Paradise

JobWillins’ Derelict was quite the experience, combining two Ridley Scott films separated by over three decades into a coherent and suspenseful single storyline. After Alien: Covenant was released, I suddenly had a spark of inspiration; why couldn’t Prometheus and Covenant be combined in a similar way? After all, both films feature a central character in David, the murderous, disturbingly creative android, so why not give it a go myself? Well, little did I know that JobWillins was already on it, and let’s face it, he was always going to do a better job than I would.

As it turns out, JobWillins had conceived of the Paradise idea long ago. From his Tumblr:

“When I edited Derelict a couple of years ago, combining Prometheus & Alien in black & white, it was mainly because I found Prometheus unsatisfying as a standalone film. Its ending promised (and begged for) a sequel, but that sequel kept falling behind other Ridley Scott productions. With a sequel in doubt, I tried to use material from both films to make a single experience that felt more like a satisfying whole.

“We eventually did get a sequel 5 years later in Alien: Covenant. Half of it felt like a Prometheus sequel and the other half an Alien prequel. In my opinion it didn’t fully succeed in either role. I enjoyed parts of Covenant very much as I did Prometheus, but also much like Prometheus, it ended on an intriguing promise of a sequel. That sequel may never come thanks to its relatively poor box office performance.”

And so, here we are with another expansive, 2.5 hour sci-fi epic!

Opening in the all-too-familiar black-and-white style of Derelict with the ominous Peter Weyland TED Talk, Paradise shifts into full color with the excellent prologue of Covenant, David’s first day of life in the company of his father. However, the prologue stops short, giving us the new title as the Prometheus flies through space. Throughout the film, this prologue will return periodically, as if to punctuate the themes of creation and godhood with increased clarity as the narrative bounces between time frames.

While the transitions aren’t quite as good or numerous as those witnessed in Derelict, JobWillins covers this with a restrained hand, ensuring to keep both films at least thematically-synced. Probably the best example of this would be Covenant‘s backburster scene, intercut with Holloway’s agonizing death in Prometheus. As Ted Kurzel’s brilliant score pulsates away, the horror of both Shaw and Oram seeing their spouses’ deaths is compounded nicely. A lot has been cut from both films, including some of my favorite bits, like Milburn and Fifield’s run-in with the Millipede and various snippets of the Covenant crew’s first trek across Planet 4, but again, this is all in the name of ensuring the finished project isn’t so long that viewers check out for other offerings.

As before in Derelict, several deleted scenes from both films are used, as well as some of the online viral content from Alien: Covenant. Major props to JobWillins for his beautiful rendition of the ‘Crossing’ prologue. As for changes wholly his own, some may or may not like his musical choices for the beginning and end of the Covenant storyline, but I for one enjoyed them.

For this review, I watched his full-quality offering of the edit from Google Drive, which at a file size of 9.62 GBs, is plenty enough for home theater viewing. The video bitrate is a little lower than Derelict‘s at 8 mbps, but this allows for the inclusion of both stereo and surround audio tracks, and I honestly didn’t see any video quality loss, at least on my 1080p equipment.

While Derelict seemed to emphasize the mystery and intrigue of the films it sought to combine, Paradise is an edit more preoccupied with the grander themes at work within Ridley Scott’s mind: themes of creating life from nothing, of going against the natural order, themes more reminiscent of Shelley than Lovecraft, which is something I picked up from Covenant that I’m sure most viewers either didn’t see or didn’t appreciate. JobWillins certainly did, and that’s just one of many reasons why I love Paradise. I’m still thinking of doing my own Prometheus/Covenant fanmix, but not because Paradise was inadequate. On the contrary, if I never got around to it, I wouldn’t feel that bad. I still have this gem to come back to.

I have to start off by first saying that I was blown away by this edit, and that it is a much deserving of the Favourite Edit of the Month win. The way that these two narratives have been interwoven is phenomenal, and it shows just how talented of an editor JobWillins is. I applaud you!

I watched the film in 1080p, and the attention to quality is perfected in terms of video and audio; it is as crisp and clear as I would have expected from the editor of Derelict.

In terms of visual editing, there is little evidence of any jarring cuts throughout - the only moments you pick up on are the time jumps, which are expertly edited around so they do not feel rushed. The inclusion of the deleted scenes/marketing material is just brilliant, and are used to reinforce the themes well. A particular favourite of mine was the deleted scene of the Prometheus crew, where the inclusion of 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' is added to setup the next scene and create a stronger connection between the two films. The initial usage of titles to aid jumping between the two time frames is done well, and sticks around just long enough to reinforce the narratives. As many have already mentioned, the intercutting during the Infection scene was flawless and easily one of the high points of the editing; it just works visually as well as thematically (Shaw and Oram's grief running parallel made so much sense). Overall, the editing has great pace and the rearranging of scenes has strengthened the narrative.

The audio editing is incredible, with the scores of each film playing off each other very well. JobWillins has edited it in a way that weaves between the leitmotifs seamlessly and manages to ensure both stories have their own identity. Adding music to scenes where there initially was none assuredly amplifies the emotion in those moments, and takes a lot of the awkwardness out of the original films (Covenant most of all). Similar to what some have mentioned, the main issue I have with the audio is the choice of The Beatles in the soundtrack - however it is only with the closing song. Their appearances for the most part are used very well (I would've believed they were always there if I hadn't seen the original films), and I loved how the shower scene is edited. As we hear The Beatles play for the first time whilst Walter is on screen, for some reason I began associating it with his character (as I associate the classical music with David), so when another of their tracks is played by David at the end it felt somewhat out of character to me. Especially since the setup of the Wagner track didn't pay off. This is just a personal gripe though. During the final scene, the background effects from the audio (Bluray extras) seems to be distracting somewhat; I think this could be fixed if you intercut more of the clip with the last scene, like how it started.

Narratively, the circularity of starting and ending the film with David watching over the cryo pods was a stroke of genius - something I only picked up on when flicking through quickly a second time. The intercutting of the white room conversation with Weyland is perfectly used at key moments; I feel like they set up the themes of the following acts clearly. It is done so well that it feels like this is how they should have been edited in the original cut. JobWillins cuts out all of the spectacle and Hollywood fluff, leaving only essential scenes. This helps the pace move along so that the story doesn't drag. The only criticism I have of the narrative is what carries over from the original films. Primarily some of the goofy unrealistic CGI effects (Covenant especially); I feel like there are moments where we could see even less of the Alien and other creatures to leave as much to the imagination as possible. There are some moments that work very well, such as the added cut of Walter seemingly killing David, although I feel like it could be strengthened by the removal of the shot where he leaves the temple and looks back. There are a few moments like this but it is nothing that ruins the film; these are tiny smudges on a masterpiece.

Overall, I am hugely impressed by the film. It feels like it does justice to David's character and Michael Fassbender's performance(s); we get to see his motivations and what impact they ultimately have. JobWillins re-structures the film into what feels more like a character study and I love it. I enjoyed it so much that I am preparing to watch his previous edit 'Man of Tomorrow', which is a big deal considering I dislike the original films it combines. Great job! I can't wait to see what is next.

A great re-imagining of the 2 Alien prequels which also succeeds in doing away with some of more confusing scenes, plot holes and character inconsistencies. I have no idea how well this would work for someone who has never before seen either Prometheus or Alien: Covenant, but from my perspective it was a very well conceived alternative and well worth the watch. The Covenant finale in particular was much improved and, being a Beatles fan, I appreciated some of the sneaky song placements! ;)

A minor qualm is that you could feel the 2.5 hour run time, but considering this is squishing 2 movies into one, the pacing is actually pretty good. Great job, JobWillins!

Edit: I initially gave this an 8 for video/audio quality, but have only just realised I was watching the 720p version (unaware there was anything better available). I've now downloaded the 1080p version and it looks much better!

BRILLIANT Fan Edit!!! For both Alien lovers and movigoers Paradise should be considered as a good movie. The way JobWillins assembles Prometheus and Covenant in one single piece is extraordinary. The selection of the footage material is carefully chosen resulting in a great cinema exercise. David centric story is indeed the strongest aspect of this edit. Splitting the intro conversation between him and Weyland (Beginning scene from Covenant) in different parts and inserting them along the movie, the editor shows us David´s personality and motivations in a way that the official movies failed to. I won´t extend myself describing all unnecessary and stupid humour scenes which are deleted alongside the plot inconsistencies with Alien universe.

Audio and Sound editing are top-notch. In this regard, it is not possible to imagine a better quality for a fan edit. The only remark I appreciate is the addition of some tracks which in my opinion doesn´t fit with the tone of the movie (i.e. a couple of Beatles songs). This soundtrack editing either you love it or hate it.

I enjoyed so much this fan edit and it completely replaces the original movies. I didn´t grade higher because of the original available material which in some cases makes impossible to fix it. The editor has nothing to do with it. Giving the source material, Paradise is a jewel in Alien universe and from now on I will revisit it with the first and second entries of the saga.

Congratulations to JobWillins who is certainly a remarkable fan editor!

P.S. Please, watch the mix Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman edit "Man of Tomorrow" absolutely a must.

'Paradise' totally saves what I think are two visually stunning Blu-rays in my collection suffering from an overarching vagueness and the inexplicable antics of the crews with their cliched foolhardyness, incompetance and inglorious bastardy. The fantastic editorial here sweeps out the worst of this and turns what is left into impactful moments of intrigue. Bringing in an overarchingly vivid mainstay to the previously broken stories. Polishing off may be necessary on the odd dice and blend. Its heavy on the editing though. This may be as good as it gets without stock footage to string things out with. One really has to concentrate to pick out the nicks. And with the engageing plot weaving that highlights the best parts of the originals in the best ways the viewing is fully enjoyable.

It might be a good idea to offer some further textual explanations of the tooings and froings between Prometheus and Covenant but this itself will be a gripe for some (myself included) as it cant be done for the parts where the switching gets complex. Therefore it might well be left as is for the sake of consistency. It starts out a bit confusing with only the oringal mission info blurbs and some very brief notes which kind of pass by subconsciously. I actually quite liked the fact I was getting a bit lost as it adds a puzzle aspect. Its a mystery unravelling. It all pays off beautifully in the end!!