Prometheus Review Thread (Spoilers)

[BLUEGRASS]

Originally Posted by Clippins

Wondering if anyone understood the following:

[Show spoiler]What was the purpose of the beginning of the movie? Why did the "engineer" infect himself and what was the result other than he got torn apart? What was the purpose of the ship he was looking at prior to infecting himself? Was it dropping something off, picking something up??? I just don't know why a movie would have these beginning elements if they really never had a payoff. Why not just start with Shaw digging in the cave?

[Show spoiler]The beginning of Prometheus shows us a glimpse at the "creation" theory with the use of a sacrificial Engineer on Earth. He sacrifices himself with a cup of "Black Goo" or "Bioformer" which disintegrates his DNA - destroying him and seeding the planet with fragments of his genetic material. From this, the DNA of the Engineer is mixed with the elements of the planet and thus, life is created. We are created.

[BouCoupDinkyDau]

Originally Posted by Bluballs31

I enjoyed it a lot though as a whole and it just made me really want to watch the Alien films to just finally see them already and simply because I am just much more interested than I ever was previously. Hopefully, the Alien films will please me as much as Prometheus did. I plan on watching 1 tonight and the sequels this weekend.

Thanks again for the responses people

Cool beans, blu. The anthology is good, but declines in quality as you progress through it. You start off with a masterpiece with Alien, and depending on who you talk to, end up with trash when you get to Ressurection.

Glad you liked Prometheus.

[BLUEGRASS]

Originally Posted by Clippins

[Show spoiler]Also what was the purpose of the geologist who took the acid bath coming back in some sort of reincarnated form to wreck stuff up? Why not just have an Engineer come instead. I just didn't see the purpose. He died. Why bring him back?

[Show spoiler]My take on this was that it was simply an illustration that the Black Goo has mutating capabilites. An interesting tidbit...below is what the original design was for Mutant Fifield (aka Babyhead). It definitely shows that mutation occured:

[ObiWanShinobi]

Originally Posted by BLUEGRASS

[Show spoiler]My take on this was that it was simply an illustration that the Black Goo has mutating capabilites. An interesting tidbit...below is what the original design was for Mutant Fifield (aka Babyhead). It definitely shows that mutation occured:

I'm glad that one to the right didn't make it in the film. That wouldve have drawn fits of laughter throughout the crowd...it looks like an old woman.

I DO like the one the guy is working on. The one with the helmet. In that design it looks like a MAJOR mutation, like his head is about to burst.

[cajmoyper]

Originally Posted by BouCoupDinkyDau

[Show spoiler]What leads you to believe we were their only creations? That base could have been intended to destroy thousands of civilizations that went awry.

The goo did different things to different organisms. It killed the sacrifice engineer, created the human race, started destroying Halloway, turned two worms into vicious snake-things, impregnated Shaw with a cthulian facehugger, and so on. It does more than just destroy or create. Hopefully, we'll learn a little more about it without all of the mystery being ruined (midichlorines anyone?).

Originally Posted by BouCoupDinkyDau

[Show spoiler]It was a proto-queen. A mistake never intended to exist because of the chain of events that took place:

Goo to Halloway to impregnating Shaw to impregnating of engineer. Think of it as a hybrid that we created by interfering with the gods. We had no business there, and now we've turned the xenos into a self–propagating species that were never meant to be

.

Again, that's how I saw it.

You are absolutely the source to talk to about this movie. Those are things I didn't even think to ask but you've answered them regardless. Thanks. I loved this movie and hate everybody who didn't!!! jk. I think though that anybody who is so vehemently poking holes in this movie went in not wanting to like it in the first place.

[InCali]

Originally Posted by ObiWanShinobi

$51 million domestic over the weekend? Damn I as SO close. I guessed it would make $55 million. Though I get the feeling it'll have a big dropoff next weekend.

There's always a drop off, but it's not going head to head with anything spectacular (That's my boy and Rock of ages....meh....) so I think a lot of people may be revisiting and those who didn't go may. I've been poking around and after a lot of early mixed reviews, it seems to be getting a better word of mouth (except some of our friends on this thread ). I don't think it will drop off anything like Snow White and the Huntsman (almost 60%).

[Elandyll]

Saw it this week end and loved it.

A few too many unexplained things happening and a few off-par performances (will post a list of the things that annoyed me below) prevents it for me to reach true greatness, but a solid Sci-Fi movie nonetheless.

I really hope that Ridley Scott will be able to do the 2nd movie.

In the "annoying" things I would put

[Show spoiler]
- Fassbender and Rapace were stellar imo, Theron was good, but I felt like the other actors were mostly playing it by the book, including Elba and sadly Pearce
- So many unexplained things. Some are good and even beneficial for the sake of discussion I would say (reason for painting on the wall, what happens at the end), but :
- Why would David endanger the whole mission, including his boss, by doing an uncontrolled experiment on the scientist with the black ooze? Almost seemed he had a grudge -aka feelings-, which is hinted at a lot during the movie, but not explored enough imo.
- As pointed in many forum, the grey ooze and the Jar content (black ooze in vials) seems to have "random" and varying effects. This is not imo a plot hole, but still begs a little more light. I deduced that the grey ooze is mostly a DNA mutator/ tissue destructor while the black ooze/ content of jars is a DNR creator/ recombinant (hence fitting in the theme of Destruction -> Creation). But then where do the worms fit in? Just local organisms of that planet mutated by the Grey/ Black ooze?
- The people Rapace fights to get out of her "pregnant" situation seem to leave her alone afterwards, and no one mentions what just happened after one of the most F-ed up and yet most amazing scenes I have seen in a long time. Seems odd, but again, I wouldn't necessarily put it in the "plot hole" section. Just seems like we are missing something.
- Vickers stupidly stays under the ship about to crush her when she just has to roll sideways, which Shaw just did seconds before. Granted people do illogical things when in panic mode, but still imo a stupid death.


P.S: if you wonder what I refer to by differentiating grey ooze and black ooze, remember this: The "grey" ooze pours out of the vials on its own, and seems to generate/mutate the worms. The black ooze is found by David inside a vial contained within the Urns, surrounded by the grey ooze. Like at the beginning, where the Engineer swallows a vial composed both of grey ooze surrounding little vials with something inside it.

[InCali]

Originally Posted by BouCoupDinkyDau

Is that in "adjusted dollars?"

No, but adjusting dollars is really, really tricky and probably doesn't tell you what you think it does.

[Clippins]

Originally Posted by BLUEGRASS

[Show spoiler]The beginning of Prometheus shows us a glimpse at the "creation" theory with the use of a sacrificial Engineer on Earth. He sacrifices himself with a cup of "Black Goo" or "Bioformer" which disintegrates his DNA - destroying him and seeding the planet with fragments of his genetic material. From this, the DNA of the Engineer is mixed with the elements of the planet and thus, life is created. We are created.

Ah, gotcha.

[Show spoiler]I never got that he was really on Earth. I figured he was on LV-223 when he did it. That makes sense. Still though have no idea what the purpose was of the space ship that he was looking at prior to infecting himself.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by Clippins

Went and saw this on Saturday in IMAX 3D. Thought it was good -- 2nd best movie I've seen this year behind The Avengers, however I still had issues with a few parts. First and foremost, I expected this to be a suspense horror type movie like the first Alien and it wasn't. Never seemed to have that "monster in the house" vibe.

Wondering if anyone understood the following:

[SPOILER]What was the purpose of the beginning of the movie? Why did the "engineer" infect himself and what was the result other than he got torn apart? What was the purpose of the ship he was looking at prior to infecting himself? Was it dropping something off, picking something up??? I just don't know why a movie would have these beginning elements if they really never had a payoff. Why not just start with Shaw digging in the cave?

Hmmm, I think you entirely missed a large plot point of the movie.

He basically was from the visiting ship. We could assume what he did was part of a mission (or, he could be a rogue who did this out of his own personal desire/ideals).

Either way - the end result was that through his act - he

[Show spoiler]sacrificed himself to give life to the planet. And, since his DNA was used as the building blocks for life, we grew as the end result. Hence, we call them the "Engineers", assuming they meant to "grow" us in their image on this planet.

Early in the movie, as they talk about the Cave paintings and symbols left behind, we know who must have left those behind. And, of course, throughout the movie we go from a mission to meet our creators, to

[Show spoiler]saving ourselves from them.

There is a lot of talk about the Black Goo being something that reacts to the host and changes accordingly. We know from the beginning,

[Show spoiler]that when someone takes it with noble intentions, self sacrifice - it gave life.

But when Shaw and team come near it - it begins to ooze and bubble. The room begins to take on an infected feel. Shaw comments that their presence has altered the room. However, nothing happens in David's presence. He can touch it with no ill effect.

.

[Show spoiler]Also what was the purpose of the geologist who took the acid bath coming back in some sort of reincarnated form to wreck stuff up? Why not just have an Engineer come instead. I just didn't see the purpose. He died. Why bring him back?

[Show spoiler]It seems to be something that reacts to the being with whom it contacts. In the cases we saw, it seems to turn them into mindless, raging monsters who want nothing but to kill. I think that was specifically shown to illustrate how the Black Goo affected a human. Would the same ending have happened to Shaw's husband? We'll never know.

In Shaw's case, she gets infected in a different way - in her, it gives her the sudden ability to give birth (she had been barren before), however, this "miracle" is short lived as she was impregnated by someone who was having a pretty bad reaction to the Goo.

The big question is, what would have happened to Shaw, a woman of faith and good intentions - if she had drank the stuff?

So, we see the results without the explanations behind it. But, based on how everyone reacts and the end results, we can start to put the pieces together of how all this works.

Are we right? Who knows? But isn't that how the real world works?

I like that we aren't spoon fed everything, yet there is a basic logic at work here.

Not sure if I helped at all, but that's my take on what I saw.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Clippins

Wondering if anyone understood the following:

[Show spoiler]What was the purpose of the beginning of the movie? Why did the "engineer" infect himself and what was the result other than he got torn apart? What was the purpose of the ship he was looking at prior to infecting himself? Was it dropping something off, picking something up??? I just don't know why a movie would have these beginning elements if they really never had a payoff. Why not just start with Shaw digging in the cave?

Here is my take:

[Show spoiler]I don't think he was infecting himself with the same stuff we later see in the movie. I think he is breaking down his body so his DNA can go into the water, the 'primordial soup' so to speak, so that it can combine with other dna to form what will be come the human race, similar to that of the "Engineer" race, over which they will later have dominion. The ship left him there, and that is why it is leaving.

I believe the Engineers later wanted to destroy the human race because they became too evolved and were a threat to them, probably explaining why they later left Earth, sort of like the aliens in Stargate.

[binarymelon]

Really wasn't impressed with the movie. The acting was great and the effects were good, but the story was a bit of a mess. There were too many things left unexplained

[Show spoiler](David's motivations for anything he did for example)

. It almost felt like a teaser trailer for two movies they really wanted to make: an Alien reboot and Prometheus 2.

[kolibri]

I'm curious to know whether your perception of Prometheus as a prequel diminished your experience of the film.

To illustrate; I went to see the film over the weekend with two others. My partner was blissfully unaware of its Alien connections, and enjoyed it a lot. I was very aware of the Alien link, but wasn't desperate for a direct 'prequel' - I thought it was good but not epic (I have since reappraised this, and now leaning more towards epic!). My friend, I think, believed that Prometheud would be a direct lead-in to Alien and fully explain everything. He came away disappointed.

Your thoughts please...

[BouCoupDinkyDau]

Originally Posted by cajmoyper

You are absolutely the source to talk to about this movie.

Nah, just postulating my opinions like everyone else. I'm just enjoying the shit out of theorizing about this film!

[ObiWanShinobi]

Originally Posted by InCali

There's always a drop off, but it's not going head to head with anything spectacular (That's my boy and Rock of ages....meh....) so I think a lot of people may be revisiting and those who didn't go may. I've been poking around and after a lot of early mixed reviews, it seems to be getting a better word of mouth (except some of our friends on this thread ). I don't think it will drop off anything like Snow White and the Huntsman (almost 60%).

Oh I agree it doesnt have any major competition. I just get the feeling that the next several weeks will be kinda blah at the box office until The Dark Knight Rises comes out. At least domestically.

[InCali]

Originally Posted by ObiWanShinobi

Oh I agree it doesnt have any major competition. I just get the feeling that the next several weeks will be kinda blah at the box office until The Dark Knight Rises comes out. At least domestically.

Or until Spiderman. I think it will do pretty well...that comes out in 4 weeks I think. TDKR, will, of course, be huge. If either of the above were playing next week, Prometheus, MIB, SW&TH, Avengers, etc. Would all take major hits. That's why I don't see huge drops. Blah at the box office is, IMO, correct.

[MovieMan31]

Just saw Prometheus and thought it was great. Definitely lived up to my expectations. Personally i felt the my knowledge of all the other Alien movies just added to my enjoyment. Seeing connections between things from the other movies and the little easter egg at the very end of the credits.

I had heard rumblings about sequels so I wasn't really disappointed that not every question was answered. I think there's a problem with today's movie audience that if all their questions aren't answered or explained thoroughly then its not a good movie.

[Clippins]

Yeah I guess I missed that huge point

[Show spoiler]I just figured that was a scene shown on the alien world and not Earth.

I did have a theory though, not on the questions I had, but on a different aspect of the movie

[Show spoiler]I don't believe the Engineers intention was to destroy humans to oblivion, I believe they meant to use us to create a better evolved species. Referring back to the original Alien movie, the Xenomorph was referred to as a perfect killer. I believe that the Engineers wanted to use us to incubate the Xenomorph so they would have a new "pet" to play with. It obviously backfired. Just a theory, but I mean you did see the front outline of a Xenomorph on the wall in the room with the containers so the engineers had to have had knowledge of the Xenomorph species.

[Kaiju]

Going to go see this again tomorrow.

Hopefully it's just as good the second time.

[Monk360]

So, for those who have (or have heard) the soundtrack, which is/are your favorite track(s)?

Mine are Space Jockey and Collision (from my favorite scenes in the film).

Prometheus OST ~ 20. Space Jockey - YouTube