What to do about bad press (blame Google)

 "It's just a matter of opinion"- Les Claypool, Primus (The Heckler)

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=9&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi1hM7--83VAhUKymMKHfLUDlAQtwIIWzAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJqnAO3xEfPA&usg=AFQjCNG_AcaZqJJJfMBT4LjA3nK9StxsZA

Human nature is a very strange thing. Take for instance the Emoji movie, a movie that has been reviewed ( don’t shoot the messenger! ) as being “a pile of shit”, “cancer incarnate”, and “a crime against humanity”. There are also far worse reviews about it, but I think you get the point. Yet the Emoji movie, has already started to make a profit regardless of the less than positive reviews.

A strange process happens in the minds of humans which can sometimes defy the boundaries of logic. When too many people say something is shit, curiosity kicks in and the following thought occurs. Is it really that bad? And so people then go out and want to make their own minds up.

Given that Alien Covenant was released back in May to a barrage of bad reviews, I find it very strange timing that just as the DVD’s and Blu Rays are being released Honest Trailers suddenly appear on the radar going down the old lets slate AC route.

Now that’s what I call timing!

But why so many articles? I think that is somewhat obvious. AC makes money. With that many negatives , you are bound to end up with a positive.

So what to do about the bad reviews? Bring them on! Some might say all publicity is good publicity, even the pile of crap publicity.

Human nature is a very strange thing. Take for instance the Emoji movie, a movie that has been reviewed ( don’t shoot the messenger! ) as being “a pile of shit”, “cancer incarnate”, and “a crime against humanity”. There are also far worse reviews about it, but I think you get the point. Yet the Emoji movie, has already started to make a profit regardless of the less than positive reviews.

A strange process happens in the minds of humans which can sometimes defy the boundaries of logic. When too many people say something is shit, curiosity kicks in and the following thought occurs. Is it really that bad? And so people then go out and want to make their own minds up.

Given that Alien Covenant was released back in May to a barrage of bad reviews, I find it very strange timing that just as the DVD’s and Blu Rays are being released Honest Trailers suddenly appear on the radar going down the old lets slate AC route.

Now that’s what I call timing!

But why so many articles? I think that is somewhat obvious. AC makes money. With that many negatives , you are bound to end up with a positive.

So what to do about the bad reviews? Bring them on! Some might say all publicity is good publicity, even the pile of crap publicity.

@joylitt

Is it smart? Well...I don't know much about smart but I know what I like! :)

Also...something something...nostalgia is the enemy of science... something...lonely perfection of my dreams...

(AKA, I love Covenant regardless of its dissimilarities to previous Alien films or what other people think of it. I just...really really really love it and that's not likely to change.)

Sometimes I post original stories on creative writing sites and when I write one that gets negative feedback or hardly any feedback at all, I'm very happy if even only one person likes it, and I just think to myself "Ok. This story can be just for that one person, then."

So, I just hope the writers and other artists of this movie know that their work was not in vain and there were at least a handful of people for whom the movie really resonated.

I know in a free-market society the opinion of a handful of people doesn't mean much for the future of the product, but, I hope it does mean something to the artists.

I am sorry for the viewers who the movie didn't work on. I can't relate to them but...I do hope they find the next one more enjoyable.

...And I guess that picture of David lamenting the destruction of his neomorph is a pretty accurate representation of how some of us feel when Covenant gets insulted, so, very topical selection, joylitt! Haha

...Poor David and Neomorph :(

Batchpool Yes, I understand what you are saying. However I believe it would probably have been better for Alien Covenant to get less forgiving reviews from the press when it was released because the audience would have had more realistic expectations. Many casual fans are saying they are skipping Alien Covenant after watching the "honest trailer" on youtube. 

VivisectedEngineer I definitely think that some of the Alien Covenant ideas and themes resonate. This movie should exist outside of the Alien franchise though.

"Many casual fans are saying they are skipping Alien Covenant after watching the "honest trailer" on youtube."

That is their choice. It should not sway others' opinions either way unless they are so insecure that they have to be told what to watch or not watch. 

For me, Alien Covenant is like Halloween 3. Remember that? No Michael Myers. Just killing Halloween masks. The concept was clever though. But it was not a Halloween movie.

dk I am just telling you what they post on the video (and the get a truckload of "likes")And I don't approve what they say. It's just how people are.

@joylitt

dk, thanks for the Primus. Have you listened to The Claypool Lennon Delirium?

How strange, when I google for Alien Covenant I don't get all the bad reviews I read here.

I don't see how this movie alienates a huge part of the audience when 79% of the google users liked it.

I thought this is a fan forum for Alien Covenant, but apparently it is for the idiots at honest reviews.

The more bad publicity, the more chance AC will become an underrated film.

And the negativity may be a good thing. The sequel may tend to shift to a new direction, bring out a new formula and creativity without the pressure of following the previous ones. 

Jonesy Yes, I like that. That's exactly what needs to happen

joylitt I think you're speaking for Blomkamp. 

@daliens 79% of how many people liked it? And how do they define to "like"? If you don't specify that you're argument is not valid. And not mentioning the less favorable sites is even more disingenuous.

They did not alienate because of change but because of how the film was conceived and because they had no guts to make they film they wanted. At least Scott did not. And bad writing does not help either. The only thing that they seem to have put thought into is David's laboratory and who to mutilate Shaw. Sorry what movie could be made around that?

red0guy@gmail.com 79% of google users who can be quite significant. And if you looked at the screenshot taken today not all reviews are favourable. I don't believe google take sides in this dilemma and i don't believe they are disingenuous.

I read the bad reviews as well, mostly on this forum and why somebody would keep posting bad reviews here if not for trolling?

And since when Honest Reviews has become the norm to be quoted by other review sites? I do not know how often this happened before because I am not following Honest Reviews.

For me it all looks like a smear campaign paid by the Blomkamp & Co. fan base.

In my opinion Covenant had a good writing, much better than Prometheus, not to mention Aliens.

It may not be the perfect movies, it may go far from the Alien fans expectations, but this does not justify all the hate posted here. This is an Alien Covenant fans forum. A debate is good but not starting with Honest Reviews bs trailer.

That's my honest opinion and I will stand by it.

@daliens

The % of likes 79% is just one source, and we need to remember a lot of people have been Vocal About the Moving being a Pile of Poop... well the Negative and also Slandering Comments... i saw the Honest Trailer thingy well ONE, i think there are more and i am not interested in them because while some of the stuff is funny, i think its a little harsh.

Many took to the internet to Slate Prometheus too.

I think here is where the Problem lies with these reviews and videos... by its Nature People seem to be more willing to Protest when they Dislike something more than they are willing to Praise when they like something.   Most people would complain to a Restaurant if their Food was not good, or if they are not the kind of people to complain, they will complain to their friends or online about their experience .  But indeed more % of people would go back and complain about the Quality or Service if it was Poor, than actually go and find a Member of Staff and say "wow that Food was amazing thank you"  its only when your asked by them how your Food was that most people would say it was nice.. rarely if it was just Ok would you say.. it was OK lol  But if it was Bad you generally would complain to Management of Staff of a Bad Experience, than call them over and Praise them for a Good One.

And the same applies to those Alien Covenant Videos, just because their seems to be more of a Negative Vibe as far as comments and such on Youtube etc....  Does not mean the Movie is a Bad one for everyone who has seen it.

A number of  Movie rating Services have actually averaged Alien Covenant to be like a 6.5/10 but a lot depends how people use a Rating System.

Like with me a 5/10 is Average, 6/10 above Average, 4/10 Bellow Average, 7/10 Good etc...   And i see Alien Covenant as a 6/10 Tops.. but thats on my scale.

Another Major Problem and its the same with Star Wars movies... is every Fan seems to expect What they want out of the movies...

Oh NO they killed off Solo.... is just similar to Oh NO they killed off Hicks etc.

In General Alien Franchise is a SCI-FI Alien Movie.

Every movie has a attempt at a bit of Horror and Action just by the notion of Scary Aliens killing people....

But then ALIEN was more guided at the Psychological Horror take on a Alien Sci-Fi movie, rather than Gore and Blood, ALIENS was more of a Popcorn Action take on a Alien Sci-Fi movie.

The Problem is every Fan has a Preference and Dislike to every Alien Movie, and each one changed the kind of Theme... ALIEN was a Horror in space, ALIENS was a Action in Space, and ALIEN 3 attempted to go back to ALIEN Hunted House kind of Movie... While ALIEN RESURRECTION was more a Popcorn Action flick like ALIENS.

Prometheus attempted to do something different, it did not have as much Horror Aspect, it did not have any real Action to it, it tried to cover more the Story Behind the Xenomorph Origins (which many could not see) and offer some Thought Provoking Philosophical Elements.

Which some fans liked....  but then some fans did not, because there was no Horror, no Action and No Xenomorphs and a bit to much Emphasis on Engineers, Gods, Creation etc and attempts to show the Black Goo as connected to the Xeno with out Spoon Feeding the Xenomorph...  Then we got the Fans who wanted to see the Entire Space Jockey Event played out on Screen.

Its the things in BOLD that brought about the  Changes... that made Alien Covenant where it attempted to bring in Horror, Action the Xenomorph, something Fresh and still have some of what Prometheus was doing..

It tried to please everyone by giving a little bit of what everyone should have WANTED

But Ultimately it did not give everyone enough of what they Wanted...

If we want to throw in google review scores 

85% liked Alien vs Predator.

So just something to think about, when bringing up that particular rating system, so if we really want to bring that up, by its rankings the general audience preferred AVP.

This isn't a hit to me since I enjoy both movies to some degree, but I know that hits a lot of people.

79% on google reviews, ~70% on Rotten Tomatoes, 6.6/10 on imdb, 65 from metacritic, RISING in popularity according to IMDB as well...

NOT the marks of a "bad" movie at all. Quit believing the anti-hype.

Also, i had never heard of "honest reviews" EVER before this week, and I never intend to ever listen to them again. They're really overrated and snarky and unenjoyable quite frankly. I have much better ways to spend my time.

Big Dave I hear you on Fox and Scott trying to please everyone. The main gripe everybody under the sun had with Prometheus was the ridiculous actions that Ridley absolutely FORCED into the picture: giant rolling horseshoe escape, map guy gets lost, unbelievable actions. Scott then doubles down with atrocious character dialogue and unbelievable actions. I really like Covenant but my passion becomes fire when Ridley mocks religion and treats us as fools with this pretentious dumpster fire of colonial chimps in Alien-EasterEgg. His sole focus was David and that's an unforgivable sin. Alien series foundation is built on great dialogue between HUMANS. See A1-3 for great conversation not a bunch of ridiculous side remarks- "this isn't a Weylend ship" "you should do yoga" "so much here doesn't make sense". Criticism should inspire a better effort next time. Don't think anybody is pushing for Blomkamp, it's a push for anybody but at the very least, Ridley come off his holy throne and make a coherent set of characters.

I actually don't believe in ratings except when I'm looking for a restaurant or a hotel. I never voted on imdb or google. I don't go for blockbusters with a high ratings.

I would never have watched the trailer from "honest reviews" if the link was not posted here. As Starlogger said, I have better ways to spend my time.

And when I don't like a movie I stop watching it, usually not waiting till the end. I don't watch movies to write reviews and I am generally not interested in bad reviews.

Why we get so many bad reviews here?

Will help to get a better future film?

I seriously doubt that. 

i really dont know what trollers think they are going to accomplish. 

as much as I enjoyed the movie, and I really did, my review states that, it is not without its issues. 

obviously those issues are subjective, but I would say that the issues are highly transparent, for alien fans and just general movie going audience alike, so I would question those that simply say its perfect and has no issues and the same old drivel of, you just don't know what Ridley is trying to create, blah blah blah. 

the bad press is sadly justified, with that in mind, however as others have pointed out, any press is good press. 

I hated prometheous the first time I saw it. it really just took a bit of thought and time before I appreciated it. People are hating on the intilectuall side of it the most And i think when you rewatch it, it becomes alot better. these people probably just saw it once and posted there negative review as soon as they got home from the the theator. 

Timmy the ultramorph the trolls will blah blah blah until at least their bad reviews will be quarantined to the review section.

Till then, the trick is not minding that it hurts.

Ignore them. And their hate.

Honest Trailers review was dumb af lol The Picard thing was funny but they definitely didn't watch Covenant, I mean really watch it, cause most of their complaints had answers in the film. "They went off course for a John Denver song!1!" It was an S.O.S. and it was human, remember the WY law from the first film where they have to investigate this stuff? Also there are 6 Alien films, Prometheus. In the end it's all subjective but their "honest" review was garbage that panders to the lowest common denominator. It's funny that it came out as soon as A:C comes to home video.

@Lawrence @Timmy well said folks!

@Mr H I don't see where the "bad" is as justified as you say it is. NO ONE is saying this movie was "perfect"---heck NO MOVIE is perfect, but EVERY opinion is subjective. I GUARANTEE that Ridley and the staff felt this was as "perfect" as they could make given what they had to work with. So, with that in mind i feel the overt "antihype" to be totally unjustified, as do most sane people.

auximenes

Have you listened to The Claypool Lennon Delirium?

Heard a bit. Tracking and will buy soon.