Prometheus
 

Ok so these are my thoughts on the much awaited "prequel" to the Alien saga.

I'll try to refrain from direct spoilers but consider this as a spoiler alert in case anything can be gleaned.

First of all, I had probably unreasonably high expectations, it's was a solid marketing campaign and a great cast. Almost inevitably, it didn't live up to expectations but that's not to say it was bad, in fact a second viewing may help me see it with adjusted preconceptions. The cast, as mentioned, were all great, Fassbender, Rapace and Theron in particular; the others were all ancillary and pretty much fodder. The film would have instantly benefited from less characters and more focus on the main ones, much like Alien and Aliens, they worked so well based on the individuality of the characters. Many in Prometheus are interchangeable and irrelevant to proceedings. Idris Elba is particularly wasted as the Captain who seems to serve only to deliver a chunk of exposition about the nature of the exploration and take the suicide mission we see (sadly) in the trailer. Though, without his character being developed his decision doesn't hold the weight other characters sacrifices in the series have had.

It's a consistent complaint, the lack of characterisation which seems to be mainly due to the characters being spread too thin and also lazy writing. One of the most frustrating elements was the twists they introduce towards the end, instead of being game changers or altering the dynamic and momentum of the film, they don't. It leaves the film feeling very A to B, without a middle. The film is continuing situation of cause and no effect. A lot of things happen but we never see any reactions to it or the effects. Fassbender's android David continues in a tradition of the Alien films but also Scott's Blade Runner. At points, he seems very much the focus, with a Pinnochio relationship between him and his creater/'Father'. Yet the discussion is never explored to it's full potential, likewise, David's motivations seem very uneven and at times his decisions seem confusing considering his 'mission'. The interplay between company characters David and Theron's character served an interesting element, the conspiracy/shady company element another long standing feature, however this neither develops into much more than a few lines.

It's a shame small things seem to have such a big impact on my experience but the structure of the plot itself didn't do the film any favours. There's never any escalating tension or build of dread and fear as the pace treads fairly leisurely. And without the depth of philosophical discourse that there was the potential for, i.e. David getting more chance for reflection or defined goals that would compliment the over arching theme of creation of life; it felt empty. In terms of incorporation into the Alien saga, the final scene is very indicative of it's place in canon and as a direct prequel; however it feels shoe horned somewhat. The genetic evolution of the zenomorphs doesn't seem to really make sense based in what we've seen and what they show, likewise some of the behaviour of the 'virus' - why does one infected character fall apart and another become a super freak? What happened to the character who had a facehugger attached? He just disappeared, when you'd expect that to be a Kane-esque change in equilibrium. And if someone can explain if the projected holographs from 1000s of years ago was anything other than lazy writing to get them to go/learn/do what was needed.

It's seems like a negative review but it's not a bad film. It looks and sounds incredible in LieMax and it's got some great performances particularly Fassbender, which is what's come to be expected of him now. There's a nice throwback to quarantine procedures on the original and pragmatism but yet again, this action yields no effect. It's worth seeing, maybe a second viewing will alleviate a lot of my gripes. That said, it's a shame the development of characters couldn't have been more of a focus.

Re: Prometheus
 

I flat out refuse to see movies in LieMax. Real thing or nothing for me.

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, I loved this movie. I didn't really have high exPectations for this so this was a real treat for me, must see.

Real thing means going to London. I have a moral opposition to the whole thing but my mate insisted based on the sound

Saw this yesterday, and give it a preliminary that may well turn into a on further viewings.

Agree it's a disappointingly unfocused affair in terms of the needless peripheral cast, but Rapace, Theron and especially Fassbender are all fine. Unfortunately the film doesn't have the same lean, bleak atmosphere of remote isolation and hopelessness that Alien has. This is as much down to the gleaming hi-tech 'new' production design, and old-hat back story (Stargate, Contact, Mission To Mars, Close Encounters, 2001: A Space Odyssey) as it is to the overblown cast. It never really decides on whether to be a straight up horror or cerebral musing on the nature of what or who makes us human (themes closer to Blade Runner than Alien). As such the film is a little uneven, and dare I say cliched in places, with some plot twists practically telegraphed via a neon sign.

So why the decent score then? Well, it does deliver plenty of knockout suspense that had me gripping my seat for dear life - in particular a new take on alien birth that evokes fond memories of the defibrillator scene from Casino Royale(2006). Fassbender is simply brilliant as the Peter O'Toole obsessed android whose motivations/programming and paradoxical significance remain a fascinating conundrum throughout. Whilst the film is so technically outstanding as to clearly be the work of a master craftsman, and one of only a handful of directors who could pull such a disparate melange into something remarkably coherent -even poignant. I guess I'm still smarting from the overall lack of xenomorph blasting action to fully comprehend that Promethius is an altogether different animal, and quite possibly a classic one.

Re: Prometheus
 

I just have to drive about 45 mins to Toronto to get my Imax fix. The general consensus about the film seems to be "it's good, but disappointing at the same time".

Pretty much agree with all of that, save last sentence. I can live without the xenomorph blasting and wasn't expecting it at all, don't think that's a factor, the downfall was it's indecision on what it wants to be or say and plot holes. Definitely be keen to see the Directors Cut, there's clearly extra material somewhere to round some things out.

I like this comment, and am glad this new installment doesn't follow too closely in the footsteps of Aliens...I for one did not want another shoot-em-up action piece like Aliens, as much as I enjoy Aliens when I do watch it.

Yeah. Every time I see a new addition to the Alien franchise/universe I'm secretly longing for the glory days of the first two films, even though I know the series needs to evolve in order to survive. I guess I'm saying that whilst I miss Sigourney Weaver, the lived in production design, and the sound of those pulse rifles. I still think Scott has delivered the best entry since Cameron's outing, and a film with it's own unique flavour; even if some of the ingredients taste blandly familiar. I already want to see it again, and am sure those empty pangs of sadness I'm currently feeling will soon fade once I realise how good Prometheus actually is.

We've just seen it.

I've got the biggest smile on my face, and just did a cartwheel outside The Picturehouse.

Ok, so some of you may know, having vowed never to see a film in 3D again, my girlfriend wanted to see Prometheus in 3D, as she had never seen a film in 3D before.

So we're standing in line, 20 mins before the film starts (we're never usually that early, it's just the film was delayed) with our 3'fookin'D glasses in our hands. When we finally get seated, the opening credits were already running and the film looks worse with the glasses on :/

So we decided to watch it without the glasses, and all our neighbours and twitching "it's not in 3D, is it?"

After the finishing credits have rolled, we go down to the foyer and join the queue of 200 people waiting for the money back and I have the largest smile imaginable on my face.

So, I gave my girlfriend what she wanted, I got EXACTLY what I wanted, that is seeing this film in 2D, the way it should be...and I got to do it for free :)

For Elizabeth Shaw, proof there is a god..and he's looking after us all..at least if we're acting out of selflessness, generousity and love (well at least that's what the girlfriend says!)

But wasn't the entire film SHOT in 3d? I read that is was definitely not a conversion after the fact.

I'm going thursday night to a midnight showing (3d IMAX) with my girl who's just a big fan of the Aliens series as I am, if not more. I'm excited, but not expecting a full on Alien prequel. Will be a fun night at the cinema, either way.

My parents said they saw it in 3D but watched with their glasses off. Confused :/

Well, yeah, I guess I should rectify what I said there. It probably was shot in 3D, and Ridley probably feels that should be the best way to view the film, but since I can't stand digital '3D', it wouldn't have been the best option and would have made it that much difficult for me to immerse myself in it.

Lol, that means one of two possible things:

A) They simply couldn't stand the whole 3D effect thingy and decided to watch it normally, which would be difficult though since I tried that with The Final Destination a few years back, but found it uncomfortable on my eyes so stuck those stupid glasses on.

B) They had a similar situation to myself in which the supposed 3D screening was not actually 3D, in which case, refundees :D

I think it was the latter as apparently looked fine without glasses. So in your case they actually showed the 2D version? I thought you just meant the 3D wasn't prevalent in many scenes so glasses were redundant for most of it

Couldn't agree more with your comments. I know we were warned not to, but going in, I still couldn't shake the fact that this was a potential prequel to Alien rather than a film set in the Alien universe.

I agree with you there Prestige, the whole drink spikeing thing confused me. I also have a problem that's been baffling me.?

Because we were being warned about it. The crew basically misinterpreted it as an invitation, whereas instead it was a warning. I think

A warning from who?? The engineer's??.

Re: Prometheus
 

I agree with Masterman, the whole star map / set up was contrived. The paintings made no sense in the scheme of things unless it just wasn't made very clear. It's like cavemen drawing pictures of nuclear power plants. Obviously, they imply that engineers have continued to visit Earth but why would the primitive civilizations see the stars they've come from after having it explained they were impossible to see by the human eye. One theory I did like was that the prologue engineer was 'prometheus' stealing 'fire' (i.e. creation) from the gods and that's why they want to destroy it but it doesn't corroborate with their continued visits. Just too many things don't add up or make sense after one viewing to the point I feel like dropping my rating. Visuals and Fassbender are only saving grace

i feel the same way now, tho i loved the movie it left to many questions that no one seems to know the answers to. My head has been working the rounds trying to make sense of a few things that i think just dont add up and my rating of the movie has dropped now.

Ok I have some thoughts on the various niggles people are having...

Re: Prometheus
 

The Alien we see burst out the Engineer at the end is pretty close to the Aliens in the other movie, maybe they just evolve a little (black goop, could be) , Nice thoughts aswell above.

Just found these explanations online, some are abit wacky so are good.

I saw this last night and, as a stand-alone movie, it is quite a mess. An entertaining (and often impressive) mess, but a mess just the same. You've been outlining some of the plot puzzles above, and I have little to add to them except for one about Guy Pearce, because it supports a subsequent point:



So many themes and plot-points are introduced but then not really dealt with that the only conclusion is: Prometheus cannot be fully understood as a stand-alone movie. It is the first instalment in a series. I don't know about you, but that kind of thing annoys the hell out of me. You pay your money to see a film and then, at the end, realise you're going to have to a) shell out for the "director's cut" DVD and b) shell out for another couple of movies (and DVDs) over the next four or five years. Personally, it makes me feel less like a film-goer and more like the victim of an elaborate marketing scam.

Re: Prometheus
 

Hey, it's written by the same guy as Lost, makes sense

[quote=The Prestige;817748]

Agreed.

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Re: Prometheus
 

An awesome movie! It will take years before another marvellous alien movie comes out.

I've never seen any of the "Alien" movies and typically don't like horror movies or movies with a lot of blood and gore. Would I still enjoy this, or should I give it a pass?

Re: Prometheus
 

Prometheus (2012)

The story centers on a team of explorers who lands their spacecraft on a planet far away from Earth, hoping to discover the answer to the existence of the human race. Of course, that is just an excuse for Scott to re-enter the universe of Alien, in a bid to make a 'prequel' that would hopefully explain the origins of arguably the most feared screen monster ever created.

The result is a befuddled attempt to juggle three narrative threads that not only lack clarity, but don't quite fit well with each other. Is this a story about the origins of the Alien? Or is it a story about the 'Space Jockey' - a large man-like creature whose exoskeleton appeared in Alien? Or is it a story of Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), whose quest to explore the origins of mankind turns into the kind of nightmare that foreshadows Ripley's traumatic experience in Alien?

There is just too much of travelling back and forth the crew's spacecraft and the mysterious tomb-like cavern that the explorers hope to find answers from. As a result, whatever suspense that could be generated dissipates as both environments, however strange or fascinating, becomes more familiar and less claustrophobic.

And it was claustrophobia and the unfamiliar that made Alien such a nerve-wreckingly horrifying experience.


Verdict: 3.5/5 (Highly entertaining but flawed and a disappointment)

Just got back from the viewing of this. For those who are interested in another opinion of the film my review can be found HERE.

In short though, I think it was an entertaining film which lacked a lot of what has already been mentioned. Especially the clarity of certain things (in the plot and in character development) which just kept coming up as the movie progressed, promising something that was certainly going to be short of perfect.

Yeah, way too many promises. Honestly, I don't mind a bit of show and no tell, but Ridley took the piss.

An amusingly scathing blog review of the film. A bit unfair, but still funny.

Prometheus review

Be warned, though: tons of spoilers.

Re: Prometheus
 

For some reason am balking at seeing this :eek: just don't like SiFi movies with saliva dripping monsters whose only motivation is to eat humans :goof:

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Yeah, this was a letdown, but I still found it really enjoyable as well as beautiful to look at. Certainly could've been a lot worse.

I also thought this was pretty on-point (spoiler warning): http://cavalorn.livejournal.com/584135.html#cutid1

Pretty insightful and clears up a lot of symbolism and covers some other various topics.

Don't say that, I happened seen it yet ;) Though, Ridley Scott has done great, GREAT Films! :)

Re: Prometheus
 

I really enjoyed this. I had heard some complaints about script issues with Lindelhoff, and I guess I can't argue with some of them, but I still found the flick to be thought-provoking, well paced and the art direction was stellar. I watched the other Alien films this weekend as well, and they all have issues with timing or logic if you look hard enough (especially Aliens). I feel like they set up rules in one film and then break them in the next, but, whatever. The pacing of Prometheus was a bit less organic than Aliens, but it had more in common with Alien with the slow building of tension, which I found to be pretty damn effective.

Oh, what the hell:

Not as strong as I had hoped, but pretty close on most levels.

Hehe. You're right it is a wacky theory considering the space jockey in Alien is way bigger than a human, and fossilsed.

Oddly though we never see the date at the beginning of Alien.

I just think it depends on how crazy you want to get with finding a cool way to wrap up Shaw's journey, and her subsequent significance on the Alien time line. After all who's to say the Engineers don't 'modify' her in some way before sending her crashing through a worm hole?

Not really that crazy when you consider the goofy crap they thought up to justify the Star Trek re-boot.

I was really just throwing stuff out there though. ;)

Heh, well I guess a lot of things seem possible in Alien world right now, I was just curious as to how something like that would pop up in your head. I'm a bit annoyed though because now you've got me thinking all sorts of crazy **** :D.

I'll tell you what, though. If the subsequent sequels turn out to support that theory, I'll actually send you a bottle of whisky or some crap.

Re: Prometheus
 

Just found out the guy who wrote this wrote Lost as well. No wonder it was completely vague and merely brushed over all themes.

I felt like I was watching two different movies simultaneously. On the one hand there was a visceral thriller that was consistently impressive. It had a thin but convoluted plot that was just there to provide some familiar background noise to a perfectly realized alien world. Our on-screen watcher/avatar was suitably "more human than human", just like the brilliant crew who created the images. That movie hit me on an instinctual level, and it didn't matter that character motivations were opaque or contradictory -- it might have even helped.

The other movie had fan service moments and rote plot-twists (WMD's! It's not the "real" planet!) and other story-slots left empty for further dumb explanations in sequels and spin-offs. It was branded merchandise parasitically attached to any actual life in the movie. It was written by some tv hack and should have been aborted in a particularly grotesque fashion.

Re: Prometheus
 

You know, I've been trying to come up with something to say about what I saw on Saturday night without being totally rude and just downright mean towards the film. I'll go with what lines just said.

linespalsy :up:

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Yeah, I can't agree. Each, to his own! The more I think about it, the more I like it.

Re: Prometheus
 

Saw it yesterday at the IMAX. Was really looking forward to it, came away a bit disappointed, but not terribly so. Space, ships, planets, etc. all look incredible on the IMAX screen. I was actually a bit disappointed when that part of the movie ended!

Re: Prometheus
 

Aww you guys are lame, ok not really. I can understand why so many people were dissapointed with Prometheus but putting all the thoughts aside that it was supposed to be just as good as Alien it still seemed like an awesome movie. There were a ton of mistakes but the ships were awesome, the acting was good, and we got at least a little bit of insight that the original never gave us.

And isn't there supposed to be a second prequal?

Re: Prometheus
 

I definitely got the feeling there would be more films. ;) I liked it a lot.

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And I didn't, not like it, just didn't like, like it. It's a low . Almost a for me.

I guess I stupidly thought that this was just a prequel. Not a trilogy of prequels.

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I didn't even know there was gonna be more than this one prequel which I think is stupid. It's like when a girl tells a story.

Re: Prometheus
 

ok, maybe just how I tell a story. lol

The movie succeeded in its wide scope and tense atmosphere, it was visually stunning and I was wildly impressed with the opening sequence.

But everything else was sloppy. Very weak character development (I didn't care about anybody in the crew), poor writing (sorry, Damon), and too many elements that distracted from what could have been a very compelling story.

I think Ridley Scott tried to do too much with this movie. Mid-life crisis, perhaps?

Anyway, I was pretty disappointed with "Prometheus"

Re: Prometheus
 

Disappointment of the year, it seems.

Re: Prometheus
 

Loved this. Still talking about it, still THINKING about it, and want to see it a second time. I hate that all the complaints I've read about it on various sites is that it forces the viewer to do the "Heavy Lifting" OF THINKING instead of just giving you answers. I like that it's making me do a bit of work, actually. The conversations with my GF about the movie and what it means have been just as fun as seeing the movie itself.

I love thinking about movies. However, when there's hardly a theme in the film that was even addressed, it's quite difficult to bother. All we got out of it was that we were probably created by some white people, who may or may not have been created by the christian god. That's not a theme, that's a (vague) jumping off point.

Your kidding right?!?!

No, not kidding at all.

I think that Ridley Scott is about 75.

So his mid-life crisis actually occurred around "Thelma and Louise," then? :p

Re: Prometheus
 

When was the last genuinely good Ridley Scott film?

I'm a bit put off by the amount of coverage the prequel sequel is getting, makes this seem more and more like a gimmick filled with hookum they'll try and "explain"/retcon in a sequel. Seems almost correlation between slatings and confusion to discussion of sequel filling in gaps. Meh. I'm a bitter cynic.

American Gangster was good. But besides that, this has been his best effort in quite some time.

I think had it been very clear from the beginning that this was meant to be the start of a trilogy or series or whatever then sequel prequel talk would have been alright, but yeah, we're kinda been robbed, mate.

Exactly. There's a difference between a film that makes you think and one that's such an incoherent, incomplete mish-mash that you end up desperately trying to put together pieces that don't fit. The latter type of film is simply playing its audience for suckers.

Re: Prometheus
 

I thought American Gangster was great. I'm kind of bias though cuz I love Denzel Washington.

Right there with you, Monkey. My friends, my GF and I have all been having a blast talking about the film. Plenty to chew on there, IMO.

My previous comment was harsher than I intended. I thought Prometheus was a fantastic thriller, only I didn't want to understate or ignore the fact that a lot of stuff that was presented as climactic or central to the script was completely peripheral and uninteresting to me. I guess it's unavoidable to when there's 130 million dollars and a merchandisable cosmology on the line.

I really like Ridley Scott in general, too. Off the top of my head I can't think of any movies by him that I've taken a strong disliking to, and the only ones I haven't seen are Legend and Someone to Watch Over Me.

Seems to me that the problem with a lot of movies coming out lately is they are trying to cram too much stuff into a movie that's a couple of hours long. You end up with herky jerky story movement, lack of character developement, and a dis-satisfied audience.

Alien was terrific because it was so frickin' simple, the terror was there, but other than the exploding chest, most of it was implied. Same with Aliens.

I think a lot of the disappointment with Prometheus is because the fan base was expecting to see Alien. I liked the movie, but not for the storyline, I just love sci-fi, space movies, and it didn't disappoint in that aspect. I didn't like the frenetic pace needed to get all the story information into the allotted time.

The pace of a movie is something that I am appreciating more and more.

★★★★ 1/2 (out of 5)

Prometheus is a brilliant visual sci-fi marvel. Ridley Scott has given us an epic film that survives independent of the Alien movies even if it is somewhat of a prequel to the series. The look of the film is arresting from the onset. The opening sequence, presumably on Earth, sweeps through a massive lake and waterfall, up the cliff face and to a single living being. The being is human-like, but not quite human. He drinks something that causes him to decompose rapidly. Eventually, his DNA ends up in the water where it seems to recombine and, again, presumably, become human DNA.

While many films presumptuously try to take God or Darwin’s side, Prometheus side steps the issue by not trying to give us an answer. At the heart of the movie is a faith vs. science discussion between Elizabeth and her boyfriend, Charlie. They’re both scientists searching for our origins, but for very different reasons. After finding proof that we are descended from some alien beings, Charlie states it as a proof for Darwinism. After all, we evolved from them. Elizabeth is quick to point out they don’t know who made the alien beings.

There are a slew of characters surrounding these two on their quest. The Weyland Corporation shells out a trillion dollar spacecraft to aid in their mission as well as an android named David. In yet another amazing performance by Michael Fassenbender, David is one of the most interesting androids you’ll ever see. Fassendbender doesn’t make the mistake of playing him as too robotic in his movements. After all, it is 2093. No, David is somewhat distant in his knowledge of what it means to be human on the inside, and in his dark humor delivery of words. He’s not like the Terminator. David learns fast. So fast in fact that he can learn almost anything from alien language to human motivation. It’s his motivations that are a big secret throughout the film.

Weyland employee Meredith Vickers’ motivations are more transparent. She’s the boss. She’s in control and she makes sure people know it. Charlize Theron gives Vickers compassion. This type of role often seems to be the one dimensional cold hearted bitch, but what separates Vickers is that she’s logical. She sees a contaminated member of the crew trying to board and without thinking burns them to a crisp with a flamethrower. Between Meredith and Elizabeth there’s plenty of girl power on the ship.

Not to be completely outdone, the ship’s pilot provides a very much needed nonscientific member to the mission. He’s the “coolest” character, and for how little screen time he has, it’s quite amazing how much we see his character evolve. He may not understand fully why things unravel as they come undone, but he understands his role in the process.

The most interesting scenes are in a pyramid on an alien planet capable of sustaining life. There’s a great sense of tension and discovery in the pyramid. We don’t know what we’re going to find or how we’re going to find it. We find holographic recordings from the past that give us a peek into what happened in the pyramid and David unlocks even more of it’s mysteries in a visually arresting scene where he explores one of the rooms by himself.

The visuals are what sell Prometheus. These are the best effects since Minority Report, and the cleanest since Jurassic Park. The 3D is also the best ever easily outdoing Avatar or Transformers 3. There’s no darkness or loss of contrast or color due to the 3D, and the depth of field is enhanced flawlessly without resorting to the “jump out at you” 3D effects. Whether the film is quietly taking us on a spaceship to another planet or delving into a horror nightmare in the third act of the film, the look is never sacrificed.

Prometheus is easily my favorite movie so far this year. Due to it’s highly philosophical nature, it’s not quite as mainstream as 20th Century Fox may have wanted it to be, but it is one that will please true sci-fi audiences for years to come.

I completely agree Arch. We do disagree on which side of the fence Prometheus is on though. I think it does a good job of addressing it's theme of faith without blurting out what the viewer should believe. That would defeat the purpose because it wouldn't let us grow and have our beliefs (and Dr. Shaw's belief's) challenged in the process.

While I loved Prometheus, I completely acknowledge the numerous logical holes or "characters doing something absurdly stupid" moments in the film. I do think it still succeeds in making you think and surrounding Dr. Shaw with people that think differently than her in a variety of ways.

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This is what happens when you want to appease your loyal fans while trying to earn the approval of new audience- a movie that thinks its too smart for a summer blockbuster.

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Madagascar 3 beat Prometheus at the box office, I need a hug. :facepalm:

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But, it's a far more mainstream and family oriented flick...I would have bet cash Madagascar would be in front this weekend.

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Madagascar movies are cute too!

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http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/what-is...-and-theories/

On top of that, there is apparently additional material coming to the DVD/BR (not unusual for Scott): http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/241...s-30-mins-more

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Didn't he like redistribute a "newer" version of Alien in 2003? Or are you using sarcasm?

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Haha like "I gave you life, and I can take it away" kind of thing? lol

I said it was not unusual....meaning it has happened many, many times before. "Blade Runner" is just one example.

Okie dokie lol, I wasn't sure cuz I didn't even know until recently when I watched Alien again that he did that on a regular basis.

I'm seeing this today, but I've got a big cache of spoiler-filled links, interviews, and analytical pieces that I've been saving for consumption afterwards. My old man wrote something on it, too, that I also haven't read, but which I'm sure is good. ;)

The Politics of Ridley Scott's Blockbuster Film Prometheus.

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It would be good if it wasn't written by that Jerry Bowyer guy! ;)

KIDDING! ;)

Reading now...

(EDIT) - The article is spoiler free until your pop says SPOILERS AHEAD! So you are safe reading up until then.

Re: Prometheus
 

I so glad to hear positive reviews on the film. I've been trying to get my bf to see this with me and we just havn't had the time yet. (Been a busy summer) My friend who saw it told me she was terribly dissappointed so I was feeling kind of gloomy about it... but now that I read such positive reviews I'm getting all pumped again! :)

Re: Prometheus
 

GREAT article. Thanks for the link, Chris!

I have a feeling I have managed to be the only person on the planet to see this movie with absolutely NO spoilers in advance. All I knew/saw were the TV ads, which were about 30 seconds long, with pretty much no dialogue, and conveyed ambiance but not plot.

I didn't even know it was supposed to be an Alien prequel. Seriously. I didn't have a clue.

Until the very end of the movie, when I said loudly, "AHA!" To which my daughter said, "Yeah, didn't you know it was a prequel?" Um, no. Should I have? LOL

This naivete probably explains why my thoughts during the movie were along these lines all too often: "Geez, this is like a ripoff of both Alien AND 2001: A Space Odyssey!"

Seriously, same main opening scenes -- a crew in a ship that's traveled quite far, all waking up from hypersleep, being cranky and witty and catty to each other, then sitting around a table eating "breakfasts" of various sorts. Oh, and there's a milky-headed robot who sounds like HAL and acts like Ash and Bishop ... one who doesn't seem to care if he kills humans during the first part of the flick, but then at the end saves Shaw's life and talks her out of returning to Earth. If he has definable motives and an agenda, it felt as if they kept changing and shifting.

I really hated Pearce's bad "old man" makeup. They can put a man on the moon -- literally and CGI -- but they still can't make good old-guy makeup for a movie? Please.

The part I found the most vexing was all of Shaw's activity post-major-abdominal self-surgery. Adrenaline rush be damned, there is no way you can sever the amount of abdominal muscles she did and then bounce around like that, climbing walls, leaping over chasms in a single bound, without bleeding out from that hastily stapled wound.

Seriously, the woman's going to die in space from an infection. What a letdown that would be after all that, huh?

Also, she jumped on this ship with a bare amount of supplies. What's she going to be eating during the long trip? What if the hypersleep chamber thingies aren't working or don't "fit" her properly or something?

Yes, I tend to think practical. So sue me. To me, these sorts of questions (in a movie like this) are almost more vexing than the philosophical ones (which were barely asked).

---

Speaking of which: So, why does David insist on taking away Shaw's cross necklace (something I haven't seen asked here at all)? Does he make connections with the 2,000-year-old man (apologies to Mel Brooks) and the "Christ" thing and is afraid the necklace will offend someone they find? It seems now like such a random act, with only symbolic significance for us as viewers: Shaw is being asked to put her faith aside for the time being ... and of course, later, she gets the necklace back, symbolizing her embracing her faith again... a faith we never really see defined all that well.

It was obvious from the beginning that we were meant to identify mainly with Shaw (she's the only one whose childhood we see in flashback, with poignant memories and sadnesses), but frankly, I found David and the ship's captain the two most engaging characters. Theron was great as Vickers, but I found I really wanted a better, more thorough father-daughter scene than what we got (her simply uttering "Father" at the end of a sentence before leaving the room). Of course, the fact that we're told that David is the closest thing to a son that Weyland's ever had smarts with Vickers, David's almost-sister/sibling.

More later. Still processing things, but I tend to nitpit the details because if those are wrong, then the larger philosophies tend to annoy me because I wonder why a decent writer couldn't piece together details of a story properly.

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In a trilogy, no one piece stands *completely* alone, but at least they tend to feel as if they build on each other. Shaw's decision at the end seems slightly random -- why wouldn't she go back to Earth to tell everyone what she's found, if only as warning rather than scientific knowledge? Won't they simply send out some other crew later and ... oh wait, never mind.

This first installment in a proposed trilogy felt as if it randomly left out key pieces of a puzzle that we'll realize still has a few pieces that went missing somewhere along the line. And I personally dislike putting together a jigsaw puzzle only to end up with a handful of key pieces missing after all that work.

It was gorgeous. It was great fun. It got me thinking a little bit. But the annoying details will win the day for me every time. If it makes me think, "Shame on you, writer. You got paid a ton of money for this, and nobody pointed out these glaring issues with your STORYLINE?"... then I give it fewer stars.

Don't know how to do the popcorn things, but 3.5 stars outta 5 for me.

Re: Prometheus
 

To be fair, I thought Austruck would actually rate this a lot lower than she did. She's a writer, and the issues I found with the film all fell in Lindelhoff's lap. I really enjoyed the rest of the film, but a few instances had me cringing at the writing.

Re: Prometheus
 

I did enjoy it, Seds, and I still think my 3.5/5 is about right. But I wonder now, having read through this thread, how much of that is because I was so totally spoiler-free going into it. Aside from the occasional thought of "Gee, this is ANOTHER ripoff scene from Alien!" I found it a ton of strangely scary fun.

And I was literally trying to talk Yoda out of seeing it just hours beforehand, afraid it would be too gory or creepy. The surgery scene was outrageous but didn't totally do me in as I might have feared. Perhaps all that telescoping for any scary scene helped me and kept me from being sneaked-up on. (Again, though, having seen the Alien movies, it was ridiculous how easy it was to see the deaths coming. I must've said "REDSHIRT!" ten times. LOL)

Re: Prometheus
 

(straight from Movie Tab II)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...osterfixed.jpg

I never saw any movie from the Alien franchise, I never read a full review for this film, or even watched a preview, so I came in here blind as a bat. There were two things that really stuck out for me in this movie. The first was the wonderful CGI that I haven't seen worked so well in a long time. It beats the hell out of The Avengers special effects. Secondly was Michael Fassbenders performance of the robot David. While he can not feel or show emotion he can have the same characteristics of Hal 9000. A confident robot who needs his way, and does what ever he needs to do, to get it. One big negative was the lack luster performance of Charlize Theron, the few times she showed emotion it was very unrealistic and made her look like an amateur theater actress compared to the rest of the cast. It was a very good sci-fi but nowhere near perfect, it had mistakes that could be caught by someone watching there very first movie. None the less it's enjoyable and phsycologocal and will mostly likely leave a mark in the 2012 in film genre.


Anyone else have thoughts on Thernons performance? I thought it was one of the worse I saw in a long time

Prometheus is an eye-gasm of visual flare. I dug the art direction and cinematography, the story on the other hand....is somewhere in the middle.

As for all the questions:

Spoiler Alert:
I thought so far a good part of the movie but she showed to much emotion in the confession of who her father is, and she wouldn't call him father. It sure felt like she was though

Does your bf not like those movies? My boyfriend and I went opening night lol.

Re: Prometheus
 

My girlfriend was most upset at the fact that Holloway's ring fit Shaw. :p

Re: Prometheus
 

Yeah, I thought that was stupid too because she so obviously is like 5'4 or maybe shorter and that guy was way bigger so no way could the ring fit.

Unless she has serious man hands, or he has girly wimpy hands which everyone knows what people say about small hands.......

Re: Prometheus
 

Also, is it just me, or did anyone get a SUPERMAN vibe from the score?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBcOrV7qOWA

Starts at 6:50.

Re: Prometheus
 

I'm not going to get all deep, philosophical, poetic or otherwise about Prometheus. I'll just say this - meh. I am done with anything coming out from the studios. Big budget films suck. So disgusted I want to puke. Done. Done with all the pukes. I will never go to the theater again (save for art house theaters) - done. They can all rot.

Re: Prometheus
 

To be fair - production value was awesome - effing gorgeous. Production design and art department were beyond great. Acting, great. Noomi Rapace is a goddess, her body might be the best production deisgn of the movie. Wooff woofff! Directing was subperb. BUT story was a hunk of sh-t. Eff Damon Lindelof sideways. And eff Fox.

Re: Prometheus
 

I will never go to see another studio movie again in the theater. Thanks, Fox. Done with the BS.

Re: Prometheus
 

I mean it - I will never again bother with a studio movie - indie only. The studios will be luckly if I watch their crap on DVD.