Prometheus

[Phantasm]

How did I miss this thread?

Saw Prometheus in it's first week in the Cinema - the big screen really does this movie proud, the sheer scale of it adds something that the tv can't.

I agree that this can be seen as a stand alone movie, without having seen any of the Alien movies.

I'm hoping there may be more mileage in this franchise.

[Vader]

Saw Prometheus today on DVD (it took some time for it to get released over here).

I love the original Alien. Aliens was poor as a prequel but nonetheless a good action Sci-Fi movie. Alien3 and Alien - Resurrection also had their good moments (though nowhere close to the atmosphere and complexity of the first Alien).

But this movie - I am disappointed to say the least. The characters are shallow. I don't see any character development, they are all just walking and talking clichés. The story is hair-raisingly absurd and full of esoteric kitsch.

Just a few (out of many) annoying examples: the very moment you land on an alien planet the first thing you do is drive into an unknown structure just like that and then take off your helmets? And you should know that it's never a good idea to separate from the main group. Come on!

Couldn't they find a real old person to play Weyland? Why this ridiculous mask? Every elementary school drama group has better costumes. Talking about Weyland - why did they steal the Waylon Jennings logo?

The most striking question, however, is why a race of people, capable of traveling space and initializing new life on distant planets, has to sacrifice itself to get DNA into the water. Shouldn't technacilly advanced folks have other means? And why does it have to be that complicated? On a mountain top in the middle of a storm? Aren't there shores easier to access? Or is it just to get abstruse mystical and pseudo symbollic pictures? A good example for I meant when I said "esoteric kitsch".

And moreover, if they wanted to create sapient life similar to themselves (and that's obviously what they wanted, using their own DNA) why didn't they do so straight away? Why hassle with all these steps of evolution and wait for protozoan, hagfish and Mesozoic mammals to turn into humans, just to destroy them once it has happened?

And if their DNA is completely identical with ours (they say a 100% in the movie) why the heck do they look different?

I want my 120 minutes back, Ridley Scott.

[Krazy Kat]

I was glad to have seen Prometheus at the cinema.
I was disapointed to see it filmed in cold colors and yes, it was over before it began.

I hadn't really thought about it until reading your post, Vader, and I'm presuming you already knew about David Lean's disappointment and failure to take the risk not stretching out the scene in Lawrence at the waterwell in the desert when Omar appears through the heat haze like a mirage? (Kingdom of Heaven???)

And still, I'm not sure what comment Mr. Scott is making. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[dANdeLION]

I was very underwhelmed by Prometheus. I can't say I'm a huge Alien fan, but I did like the original, and #'s 2 and 4 were enjoyable enough. But this one just never hooked me in. I'm kind of unsure why they even cast Charlize, as they grossly under used her.

[Krazy Kat]

Popped into the car museum in town yesterday. Was surprised to see a Prometheus tractor and transporter. I should have played more with the camera settings. They've turned out a bit fuzzy.

Use the toolbar View/Zoom/50% for a smaller clearer pictures.

[lorin]

Just saw this. It made it to the top of my Top 10 Worst Pieces of Crap.

I am just too damn bored with this movie to write all my issues so I am copying the questions asked in another review (I did not write these) but they are to the point


PROMETHEUS Plot holes AND IRRITATIONS ***SPOILERS***

1. The dreams sequence. David can watch Shaw's dreams. Amazingly this technology also cuts from scene to scene like a movie camera...Please. No one dreams like that.

2. How did they randomly find the temple so quick? This is an entire planet surface!

3. Why was the landing so soft and easy?

4. Why does Fifield start screaming at Shaw like that? Calm down mate..jeez..And later on with an Alien cobra he is cool as ice.

5. Why does that moron Buddy Holly scientist try and touch the cobra alien? not once....not twice...but 3 TIMES!!!

6. Why on earth would a scientist remove their helmets in a possibly infected temple? I am just a civilian and even I understand the concept of VIRUS CONTAMINATION ON AN ALIEN FRIGGIN PLANET. They then have the cheek to talk about Shaw's strict quarantine fail-safe procedures...please

7. What does this Black Goo do exactly? Accelerate worm growth? Infect crew members? Cause pregnancies? Create life? Pick one and stick to it please

8. Why does Ford straight away start giving the head electricity for kicks? Do they not have procedures? What is this fun with Frankenstein?

9. Why does the head explode?

10. Why are the medical staff so damn careless with a possibly disease ridden and bacteria infested decapitated head? I swear they didn't even wear plastic gloves.

11. How did Shaw know the Jockey was heading to Earth to destroy it? Pretty big assumption from a couple of punches thrown.

12. How does David know the Space Jockey is heading to kill Shaw on the Medical Bay?

13. How does Shaw know her baby will attack the Jockey?

14. i was really amazed that Shaw has this 'baby' but fails to mention the horrific and super extraordinary situation she had just been through. ''oh hey guys, ha ha, nearly forgot. FYI, you won't believe what just happened to me on the way here''....''i just gave birth to an alien..'' ''yeah, i know CRAZY right, considering i had sex only 10 BLOODY HRS AGO!!''

15. -The whole Vickers' Star Wars 'Father' line...

16. -The 'bet' between the co-pilots was cringe-worthy

17. HUGE ONE…How the hell does Shaw walk after abdominal surgery? If abdominal muscle is cut you can NOT walk, the muscle needs to be sewn back…But no, a few staples and she is good to go…

18. Why does the tentacle creature have tentacles from the evil Planet X?

19. Why do the space jockeys allow any old tramp to walk in an use their security systems?

20. Why does the space jockey want to kill, kill and kill…You'd think an advanced race would be a little civilised?

22. The geologist then gets lost despite being in charge of the mapping device.

23. The top boss pays for the expedition, but pretends he's dead and hides on the ship. Why? No reason.

24.The alien tries to kill everyone, so the surviving characters decide to go to the alien's home planet to talk to them.

This is not so much a review as a means for me to entertain myself and thereby derive some enjoyment from having sat through this movie.

HI, I'm Elizabeth Shaw. Late in the movie I'll run around the spaceship in my underwear covered in blood with staples across my abdomen. This is a common occurrence in 2093 because nobody will think to ask "Hey, what happened to you?"

I'm Meredith Vickers. I'm a narcissistic battle-axe who is only in it for me. Never mind that I could have stayed on earth and run my dad's company. Seems traveling with him to experience the same unknown and potentially lethal fate was the smarter option. Did I mention that I brought this amazing piece of surgical technology, apparently for my own benefit, but that doesn't work on women? Oopsie!

I'm David. I'm an android whose condescendingly polite tone serves no other purpose than to annoy the hell out of you throughout your journey (and the movie). Said journey will be mercifully short thanks to me. I take incredibly stupid and shortsighted risks for a seemingly intelligent artificial life-form. I poison one of the crew members that my creator spent a lot of money to send up here. No matter that the introduction of alien DNA into the ship could put everyone's life at risk including the frail old guy it is my mission to serve. I'll make it all right in the end.

Hello. My name is Millburn and I'm a biologist. In the future we've forgotten the lesson of The Crocodile Hunter and Sigfried and Roy: namely that wild animals are unpredictable and potentially lethal. When I come across an unknown life-form on an inhospitable planet, naturally I'm going to approach it like a puppy at a dog pound.

I'm Fifield, a geologist. Early in the movie I introduce myself as a one-dimensional malcontent with no concerns beyond money. My social skills are such that I have no compunction about saying as much and making enemies in the process. This is a very sensitive and perilous mission where individuals will be working in close confines with one another with no contact to the outside world. I know what you are thinking: when this crew was being assembled it's a good thing somebody thought to include the borderline sociopath. I'll die and you won't care.

Here is the escape ship. It is self-contained but attached to the mother ship so there is easy entrance and exit. When it comes time to deploy don't bother walking on board, though. Just follow it in your personal jettison pod and make your way over when you can. See ya later!

Safety protocols are unusual in 2093. In the original Alien if potentially infected crewmembers are outside the ship you lock them out. Seems that's not nearly as effective as opening the loading dock and chasing everyone with a flamethrower. Yes, a flamethrower. Guns are efficient but roasting people alive is so much more dramatic. In 2093 we don't care about the risks of having burning crew members running around our cargo bay.

Strangely, the world of 2093 is far more technologically advanced than the one in the original Alien which takes place even further in the future. I can only assume that the engineers of the far future suffered a similar fate as the biologists.

The only good line in the movie comes when Meredith Vickers says that her father spent $1 trillion dollars in financing the expedition. Golly, $1 trillion dollars? It is a figure so perfectly round in number and sufficiently inflated as to succinctly summarize the imagination involved in this script.

When this movie inevitably gets re-released 20 years from now it will only be fitting if it plays alongside Plan 9 From Outer Space.

[Sorus]

That's a shame. (Though a very entertaining review!)

I was debating the other day whether or not I wanted to watch Prometheus. Haven't seen it. It had a lot of potential, but I'm tired of being disappointed in movies.

[aTOMiC]

Finally had a change to re-watch Prometheus. Originally my first impression was WTF?! I was quite annoyed and I didn't understand why the film turned out he way it did. I had a laundry list of problems including one mentioned above that the technology of Prometheus is far advanced from Alien etc.

However after watching the film for a second time my impressions have changed a bit. Gone are my expectations that this was somehow a direct return to Alien which helped me enjoy the film much more. The technology difference between this film and its retroactive sequel suddenly became very obvious to me. This ship is well financed, deliberate exploration mission as opposed to the crew of the Nostromo who were essentially truck drivers working with whatever crap they had available. I no longer have a huge problem with the tech issues.
What I tried to do with this second viewing was to allow myself to pay attention to the story without the prejudices related to the previous films and for the most part it worked. Prometheus isn't a great film but I now believe it is a good one. I finally seem to get what the filmmakers had in mind and though I may argue with them in regard to content and plotting I can now enjoy the film in a genuine way that seemed impossible before.