Prometheus Review Thread (Spoilers)

[raygendreau]

So, back to the

[Show spoiler]ceremonial headroom. Let's speculate. What happens when an Engineer imbibes that ubiqutous black goo? He disintigrates immediately. What would happen if he didn't tumble into the waterfall and become diffused?
Lets say he is standing in a container and, as he disintigrates the result is contained. What do we have? I think we have more black goo, or galloping DNA according to Scott. So, I propose that the ampoules in the Ceremonial Head Room are individual caskets for deconstructed Engineers, not bombs.

So, when Holloway was near the altar he said, referring to the Ceremonial Head Room, "it's a tomb". He may have been right. It made me think of some German churches I visited in Europe years ago, with casket sized stone crypts inside the church.

Remember the ampoule that David sprayed and brought back to the Prometheus to study? It seemed smaller than the containers in the cargo hold of the Juggernaut that they passed through on the way to the bridge.
Those were the weaponized biobombs, the ones in the Head Room were not.

Damn that Lindelof.

[besi]

Elders

[Show spoiler]

[animefan77]

Originally Posted by MykeHavoc

They are on a

[Show spoiler]different planet

dude

I did not know that
I tried to avoid any information before i saw this movie. Only thing I knew was that it's supposed to be prequel to Alien. So you can see how I missed that
Is there a page I can read that explains this information further? or is that sentence the only information given?

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Originally Posted by besi

Elders

[Show spoiler]

An extended cut of this movie really needs to happen.

[duggie walker]

Originally Posted by TheMan

Exactly. That guy is just an analytical ass though.

Right, well you've managed to give us all a fairly clear estimate of your intellectual capability with that statement. I guess you were likin' them purty pitchers too much to care that what you were watching made no sense. Back to the cowshit for you.

Still, good to know that everything that makes no sense is simply down to my inability to suspend disbelief. You should be proud to know that you are Hollywood's target audience, and the reason so much of their product is crap - because people like you don't care. Strap a bucket of popcorn to your face and you're happy.

I make a distinction between you and the people here who are at least having a good and civil time debating a film they obviously enjoyed and don't have to stoop to insults in their discourse. I guess that "stupid is as stupid does". Hyuk.

[raygendreau]

This is the best analysis of Prometheus I have seen. Some of you will actually have the time and patience to read it, I hope. He came to the same conclusion I did about the

[Show spoiler]Head Room and Engineer's religion.

http://www.crankleft.com/blog/2012/j...s-movie-about2

The Funerary Urns, thats what I'm going to call them, from the Ceremonial Head Room

http://www.weylandchronicles.com/tag/prometheus/

[Barbossa]

Originally Posted by georgec

I'm laughing at how much theorizing people are doing for this movie. Just like Lost...

It's a solid movie but the script has numerous flaws. It's not "deep". That's just the inability of the writers to effectively resolve plot points. There is no "mystery" or "ambiguity". Just lazy writing.

I'm surprised at how people fall for Lindelof's whole "audience doesn't need to know" schtick. He's just a writer. He doesn't have the answers to the origins of life in his script.

It's laughable isn't it? The film is about as shallow as a puddle, yet some people think it's 'deep' due to the awful writing.

Folks, look at the emperor - he really doesn't have any clothes on y'know ....

[duggie walker]

Originally Posted by Barbossa

It's laughable isn't it? The film is about as shallow as a puddle, yet some people think it's 'deep' due to the awful writing.

Folks, look at the emperor - he really doesn't have any clothes on y'know ....

As David Mamet pointed out in an essay on dramatic structure, even the most imbecilic or deliberately obscure works of art will work for some section of the populace because people have a natural (and very strong) impulse to create order from chaos.

This is the same way that conspiracy theories come about. People reject the possibility, for example, that a handful of terrorists could have managed to wreak the havoc of 9/11 on so mighty a country as America; therefore they weave a fantasy about the attack having been somehow planned by the Government. This is actually a more comforting idea for them than the truth, which was down to incompetence and lack of foresight.

Similarly here, people are reluctant to believe that the likes of Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof could have made such a generally incompetent film. They interpret the flaws in logic as deliberate invitations to theorize. This is a concession they wouldn't make for a film with a different pedigree, or that they didn't have any vested interest in liking.

In fact, people are fairly ignorant of just how wrong a motion picture can go under the current regimes, which push films into production before they're ready, in order to meet unrealistic release dates.

I'm sure we'll soon hear stories of how messed-up this process was, once all the PR fluff and rationalisation has faded away. I'd place good money on the fact that Ridley Scott is pretty horrified how many people dislike his movie. He is as much a businessman as he is an artist - indeed he recently said that his main concern was to "communicate" the ideas of the film; and that if he hadn't achieved that, he had failed.

Quite obviously, there is at the very least a large proportion of the audience that didn't like PROMETHEUS and isn't prepared to believe that the flaws were intentional. The idea that a sequel was always planned has been debunked by Lindelof himself; and anyone who knows anything about the business knows that - unless we're looking at a pre-announced trilogy - it's very bad policy to make only half a film and hope you'll have a chance to follow it up. This just isn't the way that Hollywood works.

Ridley Scott is NOT a man who makes deliberately mystifying films. I'll grant that he likes to leave a couple of things open - and quite obviously the ending of PROMETHEUS is open (a mistake, I'd say, but intentional) - but there is no other precedent for him making such a narratively-confusing film. There IS, however, a precedent for Damon Lindelof writing something that heaps up a whole pile of questions and then doesn't know how to answer them. To quote COOL HAND LUKE - what we have here is a failure to communicate. The fact that some people think they can make sense of it doesn't change that.

[ariakon]

Again, some of you are being judgemental not towards the filmmakers, which is fine, but to the rest of us, who saw something more interesting than you did, and honestly it feels condescending and irritating. That someone has a different opinion than you simply means they have different tastes, not that they are lacking reasoning skills or the cognitive abilities to think at your level. I personally am working on my Master's Degree in English Literature with a concentration in Mythology and am extremely well-read in the Science Fiction genre. I saw something in the film that perked my interests, you didn't. That does not make me any less intelligent than you are, and I would appreciate it if you would respect that fact. If you wish to criticize the film, by all means, be my guest, but please, be respectful. Saying that our behavior is delusional or laughable is incredibly rude and unnecessary.

Sorry if I sound a little stuffy, but I don't want to be a jerk .

[ariakon]

Originally Posted by SirMontyPython

She needed more than a hug....she needed rest....she needed to be carried...a hug is the first thing she needed, and then the care...yeah I felt sorry for her after that scene...

Part of it is that she looks about 4 feet tall. It's like she's an adorable, vulnerable little pixie. She brought a pleasant amount of depth to Lizbeth Salander, as well.

[avecha]

Originally Posted by ariakon

Again, some of you are being judgemental not towards the filmmakers, which is fine, but to the rest of us, who saw something more interesting than you did, and honestly it feels condescending and irritating. That someone has a different opinion than you simply means they have different tastes, not that they are lacking reasoning skills or the cognitive abilities to think at your level. I personally am working on my Master's Degree in English Literature with a concentration in Mythology and am extremely well-read in the Science Fiction genre. I saw something in the film that perked my interests, you didn't. That does not make me any less intelligent than you are, and I would appreciate it if you would respect that fact. If you wish to criticize the film, by all means, be my guest, but please, be respectful. Saying that our behavior is delusional or laughable is incredibly rude and unnecessary.

Sorry if I sound a little stuffy, but I don't want to be a jerk .

Well said!!!

[Stridulent]

The first time I saw the film I was really disappointed, and I gave it a 2.5/4. I saw it a second a couple of nights ago, and although it was still flawed, I liked it much better. The scenes didn't seem cut too short and I developed a new consensus about the vases. I don't think they contain bio-weapons, but the secret to new life. As the beginning of the film states, death must happen for life to come. This is then seen throughout the film, even at the end when

[Show spoiler]the giant creature impregnates the engineer. It then dies soon after.

And if you look closely, xenomorphs continue to follow this same procedure. They cannot reproduce without a host that is then killed upon chestbursting. The Engineer's anger towards humans could have sprouted from this idea. Not only can humans give birth to multiple new beings without sacrifice, but they also create artificial beings like David.

Now, as I said, the film is still not perfect and therefore I do not give it a perfect score. However, after my second viewing I feel the film came across much better (this was in 2D btw, my first viewing was 3D and I highly recommend against it. 2D visuals are so much more beautiful, 3D was just blurry and dark). I now confidently give it a 3.5/5. I felt like the whole Weyland storyline could have been left out and different motivation could have been given to David for him to do the things he did. Leaving out Weyland's presence would have given more screen time for scenes that were more true to the initial plot of the film. It sucks that the film itself did not perform better, because Fassbender's performance is amazing.

[ariakon]

Good points, Stridulent, but I actually kind of enjoyed the Weyland plot thread. I thought it provided an interesting overlap with the other relationships in the movie (Engineer/human, human/android, Vickers/Weyland) They could have expanded upon it a little more, though.

[duggie walker]

Originally Posted by avecha

Well said!!!

If I take a certain tone, it's because - as I've said before - those of us who've expressed disappointment in PROMETHEUS have had just as much invective thrown our way, if not more. Indeed, we are the ones who are being told we're too stupid to understand this work of philosophical genius, or that we're not able to overcome our expectations. I've just been quite blatantly called an "over-analytical ass" by someone here. I don't know why every debate on this forum has to turn into tribal warfare - I certainly didn't start it - but this seems to be the way of things.

Much as I respect your opinion - and believe me, I envy you your enjoyment of the film - nobody on any forum I've frequented has come up with ANY kind of explanation for the numerous inconsistencies or illogicalities in the film; nor for the inexplicably stupid and unmotivated actions of almost every character in the film. They all seem to be putting their fingers in their ears and singing "la-la-la" before riffing off on the engineers like teen-stoners.

I have/had no intention to comment on the intelligence of others until I'd had my fill of people questioning mine. Not very mature of me, perhaps, to strike back and I do apologise to all of those who are having a civilised discussion about this. Put simply, though, I don't think there's much to debate here. There doesn't seem to be anyone that can make the case for it actually being a good film; there's just people that enjoyed the experience of it enough that they don't seem to mind all the many ways, both intellectual and visceral, in which PROMETHEUS fails.

But I will shut up now, except to say that I wouldn't bother going online to slag off a piece of soul-less, bean-counter crap like WRATH OF THE TITANS. I'm pissed off about PROMETHEUS because I expected so much more from the team involved. I don't even agree that it's particularly well designed, choreographed or shot. It's sad to see a talent in decline and it's sad, in my opinion, to see so many people accept such rotten work.

But hey - such is life, it's only a movie etc etc

So I think it's probably time for those of us who don't swing to leave this party. I just hope SKYFALL doesn't suck 'cos that'll really piss me off.

[Stridulent]

Originally Posted by ariakon

Good points, Stridulent, but I actually kind of enjoyed the Weyland plot thread. I thought it provided an interesting overlap with the other relationships in the movie (Engineer/human, human/android, Vickers/Weyland) They could have expanded upon it a little more, though.

True, maybe that was it. I still feel like the film should have been an hour longer. Let's hope a director's cut fills in some gaps.

[ariakon]

Just to clarify, my statements about insults apply to those who liked the film, as well. No one is stupid because they did / didn't enjoy a movie. 'Sall right? 'Sall right.

And yeah, Stridulent, I agree. I greatly enjoyed the movie, but it could have used more time to develop certain themes. It isn't nearly as abrupt as Chronicle, which I finally watched a few days ago, but then again, it's trying to do much more.

[Grumpz]

Originally Posted by duggie walker

If I take a certain tone, it's because - as I've said before - those of us who've expressed disappointment in PROMETHEUS have had just as much invective thrown our way, if not more. Indeed, we are the ones who are being told we're too stupid to understand this work of philosophical genius, or that we're not able to overcome our expectations. I've just been quite blatantly called an "over-analytical ass" by someone here. I don't know why every debate on this forum has to turn into tribal warfare - I certainly didn't start it - but this seems to be the way of things.

Much as I respect your opinion - and believe me, I envy you your enjoyment of the film - nobody on any forum I've frequented has come up with ANY kind of explanation for the numerous inconsistencies or illogicalities in the film; nor for the inexplicably stupid and unmotivated actions of almost every character in the film. They all seem to be putting their fingers in their ears and singing "la-la-la" before riffing off on the engineers like teen-stoners.

I have/had no intention to comment on the intelligence of others until I'd had my fill of people questioning mine. Not very mature of me, perhaps, to strike back and I do apologise to all of those who are having a civilised discussion about this. Put simply, though, I don't think there's much to debate here. There doesn't seem to be anyone that can make the case for it actually being a good film; there's just people that enjoyed the experience of it enough that they don't seem to mind all the many ways, both intellectual and visceral, in which PROMETHEUS fails.

But I will shut up now, except to say that I wouldn't bother going online to slag off a piece of soul-less, bean-counter crap like WRATH OF THE TITANS. I'm pissed off about PROMETHEUS because I expected so much more from the team involved. I don't even agree that it's particularly well designed, choreographed or shot. It's sad to see a talent in decline and it's sad, in my opinion, to see so many people accept such rotten work.

But hey - such is life, it's only a movie etc etc

So I think it's probably time for those of us who don't swing to leave this party. I just hope SKYFALL doesn't suck 'cos that'll really piss me off.

I hear what Duggie is saying. I'm not a giant fan of the movie, but think it's ok. I have read most of the posts in this thread and yes, the theme is, if you don't like the movie, "you didn't get it" or "you expected another Alien movie" which is not true at all.

I gave it a 3 out of 5 because of it's hits AND it's misses that have been rambled on in here for 2 weeks.

[Thunderhead]

Originally Posted by ariakon

Again, some of you are being judgemental not towards the filmmakers, which is fine, but to the rest of us, who saw something more interesting than you did, and honestly it feels condescending and irritating. That someone has a different opinion than you simply means they have different tastes, not that they are lacking reasoning skills or the cognitive abilities to think at your level. I personally am working on my Master's Degree in English Literature with a concentration in Mythology and am extremely well-read in the Science Fiction genre. I saw something in the film that perked my interests, you didn't. That does not make me any less intelligent than you are, and I would appreciate it if you would respect that fact. If you wish to criticize the film, by all means, be my guest, but please, be respectful. Saying that our behavior is delusional or laughable is incredibly rude and unnecessary.

Sorry if I sound a little stuffy, but I don't want to be a jerk .

Well said. I gave the movie 5 stars.
Except for some quick cuts in fight scenes I had no complaints at all. If any individual loves any particular film, no one can call them wrong. Any media's effect, be it music, book or film is truly in the eyes, ears and mind of the beholder.
Already pre-ordered the Blu-ray knowing my 50" plasma will fall far short of the theater experience.
By the way, my theory is that the chief "engineer" was Col. Kurtz (time travel & after many workout sessions). Why else over 4000 posts arguing about one movie?...........the horror....the horror....

[BouCoupDinkyDau]

Originally Posted by duggie walker

If I take a certain tone, it's because - as I've said before - those of us who've expressed disappointment in PROMETHEUS have had just as much invective thrown our way, if not more. Indeed, we are the ones who are being told we're too stupid to understand this work of philosophical genius...

Dude, I know of no one that thinks of this picture as a work of philosophical genius. In fact, evey fan here as far as I can tell have acknowledged the problems with this movie, and haven't found anyone trying to explain away or justify the problems like many SW prequel fans do.

Mostly what has been discussed are the possibilities based on the open ended issues. Nobody so far as I can tell in here has said Lindoff and Scott are geniuses for what has been created.

The people that have been theorizing are the kind of people that like to use their imaginations and enjoy open-ended storytelling, that is all. I like movies that make me think. I like to imagine all the possibilities that might have happened between Childs and MacReady. I like to think about stuff like that.

You are not a moron for not liking this movie, and anyone that says you're dumb for not "seeing into it" is stupid. It is what it is (a flawed yet entertaining film) and for those of us that like to imagine, it's fun to do so with it.

I do believe though that a certain percentage of the people that did not like this ended up not liking it because it was not Alien 5. For the others, they just dislike it because it is broken.

[ariakon]

Originally Posted by Grumpz

I hear what Duggie is saying. I'm not a giant fan of the movie, but think it's ok. I have read most of the posts in this thread and yes, the theme is, if you don't like the movie, "you didn't get it" or "you expected another Alien movie" which is not true at all.

I gave it a 3 out of 5 because of it's hits AND it's misses that have been rambled on in here for 2 weeks.

I feel bad that I wasn't able to fit my last sentence in my original post, which was going to clarify that anyone insulting those that had problems with the movie need to stop as well. I just want to be able to talk about someone else's creation without being personally insulted or to have to act like a dick and call other users stupid. The rest of the internet has devolved into a juvenile mess, but I have actual respect for the people on this board. We're all well-educated, intelligent people here, and so my expectations, like dug's for Ridley Scott, are higher than normal.

No one should insult you, Grumpz.