the die-hard Alien fans with callbacks and references to the original]], all the while [[TakeThat having David killing off the rest of the Engineers, and later]] [[spoiler:showing Shaw’s dead body as one of David’s Xenomorph experiments]]. Top it off with a [[DarknessInducedAudienceApathy rather depressing tone and atmosphere from beginning to end]] and the aforementioned IdiotPlot and WhatAnIdiot moments sprinkled throughout and fans on both sides are left with an unsatisfying experience that leave more questions than answers.

** If the massive IdiotBall in the story was recognized by almost all the fans and the question was only how much it harms the film, then the incredibly heavy and straightforward religious symbolism of the film caused much more serious controversy, where people argued about whether this work is a very clever and profound philosophy about the nature of "God" and the destiny of mankind, whether it's [[DeadHorseTrope yet another]] ReligionIsWrong message [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar being slipped into science fiction]] or that this film is merely an annoying mediocre film in its pretentiousness, with the same FauxSymbolism issues as ''Film/TheMatrix''. Whatever the case, one of the early drafts of the script was more heavy-handed as, according to Scott, in that that the birth and life of Jesus was the reason the Engineers decided to kill off humanity.

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler: [[AIIsACrapshoot David 8]], the creator and father of the Xenomorphs who is ultimately [[GreaterScopeVillain behind the events of the entire franchise]]. After the events of the [[Film/{{Prometheus}} previous film]], he and Shaw goes to explore the Engineer Homeworld, where he commits genocide against Engineers by releasing Chemical A0-3959X.91 – 15 into the planet. He then kills Shaw as [[EvilutionaryBiologist a part of his experiments to create the perfect lifeform]]. All alone on the planet, he created various different beings, even using Shaw's remains as one of his experiments, but the final result of his work was prototype of Xenomorphs race, Protomorphs, a highly hostile and aggressive predator species which would evolve to become the infamous antagonist creatures of the franchise overall that mankind would encounter in years to come, and Neomorphs, more feral cousins of Xenomorph race. He would then manipulate Walter to join his side, before killing him once he refuses. David would then continue on his journey to propagate the Xenomorphs in other worlds to prevent mankind from becoming gods, as he declares himself [[OedipusComplex one]].]]

* FranchiseOriginalSin: As already mentioned, the original series also suffers very badly because of the IdiotBall and other common mistakes in horror films, even in everyone's favorite first two films. However, if at that time people could still turn a blind eye to it or ignore it, as those films did not attempt to get into deep or intelligent topics, in the case of ''Prometheus'' and the ''Covenant'' it turned into a major problem that can not be ignored.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: As already mentioned, the original series also suffers very badly because of the IdiotBall and other common mistakes in horror films, even in everyone's favorite first two films. However, if at that time people could still turn a blind eye to it or ignore it, as this films did not try to seem deep or intelligent, in the case of ''Prometheus'' and the ''Covenant'' it turned into a major problem that can not be ignored.