Prometheus - Part 8

[PWN3R]

Re-reading this thread, it's amusing:
People who love this film automatically dismiss others who call out the script's weak, incoherent missteps as simply "not getting it."

The passive aggressive snark from some of you, lol. I guess I'm not intelligent because I don't find Prometheus "deep" at all. Shrug. It definitely hinted at something special, only to waste it near the end for sequel bait.

But yes, this is not Phantom Menace. That's just absurd.

Redhawk said it the best:

The difference is that Blade Runner actually is a legitimately good film same thing with say, The Thing, which arguably just came out a bad time, so soon after E.T.

I don't think there is much about Prometheus that is simply being "misunderstood", much of the criticism isn't coming from people for whom the film just goes "over their heads" but because the film fails on some fairly basic levels, problems that aren't going to go away with time, unless of course people just stop caring about basic story telling.

 

[TheVileOne]

Does anyone think the reason Rapace's nose looks so weird because of the cocaine she admitted to doing?

 

[chaseter]

This again? You're like the 4th person to post this. It's fine, but this guy reads too much into ideas that are not even present in the film.

He also keeps referring to the mural with the Engineer and their "torn abdominal." But if you look at any HD screen grabs, or hell, the art-book itself that is floating around right now, you'll see that it's merely a crack in the wall.

Pretentious ********. Sorry, dumb rant.

Why is the crack there? Symbolism. Dude made a lot of good points. Idk if Jesus was a 10 foot alien but their facial structure resembled Greek sculpture. It seems the aliens were present on Earth and were the gods of man until they decided to destroy us and left to go to this planet to make these weapons that turned on them.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

I have not encountered tha it. I agree that is absolutely insane. My problems with the story aside, the film was extremely well crafted.

For those making Blade Runner comparisons consider this: A major part of the reason why Blade runner has become more esteemed with time is the influence it had on other film makers and films. "The Blade Runner look" has become a staple of science fiction films and animation. Its almost asinine to speculate the "importance" of a film 3 days after its release but really, how much influence could this film really have? What does it bring to the table that we've never seen in other films already, not to mention just the other Alien films.

The film does have very solid effects but are they really anything more than what we expect from a film with its budget and pedigree?

I'm sorry, but that's a load. Blade Runner gets praised nowadays but thirty years ago everything from the film was getting ripped on. I'm not exaggerating either. The soundtrack, the acting, the dialogue, the story, etc. You expect to believe the criticisms came directly from the film's appearance and the concept?

I'm not stating Prometheus IS Blade Runner (it is to me in some aspects), and that the movie will be iconic for the genre thirty years from now just three days into the release, but Prometheus is truly a film that is thought-provoking and filled with symbolism, and a portion of the criticism is unwarranted.

 

[PWN3R]

Why is the crack there? Symbolism. Dude made a lot of good points. Idk if Jesus was a 10 foot alien but their facial structure resembled Greek sculpture. It seems the aliens were present on Earth and were the gods of man until they decided to destroy us and left to go to this planet to make these weapons that turned on them.

I'm not saying it's bad. It's just his thoughts are leaping from A to C, and B is not even in the film. I wish Scott went more with the Engineers' involvement with early mankind. But that's not what we were given.

Also, that was first posted on reddit. And now it's everywhere with people claiming to have written it. lolies. Whoever wrote it should have worked with Lindelof.

 

[chaseter]

PWN3R...Blade Runner ain't that great and it has a lot of plot holes and some script issues that tons of cuts can't fix. Replicants can put their hands in boiling/freezing liquid with no tissue damage but the only method to determine a human from a replicant is a psych analysis and not a tissue sample? Why did they have to test Leon when the police knew what the replicants looked like? They knew Leon was a replicant. Why did a replicant with little life left risk death to escape to become a stripper? Why not go into hiding like the others as they had warrants on their heads?

This movie ain't perfect but some of these complaints are ridonk...and now to say BR is a masterpiece as compared to this!? Chamon.

 

[redhawk23]

Also you can handwave the goofiness with the autopsy away by saying that the biologist was stuck in the cave...but its not like the writers HAD to make the biologist get stuck down on the planet. It could have been any of the other 17 crew members.

Besides, having a character other than the trained biologist in the cave would have relieved some of the goofiness of him trying to pet the obviously dangerous vagina-faced space snake.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Spoiler

There are two possibilities in my mind, either David was taking orders from Weyland, or it was just his curiosity which is shown throughout the film.

So

Spoiler

that curiosity was less antagonistic and more the curiosity of a robot who didn't know the potential consequences of it?

 

[chaseter]

Also you can handwave the goofiness with the autopsy away by saying that the biologist was stuck in the cave...but its not like the writers HAD to make the biologist get stuck down on the planet. It could have been any of the other 17 crew members.

Besides, having a character other than the trained biologist in the cave would have relieved some of the goofiness of him trying to pet the obviously dangerous vagina-faced space snake.

Now your just being silly.

He had a suit on that could protect him from a freaking silica shard storm. Who woulda guessed it would have done that? I wish all the Discover Channel shows were like what you think these animal biologists are. Those shows would be exciting. What is that new bug no one has seen before!? Let's move away, it could be dangerous. Or, let's kill it first, could be dangerous.

 

[Man in the Suit]

Does anyone think the reason Rapace's nose looks so weird because of the cocaine she admitted to doing?

LOL It crossed my mind.

 

[Balthus Dire]

What did you expect it to do?

Spoiler

That was just to show the alien, the planets are different, the air in them is different, the number is different, and the time between Prometheus and Alien is only 30-40 years, not wnough to so much change.

Yeah, you're not saying anything new there, bud. I'm saying [blackout]the concept/storyboard seems to indicate that it wasn't intended to be a different planet or different ship than the ones in Alien.[/blackout]


Also, I continue to find it baffling and annoying that people who are fans of Prometheus seem to assume that anyone who didn't like it must hate ambiguity. There are many problems with the script and story that numerous people have pointed out in relation to pacing, character development, and general writing skills.

Yes, some people disliked the lack of explanation of certain things (and in some cases they have merit, IMO) but to just brush off the glaring problems Prometheus has at a basic story and script level and label it as "you didn't get it!" is just ridiculous.

 

[chaseter]

It could have been a different ship than the one we see in Alien. There were 4 or 5 installations on that planet. For all we know there could have been more surviving Space Jockeys on the other ships and who knows what that lone you know what at the end could have done.

All films have issues, plot holes, convenience writing, etc. Some people here went in with a set of notions and expectations on what they wanted to see and what they want answered. Some of those people now seem to think it was an awful movie and a pitiful script by Lindelof. It was neither an abomination or a masterpiece. I am not a huge Aliens fan and I thought the movie was good. It was deeper than a lot of people want to believe and it's a divider like the finale of LOST. Either you hate it or like it. People whined that we never found out what the gold light in LOST was and people whine that the black goo had different effects on different people.

I bet anyways that they cut 10-20 minutes as Ridley and the studio he works with usually do. I bet they will release a DC just like they released the LOST epilogue...so angry fans will be quelled for the moment.

 

[TheOnlyOmega]

So

Spoiler

that curiosity was less antagonistic and more the curiosity of a robot who didn't know the potential consequences of it?

Spoiler

The way I see it, yes. But its up for interpretation

I'm sorry, but that's a load. Blade Runner gets praised nowadays but thirty years ago everything from the film was getting ripped on. I'm not exaggerating either. The soundtrack, the acting, the dialogue, the story, etc. You expect to believe the criticisms came directly from the film's appearance and the concept?

I'm not stating Prometheus IS Blade Runner (it is to me in some aspects), and that the movie will be iconic for the genre thirty years from now just three days into the release, but Prometheus is truly a film that is thought-provoking and filled with symbolism, and a portion of the criticism is unwarranted.

Blade Runner is iconic because it presents ideas and philosophy that are still relevant today. Prometheus present ideas and philosophy that will be relevant until the end of human life, in the creation of mankind, and the never ending search for answers. Who knows, this movie could end up being forgotten in a year, but I think it will stick.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Hey, if this movie is being actively discussed, it did something right.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Spoiler

The way I see it, yes. But its up for interpretation

.

Spoiler

So could this be addressed in a sequel perhasps? I mean if these two are going on a journey together, this could come up.

What's interesting is David's development. How in a sequel we see him try to discover more about being more human and trying to do more human things. In this film he was trying to look and act more human, but in a sequel he could really make an attempt to feel and develop into something that others, or Weyland expected.

 

[Kane52630]

Hey, if this movie is being actively discussed, it did something right.

Pretty much but for me, I felt like most of the questions were answered in the film except for one and that is hopefully going to be answered in the sequel.

 

[chaseter]

My only question I care about is what did blank at the end do on the planet alone? Die? Build a cantina? Fight alien snake crime?

 

[Figs]

Pretty much but for me, I felt like most of the questions were answered in the film except for one and that is hopefully going to be answered in the sequel.

Which one?

 

[Kane52630]

Which one?

Spoiler

Why exactly they want to kill us but i've been thinking about it and I think it's most likely because to them we were a mistake that needs to be destroyed.

 

[Caekzor]

Spoiler

There are two possibilities in my mind, either David was taking orders from Weyland, or it was just his curiosity which is shown throughout the film.

Spoiler

After David has his chat with Weyland in his cryopod Vickers confronts him.

Vickers: What did he say?

David: He said "Try Harder".

But "answers?" It worked for me. SPOILERS AHEAD:

We discovered that the ship from Alien was one (of apparently many) biological WMD research facilities made to create creatures to wipe out entire planets and species. The Space Jockeys were going to use this ancient one to wipe out Earth 2,000 years ago until something went wrong and their weapons turned on them (which we knew the last bit of from Alien) and the reason the shipped crashed was because Earthlings stopped it from being reused by a frozen Jockey about 40 years prior to the original film. The "distress signal" the Weyland Corporation sent the Nostromo after was likely a coded version of Dr. Shaw warning people not to come to this planet and "there is only death."

Spoiler

It's a different planet (LV-223 not LV-426), different ship, and the Jockey died on the Prometheus' lifeboat, not in the pilot chair.

 

[CConn]

I'm sorry, but that's a load. Blade Runner gets praised nowadays but thirty years ago everything from the film was getting ripped on. I'm not exaggerating either. The soundtrack, the acting, the dialogue, the story, etc. You expect to believe the criticisms came directly from the film's appearance and the concept?

I'm not stating Prometheus IS Blade Runner (it is to me in some aspects), and that the movie will be iconic for the genre thirty years from now just three days into the release, but Prometheus is truly a film that is thought-provoking and filled with symbolism, and a portion of the criticism is unwarranted.

It is true. It's very similar to Blade Runner in terms of both it's critical and public reaction, as well as how it embraces the subtle and demure aspects of key aspects of the sci-fi genre rather than the more obvious and apparent ones.

That's one thing that impressed me about Prometheus immediately; it very much plays homage to very core concepts of the science fiction genre. The ethical questions, the philosophical assertions...that's really what good sci-fi is at its core, and it's kinda something people have forgotten about as the more action-oriented Star Wars and Trek franchises dominate the landscape.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

I still don't like Blade Runner and I'd rather a Prometheus sequel instead of another Blade Runner movie.

 

[CashforStash]

Just watched the movie.

Are we one hundred percent sure that the creature at the end is related to the Xenomorphs?

 

[Aesop Rocks]

yes

 

[Eggyman]

Just watched the movie.

Are we one hundred percent sure that the creature at the end is related to the Xenomorphs?

I think it's his aunt.