Prometheus (Ridley Scott)

[LegoMan1031]

Just watched a trailer for this:

 

 

[Fierce_LiNk]

1 Moooonth. So excited.

 

I am not missing this film for anything.

[James McGeachie]

Surprising how little hype there was for this before release on this forum.

 

Anyway, I saw this last night. In IMAX 3D. My first time, amazing visual experience.

 

Shame about the drunk guy laughing and booing behind me. Never wanted to enact a disproportionate response on a guy so badly before.

 

From what I got out of my distracted, agitated experience, it was good. You'll have to fill in gaps in narrative yourself to really get around things that could be considered "plot holes", but I'm pretty sure they're mostly intentional. It is certainly a film though that raises more questions than it really answers, so if that's not what you want, then oh dear. I'd say that I liked the script, but that's because I'm happy to sit and play with the questions it left in my mind.

 

Characters are not massively developed. It's certainly not a character driven story. It's more driven by grand concepts and the interaction of the characters with these large-scale ideas and challenges. The acting is good, but don't expect to really care about anyone much.

 

Atmosphere was nice, soundtrack was good. Was the film scary? No. Were parts slightly disturbing/unnerving, even to a hardened horror/thriller fan? Yes.

 

From what I've seen, a lot of fans are doing the typical "spoiled the magic" response, which I think is pretty much a given for any movie of this type. I expect a divided response from the Alien franchise fanbase as a whole on whether they like the revelations here. They're probably not really that important to that franchise to be honest though.

 

On that note, this movie is, as Ridley Scott did make clear really, it's own thing. It's not an Alien movie. It shares similarities and is in the same universe, but it deals with its own themes.

 

Anyway, go watch it and stuff.

[Emma]

I'm seeing this at 2pm, my best friend is a big fan and wanted to see it on opening day. I hope it's not too scary, I'm a complete wuss!

 

EDIT: Now been to see the film and I completely agree with @James McGeachie. It's definitely not scary, there's no tension.. lots of icky stuff though. Maybe it's the build up to a brilliant sequel?

Edited June 1, 2012 by Emma

[Fierce_LiNk]

I've got tickets to see this tomorrow. Can't wait.

[Hero-of-Time]

I seen this yesterday night and thought it was pretty bad. Terrible characters, who you didn't really connect with or care for, topped off with some shocking acting. As for the story, there was so much that never got explained and it moved far too slow at the start, to the point of where I just didn't care what was going on. There was zero tension during the movie and zero scares as well. Not a patch on any of the Alien films and yes that includes Alien 3.

[heroicjanitor]

Aww fuck. Thought this was a Greek mythology movie and was going to see it without any research. I shall not now.

[Aimless]

Got to say, I didn't think much of this either.

 

I was enjoying it at first but didn't really like where they took the plot and felt the film fell apart a bit at the halfway point; it seemed very rushed, like someone else was trying to tie up another writer's script. I wasn't especially convinced by the characters' motivations, either: there were a few instances where I felt people were only doing things because the plot said they needed to.

 

I don't often go to the cinema but bought a ticket for this as an Alien prequel by Ridley Scott seemed like a no-brainer. A real disappointment.

[Kav]

I'm not quite sure how I feel about the film, I found it was lacking substance. I felt it was simply just a film to raise questions and never found it's own identity.

 

The fact that there are so many questions raised from it that is the problem.

 

I feel a bit let down.

 

 

 

...I'm starting to think that Ridley Scott is a scientologist and that the film is simply just a way to show what they believe and he's linked it to the Alien universe so that the film sells.

 

 

As Idris Elba's character eluded to, I'd like to think that the "engineers" were manufacturing the "tools" (the black goo lark) to produce the bio-weapons we know as the classic xenomorphs from the Alien franchise. For the manufacturing of the xenomorphs though they required host beings for the creatures to gestate in and so created us. What they had planned to do was go to earth, release the black goo so humanity would be used as hosts and giving rise to a fresh batch of xenomorph bio-weaponry!

 

That's the spin I'm putting on it.

 

 

 

I'd like to know the following but appreciate I'll never know:

Why did the dude that got acid splashed on his helmet come back as some weird zombie rage monster?

Why the snake like alien went into that dudes mouth if not to lay and egg like a facehugger would?

What would've happened to the dude that got infected if he wasn't flamethrowered to death?

Why on earth that bird got pregnant with what turned out to be a big-ass facehugger and why the creature didn't just gestate inside the dude that got infected instead?

Why the space jockey didn't die in his damn chair!

 

There were more things that made me go "eh?" I'm sure but I can't remember given that it's 05:12 and since I saw the film I've had a drink.

 

Edited June 3, 2012 by Kav

[Hero-of-Time]

There were more things that made me go "eh?" I'm sure but I can't remember given that it's 05:12 and since I saw the film I've had a drink.

 

After watching that film I don't blame you. In fact, I encourage all of those who have yet to see this film to have a few cheeky ones before the movie. That way the movie make some form of sense!

[somme]

I want to know why he didn't die in the chair as well. Unless the woman that escaped on another ship really fucks things up and ends up getting impregnated by a face hugger and she's the one in the space jockey outfit, in the chair on that little rock.

 

Actually it must be another space jockey/ship anyway seeing as that moon and the one from Alien are completely different.

 

[Fierce_LiNk]

I saw it last night and loved it. It worked on so many levels. It works as a standalone, it works as an entry into a new series (aimed at just the engineers) or it works as a very loose prequel to Alien (which I don't really view it as).

 

I loved the character of David. So well written and quite unpredictable at times. I thought the scriptwork in general was good and didn't seem at all annoying or cheesy.

 

The part with the Space Jockey's face turning out to be a helmet blew my mind. I spent my whole life thinking that the head we saw in Alien was it. That there was some complicated and bizarre bone in the front of its head that connected the nose to its body. I had no fucking idea how it worked. Then, in the film, it just made sense of it. Ahh.

 

Saying that, I didn't really view the film as a prequel. It works as a film in the same universe, with some links to the films, but not being directly related. The best possible scenario.

 

 

Also, @kav82:

 

Yeah...the planet/moon in Prometheus is not the same planet/moon in Alien/Aliens. The audience gets told the name of the planet as LV-322 very soon on in the film (whereas the one in Alien/Aliens is LV-426). So, that's why the Engineer doesn't die in the chair...a bit surprised anyone thought this.

 

[somme]

I think people thought it because that's what people wanted to happen.

[Diageo]

So I just saw the film and thought it was very good. Really liked it.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about the film, I found it was lacking substance. I felt it was simply just a film to raise questions and never found it's own identity.

 

The fact that there are so many questions raised from it that is the problem.

 

I feel a bit let down.

 

 

 

...I'm starting to think that Ridley Scott is a scientologist and that the film is simply just a way to show what they believe and he's linked it to the Alien universe so that the film sells.

 

 

As Idris Elba's character eluded to, I'd like to think that the "engineers" were manufacturing the "tools" (the black goo lark) to produce the bio-weapons we know as the classic xenomorphs from the Alien franchise. For the manufacturing of the xenomorphs though they required host beings for the creatures to gestate in and so created us. What they had planned to do was go to earth, release the black goo so humanity would be used as hosts and giving rise to a fresh batch of xenomorph bio-weaponry!

 

That's the spin I'm putting on it.

 

 

 

I'd like to know the following but appreciate I'll never know:

Why did the dude that got acid splashed on his helmet come back as some weird zombie rage monster?

Why the snake like alien went into that dudes mouth if not to lay and egg like a facehugger would?

What would've happened to the dude that got infected if he wasn't flamethrowered to death?

Why on earth that bird got pregnant with what turned out to be a big-ass facehugger and why the creature didn't just gestate inside the dude that got infected instead?

Why the space jockey didn't die in his damn chair!

 

There were more things that made me go "eh?" I'm sure but I can't remember given that it's 05:12 and since I saw the film I've had a drink.

 

I'd like to know the following but appreciate I'll never know:

Why did the dude that got acid splashed on his helmet come back as some weird zombie rage monster?

I think that is because he fell into the black stuff face first after the acid gets on his helmet, and he gets infected with the black sludge.

Why the snake like alien went into that dudes mouth if not to lay and egg like a facehugger would?

I think that the black sludge infects organisms and turns them into aggressive organisms that reproduce parasitically. So the black sludge infected the worms in the ground and made them into those snake things that entered the guy. It's not actually a facehugger, so it doesn't have to work exactly the same.

What would've happened to the dude that got infected if he wasn't flamethrowered to death?

I don't really know. But that was the archaeologist that fell into the black sludge, not the biologist right? So he became aggressive from the sludge and started attacking others. Maybe it would have bitten into someone's face and infected them as well.

Why on earth that bird got pregnant with what turned out to be a big-ass facehugger and why the creature didn't just gestate inside the dude that got infected instead?

Like I said, it makes them aggressive and parasitic. So the guy was able to infect the woman like a facehugger would.

Why the space jockey didn't die in his damn chair!

Different moon.

 

[Fierce_LiNk]

I think people thought it because that's what people wanted to happen.

 

Why would you want it to happen, though? The original engineer is only in the first film as a plot device. It's there to add mystery and to make the audience come to their own conclusion. I'm so relieved we didn't actually see this take place.

 

Again, it's not intended as a prequel to the events of Alien. It's going to have some links to the creatures involved, but it's not about that series. It should be judged in its own right.

[Diageo]

It tells you what set into motion the origin of the xenomorphs though. They were a bio weapon made by the engineers that went wrong and killed them

[Aimless]

Again, it's not intended as a prequel to the events of Alien. It's going to have some links to the creatures involved, but it's not about that series. It should be judged in its own right.

If they wanted it to be judged separately then they shouldn't have made it such an overt part of the Alien mythos. You can't have your cake and eat it.

 

Whilst I think it would have been a better film without the Alien trappings, it's not an especially good one even if you discount those elements. The pacing is all over the place, numerous plot lines are underdeveloped, characters' actions are often devoid of reason, dialogue is frequently ham-fisted and it says a lot that the most engaging person in it is a robot. A director's cut might be able to salvage things somewhat, but the film I paid money for wasn't worth the entry fee.

 

The film looked nice and made for a good trailer. Those are the nicest things I can say about it.

[somme]

If the movie is intended to be judged in its own right then it's a terrible, terrible movie. The best bits were the nods to the Alien series.

[bryanee]

I saw it earlier today and its a pretty average movie overall but it is beautiful to watch. The story was a mess.

[Oxigen_Waste]

What a terrible waste of potential this was...

 

Guess that's what you get when you hire Lost's Damon Lindelof as your main screenwriter. This movie is a pleasent experience but also a terribly convoluted mess. It just serves to prove that Ridley Scott is a completely spent force. The man has been carried through his career based solely on the strenght of Alien and Blade Runner. He creates decent movies, to the point where pretty much everything he makes is enjoyable and goodish, but also incredibly univolving and beige. Gladiator, American Gangster, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven, Body of Lies... they're all "just there", there's never anything provoking or enthralling. He makes this incredibly dull paste that tastes ok and just spreads it all over any movie he makes. It's sad to watch and enfuriating to accept, but it's true.

 

As for Prometheus itself, it's not too bad, but I can't really say it has anything going for it. It's pretty, I guess?

[bob]

Just got back from seeing this.....was quite good i suppose, but:

 

What the hell was going on with all the alien species and parasites and goop and stuff? It all seemed like an incoherent mess. Maybe if you'd swotted up on all the Alien stuff beforehand it mihght have made sense, but i was very confused.

 

Ok, so the black goop at the beginning of the film broke apart the Engineers DNA and he fell into the water, and his DNA mutated and created life. I got that bit. Then the robot fed the goop to Charlie, and he started to break down as well, like the first Engineer, and the re-animated head. But when the goop got added to a maggoty thing, it turned into a penis snake? Why didn't it break the maggot down? And after Charlie had sex, the goop somehow impregnated Noomi-woman with a squid? Where did the squid come from?! Why did some humans turn into zombies, and others just die/explode?

 

If this goop is supposed to be some sort of terrible bio-weapon, sent to destroy Earth and wipe the planet clean, why does it turn all the humans into huge giant squid? How is that going to destroy mankind?

 

Worms, maggots, snakes, squid, zombies, it was all far too complicated.

 

And finally, why is the ignition key to the alien spaceship a fucking flute?!?!

 

EDIT: Also, why did David the Robot feed the goop to Charlie in the first place, i thought all he wanted was to get OldMan to meet his Maker? How would killing off the other humans help him?

 

And why was the old man a young man in prosthetic make up?! Did they run out of old man actors?! I assumed he was going to become yound again or something at the end, so they would need a younder looking version of the actor, but he just died!

 

You were right about it asking more questions than it answered....

 

 

7/10

Edited June 8, 2012 by 130131301364

[Molly]

Awful.

 

The opening sequence is stunning though, shame the rest of the film happens.

[Daft]

That was dire. Stunningly awful. It was one of the worst films I've ever gone to see in the cinema. That's not even hyperbole. I wanted to leave. Pretty much Film 101 on how not to make a film.

[ReZourceman]

Fairly okay. Average ish. "Poometheus" as I said to the people in the cinema. But I thought it was okay. It had Elba and Fassbender, so I mean = amazing. But. Like. Visual design, very nice in places, like the yellow lights make it definitive, and the orange stripes on the navy suit is pretty nice. Hmmm.

 

Myearh, fine-okay-pseudo-nym.

[Platty]

Went to see this on Saturday and was very excited but came away a bit meh.

 

I enjoyed it for what it was but I just felt it was missing something but I don't know what. Maybe a bit more suspense and OMG WTF ARGGGHHH moments would have done it.

 

Was still a good watch overall though.