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Posted (edited)

Finally saw the movie last week. I wasn’t hyped for it nor did I have high expectations. What I saw was a very enjoyable movie. The visuals and movie universe are fantastic. Good to see a movie made by people that actually know how to make quality work.

Now for the script… good god were the characters stupid!!!!!! The douchy robot was great and I had fun with miss c-section and captain suicide but the rest were so stupid… The epitome was the “geologist” and the "whyisheevenhere?" glasses guy. They get scared of a mummy and then get lost running home… the freaking geologist that ONLY came there because he had his “hounds” to do the mapping work GOT LOST??!! After that, any other stupidity like petting giant alien worms didn’t surprise me.

Zombie fight scene also felt like a useless action scene to trim down fodder. Fodder that wasn’t needed in the first place since it was only flat background characters. But I still really liked the movie. Proves that good filmmaking can make a $hit script work.

One thing: during the whole movie I thought they landed on the same rock that the Nostromo landed on. Somehow liked the idea of the xenos being the product of hybrid combination kick-started by a vengeful/curious robot. From infected human-infected human pregnancy-engineer mouth rape-Nostromo guy mouth rape-to alien we all love and fear. But later I saw that the rock has a different name. It could still be a change in name made by Weyland corp… don’t know. I do want to see the sequels.

That and what is the meaning of the fist scene with the suicide engineer? Is that Earth and the xenos is part of the human genome or something?

Kinda glad they cut those scenes. They raise the dumbness in some characters. Guinea pig archaeologist turns even more whiny: “The definitive proof of sentient extraterrestrials existing… this SUCKS!!!!”

Edited by Twoducks
Posted

So ladies help me out with this: your man mocks your faith then makes wisecracks about your mother and father and you still want to make out with him? :huh:

Now you're getting it...

Posted

That and what is the meaning of the fist scene with the suicide engineer? Is that Earth and the xenos is part of the human genome or something?

As I understand it, the implication is that's Eath and the "ritual" or whatever is the Engineer's seed a planet with life. One of them is sacrificed to send their DNA out into the planet and alter its development.

Posted

Which still doesn't make since, because the flmmakers(and engineers) totally forgot all of intermediate life forms that existed, died off and evolved before you get to anything that closely resembles a humanoid form.

Posted

I think its inferred that the engineer sacrificed himself to give life to the planet. His DNA would lay down the foundations for life - while all the time setting up a blue-print for the 'end game' life form - a bipedal life form that not only resembles them, but also shares their DNA.

For what purpose? Who knows - its not important.

Thats the mystery.

Like in the film, Ronin - whats in the briefcase? Doesn't matter. What matters is that the resulting consequences and actions of the characters in play.

On a side note, I don't know why people are hating on this film so much - so much of the film has scenes that are crystal clear to me and I got them on first viewing and most of the details or ideas/motivations they suggested.

I think it is a delicious film in so many aspects - the cinematography, the details, the awe and wonder, the ancient astronaut theory, mythology and faith aspects - the constant echoing and mirroring of themes and emotions from different characters.

Posted

I think what I and most others had problems with was how stupid and underdeveloped most of the characters were. Not too mention how tacked on and forgetable was the origin of the xenomorphs.

I think most people get that there are things in the film that aren't supposed to be answered. What makes the film a letdown in my book, was how glaringly obvious alot of its shorcomings were. When I keep watching a film and the characters are blantly retarded, it becomes really distracting and difficult to accept any other premises the film my try to advance. Not to mention all of the inconsistencies with the Goo. The first two alien films worked because you never questioned the logic of universe that your watching. I can't say the same for Prometheus.

Posted

Granted, the stoned geologist and pseudo-mark ruffalo guy were kinda dumb and the boyfriend was a massive jerk - but david more than made up for their (and other throw aways) characters - Shaw was ok, believable in the way that most faithful religious types are.

The tacked on nature of the alien, was just that - I felt it was Ridley going 'fine, I'll put the damn alien in there.'.

But what inconsistencies with the goo? It weaponizes organic life.

Posted

If you need a bioweapon to eradicate humanity, a stable Ebola/Marburg virus would surely be more cost effective...

On the other hand, maybe the goo has the potential to turn every form of life on a planet into a destroyer of it's own kind.

Within the movie, the concept seemed underdeveloped, when the effect of the goo only led to generic rubber-mask zombies. The Trilobite birth direction was better, but the scene was not handled too well in terms of pacing, when in the following sequence with Weyland awakening the movie lost momentum again.

Too many potentially epic moments wasted is my main beef with the movie.

Posted (edited)

Which still doesn't make since, because the flmmakers(and engineers) totally forgot all of intermediate life forms that existed, died off and evolved before you get to anything that closely resembles a humanoid form.

What if filmmakers are not into "evolving" thing anymore?... Which is fine by me BTW...

The only problem with this movie is that goo's result is inconsistant and almost too random:

Chronologically in the movie:

1) Engineer+goo= Deteriorated Engineer... far-fetched result is Human Race

2) Worms+goo= Super worms

3) Super worms venom+Human+goo= Zombie?

4) Human+goo= Deteriorated Human (Resists a smaller amount of goo relatively longer than an Engineer. Ended up being a zombie carrying squid genes... Huh!)

5) Deteriorated Human+Human= Giant Squid (Insert a big WTF here)

6) Giant Squid+Engineer= Shark Tail Xenomorph (What happened to egg, facehugger [squid is kind of a facehugger in this case] and chestburster stages??)

Based on these charts:

Chart 1

post-3814-0-02087700-1347364741_thumb.jpg

Chart2

post-3814-0-46925900-1347365379_thumb.png

Edited by charger69
Posted

On the other hand, maybe the goo has the potential to turn every form of life on a planet into a destroyer of it's own kind.

Within the movie, the concept seemed underdeveloped, when the effect of the goo only led to generic rubber-mask zombies. The Trilobite birth direction was better, but the scene was not handled too well in terms of pacing, when in the following sequence with Weyland awakening the movie lost momentum again.

But that's just it - each life form will form a unique weapon;

- Worms that inhabit the giant head room were the trip wire - they even say the environment is different in there, almost like they tripped the invisible wire going in there; goo engages and spills onto the floor.

- Fifield the stoner zombie dude, wasn't killed by a worm; instead his helmet is partially melted as he falls, thus making contact with the goo.

- Douche bag BF guy was starting to turn into a threat, in the same manner as Fifield.

- Baby squid thing is interesting - this could either be weaponized killer sperm OR a mix of this and Shaw's egg, probably the latter.

So every time the goo makes contact it transforms, but it also has the potential to be the starting point of new hybrids if it then gets into contact with foreign DNA.

But something special/terrible could happen if it comes into contact with an engineer, like crossing the wires - or doubling up - thats maybe why when the hologram played back, all the engineers were legging it cause they were running from a big bad and/or didn't want to become walking incubators...

But then again, thats just my interpretation.

Posted

With Shaw being infertile, the squid might as well be a sole product of Holloway's infected body that just needed a womb to grow.

Did anybody notice if the frescos in the ampule room change into something specific when the humans enter, or are they just decaying?

Posted

Interesting that it can now be downloaded digitally thru Xbox, Playstation and iTunes. I went ahead and picked it up on Playstation so I can watch it in 3D possibly this week at home. But it's suppose to also come with the bonus Features. What praytell that all exactly means I dunno.

Posted

But that's just it - each life form will form a unique weapon;

- Worms that inhabit the giant head room were the trip wire - they even say the environment is different in there, almost like they tripped the invisible wire going in there; goo engages and spills onto the floor.

- Fifield the stoner zombie dude, wasn't killed by a worm; instead his helmet is partially melted as he falls, thus making contact with the goo.

- Douche bag BF guy was starting to turn into a threat, in the same manner as Fifield.

- Baby squid thing is interesting - this could either be weaponized killer sperm OR a mix of this and Shaw's egg, probably the latter.

So every time the goo makes contact it transforms, but it also has the potential to be the starting point of new hybrids if it then gets into contact with foreign DNA.

But something special/terrible could happen if it comes into contact with an engineer, like crossing the wires - or doubling up - thats maybe why when the hologram played back, all the engineers were legging it cause they were running from a big bad and/or didn't want to become walking incubators...

But then again, thats just my interpretation.

Bad also like letting a face hugger implant into a Predator, bad? (a much as Scott hates the AvP movies, they connect in more ways than one LOL...)
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

I didn't notice this months ago when it first went up, but I found it an interesting tidbit:

it's odd, I didn't care for the movie enough to even be interested in renting it to watch it again, but I really want to buy the blu-ray just to watch all the special features and deleted scenes so I can try and wrap my head around the creative intent behind the movie. It's as if the movie was so underwhelming that I'm compelled to dig deeper to figure out what the f*ck happened.

Edited by anime52k8
Posted

it's odd, I didn't care for the movie enough to even be interested in renting it to watch it again, but I really want to buy the blu-ray just to watch all the special features and deleted scenes so I can try and rap my head around the creative intent behind the movie. It's as if the movie was so underwhelming that I'm compelled to dig deeper to figure out what the f*ck happened.

Agreed. I'm suspecting that the creators of this thing wanted to do too much and consequently made a film about nothing spectacular. I appreciated the film more than most but I too will be looking for a lost story of sorts on the blu-ray...

Posted

Heh... all this talk makes me wonder if there's a story change as expansive as the one in the theatrical and extended editions of "The Abyss". Doubtful, but it would be cool if it turned out to be very different.

Alas, nowadays, as cool as the cut scenes are, they're usually cut for very good reasons. Repeating story points that have already been made or slowing down the main narrative are usually the reasons.

Posted
Alas, nowadays, as cool as the cut scenes are, they're usually cut for very good reasons. Repeating story points that have already been made or slowing down the main narrative are usually the reasons.

This is probably why I've been liking Chris Nolan's style of directing. He cuts it out before it makes its way to the shooting script so that he films only what's on the script and no extra that will be cut later. On that note, I actually appreciated what Whedon cut out those deleted scenes from The Avengers because in no way should those deleted scenes have been included in the final film since they either distracted from the overall film or just did not fit in at all with the team-dynamic of the movie.

Now for one last set of deleted scenes:

PROMETHEUS Deleted Scenes: Arrival Of The Engineers & Fifield Attacks

Posted

It seems like this will eventually be a double dip situation where they will re-release an extended directors cut later on. Do you think it worth buying Prometheus on BluRay now, or wait for the inevitable re-release? In particular, are the making of and other bonus features on this release worth watching?

Posted

Ooooooooh! It certainly would be cool, but doesn't the 2019 Blade Runner look more futuristic or at least on a very close level to the 2089 Prometheus?

Not neccessarily. We don't even know what Earth actually looks like in Prometheus other than what we saw in Scotland. We did hear Dr Shaw tell the Engineer that the planet was in ruins and LA in Blade Runner was very over industrialized and gothic. So who knows exactly? I do say that's interesting of a tie in, but I'll just roll my eyes and plead ignorance of this tie in cause this is just something Ridely does.

However, I AM very dissapointed that Ridely wont even consider a special release with all those 35 minute of deleted scenes inserted back in, god knows it really helped the film along more than what we were in the end given.

Posted

The only extended cut of anything I've every liked was Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven". I didn't mind the theatrical version, but seeing the extended edition turned it into a much, much better movie - one I'm very happy to rewatch every few years.

Posted

Pushed myself thru another couple of viewings of Prometheus on Blu-ray. It really was a beautifully shot movie but the characters, the characters were so stupid that they were distracting from the entirety of the movie. Someone mentioned screen-flare in Star Trek as distracting from the film, that's analogous to how I feel about the characters in this film.

I couldn't even try to contemplate all of what Ridley was trying to do with the film because of how impossibly, incredibly, insanely stupid all of the characters were. Not even the deleted and extend scenes could redeem the asinine decisions the characters made time after time.

I'm no film snob, I love all manner of D, C, B and "big-budget" flicks, but it's really hard to find much to enjoy about the script/story/characters in Prometheus.

If a sequel does make it to theaters my one hope is that the characters are intelligently written. If that happens then on the strength of that alone I'd be satisfied.

-b.

Posted

I'm watching the original 30s King Kong on dvd with the Harrihausen commentary on, when they said something that I think applies very appropriately to Prometheus. Kong and Prometheus in overall plot are quite similar, but different in execution.

"It is a well written film, well thought out. It takes you by the hand from the depression era to the most outragious fantasy you've ever seen on the screen, and you believe it. By the time you get to Skull Island you believe what you are about to see. That's an acomplishment these days. Because kids today due to television have be brainwashed to want action right away, and this builds gradually. You have to invest a lot of your self in the characters before you get to the island. otherwise its a meaningless exercise. You have to know who everyone is, what their motivations are, why they are going, and feel for them then once they're in this incredibly insane enviroment you still feel grounded. That's why I believe it, that's why I'm still hanging on to the characters running through this world, no matter what I'm seeing, I'm still believing the guys that are taking me through this adventure."

there's also Merrian C. Cooper's archived thoughts on filmmaking 101 with Kong

"If you noticed in this thing I got my love story going, the boy fell in love with the girl. You understood who Denholm was, you understood the character of the captain, I got em all. So once you got that chase going I never had to stop to explain a single damned thing. Cause you know, you understood it! I spent not 15 minutes, I spent nearly 40 minutes explaining this. This is why its so bad on television, they cut most of that you jump right into danger, and you don't know nothing."

That lack of grounding and understanding in the characters is what ends up killing Prometheus. You don't need to explain the mysteries surrounding skull island, why a giant ape is there, and why a tribe worships him to make the movie work, but you do need to explain why someone would WANT to go there and WHY!

Scott understood all the above when he made Alien, with its characters and deliberate pacing so even when they did something stupid you could believe it. So what the hell happened between then and now?

Posted

not sure what movie you guys were watching. the character motivations are all there, some are stated explicitly through the script and other's are shown through their actions. If you don't get it or it doesn't speak to you.. fine, whatever, you like whatever you want. But it's all there, on screen and it makes sense.

Posted

not sure what movie you guys were watching. the character motivations are all there, some are stated explicitly through the script and other's are shown through their actions. If you don't get it or it doesn't speak to you.. fine, whatever, you like whatever you want. But it's all there, on screen and it makes sense.

Well you made the claim, now the burden of proof is on you. Explain everyones actions in a way that makes sense, that doesn't result in "they were mentally retarded to begin with".

Posted

I'm with Eugimon - it's all there.

Renegadeleader1 - why don't you list the ones that you don't get instead of Eugi or I listing everything? I'd be happy to give my interpretations :D

Posted

Well you made the claim, now the burden of proof is on you. Explain everyones actions in a way that makes sense, that doesn't result in "they were mentally retarded to begin with".

shaw - true believer; her faith has been tested and she still believes in something greater than herself or even the Engineers.

holloway - has a child like faith, and like a child, his world is shattered when he doesn't get what he wants

David - he's a child, emotionally and metaphorically. His child like demeanor is shown as he plays ball, the way he tries to act like people he admires (lawerence, an outsider who was accepted). But like a child he's also jealous and emotionally fragile, he sees his attempts to be accepted by the crew and by his "father" rebuffed and continually insulted.. eventually he lashes out against them.

Vickers - the angry, neglected child. She's jealous of the affection that Weyland shows David. She wants Shaw and Holloway to be wrong so she can see Weyland suffer the same loss and disappointment she feels.

Weyland - true believer but unlike shaw and holloway has the sort of faith that many fundamentalists espouse... selfish and entitled. He doesn't care about anything other than his own "salvation"

The story is the relationship between parents, siblings and children... between god and his creation(s). I get that this is a subject that isn't going to track for everyone, but it's ridiculous to claim that it isn't there on screen.

Posted

shaw - true believer; her faith has been tested and she still believes in something greater than herself or even the Engineers.

holloway - has a child like faith, and like a child, his world is shattered when he doesn't get what he wants

David - he's a child, emotionally and metaphorically. His child like demeanor is shown as he plays ball, the way he tries to act like people he admires (lawerence, an outsider who was accepted). But like a child he's also jealous and emotionally fragile, he sees his attempts to be accepted by the crew and by his "father" rebuffed and continually insulted.. eventually he lashes out against them.

Vickers - the angry, neglected child. She's jealous of the affection that Weyland shows David. She wants Shaw and Holloway to be wrong so she can see Weyland suffer the same loss and disappointment she feels.

Weyland - true believer but unlike shaw and holloway has the sort of faith that many fundamentalists espouse... selfish and entitled. He doesn't care about anything other than his own "salvation"

The story is the relationship between parents, siblings and children... between god and his creation(s). I get that this is a subject that isn't going to track for everyone, but it's ridiculous to claim that it isn't there on screen.

I love Prometheus and I agree most of the stuff you just said.

But I think there are some plots are debatable -

Fifield (the map guy) and Milburn did not have a map and get loss.

The Biologist (Millburn) was being stupid, and too friendly to the alien 'worm'.

And those 2 co-pilots who are too willing to sacrifice themselves at the end.

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