Prometheus Review Thread (Spoilers)

[McCrutchy]

I went and ssaw this a second time today, and I just got back from a (true) IMAX 3D screening (3D is useless to me, it seems, but the IMAX was nice, and they opened up the image to something like 1.78:1, which was interesting), and I have softened a bit on the film, it's still very good, but it runs awfully fast the second time around, and so the lack of characterization (and the weaker acting) is much more irritating, because you've made the visual journey already.

Everybody does actually have a name that is said by themselves or someone else at least once, with the possible exception of the Scottish lady, as I never caught that one. I don't remember most of them, though...

[Show spoiler]The two redshirt scientists who die first (I know one of them is Sean Harris from Channel 4's Red Riding Trilogy), are in constant radio contact with the Prometheus, that is receiving a virtual map of where they are, but they never think to have Janek or someone on the ship guide them out of the cave when they elect to leave (something that pisses me off). Also, the tiny creature that apparently births from the cobra when the crew go back and find their bodies in the cave never gets up to anything at all. In fact, neither does anything else from that cave, despite the fact that the human characters continue to spend a lot of time there in the ship portion. The only danger appears to come from that chamber, David's vase, and the fetus from hell that Shaw removes from herself

[greg_achen]

Originally Posted by besi

I think so too,they wouldn't "paint" a mural because it looks cool. Worshipping or afraid of them ?
remember the pile of dead sj bodies? Lots of them with a hole in their chest and hole in the helmets too. Whatever happened it wasn't any black goo or other space jockey.

I've been thinking a lot about the mural and it's relation to Dr. Shaw's "baby" and her subsequent "grandchild" at the end. Having seen the design they originally had planned for Fifield (instead of the zombie look)...



I am thinking that the black liquid has the ability to turn a humanoid species into a creature resembling the classic xenomorph. Was this xenomorph-like creature as shown in the mural able to reproduce on its own or was it a sterile creature? We don't know for sure, but for the sake of this argument, I am going to assume it was sterile. Which brings me to Holloway (Dr. Shaw's boyfriend). David gave Holloway a tiny drop drop of the black liquid. Had he ingested a significant amount of the liquid, instead of a small drop, would he have mutated fully into the classic looking xenomorph? Once again for the sake of this argument, I am going to assume that yes he would. However, because he only ingested a small amount, his DNA and the resulting chromosomes in his s-p-e-r-m mutated just enough that he was able to conceive a mutated "child" with Dr. Shaw, something possibly the Engineers didn't count on. Which brings me to Dr. Shaw's squid baby. The "child" conceived is the product of normal chromosomes from Dr. Shaw and mutated chromosomes from Dr. Holloway. I am hypothesizing that due to the unforeseen circumstances that led to its creation, the squid baby now has a reproductive system as evidenced when it plants its seed in one of the Engineers. Like others have previously stated in this thread, and the more I've though about it, the more I agree with them, I think it is entirely possible that the creature we see at the very end is a prototype "queen." It is the "homo habalis" of the xenomorphs in the original films that will eventually evolve into its familiar form and familiar life cycle. The xenomorph is now a species capable of sustaining itself.

Am I right? who knows. "That's why its called a thesis, doctor."

[besi]

if you haven't seen the movie don't LOOK !!!!!!!!!!!

some nice concept art ,enjoy !!

concept hammerpede looks awesome and the mural looks like a door to me

(thx viscal)

[Show spoiler]

[chad_1138]

Originally Posted by besi

if you haven't seen the movie don't LOOK !!!!!!!!!!!

some nice concept art ,enjoy !!

concept hammerpede looks awesome and the mural looks like a door to me

(thx viscal)

[Show spoiler]

Nice Thanks for the pics

[Show spoiler]The fingers holding the egg look like the same fingers on the concept xenomorph. Looks like she's a queen!!

[Rz_Samurai]

I hope this gets a Steelbook Release. To me by far this year best movie... My opinion!

[besi]

Prometheus 2 ?

[Show spoiler] the home planet of the engineers ?

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Ugh, looking at all those pics just solidifies how in love I am with the design of this film. As I've said before, the film fell a little short in certain areas and definitely had the potential to be great with some improved dialogue and character development - but, damn if there still isn't all kinds of awesome to be found in this movie.

[raygendreau]

Originally Posted by besi

I think so too,they wouldn't "paint" a mural because it looks cool. Worshipping or afraid of them ?
remember the pile of dead sj bodies? Lots of them with a hole in their chest and hole in the helmets too. Whatever happened it wasn't any black goo or other space jockey.

Actually, I believe they had somehow

[Show spoiler] ingested the black goo. The goo seems to have different effects on different lifeforms and life forms at different stages of evolution (us and the Engineers with matched DNA) We know from the opening scene of the Sacrifice Engineer that ingesting the black goo causes immediate deconstruction to the cellular level. He exploded/fell apart as he fell into the water. We see a continuation of the deconstruction in the water in a microscopic view of the cells. This is exactly what was happening to the suited engineers seen in the first hologram. What remained to be found 2000 years later, were the empty suits which simply showed the effects of the explosive deconstruction. The one whose head was decapitated by the closing door confirms this. Some kind of decontamination or preservation occurred inside that room allowing Shaw to reanimate the head back on the Prometheus. Once the reanimation began, the black goo (mutagen) completed its work decontructing/exploding the head.

The real unanswered question what caused them as a group to ingest the goo? Perhaps something similar to David infecting Halloway? And why? Fascinating!

[Rudeboy2025]

Pretty good flick. I'm definitely hoping for a extended edition though!

8/10

[Mentat Bashar]

Originally Posted by besi

if you haven't seen the movie don't LOOK !!!!!!!!!!!

some nice concept art ,enjoy !!

concept hammerpede looks awesome and the mural looks like a door to me

(thx viscal)

[Show spoiler]

My brother and I went and saw the movie together. He commented on how the hammerpede looked very

[Show spoiler] predator-like

and that hammerpede concept art solidifies it for me!

[raygendreau]

Originally Posted by greg_achen

I've been thinking a lot about the mural and it's relation to Dr. Shaw's "baby" and her subsequent "grandchild" at the end. Having seen the design they originally had planned for Fifield (instead of the zombie look)...



I am thinking that the black liquid has the ability to turn a humanoid species into a creature resembling the classic xenomorph. Was this xenomorph-like creature as shown in the mural able to reproduce on its own or was it a sterile creature? We don't know for sure, but for the sake of this argument, I am going to assume it was sterile. Which brings me to Holloway (Dr. Shaw's boyfriend). David gave Holloway a tiny drop drop of the black liquid. Had he ingested a significant amount of the liquid, instead of a small drop, would he have mutated fully into the classic looking xenomorph? Once again for the sake of this argument, I am going to assume that yes he would. However, because he only ingested a small amount, his DNA and the resulting chromosomes in his s-p-e-r-m mutated just enough that he was able to conceive a mutated "child" with Dr. Shaw, something possibly the Engineers didn't count on. Which brings me to Dr. Shaw's squid baby. The "child" conceived is the product of normal chromosomes from Dr. Shaw and mutated chromosomes from Dr. Holloway. I am hypothesizing that due to the unforeseen circumstances that led to its creation, the squid baby now has a reproductive system as evidenced when it plants its seed in one of the Engineers. Like others have previously stated in this thread, and the more I've though about it, the more I agree with them, I think it is entirely possible that the creature we see at the very end is a prototype "queen." It is the "homo habalis" of the xenomorphs in the original films that will eventually evolve into its familiar form and familiar life cycle. The xenomorph is now a species capable of sustaining itself.

Am I right? who knows. "That's why its called a thesis, doctor."

In the original Alien, the life cycle was

[Show spoiler] Egged facehugger 'impregnates' male human orally with chestburster which matures into xenomorph which captures humans that it somehow turns into more eggs. (beginning the next cycle) The xenomorphs according to Scott only lived for a few days, at most.

I'm not sure we can easily extrapolate the lifecycle of the xenomorph appearing at the end of Prometheus. I've been looking at the pictures Besi posted from the Art of Prometheus book. The Deacon (Ridleys name for the Prometheus Xenomorph) and I don't see any resemblance to the Queen Xenomorph, which did not exist prior to its creation for Aliens by Cameron.

The Queen had two sets of arms, a hugh pointed tail and a very distinctive flared and grooved head. The Alien (1979) Xenomorph also had a tail, but the back of its head was rounded rather than pointed like the Deacon. The Deacon does not appear to have a tail and only has two arms. It resembles the 1979 xenomorph more than the queen xenomorph.

Further complicating the life cycle is the Trilobite (proto facehugger removed by Shaw's caesarian. Shaw did not ingest any of the mutagen (black goo) and she was unable to conceive. What apparently occurred is Holloway's s-p-e-r-m-atozoa was affected by the mutagen (I'm not going to say black goo anymore) and that is what grew inside Shaw's uterus. Still a puzzle how it grew so large without an apparent food source after it was removed. There are many variables involved here. For example, did mixing the mutagen with alchohol affect the mutagen? Slow the process down perhaps? How much, if any, of Shaw's DNA was in the Trilobite?

[besi]

he played the last engineer (also the predator in avp,avp2). big dude 7'1" (Ian Whyte)

i think i have a shot to play the space jockey junior.(im 5'10"')

[Show spoiler]

[greg_achen]

Originally Posted by raygendreau

In the original Alien, the life cycle was

[Show spoiler] Egged facehugger 'impregnates' male human orally with chestburster which matures into xenomorph which captures humans that it somehow turns into more eggs. (beginning the next cycle) The xenomorphs according to Scott only lived for a few days, at most.

I'm not sure we can easily extrapolate the lifecycle of the xenomorph appearing at the end of Prometheus. I've been looking at the pictures Besi posted from the Art of Prometheus book. The Deacon (Ridleys name for the Prometheus Xenomorph) and I don't see any resemblance to the Queen Xenomorph, which did not exist prior to its creation for Aliens by Cameron.

The Queen had two sets of arms, a hugh pointed tail and a very distinctive flared and grooved head. The Alien (1979) Xenomorph also had a tail, but the back of its head was rounded rather than pointed like the Deacon. The Deacon does not appear to have a tail and only has two arms. It resembles the 1979 xenomorph more than the queen xenomorph.

Further complicating the life cycle is the Trilobite (proto facehugger removed by Shaw's caesarian. Shaw did not ingest any of the mutagen (black goo) and she was unable to conceive. What apparently occurred is Holloway's ***** was affected by the mutagen (I'm not going to say black goo anymore) and that is what grew inside Shaw's uterus. Still a puzzle how it grew so large without an apparent food source after it was removed. There are many variables involved here. For example, did mixing the mutagen with alchohol affect the mutagen? Slow the process down perhaps? How much, if any, of Shaw's DNA was in the Trilobite?

I definitely understand all the points you've made. My theory assumes that Aliens remains in the continuity of this film and Scott and Lindelof took Aliens into consideration when creating the Prometheus plot. I think the film definitely implies that the Deacon at the end of the film is the ancestor of what will eventually evolve into the classic xenomorph complete with facehugger lifecycle. Just as our ancestors didn't look exactly like modern man, neither does the Deacon. As far as Shaw's DNA being in the Trilobite I think it's a definite possibility if it was conceived the old fashioned s-p-e-r-m fertilizes egg way. Theoretically, the Trilobite would have 23 chromosomes from Shaw and 23 from Holloway. The Trilobite also did have an umbilical cord and an amniotic sac when it was removed, so her body obviously recognized it as a pregnancy and not as a parasite or something foreign.

[ariakon]

Walked out of the movie in love, went online and was summarily called an 'idiot' by lots and lots of fan commentators. Go see more science-fiction, they tell me. B-bu-but I love science-fiction, I tell them, Cordwainer Smith and Ray Bradbury and Gregory Benford are some of my favorite authors. You're an idiot, they tell me.

It's amazing how I've graduated High School and college (in English Literature, no less!) And yet people can still bully me into feeling bad for having different tastes in things. I don't know, am I a half-wit for loving Prometheus? I thought it was quite good, and at the very least, tried to be something meaningful.

[chris_santucci]

Originally Posted by ariakon

Walked out of the movie in love, went online and was summarily called an 'idiot' by lots and lots of fan commentators. Go see more science-fiction, they tell me. B-bu-but I love science-fiction, I tell them, Cordwainer Smith and Ray Bradbury and Gregory Benford are some of my favorite authors. You're an idiot, they tell me.

It's amazing how I've graduated High School and college (in English Literature, no less!) And yet people can still bully me into feeling bad for having different tastes in things. I don't know, am I a half-wit for loving Prometheus? I thought it was quite good, and at the very least, tried to be something meaningful.

I agree with the positive elements you highlighted. I can understand everyone's reservations, but "hate" is not a label that comes to mind.

[mwynn]

Originally Posted by ariakon

It's amazing how I've graduated High School and college (in English Literature, no less!) And yet people can still bully me into feeling bad for having different tastes in things. I don't know, am I a half-wit for loving Prometheus? I thought it was quite good, and at the very least, tried to be something meaningful.

No you are not a half-wit. What fun would it be if everyone liked all the same stuff.

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Originally Posted by ariakon

Walked out of the movie in love, went online and was summarily called an 'idiot' by lots and lots of fan commentators. Go see more science-fiction, they tell me. B-bu-but I love science-fiction, I tell them, Cordwainer Smith and Ray Bradbury and Gregory Benford are some of my favorite authors. You're an idiot, they tell me.

It's amazing how I've graduated High School and college (in English Literature, no less!) And yet people can still bully me into feeling bad for having different tastes in things. I don't know, am I a half-wit for loving Prometheus? I thought it was quite good, and at the very least, tried to be something meaningful.

Despite a couple of small quibbles, I also loved the film.

Try not to let such people get you down. I've often been solitary in my love of certain things (life wasn't easy for this classical music-loving high school student, believe me ). Just like what you like, and ignore those who obviously have nothing better to do than tell you how wrong you are for liking something they do not.

[tylerdurden10]

Originally Posted by ariakon

Walked out of the movie in love, went online and was summarily called an 'idiot' by lots and lots of fan commentators. Go see more science-fiction, they tell me. B-bu-but I love science-fiction, I tell them, Cordwainer Smith and Ray Bradbury and Gregory Benford are some of my favorite authors. You're an idiot, they tell me.

It's amazing how I've graduated High School and college (in English Literature, no less!) And yet people can still bully me into feeling bad for having different tastes in things. I don't know, am I a half-wit for loving Prometheus? I thought it was quite good, and at the very least, tried to be something meaningful.

Don't be too hard on yourself, the internet is filled with A-holes just waiting to tell you how you should think. I also loved the film and consider myself quite intelligent

[ariakon]

Originally Posted by Aragorn84

Try not to let such people get you down. I've often been solitary in my love of certain things (life wasn't easy for this classical music-loving high school student, believe me ). Just like what you like, and ignore those who obviously have nothing better to do than tell you how wrong you are for liking something they do not.

I try, but sometimes that fat, quiet kid I was in High School comes out in full. Funny, I do Spartan Runs and bench press 350 pounds now, but I still let people bully me over my opinion much of the time. Part of me is always going to be that kid in the back of the room, afraid to speak up because he doesn't want anyone to make fun of him. Whoops, didn't mean to drag this thread into a personal therapy session!


Carry on as before, gents, sorry!

[besi]

screen shots.
poor David.

[Show spoiler]