*BEWARE SPOILERS* Alien: Romulus

[chrisstbh]

The Xenomorph looks different in every movie it appears in.

Same same but different.

 

[ScoutingForToys]

Same same but different.

Yep. Overall shape and certain design elements remain but there's certainly a lot of difference in the details.

 

[ScoutingForToys]

And almost all of them have been overly fleshy. Only the first 2 films really got the biomechanical look, and only the original truly captured HR Gigers style

Yeah the "warrior" from Aliens was mostly the same. Obvious biggest difference being the lack of dome. But I think there was some small changes to other details. Still very biomech.
Alien 3 changed a lot more given the different host. Painted in browns and sepias to match the sets. Apparently it was going to be black before they saw the sets and realised it'd stand out against it.
Still fairly biomechanical though. But it loses the pipes from the back which diminishes the biomechanical look. I also think the brown tones reduces the biomech look too.
Alien Resurrection was when it all went wrong. They were fleshy for story reasons but still, they lost too much of the biomechanical look. Also the director wanted the Xenomorph to look like a cockroach, so the browns and sepia shades returned. They also changed the shape of the head to resemble the shape of a cockroach (flatter at the back rather than bulbous).
The tail was flattened out so it looked like a paddle for the swimming scene.
Those big fleshy hands. Eurgh.
Digitigrade legs rather than human style legs to give it a more "beastlike look" etc.
Apparently AvP had a small budget and they couldn't afford to make a whole from scratch so they used the moulds from Alien:R and just painted them black at the directors request. They did make new bigger hands though.
AvP:R used the same body as Avp (which is the A:R body) but just gave them new heads (no dome. Similar details to the Warrior from Aliens but not identical. Head different shape. Jaw definitely different).
Somewhere along the way they gave the Xenomorph more and more beastly teeth. In Alien, Aliens and even Alien 3 it had more human like front teeth. Was probably around A:R and the AvP films the monster teeth became more monstrous.
Then Covenant had a completely different lineage.
Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff had worked on Aliens under Stan Winston, then Alien 3, Alien:R, AvP and AvP:R as ADI.
Scott brought in a completely new team I believe and the CG monstrosity that we saw in Covenant was born.

 

[chrisstbh]

Yep. Overall shape and certain design elements remain but there's certainly a lot of difference in the details.

Not a superfan so not something I pay attention to. They all look the same to me as I never care to compare them.

Big head? Check
Small mouth in big mouth? Check
Skeletal looking body? Check
Big tail? Check

 

[ScoutingForToys]

Not a superfan so not something I pay attention to. They all look the same to me as I never care to compare them.

Big head? Check
Small mouth in big mouth? Check
Skeletal looking body? Check
Big tail? Check

Yeah I guess it's the equivalent of knowing the difference in ESB and ROTJ Boba or Stormtroopers or Darth Vader, for Star Wars fans.

 

[jaztermareal]

The OG was the most direct translation of HR Gigers art and so ended up looking the best, especially with the barely visible skull under the dome and those glistening silver teeth. Truly iconic.

 

[ScoutingForToys]

The OG was the most direct translation of HR Gigers art and so ended up looking the best, especially with the barely visible skull under the dome and those glistening silver teeth. Truly iconic.

Absolutely. Each follow up film only diluted it.

 

[Rotfish]

There's something very odd going on with the head/cowl...
And I know what is bothering me about the face: it reminds me off Hot Toys' awful "Godzilla" sculpt!

It's Big Chap-esque, but not a 1:1 recreation.

 

[Frenchy]

 

[greygoose]

Liking everything I've seen so far. I'll remian hesitant until I've seen it. Covenant pretty much ruined any hope I had for the franchise.

 

[Wor-Gar]

That set above looks like something I'd expect on the CW... but I still hope.

 

[ScoutingForToys]

My biggest concern is the young cast and whether they will be well written. If they can't make me care about them, if my only interest in them is how gory their deaths are, then the movie may as well be a teen slasher.
Of the directors previous works that I've seen, Evil Dead 2013 and Don't Breathe, with the exception of Stephen Lang, I couldn't name a single character or the actor that played them. Wouldn't be able to pick any of them out of a lineup.
You could get a dozen random strangers off the street, tell me they're the casts from those 2 movies and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
If those movies had memorable scenes from them, I couldn't say. The characters in both were so damn disinteresting that I've completely forgotten it.
Of course, dull as dishwater characters are the fault of the writers, not necessarily the director but it's concerning when there's a pattern emerging of competently executed films with utterly forgettable cast that you don't give the tiniest **** about, thus bringing down the whole movie.
Then there's the leaks... does not sound good.

 

[greygoose]

Then there's the leaks... does not sound good.

Got a link?

 

[Frenchy]

My biggest concern is the young cast and whether they will be well written. If they can't make me care about them, if my only interest in them is how gory their deaths are, then the movie may as well be a teen slasher.
Of the directors previous works that I've seen, Evil Dead 2013 and Don't Breathe, with the exception of Stephen Lang, I couldn't name a single character or the actor that played them. Wouldn't be able to pick any of them out of a lineup.
You could get a dozen random strangers off the street, tell me they're the casts from those 2 movies and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
If those movies had memorable scenes from them, I couldn't say. The characters in both were so damn disinteresting that I've completely forgotten it.
Of course, dull as dishwater characters are the fault of the writers, not necessarily the director but it's concerning when there's a pattern emerging of competently executed films with utterly forgettable cast that you don't give the tiniest **** about, thus bringing down the whole movie.
Then there's the leaks... does not sound good.

I played the game "Evil dead" I only know the character of Mia from the Evil Dead 2013 movie, because his character is playable. The film wasn't a flop but it wasn't particularly notable.

 

[chrisstbh]

That set above looks like something I'd expect on the CW... but I still hope.

Looks pretty authentic to the original movie then.

 

[davejames]

Well I guess we know who the Ripley character is in this movie. Really hope that's a misdirect and she ends up being the first one to die.

 

[chrisstbh]

Well I guess we know who the Ripley character is in this movie. Really hope that's a misdirect and she ends up being the first one to die.

Or she could be a cool character

 

[Mondragon]

I was really hoping this movie was going to be about continuing the sublime tracking-shot adventure of Beergut guy.

 

[xipotec]

Here's the thing ....it's the same problem I am having with Beetleguise.

This all looks contrived.....

It's like they got a bunch of people who "think" they know about Aliens, and they are copycatting on what they "think" they remember being scary about aliens......

No really creative people, just larping.

I feel like all of Hollywood is just directors who are really "high brow" types, and do these films to get a foot in the door, but all they really do is copy the style with no real care about the material at all.

Pretty much every middle manager I have (all in there 30's) do the same thing. They know nothing about the businesses they are in, way too young to have experience, but they pretend to play the part.

 

[jaztermareal]

I hope to be pleasantly surprised, I expect the movie to be an inferior knock off of Aliens with its own knock off Ripley. The franchise is seemingly just treading water, not going anywhere. If the film turns out great then I will be very happy to have my expectations subverted the correct way.