Prometheus - Part 8

[Pink Ranger]

Just watched the movie.

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

Yes, but I would not want to be the one to try to get a DNA sample to prove it, thank you very much.

 

[CConn]

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

Dude, Blade Runner is just...indescribably good. But, truth me told, when I first watched it at 15/16, I didn't quite get it myself. It seemed overly dark and hard to follow visually, they scenes had an overly slow and plodding pace, and the plot was extremely basic and unsurprising.

But as my taste in film has seasoned, it's really become one of my favorite movies of all time. Visually, it meshes post-apocolyptic future-sci with a heavily film noir visual style that, arguably, adheres to the principles of the genre even more closely than a lot of legitimate film noir movies from the '40s ever did.

It also utilizes its cinematography to illustrate the finer aspects of its story extremely well. I don't know if it's ever been said, but I certainly think it very much is imbibed with the visual storytelling principles of a lot of silent films - where much of the characters emotions, mechanations, etc. are explained and explored purely through their reactions, facial expressions, and visual metaphors.

I don't think any other movie in the history of film has had a score as definitive and important to the storytelling as Blade Runner's did. The Vangelis' symphony didn't just string together quality melodies, it actually drove the tempo, mood, and execution of the film's story overall.

And the script? Perfectly written. It was the most incredible melding of plot simplicity and character complexity. Despite being little more than a rather vapid detective story, Blade Runner's script had to instill a tremendous amount of backstory, philosophical and more questions, and character emotion and motivation into where dialogue was kept to a minimum, and even when things were said, they never actually confronted the film's subtext head on. That's mastery of writing and filmmaking right there; being able to have a character say one thing - or nothing at all, even - but still have a phenomenal amount of emotion and meaning ring through.

 

[CashforStash]

If it is a related specimen to the Xenemorph then I guess that was the nail on the coffin for this film for me.

It's like, Scott made this movie wanting it to be a prequel, then at times in the movie it felt like he didn't want the film even in the same universe as Alien, then at other times he just hinted it was like a movie set in the same universe, then at the very end it's confirmed it's a prequel/spin off/whatever.

He should of either focused on a brand new universe and have it not connect, or have a full new prequel that almost fully connects to A L I E N.

What we got was something in the middle and seemed like a mess.

Anybody agree?

 

[DACrowe]

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.

I don't know. The storyboards for the final scene (not shot) seem to indicate otherwise:

Spoiler

I honestly feel, the script needed a little tweaking at the end to make it match up, but I think it's the same ship. The script also needed tweaking in the middle.

 

[CConn]

If it is a related specimen to the Xenemorph then I guess that was the nail on the coffin for this film for me.

It's like, Scott made this movie wanting it to be a prequel, then at times in the movie it felt like he didn't want the film even in the same universe as Alien, then at other times he just hinted it was like a movie set in the same universe, then at the very end it's confirmed it's a prequel/spin off/whatever.

He should of either focused on a brand new universe and have it not connect, or have a full new prequel that almost fully connects to A L I E N.

What we got was something in the middle and seemed like a mess.

Anybody agree?

Honestly? No. I really don't understand how the relative involvement of the Xenomorphs has anything to do with the overall quality of the film.

As I said, a compliant of mine is that they didn't just all out tie it to Alien - as it makes sense to - but either way, having a 30 second scene of a Xenomorph has no bearing on the 2 and a half hours of acting and story that proceeded it.

 

[DACrowe]

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

I love Blade Runner, but it works best as a stand-alone movie. Returning to that universe can't be anything, but a disappointment, I suspect. While, I think Prometheus opens up interesting possibilities.

 

[CConn]

I don't know. The storyboards for the final scene (not shot) seem to indicate otherwise:

Spoiler

I honestly feel, the script needed a little tweaking at the end to make it match up, but I think it's the same ship. The script also needed tweaking in the middle.

Even though I love Prometheus' cinematography, that concept art actually looks even better in terms of mood and color palette.

 

[CConn]

I love Blade Runner, but it works best as a stand-alone movie. Returning to that universe can't be anything, but a disappointment, I suspect. While, I think Prometheus opens up interesting possibilities.

I think it depends on how they do it.

You can't really have it be a sequel. To talk about Deckard, or Batty, or whatever would be a tremendous mistake.

However, you could have a film exist in the same universe as Blade Runner, and explore similar philosophical questions to Blade Runner's, but have it be totally separate story-wise. I think that would work quite well.

 

[Eggyman]

If it is a related specimen to the Xenemorph then I guess that was the nail on the coffin for this film for me.

It's like, Scott made this movie wanting it to be a prequel, then at times in the movie it felt like he didn't want the film even in the same universe as Alien, then at other times he just hinted it was like a movie set in the same universe, then at the very end it's confirmed it's a prequel/spin off/whatever.

He should of either focused on a brand new universe and have it not connect, or have a full new prequel that almost fully connects to A L I E N.

What we got was something in the middle and seemed like a mess.

Anybody agree?

Yeah. I've said before that the weakest part of the film is due to indecision. Either be bold and tell a prequel or give us something unconnected. That's my main problem.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

I think it depends on how they do it.

You can't really have it be a sequel. To talk about Deckard, or Batty, or whatever would be a tremendous mistake.

However, you could have a film exist in the same universe as Blade Runner, and explore similar philosophical questions to Blade Runner's, but have it be totally separate story-wise. I think that would work quite well.

Knowing Ridley, it'll be a prequel to Blade Runner.

 

[Balthus Dire]

I don't know. The storyboards for the final scene (not shot) seem to indicate otherwise:

Spoiler

I honestly feel, the script needed a little tweaking at the end to make it match up, but I think it's the same ship. The script also needed tweaking in the middle.

Exactly. IDC if the planet has a different name...it seems very clear from the setup and from the scenes themselves (and now the concept art) that it was supposed to be the same ship/planet from Alien.

 

[Doctor Jones]

The idea of the sequel to Blade Runner of not being a direct sequel is much better than a direct one. There's so much more out there than Deckard anyway. Plus it lessens the expectation. Without Deckard, I won't have to worry about it living up to the first. It can stand on its own. here will be preferences, but it can still have its own integrity by presenting new ideas in the same world.

 

[TheOnlyOmega]

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

Oh Corey, you hate everything that's good.

 

[Kane52630]

Check out this chart in the spoilers:

Spoiler

 

[chaseter]

Blade Runner is a perfectly written script!? Chuuuuwhaaaaaa!!!!????!!!!???

 

[Spider-Who?]

Yeah. I've said before that the weakest part of the film is due to indecision. Either be bold and tell a prequel or give us something unconnected. That's my main problem.

I explained it like this to a friend: as an Alien prequel, it's a mess. As a standalone Ridley Scott scifi flick, it's great.

 

[DBryan]

Dude, Blade Runner is just...indescribably good. But, truth me told, when I first watched it at 15/16, I didn't quite get it myself. It seemed overly dark and hard to follow visually, they scenes had an overly slow and plodding pace, and the plot was extremely basic and unsurprising.

But as my taste in film has seasoned, it's really become one of my favorite movies of all time. Visually, it meshes post-apocolyptic future-sci with a heavily film noir visual style that, arguably, adheres to the principles of the genre even more closely than a lot of legitimate film noir movies from the '40s ever did.

It also utilizes its cinematography to illustrate the finer aspects of its story extremely well. I don't know if it's ever been said, but I certainly think it very much is imbibed with the visual storytelling principles of a lot of silent films - where much of the characters emotions, mechanations, etc. are explained and explored purely through their reactions, facial expressions, and visual metaphors.

I don't think any other movie in the history of film has had a score as definitive and important to the storytelling as Blade Runner's did. The Vangelis' symphony didn't just string together quality melodies, it actually drove the tempo, mood, and execution of the film's story overall.

And the script? Perfectly written. It was the most incredible melding of plot simplicity and character complexity. Despite being little more than a rather vapid detective story, Blade Runner's script had to instill a tremendous amount of backstory, philosophical and more questions, and character emotion and motivation into where dialogue was kept to a minimum, and even when things were said, they never actually confronted the film's subtext head on. That's mastery of writing and filmmaking right there; being able to have a character say one thing - or nothing at all, even - but still have a phenomenal amount of emotion and meaning ring through.

This post x1000000.

I've lost count of how many times I've seen Blade Runner. I think I was about 16 when I first got into it. I'm 28 now. Blade Runner is the best film ever made, in my opinion.

 

[thorstone]

The black slime is thematically alien semen. This movie is driven by symbolism, themes, motifs, and Summerian mythology. It employs a lot of literary tools that give it subtext like no other film this year. It could be the best movie of the year; regardless of whether or not it knocked you out of your chair the first time you saw it (when you were likely sitting their asking yourself half a dozen questions about what it means). It's the Christian and Summerian motifs here that make it a film that is more than just an amusement park ride/experience.

 

[thorstone]

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.

The engineers are the Igigi, created by the Annunaki (the disk ship in the opening), and the Annunaki sacrificed an Igigi to create man. This is a scene straight out of the Summerian text. This script didn't misstep-- it does what it does for motif and allusion.

The Igigi rebelled against their creators, and thus the explanation for why they were building a primordial slime that creates what can only be described as demons.

 

[Caekzor]

Exactly. IDC if the planet has a different name...it seems very clear from the setup and from the scenes themselves (and now the concept art) that it was supposed to be the same ship/planet from Alien.

Maybe it was originally. But based on what I saw in the actual movie that doesn't sync up.

 

[roach]

Maybe it was originally. But based on what I saw in the actual movie that doesn't sync up.

in the movie its 2 different planets

 

[CConn]

The engineers are the Igigi, created by the Annunaki (the disk ship in the opening), and the Annunaki sacrificed an Igigi to create man. This is a scene straight out of the Summerian text. This script didn't misstep-- it does what it does for motif and allusion.

The Igigi rebelled against their creators, and thus the explanation for why they were building a primordial slime that creates what can only be described as demons.

**** like that is awesome.

 

[DACrowe]

If it is a related specimen to the Xenemorph then I guess that was the nail on the coffin for this film for me.

It's like, Scott made this movie wanting it to be a prequel, then at times in the movie it felt like he didn't want the film even in the same universe as Alien, then at other times he just hinted it was like a movie set in the same universe, then at the very end it's confirmed it's a prequel/spin off/whatever.

He should of either focused on a brand new universe and have it not connect, or have a full new prequel that almost fully connects to A L I E N.

What we got was something in the middle and seemed like a mess.

Anybody agree?

Not really. I think the pacing and plotting needed to be cleaner and more focused, but I think it found the right balance of a separate adventure that is unrelated to the xenomorph that happens to set up Alien by the film's end. It's not about setting up Alien, nor should it have been. But the events indirectly lead into that film. I prefer it that way.

 

[Caekzor]

The engineers are the Igigi, created by the Annunaki (the disk ship in the opening), and the Annunaki sacrificed an Igigi to create man. This is a scene straight out of the Summerian text. This script didn't misstep-- it does what it does for motif and allusion.

The Igigi rebelled against their creators, and thus the explanation for why they were building a primordial slime that creates what can only be described as demons.

Quite possible. Kinda goes with what Damon Lindelof said in a Q&A.

Did you and Ridley and Jon discuss who created the Engineers?

Yes. But the more fascinating question is this: Do the Engineers KNOW who created them?

 

[chaseter]

This post x1000000.

I've lost count of how many times I've seen Blade Runner. I think I was about 16 when I first got into it. I'm 28 now. Blade Runner is the best film ever made, in my opinion.

Ever It has a few plot holes. They added a voice over right before it hit theaters. They went through a few scripts. We have a zillion cuts of the movie.