Prometheus (2012)

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by JimDiGriz

+1. Yes it had a few holes and a few loose ends but just about every film (especially modern films) have if you care to look for them. Prometheus got really picked on for some reason whereas other films (*cough* superhero films *cough*) seem to escape this despite being far more ridiculous and unrealistic.

I agree. Its a better film upon subsequent viewings too. Now, after 2-3 watches, its a legit part of the Alien Franchise and has enough going for it to be considered a solid movie. And yeah, FiField is lame. so what?

[gates70]

Originally Posted by noddinoff

2001 is an example "leaving questions unanswered and up to individual interpretation" done perfectly and has people still analyzing it 46 years later and it will be discussed for decades to come which will NOT happen with Prometheus. 2001 leaves questions unanswered in a calculating way because kubrick and clarke knew it would be way more effective to let you arrive at your own answers instead giving them to you, prometheus just did it because its lazy and ridley scott wanted another pay day, he probably didn't even know the answers is most likely the reason so many things were open to interpretation, not because he's some genius. I was so pumped for this movie, I wanted to love it, the cinematography was gorgeous and it had lots of potential and it just completely falls flat.

Different generations. People now a days spend the movie texting and the attention span is almost non existent. You have to spoon feed the story to people today or they cry "plothole".

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by mar3o

You have no idea what kind of films I like, so please don't accuse me of lacking in imagination. I'm a huge sci-fi fan and have been since I can remember. Some of my favorite sci-fi films are Moon, Silent Running, and Solaris (loved the book also, which I read before I saw the film actually), just to name a few to give you an idea of what I like. The original Alien was stellar. I also enjoy sci-fi action films, as long as they're willing to try and at least make some sense. I don't lack imagination. This films lacks common sense. That's the problem. I don't need things dumbed-down for me. But I would like a coherent script with scenes that make some sense.

Tel ya what - there isnt a movie that exists that has NO logic gaps, questionable plot devices, or "why didnt they just xxxxxx" moments. Even the films you mention surely have some of that.

Prometheus does too, fair enough. But it doesnt take away from the experience and enjoyment of the film, for me anyways. Just saying - dont act like some movies are perfectly logical in every way possible and some are not. Doesnt work that way. never has, never will.

Originally Posted by gates70

Different generations. People now a days spend the movie texting and the attention span is almost non existent. You have to spoon feed the story to people today or they cry "plothole".

Sadly this is more true nowadays but even back in 1968 there were plenty of people that were bored and/or irritated with 2001. Noir films and films that dont have traditionally narrative structures will always hev a large number of detractors. Its no skin off my back. And, honestly, I find some of the noir/old films very boring and pointless myself.

[returnofthemack]

I love the movie and the blu ray. Was its a flawlessly executed movie? No but I still feel like the movies hit more then it missed and I consider it one of the better scifi movies of the last 10 years. There is more going on in this movie then meets the eye. Is it as good as or as deep as 2001? No but that doesn't mean it's an empty piece of trash. I really hope we get a sequel. I would love to see what happens next with David and Shaw.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

Tel ya what - there isnt a movie that exists that has NO logic gaps, questionable plot devices, or "why didnt they just xxxxxx" moments. Even the films you mention surely have some of that.

Prometheus does too, fair enough. But it doesnt take away from the experience and enjoyment of the film, for me anyways. Just saying - dont act like some movies are perfectly logical in every way possible and some are not. Doesnt work that way. never has, never will.

I agree with you 100% here. It's true that all films have their issues, whether they are logic issues, continuity, effects, acting, or whatever. I mentioned Moon but I know there could be some issues in that film too regarding logic if you try to find them. But for me, Prometheus has far too many issues, not just as a stand-alone film, but also how it doesn't properly fit into the Alien universe. The fact is the Architects are not what most people expected the Space Jockey to be.

[Show spoiler]The size is off drastically, and the Architects are humanoid - far from the bizarre skeletal remains we saw in Alien.

That's the biggest issue I have with it. The other issues - weak characters, confusing motivations, poor decisions made throughout the film by various characters, my issues with the med-unit scene - that's all just heaped on top of the big issue I have - they didn't do justice to the Space Jockey. I was perfectly happy wondering for the rest of my life what the Space Jockey was. It was a mystery. If they are going to bother explaining the mystery, it better be good. And it wasn't.

[noddinoff]

Im all for story and atmosphere over gore/action for no reason but this movie could of used some violence/gore to add a bit of excitement. The scene where the one guy

[Show spoiler]starts mutating and starts bashing people and throwing them around was actually pretty damn cool and I was like "alright maybe things are gonna start happening now" and as soon as it started it was over a second later and back to more boring nonsense.

[Reubania]

Originally Posted by mar3o

I agree with you 100% here. It's true that all films have their issues, whether they are logic issues, continuity, effects, acting, or whatever. I mentioned Moon but I know there could be some issues in that film too regarding logic if you try to find them. But for me, Prometheus has far too many issues, not just as a stand-alone film, but also how it doesn't properly fit into the Alien universe. The fact is the Architects are not what most people expected the Space Jockey to be.

[Show spoiler]The size is off drastically, and the Architects are humanoid - far from the bizarre skeletal remains we saw in Alien.

That's the biggest issue I have with it. The other issues - weak characters, confusing motivations, poor decisions made throughout the film by various characters, my issues with the med-unit scene - that's all just heaped on top of the big issue I have - they didn't do justice to the Space Jockey. I was perfectly happy wondering for the rest of my life what the Space Jockey was. It was a mystery. If they are going to bother explaining the mystery, it better be good. And it wasn't.

Engineers, not Architects

[Early Memphis]

Originally Posted by noddinoff

Im all for story and atmosphere over gore/action for no reason but this movie could of used some violence/gore to add a bit of excitement. The scene where the one guy

[Show spoiler]starts mutating and starts bashing people and throwing them around was actually pretty damn cool and I was like "alright maybe things are gonna start happening now" and as soon as it started it was over a second later and back to more boring nonsense.

Yeah! Let's kill a few people!

[kristoffer]

When I saw it the first time I was really disappointed. It seems like the movie had SOOOO much potential, but a lousy script is really the culprit.
I hope they don't let Damon Lindelof get near the script for the sequel!

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

Tel ya what - there isnt a movie that exists that has NO logic gaps, questionable plot devices, or "why didnt they just xxxxxx" moments. Even the films you mention surely have some of that.

Prometheus does too, fair enough. But it doesnt take away from the experience and enjoyment of the film, for me anyways. Just saying - dont act like some movies are perfectly logical in every way possible and some are not. Doesnt work that way. never has, never will.



Sadly this is more true nowadays but even back in 1968 there were plenty of people that were bored and/or irritated with 2001. Noir films and films that dont have traditionally narrative structures will always hev a large number of detractors. Its no skin off my back. And, honestly, I find some of the noir/old films very boring and pointless myself.

there's a difference between a film having some logic gaps... and huh? moments and a giant logic gap that has a few moments of film in it... which is what Prometheus is

[BouCoupDinkyDau]

I really like Prometheus. I consider myself a fan of the film.

And it does indeed got some major plot holes. The fans that refuse to see this are only deluding themselves. Just admit it, there's dumb s*** in this movie. It's okay to still like it while knowing this. Your ego does not have to take a hit whenever a hater points out the obvious--it's not an attack against you. These people have good reasons to dislike this film. Let them and their opinions be. There's nothing wrong with you liking it and them disliking it.

It's not as deep of a film as you claim it is, nor is it as shallow as the haters want to believe. It strives for great things and falls short. Yes, it's disappointing to fans and haters alike.

And I still like it and am glad it is in my collection.

Originally Posted by kristoffer

I hope they don't let Damon Lindelof get near the script for the sequel!

I'm to the point now that I won't go see anything he's involved with. He's like the touch of death to movies. If he were a professional movie assassin he'd be the world's most sought after movie ninja.

[Cook]

Originally Posted by kristoffer

When I saw it the first time I was really disappointed. It seems like the movie had SOOOO much potential, but a lousy script is really the culprit.
I hope they don't let Damon Lindelof get near the script for the sequel!

Watch the making of documentary on the 3D bluray. Scott was a major problem with the film. He was constantly changing his mind. His and his staff's ideas would go through the normal processes, and a plan was in place then he'd walk in and change his mind the day of the ideas implementation. This went on ad nauseam. That's no way to run a production. And they weren't even good ideas. You can see how he was getting more and more lost in the wilderness as the production continued.

Yes, Lindelof jacked up the script, but Scott ****ed up almost every thing else. Except the beauty and production value of the film. It's a mess of a story, but it's a gorgeous film with an amazing production value!

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Reubania

Engineers, not Architects

Oops, you're right. My mistake there.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by BouCoupDinkyDau

I really like Prometheus. I consider myself a fan of the film.

And it does indeed got some major plot holes. The fans that refuse to see this are only deluding themselves. Just admit it, there's dumb s*** in this movie. It's okay to still like it while knowing this. Your ego does not have to take a hit whenever a hater points out the obvious--it's not an attack against you. These people have good reasons to dislike this film. Let them and their opinions be. There's nothing wrong with you liking it and them disliking it.

It's not as deep of a film as you claim it is, nor is it as shallow as the haters want to believe. It strives for great things and falls short. Yes, it's disappointing to fans and haters alike.

And I still like it and am glad it is in my collection.



I'm to the point now that I won't go see anything he's involved with. He's like the touch of death to movies. If he were a professional movie assassin he'd be the world's most sought after movie ninja.

Very nicely said and well put. And I agree about Lindelof - he shouldn't be allowed near a script ever again. He's ultimately the reason Prometheus ended up like it did.

Originally Posted by Cook

Watch the making of documentary on the 3D bluray. Scott was a major problem with the film. He was constantly changing his mind. His and his staff's ideas would go through the normal processes, and a plan was in place then he'd walk in and change his mind the day of the ideas implementation. This went on ad nauseam. That's no way to run a production. And they weren't even good ideas. You can see how he was getting more and more lost in the wilderness as the production continued.

Yes, Lindelof jacked up the script, but Scott ****ed up almost every thing else. Except the beauty and production value of the film. It's a mess of a story, but it's a gorgeous film with an amazing production value!

Interesting. I think I'm going to watch that doc. I'd love to get a better idea of just what went wrong with this film. That's part of what fascinates me with this film. The production values are very strong, and though I totally hate the script, something tells me this had seeds for a much better film. I've wondered how Scott could have allowed this to go so wrong.

[Member-167298]

Why don't we start picking apart Blade Runner for plot holes too?

I just don't get it. Much like the backlash against The Counselor, it seems like there is a cult of blindly hating Prometheus. It isn't a masterpiece, but I have no idea what plot holes people are always talking about. The only part of the film I though that could have been slightly improved was giving more reason for the scientist to touch the snake-like alien. There was a deleted scene that established his curiosity much better that should have been left in the film. Other than that, I think Prometheus is a great example of science fiction as it presents the audience with questions about bigger concepts and has some incredible production design as well as some exciting action. True, the film does not delve into the concepts very deeply, but neither do recognized classics of the genre like Blade Runner, 2001, etc. In these films, the directors wisely realize that it is up to the audience to be an active participant the story. The enjoyment of these kind of movies is not just in sitting and watching "entertainment" but in analyzing and discussing the themes and ideas afterword.

A perfect example would be Blade Runner. I teach a high school film course and I showed Blade Runner in class. The kids had no idea what was happening the entire time. However, once we started the group discussion and analyzed a lot of the dialogue and scenes, in particular the things that were NOT explicitly stated (for example, why is it always dark and raining in Los Angeles? This isn't answered directly in the film, but all of the information is there for those that want to find the answer), THAT is when the film really came alive for my students and a lot of them came to say it was one of the best they have seen.

I think this video does a great job of clearing up a lot of the supposed problems with Prometheus...

Prometheus Actually Explained (With Real Answers) - YouTube

[mar3o]

It's not just the plot holes. Why can't people understand that many fans didn't like what they did with the Space Jockey? They turned the skeletal remains of a gigantic, mysterious, totally alien creature designed by Giger into

[Show spoiler]a slightly-larger-than-man humanoid in a spacesuit

. That right there killed it for me. All the rest - the stupid characters (all of them), the illogical decisions made throughout, the plot holes - they're all just more baggage to weigh the film down even more.

The movie has large ideas but the ideas are very poorly realized, and I'm not sure these ideas ever should have been brought into the Alien universe.

[Lemmy Lugosi]

Originally Posted by mar3o

It's not just the plot holes. Why can't people understand that many fans didn't like what they did with the Space Jockey? They turned the skeletal remains of a gigantic, mysterious, totally alien creature designed by Giger into

[Show spoiler]a slightly-larger-than-man humanoid in a spacesuit

. That right there killed it for me. All the rest - the stupid characters (all of them), the illogical decisions made throughout, the plot holes - they're all just more baggage to weigh the film down even more.

The movie has large ideas but the ideas are very poorly realized, and I'm not sure these ideas ever should have been brought into the Alien universe.

[stlcards]

I bought Prometheus last year and finally watched it tonight. It was ok. I didn't totally like it or totally dislike it. It was better than 2001. (I saw some comments mentioning that movie). I hated 2001! I can at least watch Prometheus again.

[Darkstream]

Originally Posted by mar3o

it's not just the plot holes. Why can't people understand that many fans didn't like what they did with the space jockey? They turned the skeletal remains of a gigantic, mysterious, totally alien creature designed by giger into

[Show spoiler]a slightly-larger-than-man humanoid in a spacesuit

. That right there killed it for me. All the rest - the stupid characters (all of them), the illogical decisions made throughout, the plot holes - they're all just more baggage to weigh the film down even more.

The movie has large ideas but the ideas are very poorly realized, and i'm not sure these ideas ever should have been brought into the alien universe.

^ Every word --- The Truth! ^

[sukraj]

I think I might watch Prometheus later on.