Prometheus was definitely a disappointment, so I've put off watching Covenant because everyone always says it's worse than Prometheus. I finally watched it tonight, and I thought it was a hell of a lot better. It's actually a good Alien movie imo.
Spoilers beware:
I enjoyed the synthetic, and I think they did a good job with both of them. I liked most of the crew, especially the lead actress. That relieved smile at the end was too cute. The actual aliens were bad ass too. The fight with the two "kids" was crazy. It's awesome to finally see aliens do crazy animal attacks. Especially loved the 360 tail attacks. The "it respected me" scene was cool too, that's such a great idea. They were relentless with their attacks and they just kept coming back.
I know people harp on what's Dr Shaw being killed between movies, but I think it works fine. Really shows you how evil David's become. I could have done without the obvious twist at the end, but whatever. Movies gotta movie, I guess.
I don't know what I'm missing. Do people dismiss the movie without seeing it or something?
I found Alien: Covenant to be utterly forgettable. I didn't like Prometheus, and I didn't like the direction Scott was trying to take the series (I didn't need or want this backstory), but at least it was trying to do something interesting. Covenant and Romulus don't. They're just retreads. That said, the characters are stupid and underdeveloped in all three.
People were disappointed by Resurrection back in the day (saw it in the theater), but I can respect it because it has some scenes that have stuck with me my entire life, even though I haven't watched it since. And it has some strong characters, and a plot that at least kind of makes sense.
If you want to watch an Alien movie, watch the first two. If you absolutely must watch more, go ahead and watch the third and fourth movies. If you still need to watch more, don't.