Prometheus - reviews, discussion and BD/DVD release **WARNING - SPOILER-HEAVY**
 

Don't read if you haven't seen (spoilers)




I hardly ever give full reviews on movies. I'm choosing to review this one because I feel like it deserves it more than anything i've seen in years. I also think it deserves attention because some people are saying it was horrible. There are opinions, and then there is stupidity. Prometheus was awesome, and people who thought it was bad are either: A- Stupid, B- expected xenomorphs (which it was made very clear that they would not be prevalent in this film), or C- just went to see Charlize Theron take off her space suit. That said, here goes.


I saw it in Imax 3d, and I paid 17 big ones for my ticket. Well worth it. Every single camera shot in the film is pure, heartbreaking gold. It makes Avatar look like something i'd draw in high school art class (I have pics of some of my paintings of stick figure fish if you need documentation). Every landscape is magnificent, and there is a careful attention to detail which really reels you in to the movie. The story starts quickly, and almost immediately you're completely entranced by every little event. I found myself wide eyed at costumes, colors.... everything. The ship looked incredible on the inside. So, in short, it's pretty.

The unfolding story is a little hit or miss for some. I personally enjoyed it even though it wasn't how I wanted it to happen. I wished some of the details were different, but i'm sure that's a common thought for any movie. Regardless, things play out nicely. Ridley Scott is one of the only directors I respect for slow moving films. I love Alien for the fact that it takes a decade to get to the scary stuff. Prometheus is no different. Tension, questions, and plenty of character development to go around. When the ball finally does drop, however, let's just say one of the most intense scenes from any sci fi or horror film ever occurs, in my opinion.

In general, the acting was impressive. However, Noomi Rapace surprised me on a new level with how great she was. I'll admit, for the first few scenes she bothered me. She was too comfortable with the situations, almost like she didn't care. Found some paintings? Oh let's go to space! What could go wrong? She makes up for it when things get intense, for sure.

Ok now for the fun stuff. There aren't too many "monsters" per say, but what we do get to see is satisfying, especially to Alien fanboys, because we get to see other lifeforms in the Alien universe, and they're pretty neat. The serpents are on the same level of creepy as the facehuggers, just in a different way (it's gross.) and there's a lovely thing I like to call a belly squid :)

Some people complain about the ending being too much of a sequel setup, and it is. I didn't have a problem with it so much, although I feel like the film could stand alone fine with that ending. Very odd and mysterious. I really enjoyed the last 15 minutes as well.

The only problems I really found with the movie were a good bit of unanswered questions (some i'm sure could be answered at least slightly with more viewings) and the behavior of many characters was very unrealistic. Total lack of fear and concern with what was clearly a very major situation.


All in all, it was incredible.

9/10



*Sorry, like I said I don't write reviews. I also don't care for good grammar and writing style at 2:30 am, I just felt like starting a discussion.

thanks for posting this Posh...but I ain't gonna read it until after I see the movie



nothing personal

I guess I'll post my review since no one else has:

I'll keep it short, given the many solid reviews up already. I tend more toward Ferret's review of the film. Beyond the visuals, which were absolutely brilliant and endlessly breathtaking, I was left feeling mostly underwhelmed. I thought the script was pretty weak. For a film dealing with the eternal vastness of space and the origins of humanity, it didn't feel very epic to me at all. The motivations behind the humans' mission and those of the space jockey and the arsenal of black goo all felt flat and thrown together.
That being said, between the visuals and effects and sets and acting, there was certainly enough to keep me engrossed for 2 hours. And I'll definitely go see the next one.

LOL both of those guys were fucking idiots.

Especially THAT idiot.

Wtf was his problem? He was just pissed off from the get-go.

Haha, no kidding. He should have been constantly in awe of this fucking crazy planet they were on instead of just being immediately pissy.

And the I normally like that actor a lot (The Borgias/Red Riding/Isolation /24 Hour Party People etc)

I agree I liked him in 24 Hour Party People not seen Prometheus yet though.

Hijacking this thread for a discussion on the events in Prometheus, instead of creating a new one. Hope you don't mind, Posher.

If you have a query, doubt or an unsolved riddle regarding the film, post it here. If you haven't guessed it already, Prometheus exists in the Alien universe but it isn't directly related to 1979's Alien - you can say it is a spinoff based on the same.

We shall attempt to find the answers with our comparative knowledge of the Alien universe and Scott's visions for the Prometheus trilogy concept he is busy working on.

Rumors have it that Prometheus 2 will be with us sooner than we expect, by summer 2015. Scott will produce this time, with a "visionary" director helming the director's chair. Take this rumor with a pinch of salt - Scott wants Jodorowsky to helm the sequel, since he's so strong with symbolic visual representation in his works (Santa Sangre, El Topo, The Holy Mountain, etc.)

So, if you have a query regarding the film and it's narrative, post it.

Why did the 'Space Jockey' DNA match human dna 100%, would that not make them..well...human?

SO the 'Space Jockeys' seeded Earth and then left clues for their creations to find them but those clues lead to what I think was so bio-weapon facility. Weird.

Also, why did they do all this only to want to destroy it in the end?

Some of the things I couldn't figure out. There are also other bits I found strange/silly or illogical but they aren't really plot questions.

Basically, the humans are also engineered from the Space Jockeys' DNA, or Engineers as they are called in Prometheus, as one of their milder creations. They were planted on Earth and left to flourish, with periodic visits from the Engineers to Earth keeping a tab on their progress. Which explains the maps by different civilisations at different points of time in history pointing to the same star map - a star map undoubtedly left by the Engineers.

Bang on.

Planet LV-223 is a testing ground for the Engineers and their bio-weapons. The planet's pyramid was full of such bio-weapons, some of them resultants from experiments gone so awry that even the Engineers had to flee the scenes (as deduced from one of the chase sequences). The Hammerpede is one such example, the gooey, sticky stuff inside the egg-sized containers is another, etc.

The Engineers undoubtedly didn't want to leave a direct clue to their location - humans had to find them out from the ships they left underground in LV-223. That is, if humans were tough enough to survive inside the pyramid till they found the spaceship entrance inside them. Like it was shown in the end, the whole planet has several other ships underground. Any such ship had maps and directions to reach the Engineers' home planet.

They didn't want to destroy it all. They planted these bio-weapons and kept testing them further. The opening sequence is that of an Engineer who:-

A) Volunteered to be a subject for the sticky substance bio-weapon testing,

OR

B) Someone who raised their voice on the continuous production of bio-weapons and, as a result, was cast out and punished by making them forcefully feed themselves with the sticky stuff.

A sequence which might be more clearer in part 2.

Go ahead and post them. Others might also have the same doubts and they can be clarified for everyone's benefits.

That's the beauty of Prometheus. It leaves you with questions and makes you think.

I definitely thought when he drank the stuff at the beginning that it was how they created humans in the first place. Like he gave himself up to make a new race. I may have been a little tipsy at the start though.

Thats what i thought too

No I get that - what i meant that the DNA was a 100% match not a partial match - humanity had evolved/'mutated' from their initial seeding. So human DNA would only have elements of the Space Jockeys' DNA and would not be excalty the same.

I presumed the ship laden with bioweapons was on its way to destroy Earth. Thats why Shaw wanted to sacrifice the Prometheus.

I have to disagree with this. I thing the opening sequence was a flashback to the Space Jockey who was allocated to seed Earth. I think it was a reference to religion and a God that died for his creations. (I think Poser said something similar)

I'll post some of my more nitpicky things later.

Hummm....I don't think Jodorowsky will be a good choice for this sort of franchise; things will get more complicated with lots of confusing boring sequences.

I thought so as well, specially with the whole DNA bursting sequence culminating in the formation of a red cell (RBC?) which quickly started multiplying inside the water (first 2, then 4...).

Then, that whole sequence with David mixing the same sticky substance with Holloway's drink which resulted in him going awry (and his love-making with Shaw resulting in the rapid formation and development of the squid baby, leading up to the self-surgery sequence) and mutating into something which deteriorated his condition so badly he basically brought his own death to himself (by getting burnt by Vicker's flamethrower) - this threw a spanner into the works.

If this was the same substance which resulted in the formation and development of RBCs, why did it cause such rapid mutation in Holloway and that uber-quick pregnancy of Shaw? If it was the percursor to the RBCs, Holloway shouldn't have been affected. If affected, he should have mutated into...another human?

If it turns out to be the former (both substances are separate), I stand corrected. If the latter (both are the same), then I guess Part 2 will have to answer that as well.


Remember the Space Jockey from Alien? It's size was much larger than normal humans (Dallas, Lambert & Kane) and it was fossilised in it's chair. The Engineer in Prometheus is different - he/it is not much taller than humans, and resembles our looks. Could it be that the races of man & Engineers are related, with the Space Jockey of Alien being a superior set of beings above the Engineers? That could explain the 100% DNA match - siblings share the same DNA.

It could also add a whole new meaning to the opening sequence too, however. I think the dating of the opening sequence assumes a lot of importance now.

The ship was programmed to go to Earth, with a dormant Engineer inside (in hypersleep, perhaps?). The cargo held the bio-weapon containers which had the sticky substance in them - maybe that's the way they got rid of entire races and started a new one, as soon as evolution brought that species into a stage when they became too learned, too experienced and too smart. Maybe the Engineers planned it in such a manner that they inhabited/destroyed worlds according to their evolutionary stages. That could be the reason why the Engineer, upon awakening, attacked the humans and ripped David apart.


I have an idea about how this whole thing ends up tying up with the events on LV-426 in Alien through the next 2 sequels. Let's see if Scott proves me right.

The black goo seems to have different effects on what it infects and how?

The effects it had on Shaw were very different than what it did to Fifield (it turned him into an uber strong, pcp Zombie). It made the indigenous lifeforms (the worms) a 1000 bigger. Assuming it was the same substance at the start, it breaks down the Engineers to their DNA building blocks.

This seems like a more logical explaination than the Engineer was 'Someone who raised their voice on the continuous production of bio-weapons and, as a result, was cast out and punished by making them forcefully feed themselves with the sticky stuff.'. I see zero evidence for this.

What I am questioning is the 100%. Only creatures of the same race have exactly the same DNA. Clearly Engineers/Space Jockeys are not the same race as humans.

Heres some of my nitpicking (not so much plot points but just what I felt unrealistic actions of characters):

Fifield and Millburn getting lost in an area that had mapped and even knew their coordinates when they reported to the ship.

The crews completely nonplussed by Shaw when she shows up half naked, covered in blood with a Cesarean scar.

Why would they put together an operation of that size and put a crew on it that never met or trained together. It was like they picked up some daylabourers outside Home Depot.

Why did they hire Guy Pierce only to put him in a Johnny Knoxvill 'old suit'? Strange choice - I know there was the TED talks piece but that couldn't be it. Maybe he was already signed for a prequel.

Somethings I probably didn't get:

The 'altar' room clearly showed a carving of a Xenomorph (that looked liek the queen) - so the xeno that was born from the Spacejockey at the end wasn't the first? Why have what religious carving of the alien in the first place (I think this might get explained later)

I didn't understand the worm that was seen in Charlie's eye. I though the good worked on DNA but that seemed like a parasite. I thought maybe Davids sample was contaminated (by one of the worms) before he got a chance to freeze but I am not sure.

How did the Space Jockey make it to the shuttle with not helmet.

Why were the Engineers wearing helmets in the ship when it was set up with a breathable enviroment.

DAvid seemed to know the language of the Enginners too well just from studing ancient texts. He could open the sequences on the doors (which I imagine were codes). So not only could he understand the signage but also the sybols to press in the right order. Its like I know how the security door in the bank works but I have no idea what sequence of numbers to press.

I didn't get why the holograms were created - were they like security footage?

Maybe David only thought he knew the language when he really didn't.

So when he spoke to the Jockey what he was really saying was, "I had sex with yo momma."

And then all hell broke lose.



Makes sense. Makes alot of sense..

Wait, I'm confused. You say it's a spinoff? I thought it was more like a prequel.

I'm going to be honest, I really agree with you and Ferret, though I would say that the issues I had with the movie unfortunately outweighed the pros for me.

Note: I had to dig up Ferret's well-written review - Here it is in case anyone hasn't read it yet and is interested.

The PROS for me (spoilers included, but thanks to V the warning's in the thread's title):

• Michael Fassbender/"David" - My favorite character, hands down. Absolutely creepy and brilliantly acted. I shuddered every time he was on screen.
• The sets - It's already been said, but the sets and direction were brilliant; definitely built off of the previous movies but didn't out-do them. I thought that the ship itself was fantastic (Ferret's observations are really spot-on).
• The self-abortion scene - Wow. WOW. One of the most disturbing scenes I've seen in horror as of late. Absolutely had me cringing. SO creepy.
• Engineer vs. Squid Baby - The fangirl in me absolutely delighted in this

The CONS/issues that I just couldn't really get my head out of:

• Why is no one absolutely amazed by the fact that they've discovered life AT ALL?! They land on a planet with incredible pyramid structures and it's all very ho-hum (weird reactions include Charlie the scientist being pissed and getting drunk - not really sure why there wasn't anything to celebrate here... Oh, and as noted, the surly geologist who is just "in it for the money" - I guess in the future space travel and discovery is really passe... Then what's the point of making a scifi movie about it?)
• The biologist and the geologist get stuck on an alien planet in a dust storm and NOBODY CARES?! "Oh, well, nothing we can do. Let's have sex..." Which leads me to...
• Idris Elba was incredibly wasted (hur hur literally and figuratively) and I ultimately had no feelings for him and his poorly two-dimensional copilots when they sacrificed themselves and the ship to save humanity.
• Michael Fassbender/"David" - Yep, listed as a con here because I feel as though his greatest moments were also really random... He poisons Charlie (Why? Because every son wants to see his father die and Charlie as a human is a surrogate "father" to androids? So why doesn't David poison or mess with everyone else?) I feel as though we're being lead down the path of the sentient android... Here we're in a world where we're trying to discover our makers and ultimately find out that our makers are out to destroy us (o, nihilism!), so is the point of him to turn the tables and destroy his own maker? I feel as though there was more here to uncover; he was such an interesting character, ultimately diminished to a laughable head in a dufflebag.
• I noted how incredible the self-abortion scene is... But then she's wandering around with her stomach stapled shut and no one bats an eye?? What about the two people she knocked out just to get to the self-surgery pod? Suddenly they're best friends? DOES NO ONE CARE THAT SHE JUST PULLED A SQUID CREATURE OUT OF HER BELLY?! DOES SHE EVEN CARE?! What a brilliant scene followed by incredible ambivalence... Made me wonder - What was the point of the scene at all?
• Weyland on Board - Ugh. So THIS is our payoff in terms of WHY they were flown there? REALLY?! Old rich dude wants to meet his maker? Sigh. Disappointing.
• Payoff #2 - Black Ooze and biochemical warfare - Another big disappointment; seems like we have black ooze on our hands that reconstructs an individual's DNA... If that's the case, then of course I'm wondering where do the xenomorphs come from (see, the black ooze seems to be pretty unpredictable when it comes to creation... yet there's a xenomorph on the wall in the black ooze canister room... And, yes, we get a xenomorph in the last 5 seconds - born of human, engineer, and squid creature... But it just seemed odd and random... OH BUT ISN'T LIFE ODD AND RANDOM?!)
• How heavily can we be hit on the head with the CREATION OF LIFE themes here? David wants to see his maker die... The Engineers want to destroy their progeny... I feel as though this is just Philosophy 101 being served up via University of Phoenix... BIG TOPICS with PRETTY PICTURES but ultimately nonsensical and disappointing when it comes to payoffs. Sure, you can make the argument that we are SUPPOSED to be left wondering - But if we are, why does this movie even exist? This movie is supposed to show us where we came from, right? It's not like Scott is particularly subtle when it comes to that. Also, the whole biochemical warfare coming back to bite you - sigh- been done (yes, common theme in the Alien franchise... but can we grow on this please??)
• Meredith Vickers - Theron did a great job with her, but I really didn't understand the point here - Big Business lady in space, I suppose? She didn't really turn out to be all that villainous (Weyland and David take that I suppose), but yet she deserves a villain's ending?
• SPACE JOCKEYS - I was promised Space Jockeys. I didn't go to see the great questions of Life, The Universe, and Everything be peddled about by pretty little things in spacesuits... WHERE ARE MY SPACE JOCKEYS?!
• Penis aliens - hur hur - Ok. Seriously. I canNOT be the only person who giggled at how incredibly phallic AND vaginal the black goo face huggers were... Though the breaking arm scene was pretty cringe-worthy. Also - WHY WOULD THE BIOLOGIST GET THAT CLOSE TO THEM?!

Argh. I was really disappointed and underwhelmed with this movie. Sure, it was pretty. Sure, more than a few scenes appealed to both my scifi fangirl AND horror fangirl sensibilities, but it seemed all really disjointed, no one seemed to react appropriately to anything at all, which made the best scenes seem like non sequitur. Ultimately, it all seemed very random, as though there were way too many areas of focus but none were fleshed out particularly well. Sure, one might say "Wait for the next movies," but UGH I feel as though I was promised a lot here and didn't get much out of it. Big empty pretty thing. I was actually pretty DISSATISFIED afterwards.

Anyway. That was a lot of rambling. For those of you who feel the same way, you may feel as amused and satisfied as I did when reading this review: http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddis...-epic-failure/

One of my favorite lines:

These were big issues for me too...

The assumption I made during my 3rd viewing was that the Engineers had devised different types of sticky goo for different purposes. There's no way of proving that the sticky goo taken by the monk Engineer in the opening sequence is the same goo which was given to Holloway.

Of course, like you said, it might have different effects on different hosts. But remember, the 100% DNA match? That means it should have affected Holloway the same way it affected the Engineer, if the basic composition of both bodies is the same.

Fifield's helmet started disintegrating when he sliced the Hammerpede (stuck to Millburn) into two and got sprayed by it's blood (assuming it had a substance similar to acid in it's blood). That made him spin out of control right into the thick fluid flowing through that inner chamber of the pyramid.

The qualities of THIS fluid didn't resemble the qualities of the sticky goo inside the container - it was more viscous and free-flowing, unlike the sticky goo. If you remember, right after Fifield fell into the fluid head-first, his helmet (which was already steaming and sizzling from the spray of the Hammerpede's blood) sort of completely melted inwards, sticking into his face. That could have been the result of the Hammerpede's blood mixing with the flowing liquid which caused that sort of reaction. Of course, the liquid did intensify Fifield's mutation and turned him into what he became, later.

If you think back to the opening sequence carefully, you will remember that the monk Engineer (I call him so because he was dressed in robes with a hood) walks slowly to the edge of the waterfall, carrying a small dish-like thing containing the black sticky goo. The spaceship hovers in front of him and he lowers his hood and takes a long, deep look at the spaceship. That look signifies that the monk Engineer wasn't there from his own choice.

Secondly, if he was chosen for this job, the spaceship wouldn't have been hovering over him until he drank the goo. It would have landed him and disappeared, assured that he would do his thing. The spaceship left only after he had drunk the goo - which signifies they watched over him till the last moment ensuring he did the job, and ONLY then did they leave.

Thirdly, if he had been chosen, they could have made him drink the goo inside the spaceship itself, then dumped his disintegrating body directly into the waterfall.

Ergo my theory of him NOT volunteering for this.

Not necessarily. 100% DNA match happens very rarely (even fathers don't share 100% DNA matching with their children at times) - specially matching the DNA of a rapidly evolving race such as humans with another race is rare. Unless the explanation which I provided earlier - either they are siblings of humans, or they are an advanced, evolved or mutated version of humans. Maybe the Engineers are how humans would develop and evolve into, in the distant future.


Maybe they got really shaken up and freaked out when they ran into all those Engineers' corpses.

Maybe because half the crew was busy fighting off mutant Fifield and the other half was tending to old Weyland. They did rush to her when she stumbled in and covered her with something and made her sit.

I blame this on either Lindelof or the editing table. Maybe we will see crew interaction in a Director's Cut DVD.

Could be. Or he has a bigger role to play as a younger Weyland in future sequels.

A-ha! Perfectly spotted.

An indication which shows that the Engineers knew about the Xenomorphs already (either through direct contact or had developed them in their bio-weapons lab). The religious intonation might mean the Engineers being in awe of this perfect killing machine - they revere it. Yes a sequel will explain this perfectly.

Maybe that was the infectious mutation which grew inside Holloway's blood, when it got tainted by the black goo which David had slipped into his drink. It could explain his extreme discomfort when he was helped to the ship. Maybe something was growing INSIDE him, waiting to tear it's way out? That's why he preferred death?


Maybe the Engineers had an-inbuilt breathing unit built into their suits, to tackle the non-breathable atmosphere of the planet.

So that they didn't disturb the air/atmosphere inside the pyramid? Remember the balance of the ante room being shifted when the humans entered it?

This adds to my theory of Engineers being an example of human evolution in the future. And it could also explain why the Engineers resembled humans so much in outward appearance.

Plausibly.


What he said to the Engineer was - (translated) "This man is here because he does not want to die. He believes you can give him more life."

http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/566...eer-prometheus



For now, yes it's a spinoff based on the Alien universe. IF there are sequel(s) eventually which will connect it to Alien in the end, we can call it a prequel.


I am just trying to provide some answers. None of my explanations should be treated as final answers, as I am trying to theorise about all of it myself and to put things together.

Will tackle Chronogrl's post tomorrow. Power's been going on and off in the past 6 hours (it's raining heavily here), and I had to save Ferox's reply in a Notepad file to reply to all of it whenever power came back.

Meanwhile, check these out :-

http://geektyrant.com/news/2012/6/24...fographic.html

http://whatculture.com/film/promethe...-questions.php

I have to give J credit for this... I giggled out loud:

There are expressions of wonder on Rapace and Green when they initially come upon the pyramid-like structure. And remember, most of the crew (including the captain) neither believed in Shaw's explanation of the star maps (the whole creator/God angle) nor were they ready to believe when they came upon the pyramid. Their skepticism could be a main factor which kept their enthusiasm dampened.

Till then they hadn't had their encounters, so they didn't know that there were unknown, lurking dangers inside the pyramid. Their probes had also pretty much scanned through the whole structure and didn't report back with any "living being" beeps - one more reason for them to think it was a lifeless pyramid.

Not to mention that the storm was a really bad one and hampered all sorts of visibility. There wasn't anything to be done but wait till it passed.

I blame this on bad script writing, again. His was one excellent character and could have been given different shades/angles and if developed properly, could have been one of the major pluses of the film. As it is, Elba did a superb job with the limitations he was fed.

There are complexities to David which can be similar to Ash in Alien. As we find out that Weyland himself was on the ship and David was reporting back to him regularly, it is safe to assume he was working under direct instructions. The discovery of the goo was reported to Weyland and he was instructed to try it on one of the team members first to see what reactions, or lack of, it caused, before they tried it on Weyland himself.

And it's easily presumed that since the events of this film happened much before Alien, David is an older model than Ash. Like Bishop explains in Aliens, the Ash android itself had faults ("twitchy" in his words), so what's to tell that David's programming wasn't faulty as well? The filmmakers didn't want to go down the repetitive path of an android/robot/computer going suicidal (HAL 9000, the Red Queen, etc.) so they kept David as an android with shades of grey, most presumably because of following direct orders from Weyland himself.

And let's admit it, we did see Weyland didn't care much for the crew or their fates. He was a selfish bastard who was only interested in prolonging his own life, and because there was a chance that Shaw's prediction of Gods/makers could come out true, he tagged along in secret for the ride, in hopes of coming across a Fountain of Youth. (which David actually asks the Engineer on Weyland's behalf) If his intentions had been noble/true, he wouldn't have been in hiding inside the ship.

Most of the crew were in the docking bay fighting the mutant, remember? Those who were left were also headed that way after the alert which went off throughout the ship. Maybe they didn't notice her "stapled" condition, and assumed by seeing her blood that she was involved in the fight with the mutant. Nobody else knew she was pregnant except David, did they?

And when she stumbled into Weyland's room, the initial reaction was one of surprise by the crew attending to Weyland, including David, who didn't expect to find her there. And yes, they noticed her blood and her staples, and immediately helped her down and draped a blanket around her.

And Shaw herself didn't tell anybody what happened to her inside the pod, either. Until she got to Weyland's chamber, that is. As for the staples and her roaming around after that, she DID inject herself with plenty of painkillers(?) before and during the surgery, remember? It does take awhile for the kicked-in stuff from injections to lose their influence.

The flaw I see in that entire sequence is that the surgery pod's computer didn't announce the newly birth as a possible contamination and didn't quarantine it somewhere. Really glaring flaw this.

Weyland has absolutely 0% interest in meeting his maker. Unlike Shaw, Weyland had only selfish interests in this mission. Presumably, all his efforts to prolong his life had backfired so he was in this for the chance - what if Shaw's predictions came true? He could really meet the Gods and get something on the lines of the Fountain of Youth from them.

It's debatable - either the Engineers who roamed worlds creating life, created the Xenomorphs as well, or they were an indigenous species which the Engineers came across during their flights through the universe. There is a third angle, the whole bio-weapons development, but that gets affected when we see the "chapel"-like sequence. Clearly the Engineers revere the Xenomorphs, which made me tilt towards the indigenous species origin.

But then we see what happens when "infected" Charlie impregnates Shaw - that brings out another explanation for the Xenomorphs. Created as bio-weapons by the Engineers (possibly out of some planet's indigenous species's DNA or from scratch), they turned out to become pure and perfect killing machines, which is why they were revered by the Engineers.

And remember, not all black goo works as the same. The cylinders looked identical, but maybe they had secret markings on them to distinguish them from each other. Something which David couldn't see.

Ultimately, what ever is created, has been destroyed. Humanity's history is dotted with such examples. The filmmakers only expounded on this. Even our race isn't eternal - someday, like the dinosaurs before us, we will be replaced as well. Maybe we have sped up the process by tainting our environments and atmosphere, and have gone past a "point of turning back".
(Remember The Abyss's climax?)
That could be why the Engineers want to destroy their creation - us - because we didn't turn out to be what they hoped we would evolve into. Specially when there are more perfect species (such as Xenomorphs) out there.

(Contd.)

She and her father weren't on the same page. She was in this just like Carter Burke in Aliens, to safeguard the investment of the project. Clearly her intentions were business and profit, and she behaved like a very one-dimensional character, like her Daddy. Yes, she didn't deserve that ending but then she couldn't have been left alive in the end, could she? Since she didn't die inside the ship or the pyramid...

You saw a whole bunch of them running through when David activated the hologram, remember? And you saw a full-fledged SJ in the Engineer who was awakened from his cryo-sleep. Explanations about their running/flight from the deck should be provided in the sequel (or prequel?).

Ah, the hammerpedes. One of the many bioweapons inside the pyramid (shame that we didn't get to see more of those bioweapons, which were cut out by Lindelof from Spaihts' treatment because the script was getting unnecessarily long) which looked innocent but turned out extremely deadly. Again, the biologist had no idea what he was dealing with. Of course, he should have been a bit fearful and apprehensive when dealing with such a creature, but judging by how incredibly swift the hammerpede was, he was a foregone conclusion the moment it drifted towards them in the goo stream. Even then, the hammerpede didn't cause death - it merely impregnated you with something, like the facehugger. The problem started when they cut it and sprayed themselves with it's acidic blood. Inadvertently dipping the helmet into the flowing goo further enhanced the situation.

I don't blame you.

It may all seem like a confusing, muddled mess to even the best of viewers, specially when there are hurried rewrites of the original script involved. The Spaihts' scriptt was fantastic, but the hurried rewrites by Lindelof messed everything up.

Most portions of Spaihts' work was leaked to the media when shooting was underway (remember my post in the Upcoming Horror section's Prometheus thread about the script getting leaked, and the whole angle of male gay aliens, and a scene of gay aliens actually having sex). Wait, let me find it...

Here's the synopsis of Spaihts' treatment -

And this is what happened when the first rewrite of Spaihts' treatment by Lindelof was over -

http://www.horror.com/forum/showpost...5&postcount=56

Subsequent rewrites weren't planned, but forced. But that doesn't justify Ridley's satisfaction with the final draft, or the go-ahead after they saw their treatment in the editing room before release. Either way, it's a given that they didn't pursue the originally intended Prometheus story the way they would have liked it to. No wonder Ridley is staying silent on the prospects of a sequel right now, when usually film makers announce sequels almost immediately after a film releases and does well at the BO. This after announcing that there will be at least two prequels, and an explanation of how the SJ fits into the Alien universe.

Prometheus is a thought-provoking film. Ridley tried to leave enough questions in it to keep fans thinking and guessing so that he would have scope to fit in a sequel (or a prequel) or two, but two things went against it - Lindelof's hasty rewrites, and the whole Ridley treatment which makes the film give off a vibe of taking itself way too seriously.

But the biggest merit of the film is that it actually gave us something different, something to think about, something to talk about, like today. When bigger films with bigger budgets warrant a one-watch, some oohs and aahs, and ultimately disappear from sight to make way for the next blockbuster. This is the reason why I appreciate it, despite it's flaws.

V - Wow. Totally appreciate your long, thoughtful, and detailed response, as always! (wish we were closer so that we could have these discussions in person over coffee or beer)

To be honest, though, I think we need to agree to disagree in terms of the overall merits of the film - I just don't think it was a good movie. Could be that it was the writing/rewrites (those treatments you posted were great, especially the first one)... But it just didn't work for me. With my love of the Alien series I'll probably see the other films, but I was honestly really disappointed and dissatisfied with this.

For the record, I am not defending the film by any means, nor am I showing any fanboy-ism towards it. I am more dissatisfied than disappointed, to some extent.

Such a lovely story, a linear narrative, excellent visuals and background score, and some really neat performances. All marred by a somewhat botched script. Like I said above, how did the end product pass through the production team's screenings, especially Ridley Scott, is beyond me.

Lindelof's clumsiness is so evident. I won't be surprised if he is fired for the sequel/prequel, when/if they make one.

Pretty funny and honestly if it had ended that way i'm sure a lot more people would be happier

http://www.firstshowing.net/2012/pro...weyland-video/


Check out - http://www.whatis101112.com/

ALTERNATE AND DELETED SCENES: [34:54]
(About 35 minutes of deleted footage)

• * ARRIVAL OF THE ENGINEERS [2:31]
  * T’IS THE SEASON [0:58]
  * OUR FIRST ALIEN [0:42]
  * SKIN [0:42]
  * WE’RE NOT ALONE ANYMORE [1:22]
  * STRANGE BEDFELLOWS [2:57]
  * HOLLOWAY HUNGOVER [1:25]
  * DAVID’S OBJECTIVE [0:23]
  * JANEK FILLS VICKERS IN [3:27]
  * A KING HAS HIS REIGN [3:40]
  * FIFIELD ATTACKS [2:01]
  * THE ENGINEER SPEAKS [4:06]
  * FINAL BATTLE [5:30]
  * PARADISE [5:05]

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AVV292368/

Would it be added into the Uncut version on DVD/BD? More importantly, does it add a bit more clarity to the film's proceedings?

IMO, 35 minutes is a pretty heavy cut out of the 2 hr. 4 mins. (final) length of the film. (considering the last 3 deleted scenes, each one pretty long).

Let's wait and see.

Interesting read - http://collider.com/prometheus-2-sequel/172444/

All who have seen the film already should read it.

Moviefone have caught up with James Cameron, primarily to talk about Titanic 3D arriving on disc, and they asked him his views on Ridley Scott’s return, of sorts, to the franchise they both have a vested interest in.

http://news.moviefone.com/2012/09/06...n_1861572.html

I'd like to say that i'm very happy Cameron and Scott are respectful of each other's work. I'd hate to see a dumb rivalry over 2 great directors.

Having said that

Prometheus > Avatar x100




Also I just realized both directors have firstnamelastnames.

I always watch movies as "stand alone films" so that they get a fair opinion. The story itself was fine but like most movies today, I was left not caring about most of the characters. Most of them are "fodder" and other ones are either too stupid or mean spirited enough that you want to see them get killed anyway.

I also didn't really like how a grey octopus looking creature mixes with a body builder looking pale man to come out as a black "Alien" style creature. I didn't really care for the look of the Engineers themselves. Why body builders with 6 pack abs?...lol. They looked like comic book superheroes or supervillians. I did like their exo-suit, but their actual design I thought was cheesy.

The whole philosophical ideals of the film were fine. The effects with the spaceship were great and virtual map of the cave was neat.

But it didn't really offer me anything new. After a half hour I knew the girl and the android would survive. I knew the old man would be on the ship after they played his hologram. I knew the engineers wouldn't be friendly. I knew the engineer wasn't dead after the spaceship crashes. I knew the octopus looking thing was still in the lifeboat. I was never really left "wondering" what was going to happen. It was really pretty straight forward.

Like I said, it's not a bad movie. But I also don't think it was anything I hadn't seen before.

I have to reluctantly agree that supporting characters aren't strong in the film, an attribute which I blame the script writer on. Really memorable supporting characters come from strong scripts (Alien, Aliens, Predator, From Dusk Till Dawn, etc.) so Lindelof did let everyone down there. That being said, the main characters were all strong - Shaw, David, Vickers, Holloway, Janek, even old man Weyland was depicted and written well.

The moon, LV-223, was a base for the Engineers' experiments. The pyramid housed some of their successful and some not-so-successful ones (like the Hammerpede). Needless to say, the continuous experimentation and the dumping ground of the sub-planet (or moon) had some very curious stuff contained in the cargo area of the underground ship. Goo in the containers looked similar but behaved differently.
I suspect Holloway was mutating into something else (maybe even into an Engineer) after getting infected by David. And what kind of DNA strands did he pass into the sterile Shaw which resulted in her getting pregnant and giving birth to that monstrosity within 24 hours? Which means there exists a connection between the early xenomorphs and the Engineers, probably to be shown in the sequel. That could also explain the "altar"-ish scene of the xenomorph inside the pyramid's inner chamber (the one with the face).

The look of the Engineers was clear - they were shown to be a superior race than man, a "super-man" or super being of sorts, hence the close resemblance to humans, yet the super-sized, beefy, body structure. I wonder if the title Prometheus refers to them now, instead of the humans - the ones who stole the "fire from the gods" (ability to give life) and now, pursued to be prosecuted/punished by "the gods", are forced to take their "gift" away. The early script (and story) had this angle covered pretty strongly, but after it got leaked to the press they were hard-pressed to make changes to it which made all the connections seem a lot more subtle. I personally loved the original script (which you can check here - http://www.horror.com/forum/showpost...5&postcount=56)

Admit it, how many films have we seen till now which have the main character(s) killed off before the end? Only Alien hints at this, with Dallas taking center stage (and Tom Skeritt getting first billing and being more recognisable than Sigourney Weaver back then) and getting killed mid-way through the film. It's pretty easy to deduce who are the main characters and who might survive till the end (although David isn't exactly a survivor, seeing as he's only a decapitated head controlling a spaceship by the end of the film).
David was reporting back regularly to someone, and that someone wasn't Vickers. Safe to assume Weyland was in the equation, somewhere. No surprises there.
The surviving Engineer didn't attack the crew rightaway. What David said to it made him behave the way he did. What did David say? Still a matter of speculation, but presses report that he said (on behalf of Weyland) "This man here (Weyland) believes you can give him the blessing of life immortal" which instantly made two things clear to the Engineer - 1) David wasn't human, or he would have asked for immortal life for himself, and 2) Humans had finally made it to their star-mapped destination but not to meet their creators the Engineers, but in a selfish quest for eternal life. That could be an explanation for it's hostility, and it's renewed conviction to destroy life on Earth.
The alien spaceship was a pretty sturdy and strong craft. Even after Prometheus collides head-on into it and crumbles into a gigantic explosion, we see the alien spaceship suffer minimal/no damage as it nose-dives towards the surface. And the Engineer was pretty well-strapped into his control chair/pod when the spaceship started lifting, so it's survival (even when one side of it's face had suffered damage) was a given.
Obviously the alien squid was inside the surgical chamber. It was taken out of Shaw (and possibly stored in a container or something) and it grew into large proportions, just like the original Alien xenomorph. My grudge with this is something else - upon detecting an alien being which came from Shaw's abdomen, the computers of the ship should have quarantined it immediately. Either this facility was not present in that surgical pod, or the computers failed to recognise it as an alien being, seeing as how it came out from a human's body. But still, it was a glaring flaw in the continuity, since we are led to believe that the technology of that time was very, very ahead, almost on par with Alien's timeline.

The film is pretty strong technically and direction-wise. Where it lacked was a slightly more refined script and treatment of the minor details. But that can be attributed to hasty changes made (by Damon Lindelof) to the initial script written by Jon Spaihts which got leaked, and which ended in this treatment which we see as this final product. Still, the deleted scenes (of over 45 minutes) which will come packed into the DVD/BD release of the film should add a bit more explanation. And Scott himself has promised "answers, and a better, taut, tight treatment" for Prometheus 2: Paradise, so let's look forward to that as well.

Check out this thread - http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61116

V...I would hate to go against you at trivia...lol. I know years, directors, actors and maybe a few details but you know all the specs :-)

I'll have to check out the original script.

I really only thought Shaw, David & Captain Janek were strong characters. I didn't feel Vickers or Holloway really added much. Shaw's character could have been both parts (Holloway & Shaw) with someone else as the "infectee/love interest. Vickers didn't really do anything but say I'm in charge and then have no one pay attention to her.

It was better than your average movie and would watch it again, but it just didn't really have that big of an impact on me I guess. I'm glad you really like it though and it stirs something in you. No one around me really has much passion for film so it's nice to have someone really express what they like about something.

There are several aspects to Vickers's character which are not immediately evident in the first viewing - why she is the way she is, what kind of a relation she shares with Weyland, why she is trying desperately to show that she is in charge while all the time the real "Captain" of the entire mission is David. Old man Weyland is obviously disappointed on not having a son to run his empire after him, and so Meredith is left running things "inside a boardroom" as some sort of a Assistant MD of sorts, while Weyland proclaims that David is "the closest thing to having a son". One of the reasons why David's programming involves following Weyland's orders implicitly - the perfect son for the "perfect" Dad.

The 3 key scenes for this - Weyland's virtual image addressing the crew, Meredith and Weyland inside Weyland's chamber, and a short interaction between David and Elizabeth just before they leave to meet the final Engineer sleeping in his cryo tube.

Holloway, as a character, is essential to the focus of the film. He's the more impressionable of the two, and unlike Shaw, he was more interested in knowing what exactly they were going to seek. He wasn't exactly sure they were going to be the makers, rather than finding a new planet with a new race, possibly the point from where humans evolved. His immense disappointment is amply evident by 2 scenes - when he approaches the "altar" on the wall and sees the sarcophagus with the green top and comments how it's all dead, and when they find nothing of interest in the chamber or in the pyramid, except a decapitated Engineer, which only confirms his doubts - their makers are also susceptible to death, so they can't be their makers, nor can they be perfect "gods", so as to speak. Which makes him go drunk when David meets him (to infect him with the goo).

And I am intrigued by Prometheus because of 2 reasons - my immense love for Alien and it's universe, and after a long, long time a film has come about which poses questions, rather than feed answers directly like most modern contemporary films (any genre). Rather than tying everything up neatly in a bow tie, this film leaves you asking stuff, and asking for more. These 2 emotions are very tough to be brought out. And maybe that's why Prometheus is just that bit more special to me. I wouldn't classify it as a 10/10 film, it has it's faults, but it's been the single biggest event (film-wise) to have happened to me in recent times.