Cool News
Harry says forget about ALIEN & ALIENS before going in to see PROMETHEUS, Ridley is up to something different!!!
Think about the title of the film PROMETHEUS.
Anywhere in there do you see the word ALIEN? The filmmakers have gone way out of their way to let us know that this is not an ALIEN prequel, but then we saw the ship from ALIEN and it was decided amongst a lot of film commentators that Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof were actively working to deceive us… but having seen the film and read the opening salvo from critics that seemed to carry ALIEN into the film, more than that though… I think folks have been carrying in the whole of the ALIEN mythology as they’ve come to know it via the sequels, comics and novels.
Well, Ridley has a different purpose for returning to science fiction. This isn’t a film where the flamethrowers are being used to fight biomechanical beasties coming out of solidified alien mucus sculpted walls. This isn’t a film that sets up ALIEN. The film isn’t set on LV-426. No ship in this film ends up on LV-426, nor are they headed there. There are no RIPLEY characters. This isn’t those movies.
For some, that’ll be a profound disappointment. To them, I can only weep for missing what is here. The movie they did actually make is absolutely wonderful, if you pay close attention. Don't look at friends, never take your eyes or attention from the screen. The master is playing.
I know – a basic nature of a geek is to compare and contrast. It’s how we classify and shelve our collections, we love playing what ifs with these films, but the reality is… sometimes we get so focused on the genre, the structure, the character arc types that we end up choking the love out of ourselves and the things that we used to be open to before we decided to be smug in the theater.
This film is a quest movie. One woman’s quest actually. Her name is Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and she’s searching for the answers to the biggest questions we flesh puppets have. Is Earth a miracle? Is it just the product of an all-powerful being that placed us here, gave us rules to live by and then abandoned us? Was that being magical or alien? Why do we exist? The meaning of our existence. This isn’t a woman thrust into an unexpected and unwanted situation. What she’s doing in this movie is exactly what she has dedicated her life to doing since her mother and father were taken from her as a girl. Answers to questions her father couldn’t answer. Pay attention to David’s dream monitoring, there’s answers in there too.
I’ve always found the search for these questions to lead to a lot of frustration, because the pursuit of those questions never ends in truth, but in beliefs. What we believe happened. That’s right now in the early 21st Century. If we found a cave with a star map to follow, it’d take more than any of our lifetimes to get a ship to take us there… But I wish intensely that humanity had that direct evidence of something out there for us to get to. We as a society, I feel, need to start moving out into the cosmos and stop fighting over the limited resources we have here.
PROMETHEUS is about this first mission into the stars with the express purpose of discovering our own origins here on Earth. In terms of Stardates, this is before Kirk & Spock & LBJ went to the God Planet in STAR TREK V. Remember, that didn’t work out well for folks. Like JJ’s STAR TREK, the tech of PROMETHEUS is relevant to today’s foreseeable tech. I like that. I love the evolution of Science Fiction and away from the green screen text of my youth. The reality is, the advancement of technology means that easily – upon a ship you could essentially have the whole of human civilization’s resources and history and knowledge to take with you on this journey across the universe.
This ship was built by Weyland with the intent of discovering the truth of our existence. Very noble for a company that seems to have a huge and significant monopoly, so far as we know, in Earth’s off planet enterprises. But the knowledge we would gain from these beings or whatever they’ve left behind… well that would be something really remarkable and valuable.
Very quickly we’re thrust into the journey of discovery.
The film begins with the initial seeding of the planet Earth, I believe. That’s how I took it. After that, we’re suddenly moved forward.
If you find yourself coming up with a LEAP OF LOGIC in the film, it’s probably due to you missing something. I’ve had friends that have hit me with a good 8 or 9 logic leaps and the answers are always right there on screen. If you pay attention. That means, don’t look at your friends with a cute face, you could miss the shot of the worms, which is a clue to what comes later. After the film opens domestically in the U.S. Feel free to send me questions on my Twitter and I’ll clarify to you what happened. Not because I’ve read the script, that shit was fake as fuck. However, whoever wrote it did have an awful lot of knowledge about the film. Way too many parallels.
Also – after watching the whole film – think about the story, don’t just circle up into bitching circles. Allow yourself to think about what you saw and think about what it means. THEN talk with your friends. Why do I love the hell out of this thing?
I haven’t been given any props, no posters, pins, no special screenings, never spoken to Ridley Scott – and generally I have a ton of nitpicks for Ridley. I think he usually over-edits his theatrical cuts, but here… I love the pacing. I love the cut from the cave to distant interstellar space, it reminds me of Robert Armstrong on the Beach at Skull Island pontificating about where they are all headed and then BAM! They’re there. Same here.
You don’t need to see them pitching Weyland. You don’t need to see years of development upon this ship. We know that Weyland spent a $1 Trillion making it. Gives you a clue about future inflation – or the exact holy fuck of the state of the art this ship is. Unlike in ALIEN, this isn’t a mining vessel. Unlike in ALIENS, this isn’t a military grunt ship. THIS is a team of scientists headed to a distant light in our sky, with the hopes of finding the origin of our species. They’re briefed on it. So are we. There’s Archeologists, Biologist, Geologist, Security, ship personnel, a Weyland high level executive and even more.
These are experts that the second they land, they're suiting up, because they didn't go faster than light for 2.5 years for nothing. They see a structure and they head for it.
The ship is in many ways – the most expensive lasting memory of a bigger than Steve Jobs Earth Personality. It is Weyland’s last dream to send this ship to the other side of the universe. Why? Well, what would you ask your creator? I sort of agree with Roy Batty’s answer to that question, and I think Weyland’s intentions were similar.
This film has a lot of symbolism, lots of FILL IN THE BLANKS situations where Ridley avoided needless exposition, when he could SHOW the answers, if you’re paying attention.
I’m so happy this isn’t a Bug Hunt film. This is very much what is going on with Kepler here on Earth and orbiting above us. We’re doing the surveying work that future generations will need when we move off this tiny blue dot for resources, answers and company in the universe. It is nothing that any living human today will probably see – but the great thing about scientists and innovators – they know what is needed for the future they foresee and they move in that direction.
At some point, we’re going to discover something out there. Then we’re going to head off in that direction. Whether it is a multigenerational mission or some sort of stasis chamber situation… there’s going to be bold missions. Ones that could end exactly as this does. Others that could end in a completely different fashion.
I no longer think of these notions as Science Fiction, but Science Eventuality. Ridley sees it. This is less ALIEN and frankly more of a corporate Star Fleet style mission. I went into this film having read interviews with Damon & Ridley. I read reviews. I was prepared to not see an ALIEN movie. For me, the notion that Ridley Scott has returned to the same universe, but a different planet, a different situation… That’s cool. I like that. I like that not a thing from this film ties to ALIEN directly. There’s no eggs, no classic Giger Biomech Alien. This is a different tale, perhaps the first Corporate Mission to discover the truth of our existence. Sure, it’s pure B-science fiction. The sort of things that used to be in WEIRD SCIENCE and INCREDIBLE SCIENCE-FICTION and WEIRD FANTASY comics of the EC variety.
It’s a modest proposal for an alternative origin of species. It is sacrilecious! At our screening we were told not to talk about two sequences. One is the best HOLY FUCK of the movie. The other is the last shot, which I felt was a pie in the face that should have been edited out. It is a terrible shot in my opinion and produces the worst reaction from the audience, which flavors the entire experience for some. That’s a shame, because other than that single shot… I can’t wait to return to this film. There’s a lot on this movie’s mind.
I would recommend not watching all 4 ALIEN films, I’d recommend not watching ALIEN before – nor immediately after. Get that series out of your head, that’s not what this film is about. This isn’t a prequel. It is a separate story decades before Ripley’s NOSTROMO journey. This is our first Science mission in a Weyland, not yet WEYLAND-YUTANI, universe. Can’t wait to take my sister to this, she’s gonna lose her mind for it.
Readers Talkback
comments powered by Disqus-
+ Expand All
-
Space beer!
-
totally check out that link in the review, it's unrelated to PROMETHEUS, but is Bill Stone's Awe-Inspiring talk at TED, which I do think influenced some of Ridley's thoughts
-
June 2, 2012, 11:53 p.m. CST
The only annoying thing about this movie not really being an Alien prequel
by heylookoverthere
is that it will probably prevent anyone from making a real alien prequel or alien 5 or doing anything to redeem the series after the last two movies and AvP for at least a few years.
-
Why include that last shot, OR use the same theme music as Alien in the soundtrack if it's meant to be entirely different, OR that shot of the Alien looking thing on the wall? I haven't seen the flick yet, but what you've said has me pumped! Science Eventually should be new slang.
-
June 2, 2012, 11:56 p.m. CST
this is the most non-review you've ever written Harry
by Kevin Spellman
1700 words basically saying "This isn't Alien. No Xenomoprhs".
-
BC you just explained to every person wondering how this movie connects to Alien how it does and how it doesn't in your opening paragraph. Goddamnit... Seriously... Goddamnit. Why did I expect better from you.
-
June 3, 2012, 12:01 a.m. CST
CORRECTION- I should have said your 2nd paragraph, not your opening paragraph
by D.Vader
-
June 3, 2012, 12:05 a.m. CST
Seriously Harry, REMEDY this fucking ginormous error and make this a SPOILER post
by D.Vader
Disappointed in you.
-
You saved a great deal many souls.
-
Is there an correlation between Michael Fassbender's android, and any other androids we've seen? Would you say the horror elements that Ripley and Damon have eluded to previously echo the sentiment of any of Ridley's Alien, or does it help establish this film as something further different? Cheers on a great review!
-
Been a while. Was going to dust it off Thursday afternoon before heading to the South Lamar for the midnight show. I guess I should hold off to keep an open mind huh?
-
I mean it. No shit, brah.
-
Most of the negative reviews I've seen have nothing to do with the reviewers expectations vis a vie the previous Alien movies. Rather, these reviews express frustration with a) the dialogue, b) the characterization, c) contrived plot points that make no sense (i.e., the two scientists getting lost in the temple) and d) Lindoloff's inability to follow-through with his philosophical questioning. Even worse, from the spoilers i've read, the whole movie sounds like a hallow set-up to a sequel...which strikes me as particularly Lindoloff-esque ala Lost; constantly teasing with compelling ideas only to crash and burn with no real idea who to bring those ideas full circle.
-
See the fucking movie then we'll talk
-
thanks for the note - thought I had toggled that in admin... must of double toggled on it which means nada happens.
-
June 3, 2012, 12:16 a.m. CST
So basically Prometheus is a really expensive episode of Ancient Aliens talking about...
by kenchun24
...man created by Nephilm/Annunaki type beings that created man long ago and were...oh why bother.I wanted to see a Alien universe movie,not some hack Lindelhof writing about ideas being discussed since that Danish dude who wrote Chariots Of The Gods. Looks I'm sticking to Alien 1-2-3 as usual.That's cool with me.
-
fuck that.
-
It may sound great in retrospect, but ask every female and they'll tell you differently.
-
June 3, 2012, 12:31 a.m. CST
Because Lindelhofs ideas are not his own! He is just regurgitating...
by kenchun24
...creation theories from all sorts of pseudo-science and shit in the bible,throwing it all in a blender and saying to Hollywood, "Hey this is never been done before,so let's take a beloved franchise and create a whole side story ripped off from books like Chariots Of The Gods but have Ridley direct it thus tying it to Alien somehow." Lame... I'll still see it but probably a matinee post opening weekend rush.
-
June 3, 2012, 12:35 a.m. CST
Yes, blame Lindleof, the HIRED SCREENWRITER, as opposed to the director/producer that hired him to do just that
by D.Vader
Come on. You should know better than to just blame the screenwriter in a situation like this. "Beloved franchise" has nothing to do with it, really.
-
June 3, 2012, 12:36 a.m. CST
For fuck sake....is it related to ALIEN in any way or not? All this ambiguity!
by Punisherthunder
Is sickening! At this point, who cares to see the thing. Why should I prep myself before seeing this only to make sure I don't see some of the Alien movies after it?
-
about it being another Lovecraft "At the Mountains of Madness" that will spoil any chance of making it into a film?
-
Do you eventually give the fans a sequel that links the expected Prometheus series to that of Alien, or do you avoid it altogether and just expand upon its universe in a reboot of sorts that never brings Ellen Ripley into the equation?
-
June 3, 2012, 12:53 a.m. CST
vader-You're right.I meant beloved Alien and Aliens though I like...
by kenchun24
...Alien 3 mainly because Charles Dutton I think is the only one to take on an Alien in hand to hand combat ( minus a power loader suit). But you a correct...a lot of people go in the hand of making a movie awesome or weak. I guess expectations being the main guilty party.But from most early reviews ( unlike Harry's) it sounds like the movie is just all over the place.And I don't know if Ridley was ever a Kubrickian style director with multiple narratives going on at once almost requiring multiple viewings of his films. Or maybe this is Ridley's attempt at that.
-
June 3, 2012, 12:54 a.m. CST
So you've cast yourself in the role of apologist for the mess, Harry?
by No Respectable Gentleman
Good luck, it's going to exhaust a lot of your energy. Thing is, I might accept that there was something deeply profound going on (so profound that it deserves contemplation) if the filmmakers weren't so inept at the fundamentals: dialogue, character logic, set-ups, plot turns. A few glancing references to Greek mythology do not make a movie profound.
-
June 3, 2012, 12:55 a.m. CST
"is it related to ALIEN in any way or not? All this ambiguity!"
by Shermdawg
As Ridley said recently, it's a movie several films away from a prequel. Take that as you will.
-
June 3, 2012, 1:02 a.m. CST
"after watching the whole film – think about the story, don’t just circle up into bitching circles."
by Jay
This is what frustrates me most about about some of the complaints. The film is not perfect. But a lot of the "I don't understand this. What did this mean? Why did this happen? A giant squid!?!?" criticism is mind boggling. The film requires you to put some thought into it. It's not 2001/Tree Of Life level of interpretation, but it does require you to join some of the pieces. And not everything is answered. You know those tied-up-in-a-nice-bow Hollywood endings we complain about? Prometheus does not have one! Some things are left open. And it's wonderful to have a film that leaves the viewer thinking. Unlike a silly trailer, the film won't give instant gratification in every department. It's as frustrating as those who call the first half of Alien "slow". I saw the matinee yesterday, and I'm still thinking about the whole film. There's so much there that minor criticisms with dialogue and character development are easily forgivable. It would be like complaining about the dialogue in Aliens. If that's all you can think about when the films over, than clearly most of it went over your head. I can't say for sure that I "loved" the film, but I certainly loved the experience. Different can often be off-putting. Accept it and you'll enjoy the ride. If you're simply looking for anything to find fault with as the film begins, than I truly feel sorry for. You've forgotten how to enjoy a movie. You will always find fault when you look for it.
-
Though I have been guilty of ascribing guilt to one person for a bad movie too (particularly Brett Ratner and others), here its not just unfair, I believe its just not right or correct. As for Alien 3, I do love that Charles Dutton *is* the only onscreen character to ever attempt to fight an Alien one on one in a small, confined area. I interned with Ridley after college. But I don't need that experience to tell me that he was never "Kubrickian" in the sense you described him with multiple narratives. Ridley's films are pretty straight-minded, for good or for worse. Personally, I'm glad we have a director with his mindset still making "studio" movies.
-
June 3, 2012, 1:05 a.m. CST
Thank God the film sounds like it isn't designed for A.D.D. idiots. It will be nice to have all their nit picks answered by the film it's self simply because it requires paying attention.
by MENTALDOMINANCE
-
glad to see that Ridley is making sci fi art
-
The last review Harry did that I remember him TOTALLY slamming was THE THING. I also remember how 'gaga' he was over John Carter of Mars. Critics...
-
June 3, 2012, 1:11 a.m. CST
I can assure you, it was not designed for the Twitter-verse crowd...
by Jay
The movie was not made in 140 characters or less.
-
Its set in the same world as the Alien movies in a time well before they take place. That makes it a prequel. Ah-duh. <p> And how did you see this Harry? Just wondering. I didn't know they'd done critic screenings in the States.
-
June 3, 2012, 1:15 a.m. CST
it's not just kids who miss details in movies. critics miss them so much i have to wonder if they are even paying attention to the films they watch.
by antonphd
i can roll my eyes at kids who miss details (for whatever reason), but critics are supposed to be paying attention
-
This could very well reboot everything, only time will tell.
-
He mentions ideas, images, plot points and possibilities from Alien pretty much every time.
-
I know you loved Episode 1 Harry, so you're excused. But Ridley isn't.
-
June 3, 2012, 1:23 a.m. CST
No connection to Alien? It has Space Jockies! it is a prequel to Alien. Just telling the Space Jockey story
by Tristan
Harry, does the last shot have ANYTHING to do with Alien?
-
June 3, 2012, 1:23 a.m. CST
What about the CGI? The actors? What about the rhythm? The music? The editing...? What kind of review is this review?
by kim
Harry we care for you and your feelings, but we care for the movie too.
-
No, the movie doesn't answer anything. Not really. I hate to say this as I was hugely looking forward to Prometheus and I love hard core scifi but when it hits the theaters over seas (in the States I mean), you'll see for yourselves why it's getting such mediocre/negative feedback. And after a few months, Harry will post his apogeleptic re-review of the film.
-
June 3, 2012, 1:28 a.m. CST
Just because it has Jockeys, and other elements from the Alien series, doesn't necessarily make it a prequel.
by Shermdawg
They've said it's in the same universe, which it is, but for now, that's all it is.
-
June 3, 2012, 1:30 a.m. CST
"How many differentent kind of monsters appear on the movie?"
by Shermdawg
Including Charlize? ;)
-
haha naive fanboys!
-
And that is what Prometheus does. It doesn't end even closely where Alien starts but if someone says this isn't a prequel, they're idiots or lying.
-
June 3, 2012, 1:32 a.m. CST
Funny...Harry recommends the Alien-free Alien prequel Prometheus but his recent animation can only be an homage to The Alien retractable jaw since Prometheus has nothing iconic to borrow from.
by kenchun24
Unless an animation of Harry's face like the big head in the trailer or Harry Space Jockey could have worked I guess.
-
June 3, 2012, 1:33 a.m. CST
I think a lot of people are forgetting that this was initially supposed to be a two picture deal.
by Shermdawg
So whatever answers they were expecting may be answered with the next film or thereafter. Anakin didn't become Vader in Episode 1, did he?
-
Labeling the movie this or that will not make it better or worse for you. IMO, it obviously takes place in the same universe. But it's completely its own film. As people keep pointing out "don't simply expect another Alien." This is doing something quite different.
-
June 3, 2012, 1:37 a.m. CST
"but if someone says this isn't a prequel, they're idiots or lying."
by Shermdawg
Alright, let's say they get to a third film and near the point in the storyline where we think things are on course to tie Prometheus with Alien, but the box office take is doing so well Fox wants to keep things going? They swerve us. They keep the Prometheus timeline going with never introducing the Nostromo or Ripley. Doing that prevents an unwanted remake of films that should never be remade.
-
The thing is that Prometheus is such a mess that whatever questions you might wanted to have answered don't matter after you've seen the movie. You just don't care anymore. Great job screwing one of the most interesting mysteries in the original Alien. I mean, for me, the Space Jockey was possibly even more intriguing than the Alien itself. After Prometheus, I probably wouldn't even see the sequel in theaters. It's that bad.
-
I just think Harry trying so hard to separate it from that movie at the beginning of his review is nonsense. Not matter how tenuous the connection, it's there.
-
So if James Cameron made a film called SKYNET or Miles Dyson, that took place during the 70's and was about an early prototype of the killer AI that eventually creates the terminators, it wouldn't be a Terminator prequel then? Also, hasn't Ridley been saying the same kinds of muddled things he said about Prometheus regarding the supposed follow up to Blade Runner? With Prometheus it was first a two-part Alien prequel (there's your reason for Prometheus being open ended). Then it was a whole new universe (AICN had these exact quotes about a year ago), initially having nothing to do with the Alien franchise. Then the trailers hit and it was obvious this at least takes place in the Alien saga fictional universe. Then we got various dis-info, one week Prometheus was going to tie into Alien, then another week they said it wasn't. Muddled. Now Blade Runner 2 is seemingly maybe going to be a prequel. Then it was going to be an offshoot. Then recently it was said it might be a sequel, and now he wants to have Harrison Ford involved. It all feels very muddled and convoluted. As a fan of Alien(s) and Blade Runner, I'm worried, as all the reviews of Prometheus that aren't overly negative are apologetic. Not a good sign.
-
June 3, 2012, 2:13 a.m. CST
While an embargo-skidding review, saved by being thoughtful/respectful to Sir Ridley's ambitions with PROMETHEUS.
by justmyluck
-
FOr those o fyou boitching about no spoiler warnings.. uh he's talking about the movie.. fair bet thery'll be spoliers. I actually was going to catch this on dvd, but you've peaked my interest on this. I actually wasn't looking forward to another aliens , avp type movie. I've kept away for the most part from watching trailers so had no idea what to expect. I think the marketing on this one has been kinda disjointed.
-
June 3, 2012, 2:17 a.m. CST
The movie could very well be bad, but until I see it, I can't make that call.
by Shermdawg
And as far as mysteries being ruined, if you don't watch the movie, you won't be ruining the mystery. I've read the posts, the complaints, the wiki synopsis, and as far as the Jockeys go, I don't know if I'll be disappointed because there seems to be more going on than it seems in regards to their motives....which will surely be further addressed in the next film. That along with the question of them actually being the gods, or just pawns.
-
June 3, 2012, 2:17 a.m. CST
I'm glad things like a Guava drink will still make me happy, unlike what I am hearing more and more about Prometheus.
by CodeName
-
Or did the audience completely miss the Space Jockey from Alien? If that last shot isn't considered a link to Alien, then I don't know what is.
-
If 1/10th of that zany ambition was directed to environmental sustainability on Earth instead of creating *profitable corporations* mining for Hydrogen on the moon while aerobraking around the atmosphere like rock stars, *MEN WANTED*, DARPA-R-US, etc. — talk about an idiot savant. While Stone dives, talks like and cites Cameron, the differences between the two are immense. Actually, I find individuals like Stone truly scary.
-
June 3, 2012, 2:26 a.m. CST
Would a Terminator prequel movie in the 70's even make sense?
by Shermdawg
Isn't that franchise on some terrible stupid time loop where the Terminators were created by the arm left behind after the original hit on Sarah Connor? That series always gave me a headache because if you kill Sarah, no arm, no Terminators.
-
June 3, 2012, 2:29 a.m. CST
It's the Alien universe, that's the link, but it's not linked (YET) to the film Alien.
by Shermdawg
Not a prequel thus far. Once you see it, or read the synopsis, you'll understand.
-
But please don't be an ambiguous slow paced snooze fest. Just great visuals won't cut it.
-
Visually great, OK cast - but it veers all over the place and the characters just aren't that gripping. The prequel / reboot question isn't relevant since I'm not convinced that they know where they want to hang their hat on that one and to be honest as discussed in the other thread, they may have been better ditching the Alien connections all together (as the baby xeno at the end was completely arbitrary and having a jockey ship crash on a planet other than LV-426 was a bit mean-spirited).<p> It's definitely not worth the hate it's getting with some small usual minorities but likewise not worth the absolute praise from those fawning over Ridley. One very annoying argument I'm hearing from people who love the film is that people who don't 'are expecting too much of it / expecting it to be connected directly to Alien' - this is absolutely not true. Even on it's on merits this film is lumpy and just an average Sci-Fi film. <p> If was directed by anyone else bar Ridley you would not be saying things like (of the director) 'the master is at work'. You say Harry 'It's not a plot hole, you probably just missed something'. I think people misuse plot holes too much. Plot holes - from the information given, you can probably ret-con anything. If thats the case, then lets just say the motivations of the characters are just bloody all over the place and as much as I like Rapace in the flick by herself, I cant say I'm particularly itching to see her go and philosophize on the engineer homeworld from the weak 'gotta set up a sequel' ending. Allowing me just one Alien comparable, it's like at the end of Alien Ripley (having seen her whole crew brutally murdered having barely survived herself), says 'sod going home, I want to go to the Alien Homeworld and talk to them about their motivations with the head of a robot for company'. <p> I LOVE ROCKS. This film - OK / Goodish overall
-
June 3, 2012, 2:36 a.m. CST
HARRY YOU SHOULD BE SLAMMING THIS PIECE OF SHIT INTO THE GROUND
by theplant
IT'S A CRAP MOVIE, THE INDY 4 / PHANTOM MENACE OF RIDLEY SCOTT. EVERYTHING SUCKS SAVE FASSBENDER, THERON AND THE 3D. THE SCRIPT IS A PIECE OF SHIT, AND THE LEADING LADY IS NOT UP TO SIGOURNEY WEAVER LEVEL, NOT EVEN HER HEELS.
-
June 3, 2012, 2:36 a.m. CST
I might have gotten this wrong but isn't the MURAL in the AMPULE ROOM similar to the sculpture of Prometheus at Rockefeller Center in NYC?
by Darth_Kong
-
NOT ALIEN? WHAT ABOUT THE TRAILER USING THE SAME MUSIC, THE LOGO BEING THE SAME, THE OPENING SHOT OF THE ALIEN EGG FROM THE ORIGINAL TEASER TRAILER OF ALIEN?
-
June 3, 2012, 2:44 a.m. CST
There's an interesting clue with the RUBIX CUBE hologram thingy and the PICTOGRAM SYMBOLS. Symbols can be re-arranged like a RUBIX CUBE and mean the same thing...
by Darth_Kong
-
I was just giving an extreme example. For all I know some of the early tech development for what became SKYNET could have been some DARPA project or something that was eventually evolved and married with the Cyberdyne tech developed from the chip and arm. Or maybe SKYNET is a descendent of the WOPR from WarGames? The point is, if James Cameron made a film called SKYNET that featured no terminators or time travel, yet was about the development of SKYNET, then yes that's a prequel in my eyes. Same as if George Lucas called SW Episode I something else, like The Galactic Republic: Episode I: Shut The Fuck Up Jar Jar! Still a prequel.
-
You're making excuses. I seriously doubt you've even seen the damn thing. If you had and you had really enjoyed it we would have gotten a review with references to chocolate covered pussy juice. It seems like you read the reader reviews in the other talkback and decided to weigh in just for the heck of it.
-
'OH DON'T GO IN EXPECTING AN ALIEN PREQUEL, HA HA YOU DID WELL THATS WHY YOU DIDN'T GET IT' <p> What you mean from Lindelof's references on Twitter, Ridley saying for the last two - three years he's wondered why no-ones explored the SJ from Alien, the inclusion of the baby Xeno, the Jockey Ship (which crashes on a planet when it's inferred the one in Alien also crashed), the inclusion of Jockeys, Weyland, similarly built androids, the LV starsystem, direct parallels in the script (lamely delivered 'last survivor of Prometheus signing off'), proto facehuggers, flamethrowers, acid for blood...<p> Reviewers are somehow now inferring WE'RE being assholes for 'assuming' it's an Alien Prequel? As I've said, even putting away my Alien love it's not a bad movie on it's own merits, but certainly not a great one. And the trouble is if you 'judge the film on it's own merits' some reviewers say 'you're not seeing the full picture, you have to appreciate where the sequels will fit in and tie it in with Alien'. Wait, what?
-
Maybe Harry should call up the literary teams at the BBC and tell them they missed the relevant information. There was a very intellectual debate last night on one of the well respected art shows in the UK, they basically said it was just a very daft Sci-Fi movie trying desperately to be intelligent. I agree with that, it is FULL of ridiculous narrative holes. And maybe some people are too dumb to miss them. Looks wonderful though. Did I mention Alien once in my post? No Dumbass.
-
I was really onboard with the idea that Ridley wanted the same universe but with a different story. So with no Alien baggage I can tell you as a standalone film this is well below par. Harry didn't address in his review a lot of the specific problems that people have with the film, and he hasn't even said what is good about the film. Just explain one thing Harry, as an example of the bizarre decisions made in the story, why do they pet the alien?
-
That's my review. Guy Pearce is embarrassing. Most of the secondary actors are awful. The engineer operates his craft by wait..playing a futuristic flute??? But it looks fantastic. 3D ok too. If the script had been decent, it would have been great. And awful review Harry, you can't write that type of condescending rubbish when half the world has already seen the movie, it doesn't wash.
-
It should've been cut, it was like watching downtown abbey then opening up one of the doors to see mos eisley cantina. Great visuals though but again the whole film is in the trailer. I really loved those big wide shots of Prometheus passing planets & David but right at the end I kept thinking of spielbergs movie A.I for some reason. Having watched it again on the IMAX it reminded me so much of at the mountains of madness, which I would've preferred to see with a little bit of the thing thrown in to boot.
-
"why do they pet the alien?" The same reason people pet Alligators, Sharks & Lions. I never understood the notion that characters in movies are always supposed to take the most logical course. Conflicts usually begin due to the ignorant of humans. Humans are not perfect. I don't expect the ones I see in movies to be any different.
-
June 3, 2012, 3:05 a.m. CST
"This isn't a prequel to Alien" - except for the fact there's A FUCKING XENOMOPRH CHEST BURSTER AT THE END.
by Chris
-
June 3, 2012, 3:09 a.m. CST
Surprise. Harry enjoys shit film. Harry, you're the poster boy for diminished expectations....
by Fortunesfool
There are some nice sci-fi ideas in the film, sure, but they're all forgotten about or ignored or bludgeoned by the dreadful script. Stop saying it's not an Alien film. It has 'Alien' all over it. If you see this without any knowledge of the Alien movies it would be even more nonsensical. The films few joys are seeing the links to Alien and then realising that it's now been ruined by this fanboy fiction dross.
-
June 3, 2012, 3:16 a.m. CST
'The same reason people pet Alligators, Sharks & Lions'
by FitnaTheForbiddenMovie
Except scientists know better than to pet alligators, sharks and lions. Especially ones on a strange planet they've never been to before. That kind of behavior just doesn't wash and is only meant to propel the story forward. You could make an entire movie with characters doing stupid things that don't make any sense, which is fine by me but don't pretend it's 'intelligent sci-fi'.
-
June 3, 2012, 3:18 a.m. CST
This particular talkback has really brought the more venomous users out of the woodwork.
by DrBathroomMD
Harry is right about this one. it's increasingly frustrating that some critics(and regular folk) are lambasting this movie simply for not being "horror" enough or "scary" enough...some of the dumber ones even getting pissed cause there's no Aliens in it. can't a filmmaker explore a story in a universe he helped create WITHOUT doing the exact same thing he did the first time? Why is he obligated AT ALL to make one kind of film or another? Can't he just tell a goddamn story? I don't judge movies based on my pre-conceived notions of hat they SHOULD be. I base them on if it tells a good or effective story. That's all that should matter.
-
June 3, 2012, 3:21 a.m. CST
Surprise. fortunesfool plays the talkbacker stereotype by bashing Harry for liking a movie
by Talkbacker with no name
ha classic
-
Look, I'm also the last person that wanted an ALIEN film - Sorry but what you've got is more monster movie /action than ever i wanted - forget about the big idea because that is out of the window as soon as the nasties turn up . Look at Harrys history of reviewing, sorry Harry, you haven't half championed some clunkers. The people tearing the film apart are so because it promised a big idea which is almost forgotten as soon as they land . Honestly, I thought it was going to be a piece of art that took a subject to a higher level. There's a myriad of things wrong with this movie and all the apologists keep saying is 'don't expect aliens'. The cast except for Fassbender is awful and even his role is derivative of the butler from The Shining/ Ash. Guy Pearce has an old man latex mask on, the 'Scientists' act like teenagers from a friday the 13th film and you end up not caring about a single character. Monster moments are directly derived from alien movies - sorry- there are facehuggers but they're not facehuggers, there are aliens, but they're not aliens. Just because the Xenomorph isn't in it there are still creatures in it that serve the same purpose and it stil becomes an escape from monsters movie. Also what 3 characters do after only 1 sentence of prompting from another character- laughable. I predict a slew of bad reviews from all of us expecting a hard sci fi film, when the popcorn crowd get to it they will be a bit more lenient. This was a couple of rewrites away from being filmable - fact is they just didn't know what to do with the mythology when they got to the planet so they just had monsters and started blowing shit up. Ughhhhhh, so much promise.
-
June 3, 2012, 3:30 a.m. CST
"forget about the big idea because that is out of the window as soon as the nasties turn up"
by Shermdawg
I admit to haven't seeing it yet, but this is something I'm questioning. Alien was chock-full of sexual themes and imagery, and this from what I've heard is delving into science vs. religion. I'm willing to bet there is far more in store regarding the Engineer race's motives, social class, and beliefs, than we think, and this film despite its apparent flaws may be re-evaluated once the sequels hit. This could just be the first piece of a much larger puzzle.
-
Someone quoted a line in the other talkback... Shaw: "If they created us, WHO created THEM?"
-
June 3, 2012, 3:39 a.m. CST
"Except scientists know better than to pet alligators, sharks and lions."
by Jay
What a ridiculous statement. Seriously, a simple Google search will bring up pages upon pages of Scientists and Inventors who died from what we would consider a foolish & ridiculous circumstance. Often from their very own doing. It's natural human curiosity. Fucking Steve Jobs didn't get real medical treatment for nearly a year because he believed in alternative medicine! Characters do stupid things. As I said, it's often what progresses a plot. Even with the Bosses giving him the Ok, what Burke did throughout Aliens was pretty fucking dumb. It's one of those suspensions of disbelief things. It's these type of comments that are frustrating. You expect every character to make perfect logical decisions based on how YOUR viewing the movie. You understand the characters aren't supposed to know they're in a movie, right? You can't watch a movie and act like those armchair critics who watch football and say "Idiot! Why didn't he do this instead? He was wide open!"
-
I went to see it last night and it is one of the most disappointing films I've seen in a while. I never thought Ridley Scott going back to the Alien universe would be so boring. I wasn't expecting an Alien movie I was just expecting a intriguing, riveting one and that is certainly not what you get.
-
mate, that's like saying 'Phantom menace is part of a larger puzzle' It still doesn't make Phantom Menace good, movies should stand on their own.
-
June 3, 2012, 3:45 a.m. CST
Spoilers The movie just isn't worth the effort to think about
by BADBOYBROM HC
All this talk about "is it isn't it" a prequel is really boring. Of course it is, Ridley has gone on record confirming he'd like to do two more to bring us to the point of Alien. Who cares? What ever Shaw achieves with David Head has no relevance as we know Earth/Humanity endures for hundreds of years. Where does Shaw get her food and water from to survive anyway? The sold out midnight showing reeked of disappointment. Not because it wasn't Aliens esque but because it was a really boring messy half baked stupid cluster fuck of a movie returning to universe helmed by the master that we all had high hopes for. The movie I think about the more I hate it. The reason for the hate is because everything about it is terrible. Hated the Characters, hated the logic, hated the story. Everybody is dumb. Hated that David's character was all over the place, was he friend or foe, what was his agenda? Why did the Engineer attack after waking and not call home you would think he would want to see if anything had changed and why did he take a nap after it all went wrong for his team and not just go home or call in cover?? If they knew where we were we didn't his race come and wipe us out centuries before. Why did the two stranded geezers run from potential trouble only to hug the creatures they found in the other direction. Why didn't the engineer just not jump aboard another parked ship and get on with his mission instead of trying to kill a stranded and helpless Shaw. Why doesn't David need Hypersleep when Ash and Bishop did. Why did they kill Holloway straight away, (Davids experiment was a waste of time) yet when the yoga guy turned up they opened the doors without question even though something was obviously badly wrong. Why did Vickers own the Medipod bit only have it sable for a male? Why didn't anyone follow Shaw after knocking out the Dr and ask why her stomach was cut in half later? Also why did nobody notice the giant Squid hanging out on the ship? Just terrible
-
The Dojo's PROMETHEUS REVIEW. 100% Safe and Spoiler Free. I went into PROMETHEUS having *mostly* steered clear of the spoilers from these last weeks and im certainly not going to be an asshole and spoil anything here. If you just want to know *how good is PROMETHEUS* the answer is - it's very good indeed. Four stars out of five from the Dojo. From the opening establishing shots, which rival anything you'll see on PLANET EARTH or any other high def nature docu it is clear that Ridley Scott has lost none of his flair for putting beautiful imagery on screen. The guy is a painter as much as a director and in this movie he is served by cutting edge CG FX allied with some massive and detailed sets. The film looks fantastic, with enough sleekness in the spaceship interiors and the wetsuit style spacesuits to differentiate it from his past work with ALIEN. Any fan of film should see this simply for the visuals. The characters aren't as subtle and naturalistic as in ALIEN, but not quite as broad brush stroke as ALIENS - somewhere in the middle. And while the ensemble is perhaps a little large to get to know all of them, there are some standouts. Idris Elba is good as the captain and Noomi as Shaw grows in stature and confidence as the film unfolds (her boyfriend Holloway is sadly a weak link, and seems to go from leader to surly partway through inexplicably - perhaps a scene has been cut?). Charlize in her figure hugging catsuits is memorable and you do get a tantalising glimpse of butt, just where the booty and thigh meet that will definitely be worth a freeze frame on blu! However it's Michael Fassbender's movie imho. His David is quite something and he comfortably steals every scene he is in. There is a sequence near the start of the film where only David is awake on the vessel, which recalls SILENT RUNNING and THE OMEGA MAN. It's feels the most pure sci-fi stretch of the whole film, and I think I could have happily watched a whole movie about the David character. For those worried about the rating, and about PROMETHEUS not being grown up enough - I can set your fears at rest. There are parts that will make adult audiences squirm and while the gore is never over done, it doesn't feel like anything has been compromised in this regard. Im looking forward to discussing the finer plot points in more detail - although im not going to do that here. I did find myself coming out of the film with a few question marks and asking questions to those disciples of the Dojo who saw it with me and no one really being able to answer. I don't think a film has to spell out every event and perhaps a few little things being open to interpretation is quite cool. The one major negative I would say is that PROMETHEUS isn't much of a crowd pleaser. Those hoping for a *get away from her you bitch!* moment or something to whoop or cheer at may be disappointed. It also lacks the inexorable forward momentum of both ALIEN and ALIENS, instead opting for a slightly more rambling plot. But ultimately this is a big, beautiful and smart sci-fi, which stands alone from the rest of the ALIEN franchise. I very much hope that the PROMETHEUS franchise continues, i've only just seen this one but already i'd love to see another!
-
it is STILL a poor film.
-
June 3, 2012, 3:49 a.m. CST
Anybody seen the picture of the 'old-friend' from the end? ... Not linked my arse.
by GINGE_MUPPET
-
Good point, but I'm still hoping this is something that might benefit from a marathon viewing when paired with it's eventual followup. Something that couldn't happen with TPM given it doesn't exactly flow into AotC.
-
but I don't think it can be both. The trailer was confusing as hell as to what it's about, and unless someone "spoils" the damn thing for me, I'm going to assume it's hiding the fact that there's absolutely nothing logical or coherent under the surface. So it's an excuse to see the newest futuristic stuff and landscapes, and then they throw in some scary creatures, presumably for the sole purpose of preventing the audience from getting bored while they explore a one-note philosophic concept? Is this alien race friendly or not? I wouldn't think getting attacked is a very warm welcome. And how could the fate of Earth possibly be at stake? I really don't think knowing the basic plot "spoils" the movie. Someone could have told me the premise of the Matrix, and instead of ruining it, I would have actually become intrigued (in fact, the trailers didn't pique my interest very much at all). Now, spoiling the ending I can agree with. But people who think that knowing the basic premise of a movie ruins it must regard the visceral first-time experience as enough of a reason to watch anything, which is not the case for me.
-
Happy it was no relation to the alien movies. However what a mess. written by a fan boy rather than someone who cares about characters. editting seemed rushed. no build up to events that really did need build up. Action sequences( thinking of the one at the end) that made no sense, apart from lead to a conclusion they were clawing too. Events felt forced to set up events later one. so mant times you knew 'that' was going to be used later. Finally I am so concerned about the sequel. The idea is cringe worthy. Great idea. Could have been so good. I felt Ridley did the best job he could with the script. Rant over.
-
You're basically right there.
-
Yeah right, including a geologist who loves money and looks like Johnny Rotten's dad
-
Really? Most people I know, including myself thought that Fox's campaign was downright anti-John Carter in showing too much, especially the latest ads showing a crucial moment in the climax.
-
he talks about flamethrowers, Well they are used against beasties or potential beasties! Well I have seen it and as a film its not very good. Harry is right that Elizabeth Shaw is no Ripley but not how he ment. Ripley was a strong interesting charachter who we cared about. A truly iconic heroine. Shaw is not and Rapace you can tell gives up half way through when she just drops the English accent she had for no reason. Some good acting by Fassabender and Theron aside cannot save this film. Full of plot holes/contradictions so much so they even have a scene where a charachter literally spouts a load of exposition on what the SpJ's where doing even when you are thinking how the hell as a charachter would he know that! The charahcters themselves are stupid or act stupdily and unlike say in the original Alien film they are nethier believable nor do you care about there eventuall fates. The dialouge is awful and even some of the visuals in this film which it is praised for are just laugh inducing whether its the eye stalk straight out of the Starwars trash compactor scene or the end scene between the giant squid and space jockey. Also for a film set in the same universe why is human techonology more advance when its set in the past anyway ?? All in all a bad film as much due to a poor script as anything. As for those saying about expectations. The expectations I was hoping for was an enjoyable film that made sense and I got nethier
-
Aliens create life, leave star map, humans find map, expedition is formed to follow map, ship lands on planet, scientists find temple, shit happens in temple, shit happens on ship, aliens led them to a trap, aliens apparently want to destroy Earth, humans have to stop aliens. All gathered from the material shown in the trailers/ads.
-
Certainly a different feel of a movie, yet it's events are such that it can't be regarded as anything other than a prequel.
-
Folk needs a heads up so not to expect an Alien film because its not. The final shot was sort of a promise of things to come I thought,kinda saying 'we haven't forgotten about you Alien fans ,just wait until Prometheus 3 or something. Excellent film 8/10
-
June 3, 2012, 4:05 a.m. CST
I hear that new A L F movie is going to dovetail with Prometheus
by lv_426
Watch out Jonesy Sr. The space jockey homeworld is Melmac!
-
It's five in the mornin', if I'm talking out of my ass, my apologies. Going to bed now.
-
I loved this movie and I think the haters either have an agenda or they really are dull idiots who just wanted another Alien movie.
-
So it really is that retarded. Just wanted to make sure.
-
Its a prequel in as much as it is in a shared universe, and earlier within the timeline go that universe. Some events may have an effect in the behaviour of weyland/ weyland- yutani in the lien series. It is not a prequel in terms of it shows the genesis of what we would refer to as the xenomorph, unless possible sequels Introduce the idea of time travel o the series. But we all knewj that anyway. All I've seen is people commenting on the idea of the Prometheus having more advanced tech than the nostromo whilst being about 50 years older. Well, think abut it. The derelict on LV-426 had been there for a wee bit more than 50 odd years.the space jockey had fossilised.
-
June 3, 2012, 4:16 a.m. CST
I kind of agree with Harry (except for the last shot)
by theyreflockingthisway
The last shot was great. Everyone was expecting a chest buster, but instead we got this new thing. Not the alien as we know it - something creepy and weird that has a slight resemblance yet contradicts everything in the Alien movies. In a way it is a prequel to Alien. It's definitely the same universe and it's set before but the difference is we're focusing purely on the space jockeys this time. Sure, we see plenty of different alien creatures, but they're not the focus this time. Also Harry is right in that everything can be explained if you pay attention. There's nothing that's just put in there for no reason. Another complaint I heard, though, is that there's a number of characters that don't do much or given much development. If comparing this to Alien with its cast of seven, yes, but not any of it's sequels. What did we ever learn of Frost, Weirzbowski, Dietrich, Ferro, Spunkmeyer, Crowe in Aliens? It seems people were expecting a small cast of seven being picked off one by one. It's not that movie - it's a great science fiction adventure about exploration and discovery. This film is definitely going to become more appreciated in time. Seems to be a curse of Ridley Scott to produce science fiction that isn't appreciated in its time.
-
Harry, that was definitely one of your best written reviews, from a grammatical perspective and a critically considered one. Also, unlike some of the fools on this thread you didn't post major spoilers. Batboybrom, like Harry says in his review there are answers for all your questions either on screen in the movie or within the imagination of a halfway intelligent mind. You either didn't watch closely or you're a bit slow in the brains department.
-
June 3, 2012, 4:16 a.m. CST
I've heard from a few reputable sources now that this is a planned trilogy; hinging on PROMETHEUS' success.
by justmyluck
Which is probably a given, considering the way the ending sets up sequel(s), and FOX's promoting this like crazy.
-
June 3, 2012, 4:18 a.m. CST
Yeah Ray Gamma disliking a film is because of having an agenda
by spike fan
seriously do you think this shite up. The film is disliked because its story and plot are a mess with flat 1d charachters who do not make sense spouting lines from cliche 101. Thats why its disliked not because of whether or not the Alien is or is not in it.
-
1. Why does and android learn foreign languages by watching tapes? Surely a microchip would do the job? Isn't this just a bad writer's way of setting up his lingual skills? 2. How can David read dreams? And why doesn't Noomi dream subjectively? Isn't this just a bad writer's way of inserting a flashback? 3. Why is Guy Pearce buried under the worst old-man make-up in recent memory? Why isn't Christopher Plummer playing this role? 4. Is Vickers really a robot? If she is, why isn't she up with David while the others sleep? If not, why does the captain ask her? Isn't that just an eleventh hour attempt by the writers to invest her character with a little intrigue? 5. How is that the Prometheus skims over the alien planet and almost immediately comes across the Engineers' temples? 6. Why would the Engineers "invite" humans to their weapons base, as opposed to their home planet? 7. What are those holographic recordings that come alive in the temple? Aren't they just a bad writer's excuse for setting up the next scene? 8. Why does Noomi's boyfriend suddenly turn into a reckless asshole and remove his helmet in the temple, despite all the inherent dangers? 9. How do the two guys who decide to leave get so easily lost in the temple, when back on the Prometheus there's a hologram of the full temple showing everyone's position? And everyone else gets out so easily? 10. Why do none of the scientists act like scientists? Why does a geologist act like a douche? Why does a biologist approach a potentially dangerous alien creature like it's a fluffy lamb? 11. How can the Engineer's decapitated head be still alive after thousands of years? And why does it explode? 12. Why does David, when he wants to die, insist on getting torched by Vickers? Why doesn't he just remove his helmet (which he's already proved so good at)? 13. Why does David toss some of the growth goo in Noomi's boyfriend's drink? To see what happens? If so, why does he then basically tell Noomi that's she's got a monster inside of her (while being at pains to conceal the medical imaging from her)? Isn't that just a bad writer's way of imparting knowledge to one of the characters? 14. Why does Noomi remove the squid fetus and then not kill it? Surely not because it just needs to be around at the ending? And how does it grow fifty times its size without any sustenance (an old ALIEN plothole, admittedly)? 15. How can a woman who's just performed a major operation on herself recover so absurdly quickly? 16. Why do Weyland and co just let her tag along on their jaunt to the temple? For that matter, why make the jaunt to the temple when it's such a manifestly dangerous place? Why not send David down there to negotiate with the Engineers? 17. How come there's an Engineer still alive? And why does this massively advance lifeforce, when he does come back to life, only start storming around Frankenstein's monster? 18. How does the captain suddenly and inexplicably come up with an explanation for the purpose of the planet? And where does his sudden kamikaze altruism come from, except from bad writing? 19. Why does Vickers exit the ship separately from her lifeboat-suite? Surely not so she can be quickly killed off while the squid survives? And why does she run into the path of the falling ship? 20. How does David know everything that's going on, even though he's lying decapitated in the temple? 21. How does the Engineer survive the crash? And when he does, why is his first action not to get into another of the ships, but to thunder in after Noomi like Jason from FRIDAY THE 13th? 22. Why, after everything she's been through, does Noomi decide not to head back to Earth -- to warn them -- but to go off to the (presumably hostile) planet of the Engineers? Surviving on what, exactly?
-
Disregarding any Alien discussions, Prometheus is a narrative mess with poorly drawn characters who act against their own set up. The editing and pace are rotten and events just "happen". No suspense, no tension, any grand ideas are dropped in the second half. There is hardly any through line to it, hardly any proper story. Just a sreies of events that don't seem as connected as they should. The script is a failure. Yes, it looks nice but that's not enough. Shaw does little to drive the story and reacts too much. Given what we were promised (great and brave new sci fi ideas in a big bidget movie, having the shit scared out of us) I found Prometheus to be a crushing disappointment. Shaws final moments in the film are interesting, however, and I can only hope they lead to something better. And that last shot was unnecessary fanwank worthy of Paul WS Anderson. It's a poor film.
-
you will hate this film,however keep and open mind and prepare to ask questions and you could end up loving it. Will benefit from a second viewing greatly. Pro 2 could go anywhere,really.My mind is going crazy thinking about what could happen.Remember when you first heard Obi wan mention the Clone Wars and it fired you imagination,kinda like that.
-
June 3, 2012, 4:33 a.m. CST
It *IS* a fucking Alien movie, FULL STOP, PERIOD!
by Hardboiled Wonderland
Space Jockey? Check. Space Jockey ship from Alien? Check. Weyland? Check. Same storyverse? Check. How the fuck can anyone argue Prometheus is not connected to the original Alien?! Yes it's not a direct prequel, but it's definitely absolutely posifuckingtively connected and set in the same storyverse. I am NOT a hater by the way -- I'm seeing Prometheus next week, I can't wait to see it, and I don't expect xenomorphs and a repeat of Alien. But to say Prometheus is not an Alien movie... wow, that's just fucking dumb. It's a different story, yes, but when you have Space Jockeys and Weyland and androids... if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a fucking duck. Period.
-
Because he is ahead of his time,and for a 70 year old that is fucking awesome.
-
...he is 100% on the mark here, most people that walked out disappointed, couldn't get over that this wasn't an ALIEN horror film, this is pure science fiction, more on the lines of blade runner or sunshine. It presents the idea of meeting our maker and runs with it. This isn't a film where a space crew is trapped with a monster that hunts them all till only one is left. And yes no matter how viserally cool and fan pleasing the final shot was, it was unessesary and kinda ruined the point of the film.
-
June 3, 2012, 4:36 a.m. CST
PS Ridley promised my mind would be fucked by Prometheus
by Hardboiled Wonderland
I suspect half of the negative reviews are because Prometheus wasn't the mind fuck he sold it to be.
-
June 3, 2012, 4:36 a.m. CST
A prequel to the prequel of the prequel to Alien is what they should have put on the poster.
by Frank
-
June 3, 2012, 4:39 a.m. CST
Half the negative reviews are because it's not a good film
by SminkyPinky
It starts out really well and then drops it's ideas in the second half. it doesn't know what to do with them. It begins as grand, true science fiction and descends into a mess, culminating in the usual monster nonsense. Prometheus loses it's balls. It simply doesn't know what it is or goes yellow halfway through.
-
June 3, 2012, 4:39 a.m. CST
By the way, prequel doesn't mean it has to be exactly leading into the next movie
by Hardboiled Wonderland
A prequel can have some of the elements of the original movie, but be its own beast and wildly different. It's still a prequel. This whole argument smacks of snobbery from the "it's not a prequel" crew. It's a prequel, get over it. As for the haters who are whining about Prom not being a direct prequel -- you too need to build a bridge and get over it. As a novelist, a prequel doesn't have to be directly related to any of the main plot points -- it just has to FORESHADOW future events. This is what Prometheus does for Alien. So it's a prequel, full stop.
-
The trailers show you all the aliens in it,thats it..no more,you get maybe 2 mins tops. Its all talking,questions and androids from then on.Not a Alien 'horror' would be more apt.AVP are more Alien films than this.This should have been called Android. :)
-
June 3, 2012, 4:41 a.m. CST
= I like that not a thing from this film ties to ALIEN directly. =
by Hardboiled Wonderland
Space Jockey and ship. Hello?
-
It might lead you to expect believable characters, decent lines and a story that doesn't feel like a random collection of scenes. Basically, you might go in expecting that which most movies get right without a problem. Not so with Prometheus. To be honest, how it ties in to Alien is the least of its issues. It's just a poorly-written film. Something with fairly grand themes marred by basic writing problems. Still... it looks pretty.
-
The tone of the film is what different.
-
'This isn't a film where a space crew is trapped with a monster that hunts them all till only one is left' <p> Totally - It's a film where a space crew are trapped with monsterS that hunt them all till only one is left. BIG difference.
-
June 3, 2012, 4:46 a.m. CST
This whole snobby "it's not a prequel" is really getting up my skirt tonight
by Hardboiled Wonderland
Normally i couldn't care, but Harry's tone, and a few other friends this week have really been pushing the "it's not a prequel, it's a headache!" schtick a bit too hard for my liking! ;-)
-
June 3, 2012, 4:48 a.m. CST
@justmyluck - Agree with you on TED talk rockstars.Stone,Gates etc...their ideas are creepy IMO.Like The Weyland teaser.
by kenchun24
-
June 3, 2012, 4:48 a.m. CST
Since PROMETHEUS is expanding on what the Space Jockey aka Engineer(s) were doing in the Zeta Reticuli system, ALIEN is closer to a side story of PROMETHEUS.
by justmyluck
It makes more sense to reverse things since the Engineers are PROMETHEUS' subject matter — it doesn't need to share the exact time frame of what happened in ALIEN. I probably wouldn't think this way if both weren't Ridley Scott projects.
-
Watch it,i could spell it out but it would ruin it :)
-
June 3, 2012, 4:50 a.m. CST
@kenchun24: Yep, it makes me wonder if the Weyland TED viral video was a subtle satire of TED.
by justmyluck
-
... was simply say, "It's set in the Alien universe, but it's a separate story, it's own beast. There may be a more direct connection in Prometheus 2, but we'll cross that bridge if we get to it." Instead of all the teasing and passive-aggressive comments that got fans all tickled and let down. Could have saved everyone a lot of arguing.
-
June 3, 2012, 4:52 a.m. CST
The only reason for all the "is it or isn't it an Alien prequel" teasing...
by Hardboiled Wonderland
was too get asses on seats and people thinking there might be a xenomorph cameo. As a businessman, Ridley's a genius. As a friend to film buffs, he's a prick.
-
Agreed ,he could have,his comment thats its not an Alien film as such but 'shares DNA' means a hell of a lot more once you have watched it.A play on words.
-
June 3, 2012, 4:55 a.m. CST
TV Ads with the Space Jockey ship crashing in an identical position to the one in 'Alien'...
by FlandersBum
...is making the general public think it is a direct prequel. Everyone I talk to thinks it is a direct prequel, which creates certain assumptions on what will be in the movie and how it will end. There's going to be a lot of seriously disapointed people in the general public once they see that this is about a DIFFERENT Space Jockey ship crashing on a DIFFERENT planet that just HAPPENS to crash and land in the same position.
-
June 3, 2012, 4:56 a.m. CST
@rocketfuckingman "shares DNA" -- I forgot about that, makes sense
by Hardboiled Wonderland
A play on words too subtle for me I guess! ;-) I also take back what I said about Ridley being a prick to film buffs and Alien fans, I didn't mean it. Like I said, the snobbery from people "It's not a prequel, idiot!" is really getting up my skirt tonight. Even though I wear pants. /sigh I'm still looking forward to Prometheus this week, I just hope I'm not stuck between someone like Harry and a hater.
-
June 3, 2012, 4:57 a.m. CST
Also, Lindelof said the last 8 minutes would lead directly into Alien
by Hardboiled Wonderland
He said that several times, no ambiguity.
-
June 3, 2012, 4:59 a.m. CST
...so basically, the entire marketing/advertising for this film is horrible
by FlandersBum
They really shouldn't have showed the ship or Space Jockeys at all, or went out of their way to emulate the old 'Alien' advertising....let all of that be a suprise to the general public. But I suppose they want to get people in seats any way possible, including tricking people.
-
I don't want to spoil it for you ,expect to watch a random SciFi film,thats all and you could end up loving it, its one you will want to discuss afterwards either way.
-
June 3, 2012, 5:04 a.m. CST
= I hadn’t really heard the word “prequel” before Phantom Menace. = -- Lindelof
by Hardboiled Wonderland
Sheesh, has Lindelof never read a novel? http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/05/11/damon-lindelof-prometheus-life-after-lost/3/ "If your definition [of prequel] is: this is a series of events that precedes an existing movie, then, yes. This series of events that happens in Prometheus precedes the series of events that occurs in Alien." It's all semantics. By the dictionary definition, Prometheus is a prequel.
-
June 3, 2012, 5:06 a.m. CST
It's interesting that John Spaihts screenplay had more Alien links, xenomorphs and chestbursters
by Hardboiled Wonderland
Lindelof was hired to "dumb down the Alien", essentially. I recommend that insidemovies interview I posted in the previous comment.
-
Say humans create life on a barren planet. Thousands of years later, that life seeks us out to say hello following directions we leave them on their planet. I don't care what 'their motivations will be explained in the sequel' arguments are thrown out, that our first instinct on arrival would be to kill them is just...boring. Depressing. Narratively there are infinite possibilities - that they turned it into a 'crew gets killed one by one' slasher template is just dull. If you want to say 'who are you to judge their motivations - its the story they want to tell' then fair enough, but seriously - in terms of sci-fi ideas, its just so mundane and is no better than your standard hollywood fare. It's an OK movie sure, but the 'wait for the sequel before you judge the story' mantra is just insane. It'll be four - five years (If one gets greenlit at all). <p> Humans investigating the temple and attempting to abuse the jockeys equipment which THEN leads to our downfall. That would be a better angle. As it is, it's like the Scooby Gang arrive at a haunted house and then stuff starts to happen. Subtext is thin on the ground.
-
the scientists are dumb as shit,not a deal breaker though.
-
Yeah,still a great film though if you like that sorta thing like me.
-
on record as saying something like 'the last eight minutes directly tie in with Alien' (forgive me if thats not the exact wording). <p> Is he referring to the baby Alien birth? REALLY? I cannot help but be disappointed by that direct example.
-
June 3, 2012, 5:09 a.m. CST
bloody hell this talkback posting is annoying! LOL
by Hardboiled Wonderland
Lindelof -- "The job that I was hired to do was to scale back the familiar tropes or symbology of what we think of when we think of an Alien movie. When I say Alien to you, you think face-hugger, chest-burster, eggs, acid blood, queen — the concentration of those things was much higher in Jon’s script than they are in Prometheus." So essentially, Lindelof was hired to dumb down the Alien-ness of Prometheus.
-
I hadn't read your post above, sorry if that 'last 8minutes' thing was Lindelof not Ridley - I'm on a phone and can't be bothered to google
-
June 3, 2012, 5:11 a.m. CST
@Tomdolan04 -- I think it was actually Ridley who said it
by Hardboiled Wonderland
Not Lindelof. Bloody heck I'm spaced tonight, I think I'll turn off the internet and stop arguing about prequels lol ;-)
-
I stand by Prometheus being my 3rd favourite behind Alien & Aliens, but it leaves too many unanswered questions for it to be a direct prequel to Alien, its more of an expansion to the "Alien" universe, or lets just say there is plenty of room for a prequel based on that derelict from LV 426 as one thing that is answered in Prometheus is that there are a lot more than one "derelicts" out there.
-
June 3, 2012, 5:14 a.m. CST
@jason john, "expansion" is the perfect word for what kind of prequel Prometheus is
by Hardboiled Wonderland
You nailed it. Cheers!
-
June 3, 2012, 5:17 a.m. CST
must....resist....ruining ...the ...film.... possibly SPOILERISH
by RocketFuckingMan
Its a journey towards Alien*perhaps. Like I said,should have been called ANDROID. SPOILERS *how do you know they are Aliens?* **thats all your getting from me,now lower your 'monster HORROR scifi expectations and prepare for a visually stunning,head scratching film that will give you plenty to ponder and look forward too.
-
Harry,respectfully sir we come to your site to get the lowdown and spoilers on such films weeks before everybody else.now this site just reviews films the day they come out.If you have sold out and are enjoying your self in the company of fox and disney please hand over this site to someone else. John Carter was so hyped on this site and was abysmal.you supported a film that cost billions that was going to a greedy corporation.You were not helping a filmaker who had made a small interesting film that needed exposure. Prometheus is an Alien prequel it is also terrible but I found that out on the day not from you guys and I don't care for your reviews either because quite frankly your opinion which you are wholly entitled too,is not really worth much after that shamless john carter fiasco.I must admidt I quite liked your video shorts you seem like a great guy,just stop being a corporate douche!
-
June 3, 2012, 5:18 a.m. CST
Here's the full Scott quote re final 8 mins of Prometheus leading into Alien
by Hardboiled Wonderland
Scott says the last eight minutes of Prometheus will evolve into “a pretty good DNA of the Alien one.” http://collider.com/ridley-scott-prometheus-ending-alien-dna/125157/ I've read other interviews of him saying similar, Lindelof as well -- but probably just parroting Scott... tho he's definitely no Harry Dean Stanton! ;-)
-
June 3, 2012, 5:19 a.m. CST
Breaking News! Lindelof to pen Indiana Jones prequel
by Hardboiled Wonderland
He's been hired to remove the tropes and symbology we've come to associate with an Indiana Jones movie -- the fedora, whip, Nazi villains, and archaeological treasure. :-P Actually, considering Crystal Skull...
-
anyone can justify the lazy choice by the writers. There's No Alien hangup on my part. and i was paying attention. Like how, 'PROMETHEUS' isn't written on the side of the ship, like in the trailer. but thats a minor. I don't mind the film being its own thing, making me ask questions, but i'm sure the questions are not what Sir Ridders wanted me to ask. Blade Runner this is not!! Why would you forget to inform anyone that you just gave birth to an Alien. And just left it hanging around? Why couldn't Janek walk Fifield and Milburn out of the cave? He could see them!! Why are you playing around with something that looks like a Cobra, like its a pet Cat. Shouldn't he of informed Janek, ''hey guess what we just found'' Janek and Vickers decide to leave Mans greatest find and 2 stranded crewman, for a bit of ''Suck on my Accordion'' ..WHAT?! Why is david doing what he is doing?.... only for it to not go anywhere. Whats with the poor imitation 'Empire strikes back' moment with Vickers!?!.... What was Vickers intentions again?! oh yeah, NOTHING!! How do have a Major Op, which leaves multiple staples in your body, then next your doing Rainbow six special ops moves!! surely its a case of, Rest up, take 2 of these a day, call me in the morning. Stunning film to watch. Amazing 3-D. Soundtrack good. never bored, but confused. Plot Holes all over. Poor Editing. Lazy writing, with blatant foreshadowing. I thought they were gonna wink at the camera after one of these, Expositions. Sure i was intrigued throughout, as you knew , something big is on the way, then it happens, and we move on, or forget it ever happened!! What?! Only the obvious sequel can enhance Prometheus, but its obvious flaws, which there are plenty, have now been recorded to film, which can never be rectified. but it looked great!!
-
is not that it's not ambitious enough, or thought-provoking enough. Maybe it is. The point is that it's a fucking bad script turned into a gorgeous but at times painfully hollow movie, when it could have been the greatest science-fiction piece of all time - on par with 2001. Alas ! The script is so full of holes and flaws (that don't come from not paying enough attention! They come from an outrageous half-assed scripting job), that eventually it makes for a very frustrating viewing experience. In my humble opinion, that is.
-
June 3, 2012, 5:22 a.m. CST
@rocketfuckingman, I hear ya! Time to turn off the internet and count down til I see Prometheus this week!
by Hardboiled Wonderland
I really can't wait to see it, naysayers be damned. I'm still scared I'll be stuck in a seat between two dudes, "it's an Alien prequel!", "no it's not!", "yes it is!" though. :-P
-
because a fucking alien that looks like an alien comes out of the space jocky.it has the same ship as alien same company as alien it is a fucking prequel to alien whichever way you look at it.don't get me wrong it is not unwatchable just amazing that the writers of Cowboys and aliens and the darkest hour was allowed to script this.it literally is the most stoopedest thing.They go to a planet in a big ship then they smash it into another ship and it hits charlie t slap on the bonce and at the end another spaceship zooms off and leaves behind a rainbow just like the end of ET jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze!!!!!!
-
June 3, 2012, 5:31 a.m. CST
So the Nyan Cat is at the end of Prometheus? Thanks a lot for spoiling the ending, cadoganman!!
by Hardboiled Wonderland
-
June 3, 2012, 5:32 a.m. CST
Oh man, I wish I had decent photoshop skills, I'd edit Kane's chestbursting scene...
by Hardboiled Wonderland
... with a nyan cat. It'd be internet meme gold.
-
....it will be but its going somewhere else first,thats all.
-
Quite a lot. Goes to pot in the last half hour, though. Casting Guy Pearce made me wonder whether there was some last-minute fiddling about (why not just cast an actual old guy if he's not required to actually be rejuvenated?) and the engineer - after all the build up - was a huge anticlimax. I wonder whether the release version's missing half an hour or so. The blatant plug for a sequel was a bit irritating though - you'd have thought Ridley would have learnt not do that after Robin Hood.
-
I've heard a lot of people complain about the fact that you see very little of the crew, when they first wake-up, and thus do not get to know of them so well - however, there are 3 key setups (that I can remember!!) that involved specific characters, and had to be adhered to. If every crew member on the ship was given equal time, it would be a movie that goes nowhere awfully slowly. Plus, you do understand intentions of certain crew members, when certain plot revelations take place. I've also heard about people's confusion with David's alliances very late-on in the movie - he's asked what he would do if he had no master, and was therefore 'free' (listen carefully!! It is there!!) - it is answered, if you choose to watch it!! Which highlights Harry's main point of his review - that the questions are answered if you are paying attention, and that Ridley Scott doesn't need to hold up placards stating what exactly is going on. And often in the film, Ridley seems to be playing games with the audience - just when you think you're going to have the movie go down one route, it suddenly takes another - a good example of this is the 'loading bay' moment, which is done fast and effectively, but not drawn-upon for that long, as there are more important things happening. And of the two moments Harry is talking about, the first one is probably the most horrific thing I've seen of recent (and a real masterstroke, in that you're thinking "its alright, the camera is going to turn-away" - and it DOESN'T!! Oh man, that left me dazed!!), and I didn't mind the last one so much. Yes, its probably redundant in the light of what has already happened in the film, but given the severe screwed-up things that have happened so far (speaking from a metaphorical point of view), this is the final insane capper to the film. I didn't see it so much tacked-on to please certain people. I massively enjoyed Prometheus, but for my own reasons. I know people have found lots of plot holes and such, but if I spent my time analysing plot holes in some of my favourite movies, heck any movies, then I'd probably never enjoy anything!!
-
I can't imagine any professional ever writing such desperation to be believed. at least he knows his credibility is gone.
-
If you'd released the same movie as Crystal Skull but just changed the Indiana character and associations to someone new - it would have been the same movie. No better / No worse when you look at it objectively. An average - goodish action adventure. Not terrible / Not Great. Sure associations to the past didn't help, but you still would have had an action movie where the lead didn't really influence anything. Still have had dodgy CGI and cheesy moments. It may have changed slightly some peoples opinions of Shias character being the young upstart against someone we didnt have a history with but thats about it. <p> Equally with Prometheus. Remove all the Alien ties and replace them with stock monsters - you're still left with a movie with some good direction, OK visuals but a mess of a plot mostly sterile (in more than the literal way) characters that are pretty much interchangeable with most sci-fi genre pieces. Even if we weren't familiar with the familiar Alien creature, that coda at the end of the birth would still have been a bit jarring.
-
June 3, 2012, 5:38 a.m. CST
@velvet sloane, that's my plan with Prometheus this week
by Hardboiled Wonderland
"I know people have found lots of plot holes and such, but if I spent my time analysing plot holes in some of my favourite movies, heck any movies, then I'd probably never enjoy anything!! " This is why I'm gonna try to leave expectations at the door, whether it's a prequel or not, whether it has a xenomorph or not, whether it's a mind fuck or predictable meh. I'm gonna let Ridley give me an experience. I also hear the 3D is as good as Avatar, why no love for that from the media *cough*Harry*cough?
-
I've hardly seen any reviews mentioning the 3D, and the rare reviewer that does says it's extremely well done, as good as Avatar. What say you?
-
It has 'lose ties' to being a prequel to alien, and you can see it all over the frames, but it is seperate. Going to see it again tonight! Soo much to take in!
-
The 3D and depth of field was very well done, and visually it's a great great looking film, if some questionable choices with some creature design. <p> I've only seen five films in 3D and this & Avatar are visually by far the best, with the others being either OKish (Tron) and the others rubbish. I usually avoid 3D's but was keen to check this one out.
-
June 3, 2012, 5:54 a.m. CST
Great film, saw it yesterday and wasn't disappointed at all.
by Deano316
It's just wetted my appetite to see whats next. I see it as part one of three. Three being a direct link to the events on LV-426. Maybe people should approach the film without constantly referencing alien/aliens, you're missing out on one hell of a film. Well done Ridley, consider me front row for the next one. Sure Prometheus is not an Alien film as we're used to seeing and I know it's going to be an agonising wait until the next one. How to endure the wait? Well, the trick I suppose.....is not minding that it hurts.
-
SLAM THIS PIECE OF MOVIE CRAP INTO THE GROUND UNTIL IT'S BLOODY PULP IT SUCKS ASS RIDLEY, YOU SOLD OUT!
-
June 3, 2012, 5:58 a.m. CST
cheers tomdolan04, i'm looking forward to it. Question re: where to sit for 3D
by Hardboiled Wonderland
I'm sitting on the side, halfway back. I hope this doesn't affect the 3D effects, I hear front and middle is best. I booked a Directors Suite seat -- lazyboy seat, perfect view of the screen, only 30 other seats in the cinema, pure comfort. So the side shouldn't be too bad, still a great view of the screen.
-
That's exactly it. Alien is just a monster movie. I agree it's one of the best monster movies ever made but that's all it is. The most interesting scene, for me, in the original 1979 Alien, is the Space Jockey scene. This is what Prometheus is all about. When you understand that, you realise what a simplistic little horror film Alien is, compared to the science fiction ideas in Prometheus. Again, I can only guess that the hardcore bitchers on here are complaining because they wanted another Alien film that basically did the same stuff all over again.
-
The 3D in Prometheus is the best I've seen yet in any movie. It's really smooth, easy to watch without crossing your eyes and getting a migraine. There are some shots in space that are just gorgeous near the start, really creamy smooth panning in 3D around the ship and planets, worth the 3D price just for those alone. But later in the movie there are a few beautiful 3D moments in chambers and in the ship. It's done very gracefully and you start to forget you're watching 3D. If anything, it makes the visceral scenes even more disgusting because you can see every pore on the actors' skin and when something violent happens the 3D makes it feel very real, to the point where you can almost smell the thing you're looking at. Avatar had a very detached sort of "Disney animation" vibe that meant the 3D felt like a cartoon. In Prometheus, even though they're using similar super hi-def imaging, it's a totally real look, like every hair and bit of snot or crumb or flake of dirt is visible and sharp and in clear 3D.
-
gotta be a fucking moron not to understand that.
-
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117947665/
-
Saw Prometheus on Friday. Caught Alien on TV last night. The crew in Alien act like human beings. The crew of Promethus act like they have all been fucking brain damaged in the sleep pods. If you go on that assumpion, you might be able to understand the retarded decisions everyone makes in this movie. Vickers asks David if anyone died in hypersleep. David should have replied "No mam, just most of their brains cells"<p> BTW Harry people arnt dissapointed that it not a prequel or theres no xenos , they are pissed off that its jet another brain dead script ,okayed by a director who should have known better. I cant help but think if Kubrick was still alive that Scott might have tried much harder to impress a pier. But Kubick is dead, and Scott couldnt give a fuck. I will watch Alien again many times in my lifetime , I see no reason to waste another minute on Prometheus. Stupid movie! Kept me entertained for 2 hours, Im glad I got the hype out of my system. There wont be a sequel to this kids! Best forget about it now.
-
I don't disagree that people do stupid things, however the stupidity comes from the script's decision to make two guys who were fearful of what might lie behind a door, to making them pal up to a alien creature. This discrepancy sums up the entire film - each character's narrative is sacrificed to the development of the plot.
-
http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/90469/prometheus.html
-
June 3, 2012, 6:16 a.m. CST
@ray gamma: yep, Ridley's definitely trying to install a mythology in which ALIEN is another story.
by justmyluck
-
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/prometheus-review-ridley-scott-charlize-theron-michael-fassbender-330414
-
...it's neither satisfying as a stand-alone film nor as an Alien prequel. It tries to be both, but fails. Far too many poorly drawn characters (with motivations shifting all over the shop) and only really three decent performances in the flick - Fassbender, Theron and Elba. It is nice to look at, but it's a very passive/inert experience. There's no raising of the pulse and zero tension. Bizarrely it's also cut like an action movie, but there's action very little action in the film. However, the biggest sin is that it doesn't deliver an ending that's in anyway satisfying, interesting or believable. The plot and franchise economics demand it, but you don't buy it for a second.
-
June 3, 2012, 6:18 a.m. CST
Empire "a lack of suspense, threadbare characters, and a very poor script"
by catlettuce4
http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=137119
-
80% on rottentomatoes, what exactly are you trying to say?
-
June 3, 2012, 6:19 a.m. CST
Sorry guys but prepare for disappointment.........SPOILERS
by Paul French
Everyone is entitled to and have their own opinions but sorry Harry, I just don't agree with your review at all. In fact I only read your reviews now for amusement as you seem to be totally out of touch with the rest of 'Geekdom'. And what are you going on about? 'Not an Alien prequel'??? Everything about this movie makes it a prequel. Not just the opening titles, the Space Jockeys, the Alien Ship(s) and the pathetic final shot which caused many in the theatre to burst out laughing. This is 100% a prequel but it needs another movie to directly link it to the Space Jockey in Alien. 3 days ago I was cautiously hyped for Prometheus and there I was first day, first showing. Ever since Scott announced he was going back to this genre I couldnt wait to see what he did with it but I still went in with relatively low expectations. As a jaded 30 something I have learned not to get too excited about things anymore! My expectations weren't low enough. I so wanted to love this movie but I left the cinema feeling the same as when I'd just had my mind raped by Spielberg & Lucas back in 2008 after the abomination that was Indy 4. It seems all of these 'master' film makers have had their day and are now out of touch with what makes audiences tick. This is a bad movie. Not awful and not without some good points, but bad overall. This is sloppy, pedestrian film making masquerading as intelligent and thought provoking. If Scott hadn't been endlessly hyping this movie and his name wasn't in the credits then I wouldn't have believed this was his movie. In fact, without his name to it this would never have gotten the greenlight. For once, I almost wish that Fox had stepped in and interfered with the project as is the norm with them as it probably couldn't have made it any worse. Yet I'm not holding Scott solely responsible. The real culprit here is Lindelof. The majority of the damage was done at script level in my mind. The whole thing is half baked. A lack of any particularly likeable characters or chemistry. Paper thin or in some cases non- existent characterisation. Retarded character actions (the 2 stranded guys is a biggie) and inexplicable motivations. Huge plot contrivances. And turning the Space Jockeys in to big bald albino dudes in space suits. WTF??? I mean seriously, look at that Space Jockey in Alien. That was blatantly designed as a creature and not as just a space suit! I could go on and on. The harsh reality is that some of those fake scripts that we all couldn't resist reading were in the main, probably better than what has been used here. I disagree that the final sequence is well edited and paced. Quite the opposite. It looks as if it has been hacked away at and the final shot looks like it was stuck on at the last minute as if to give the lamer audience members something to connect the movie to the original Alien. Scott reckons that this is his Directors Cut but I call BS. Don't be surprised if he goes back and re-cuts this. We were promised an epic and grand film. The only epic and grand things in this movie are it's failures. There are no answers here. Only questions. If the negative word of mouth that is already spreading here in the UK kills this movies box office then we may never get those answers and Prometheus could very well be the last big budget, adult orientated sci-fi movie we'll ever see. The whole movie is essentially just a set up for a sequel but after the ridiculous ending it is not a movie I am particularly interested in seeing. If there is no sequel then it will render this movie completely pointless. For certain, if the sequel happens then both Scott and Lindelof should be kept well away from it. And as far as a Blade Runner sequel goes, if this is anything to go by, then Scott should hand that over too. We are all different. There will be those who love this film I'm sure, but most will either hate it or be sorely disappointed by it. It was never going to meet everyones expectations but to not even come close is a real tragedy. I watched this movie behind a row of real film obsessives. Alien in particular. Before the film started they were chattering away to each other about where they thought it was going to go, what would happen, how it would link in to Alien etc. As the final shot faded and before the credits even rolled, one of them stated quite simply ' That was fucking shit.' The Alien creature deserves a much more chilling history than this story is taking it towards. After witnessing Prometheus I wish they had just left it alone and left where the Alien came from as ambiguous. Something for each viewer to decide themselves. That to me, is far more frightening.
-
June 3, 2012, 6:24 a.m. CST
Prometheus is a film about intelligent life but its not intelligently filmed!
by CeejayNightwing
Characters make 'teen horror' level decisions that boggle the mind simply to contrive death scenes. Assumptions are defined by characters who have no expertise in that area, like the pilot who decides the entire alien find is a weapons silo of mass destruction and the entire crew and scientist go along with that without any further discussion or query! And why would you continue searching for an alien life that created you and wants to kill you rather than go home and warn the authorities? Only fanboys will look pass the massive plot holes in this film and be wowed by space ship designs and alien latex!
-
The premise is based around the idea that playing God will come and bite you on the arse. Clearly for some reason the engineers decided that the human race they created has become a threat, which you could say was their first mistake. Their second was to engineer a bio-weapon which turned on them both on this occasion on LV-233 and when a similar scenario plays out on LV-426. The result is two deliberately manufactured entities squaring up to each other repeatedly while the increasingly irrelevant creator slips into the background. I enjoyed Prometheus, it's not perfect by any stretch but it adds significance to the Alien films while playing out a parallel story. Given the timelines involved, it also appears to completely invalidate the AvP films, since the pyramid in AvP now pre-dates the evolution of the xenomorph depicted here. GOOD.
-
I think this goes back to the whole "pay attention" mantra, e.g.; "22. Why, after everything she's been through, does Noomi decide not to head back to Earth -- to warn them -- but to go off to the (presumably hostile) planet of the Engineers? Surviving on what, exactly?" It was mentioned the lifeboat offered TWO YEARS of life support.
-
Yes it is a prequel. Of course its a fucking prequel. Its this kind of fudging that really defines the film for, which throughout continually tries to 'have-its-cake-and-eat-it'. The above criticisms about this are all valid. I mean Scott's original had people spouting stuff like "I gotta get outta here this place gives me the creeps", with no sense of irony at all. So I know that this isn't going to be Shakespeare in any way. But these aren't just cliched characters in 'Prometheus', they're merely impressions of cliched characters, all placed into a plot that lurches from 'what the fuck' moment to 'what the fuck' moment. I actually like ambiguity and am happy for some things to be left hanging (i.e. the whole 'Deckard/Replicant' debate), but hopefully the mooted sequel will confirm that this isn't just poorly-conceived, dunderhead writing and directing and will put some meat on the bones of all of this. I kept on thinking all the way through the film "....it took Scott 30 years to come up with this?!?". Its a mess.
-
You won't get a response from Harry but here's my attempt. Coz' its Sunday and I'm bored and I like Q&A's :) OK this is not and apologists attempt to justify the film because, well - I agree with some of your points. But I would like to address a couple of items on your list - as perhaps it really shouldn't be 22 points long, really.... 1. Why does and android learn foreign languages by watching tapes? Surely a microchip would do the job? Isn't this just a bad writer's way of setting up his lingual skills? OK, this first point, I agree with you potentially on a real-world logic basis, considering what David is. However I want to make a point about "bad writing" here as your interpretation of bad writing is maybe different to mine. You could argue that "bad writing" (purely from the perspective of viewer comprehension) would be NOT clearly showing how David has studied linquistics in order to develop some understanding of the Engineers language. Is it a plot device? Sure it is - does it make absolute sense no in real-world terms, maybe not. But it serves its purpose effectively. Calling it "bad writing" is purely opinion, not fact. In addition to that, David's "humanity" is meant to be ambiguous in the film. How close is he to human and human-like emotions? How does he feel about us, his makers...what are his motives. I would argue that some throw-away line or scene about having language skills programming or a micro-chip would actually a) be corny and b) reveal what he is before you are meant to know and c) damage the films attempts to get you to question his humanity by making him seem undeniably "robotic". The illusion that despite being artificial that he could have a genuinely emotion-driven agenda is kinda ruined if you try to make it that obvious that he is just programming and SD Cards. 2. How can David read dreams? And why doesn't Noomi dream subjectively? Isn't this just a bad writer's way of inserting a flashback? I partially agree with you here. The "viewing people's dreams" thing was not a great device in the film just because for "near future" it was too much of a technological leap in my books. And I agree it wasn't executed with particular logic in the perspective it gave. But again, you are looking at this with a strong "geek" bias here that not every viewer would apply the exact same critique. Again - "bad writing" is subjective. You sometimes have to try and look at these things without a uber-sci-fi geek hat on. My partner, my brother, my sister - none of looked at something like this and freaked out about how bad the idea of viewing dreams was in a sci-fi movie or balked at how poorly executed they think it is. And they aren't all window-licking idiots. They watched it, accepted it, took away the message and carried on watching the film. It really only people like you and me (and the people on sites like AICN) that freak out about stuff like this. Its not a bad thing that we do it, but you still cannot call a film bad purely on the basis that it drops a bit of a logic-clanger that you and I notice - but the vast majority of average movie goers probably don't really. Its a leap they can make happily, even if you and I can't. 3. Why is Guy Pearce buried under the worst old-man make-up in recent memory? Why isn't Christopher Plummer playing this role? Agreed - the involvement of a young actor in this role - and the make-up they used was bizarre. 4. Is Vickers really a robot? If she is, why isn't she up with David while the others sleep? If not, why does the captain ask her? Isn't that just an eleventh hour attempt by the writers to invest her character with a little intrigue? Don't agree here particularly. I think Vickers was meant to appear robot-like emotionally, however I don't believe this was a genuine attempt to try and trick or confuse viewers into thinking she was an actual android. For a starters in the briefing room you are given a reaction shot from Vickers when Weyland describes David as a son - giving her some hint of genuine human emotion here. You are then shown the med-lab and lifeboat which are described as safety measures for her - something that doesn't strongly suggest she is artificial as throughout this film (with David) and the other Alien movies Androids are portrayed as not being subject to the same strong human-like "fear" for their own safety. The scene where the captain asks her if she is an android was really as much about character development for him as it was about further humanising Vickers. 5. How is that the Prometheus skims over the alien planet and almost immediately comes across the Engineers' temples? Its another issue I think hits you and me harder than it does your average movie going public. Sorry. I don't mean to whip this argument out to explain away every issue with this movie but as "issues" go - this one is pretty small. Story-telling, pacing and opportunities to show nice visuals is a good enough reason for me to suspend my disbelief here. 6. Why would the Engineers "invite" humans to their weapons base, as opposed to their home planet? We can argue until the cows come home about what is a plot hole and what is an open question however this is one of those things I'm personally not bothered about in terms having something to mull over for myself. For starters, we don't know that the "weapons base" was alway what it now appears to be. Could it have been a different kind of outpost, prior to the Engineers deciding to end humanity? Secondly we don't know that that the murals were an "invite". We only know that this is how Shaw/Holloway *interpret* them. There are plenty of other plausible theories around whether the Engineers are all entirely aligned in their goals or whether there are different factions of Scientists (guy at beginning with different kind of ship) vs, Military Engineers who could have at some point discovered humanity had been created and set about shutting the scientist Engineers down and destroying us. 7. What are those holographic recordings that come alive in the temple? Aren't they just a bad writer's excuse for setting up the next scene? Surveilance recordings? David was activating buttons. I didn't completely get it myself, I admit. 8. Why does Noomi's boyfriend suddenly turn into a reckless asshole and remove his helmet in the temple, despite all the inherent dangers? Come on, seriously? This was character development through and through. His character was meant to be impetuous, bold, risk-taking. They scanned the air during the scene and could see it was apparently safe and breathable. This for me was not an out-of-character moment for an excited explorer, scientist and archaeologist. Noomi was yelling at him not to do it. Its not like the film-makers completely ignored the fact this was a dangerous thing for one of the team to do. It was obviously nuts to do it - other members of the team agreed. So him going ahead and doing it despite the protests didn't phase me one single iota, sorry. 9. How do the two guys who decide to leave get so easily lost in the temple, when back on the Prometheus there's a hologram of the full temple showing everyone's position? And everyone else gets out so easily? Unexplained and I agree - somewhat odd and not that believable as a plot device. 10. Why do none of the scientists act like scientists? Why does a geologist act like a douche? Why does a biologist approach a potentially dangerous alien creature like it's a fluffy lamb? Again, this was one of my biggest issues with the movie. Character archetypes not acting particularly believably. At points this film went down to "slasher-movie" levels of stupid decision making with its characters (though I maintain my response to question 8 in this respect). The geologist however had already been established in prior scenes as being a douche. I'm not sure about the relevance of asking "why is he a douche", here tbh. 11. How can the Engineer's decapitated head be still alive after thousands of years? And why does it explode? Firstly, it wasn't alive - it was preserved in the room. Secondly they didn't make it come alive - they tried to trick its preserved nervous system into believeing it was still alive. In the scene they even ask themslves "why did it explode" I think. My theory is that it exploded because whilst shut in the room it had come into contact with the goo in the room and it was infected. Hence when the nervous system was shocked, the mutation effects of the goo = head explosion. 12. Why does David, when he wants to die, insist on getting torched by Vickers? Why doesn't he just remove his helmet (which he's already proved so good at)? Assume you mean Holloway not David. Because that doesn't develop Vickers character, the way the scene was intended, nor does it create drama or high-action. And maybe Holloway sensed that he was mutating or that he needed to be to be torched to destory the organism/infection. 13. Why does David toss some of the growth goo in Noomi's boyfriend's drink? To see what happens? If so, why does he then basically tell Noomi that's she's got a monster inside of her (while being at pains to conceal the medical imaging from her)? Isn't that just a bad writer's way of imparting knowledge to one of the characters? He tosses it in Holloways drink to see what the effects are. An experiment. I don't really connect that decision with any kind of logic gap around how he later handles Shaw's impregnation? 14. Why does Noomi remove the squid fetus and then not kill it? Surely not because it just needs to be around at the ending? And how does it grow fifty times its size without any sustenance (an old ALIEN plothole, admittedly)? Shaw hits the "decontamination" button - which she obviously believes has killed it as she watches whilst it stops moving and leaves the med-lab. ???? This was not a logic gap - it was clear she believed her actions had destroyed it. Re. the growth - well, you said it yourself. Thats an age old Alien issue. 15. How can a woman who's just performed a major operation on herself recover so absurdly quickly? Agreed - I also personally felt her recovery was a little too miraculous. 16. Why do Weyland and co just let her tag along on their jaunt to the temple? For that matter, why make the jaunt to the temple when it's such a manifestly dangerous place? Why not send David down there to negotiate with the Engineers? I clearly can't answer this - this was the writers and Ridley story decision. Could they have done it differently? Sure. At this point in the movie David and Weyland don't agree that the Engineers are evil and they want to meet them. 17. How come there's an Engineer still alive? And why does this massively advance lifeforce, when he does come back to life, only start storming around Frankenstein's monster? 16 and 17 really aren't questions someone other than Ridley can respond to, are they. The engineer clearly had a mission to carry out and picked it up where it left off once he was awoken. David entered the bridge and identified one that was still preserved in cryo-stasis. Perhaps he had made it into cryo before all the others were killed, and there he stayed until now. 18. How does the captain suddenly and inexplicably come up with an explanation for the purpose of the planet? And where does his sudden kamikaze altruism come from, except from bad writing? I wasn't sure about this either. I can only assume that those ball things finally finished mapping the pyramid and something about the completed pyramid map revealed the ships or the nature of their mission. 19. Why does Vickers exit the ship separately from her lifeboat-suite? Surely not so she can be quickly killed off while the squid survives? And why does she run into the path of the falling ship? Fuck knows - this was another area I didn't like. I generally didn't like Vickers exit at all. 20. How does David know everything that's going on, even though he's lying decapitated in the temple? Can't answer this as I'm not sure what exactly you are saying he knows that he couldn't know from the bridge. He knows the engineer left the bridge after the crash - how does he know its gone after Noomi? I don't know. A guess... lol 21. How does the Engineer survive the crash? And when he does, why is his first action not to get into another of the ships, but to thunder in after Noomi like Jason from FRIDAY THE 13th? We're up to 21 now and I think we're getting to the point where you just don't like parts of the story - as opposed to pointing out fundamental issues with the movie. He presumably survived because a) he was in his protective bio mech suit and b) maybe because they are clearly large, strong beings and able to survive a crash like that. The crash was obviously concussive/kinetic rather than devastating as the ship crashes but is largely in tact. Why he chases Noomi, I cannot say. 22. Why, after everything she's been through, does Noomi decide not to head back to Earth -- to warn them -- but to go off to the (presumably hostile) planet of the Engineers? Surviving on what, exactly? Look, if you haven't understood by now that Noomi's character is on a quest "for answers", then you really did not get the movie at all. And heh, thats OK. Noomi has no family left and her bf is dead. She wants answers and heads off to find them. If I remember rightly there is some kind of scene between her telling David they are going to Jockey Prime and the scene where you see them take off in the other ship (was it the Alien chest-burst scene? can't remember). But the scene in the middle makes the timing of their departure unclear and so its possible they salvaged supplies before leaving. Or you know what, maybe they didn't and they just through fuck it "Road Trip" and off they went.
-
"Father" If you do not roll your eyes when you hear it in context, you will probably like this movie.
-
You are talking utter crap Harry! The film is shit! dont bother with the look for the signs, fill in the blanks, talk with friends bollocks! It is a SHIT film! If it goes to DVD or Bluray it wont sell many copies and as for the 3d element that was utter utter utter shit! One of the worst films I have seen in a while. Terrible.
-
if you want to engage him in discussion, he doesn't encourage you to use the talkbacks on his own site, but to hit him up via twitter.
-
Come on this is not a review at all you obviously have mixed feelings about this film its obvious from how little you wrote about it I suppose Fox have some nice expensive banner ads next week........... Every time you sell-out AICN loses even more credibility. You love the pacing yet its 124 mins long & for approx 60 mins of that little happens no exposition no action just boring slow camera moves & tv quality confusing dialog.
-
RT aggregates a range of critics, some not very discriminating. Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Empire are serious. But tell you what, let's wait for the New Yorker, NYT and Rolling Stone
-
"A true prequel should essentially proceed [sic] the events of the original film, but be about something entirely different, feature different characters, have an entirely different theme, although it takes place in that same world." sounds like prometheus to me...
-
except for being set in the same universe, having an android on the ship, a duplicitous company stooge, chestbursters, facehuggers, a game of cat and mouse with a monstrous creature... really got away from all those old tropes eh? why people are comparing it to that old 70s monster flick is beyond me... what a bunch of idiots. i'm sure prometheus is a million times better. oh yeah and it has philisophical shit, you know like you learned about in high school and shit, dude.
-
http://i.imgur.com/e7brT.jpg sure Harry, this isn't a prequel and has absolutely NOTHING to do with Alien, minus an android, the theme music, Space Jockey, going to an LV planet, the derelict, Weyland, acid blood, oh and this little chap that shows up at the end! Nope! Nothing at all connected with Alien.
-
We get overcritical with great anticipation. Looking beyond the the unclear "hiccups" with what relation it has with Alien. Its a great film that doesn't spoon feed us answers. Its themes about existence, creator and creation generate a lot of questions that are very exciting. The goal of the film is to leave this lasting affect rather than tie loose ends. Maybe they could have made no link to the Alien universe at all and kept it as an original picture but with the financial gain of appealing to the broad masses with it being a pseudo-prequel or whatever they call it from the director of the original Alien seems like a " cha'ching / light bulb" idea to me. I wish Sir Ridley could have pulled off what Christopher Nolan did with Inception. Sold it with his name alone!
-
Prometheus is a meditation on the origin of life. Consider the nature of replication when watching this film and observe the parallel between narrative and theme. Alien and Prometheus are mirror images of one another. In both films the protagonists respond to an alien signal and in both films that signal is misconstrued. The crew are eliminated one by one leaving only the heroin who vanquishes her enemy by exposing it to the cruelty of nature. In both films the central argument is presented by a purportedly emotionless android and in both films that android would seem to have its own agenda in spite of its fealty to the company. We are asked to accept faith and emotion as the crowning attributes of our species yet the consequences of their defense is presented as folly. Ridley Scott wants us to recognize that we, like our ancestors, are nothing more than copies of copies of copies and that with each generation subtle variations are introduced that create the illusion of originality. He wants us to understand evolution and our role within it, that we too, like the robots, like the Engineers, will one day be replaced. Both of his films are deeply cynical and yet, ultimately optimistic. They are a clarion call to accept our frailty and impermanence and to continue fighting for conservation and primacy in spite of them. That life is a never ending cycle of creation and death, impregnation and decay is a thing to be recognized and then, rallied against. For if we do not then we are nothing more than a blueprint for the next iteration. Just as Alien was the blueprint for Prometheus and the Engineer was a blueprint for man, so too is the information contained within nature a blueprint for all of creation and as sentient emotional consequences of that information it behooves us to decide how we wish participate in that tapestry. We can accept it and perish or we can turn and fight. Prometheus is awesome but its not Alien. It is a variation, a mutation if you will. It wants to teach you something. If you are prepared to think you will appreciate what it is trying to say. However, if you desire simplicity and emotional satisfaction then perhaps you should watch something more comfortable. Just don't impose your naivety on me.
-
June 3, 2012, 7:02 a.m. CST
I've got a novel idea. If you don't want us to think its a prequel to A L I E N, don't set it in the same fucking universe!
by Mark Bromhead
Saw it yesterday and it reminded me a lot of a high end stripper. Damn fine to look at but as soon as you scratch the surface, there's a world of problems.
-
that some issues relate to people not really paying attention - but in gentleman's defense, they didn't actually leave on the lifeboat! In fact they escaped the creature and the engineer leaving THEM on the lifeboat - with Noomi seemingly taking nothing with her except David's body. So its not the lifeboat that is supporting them. They left the planet on Engineer ship. However its possible that before leaving the planet they did salvage supplies from somewhere else - Prometheus wreckage, perhaps. Also, as the engineers were genetically similar to us, she could use the cryo-stasis chamber on the Engineer ship to sustain her for the trip. Answered a few of gentleman's points. I agree with him on some issues. Some points I think relate to stuff he didn't notice and others just relate to story elements he just didn't like (which is fair enough). My motives in responding to him were really boredom, in addition to the fact that I don't really think he had 22 completely valid points. I liked Prometheus, although it did have several issues that were undeniable. I still didn't hate it like others seem to (AICN hating on a movie - who'd a thunk it!). I thought it was a solide 7.5/10. Not amazing - not awful - just... decent. Expectations were high, so I get the back-lash to some extent (especially on a site like this, where it really is not that surprising) but I do think there are some terrible "drama queen" responses to the movie that are WAY out of proportion.
-
couldn't work out if he was playing grampa from the texas chainsaw massacre or monty burns. worst makeup i ever did see - his hands were untouched but his face looked like my ballbag. worst thing about this flick ? I'll never be able to look at the space jockey in Alien in the same way ever again ... and that is a damn shame . Oh and it's called a fucking abortion NOT a Caesarian. That was flat out embarrasing middle America.
-
it was meant to be a Queen right? That's why they gave it the characteristic mouth movement of the Queen we know from the other Alien films. You don't actually see the inner-snapper in the film, but its mouth is given a kind of forward-distending movement that the Queens have that the worker Aliens don't. Just wondered if anyone else had noticed that....
-
Saw the film yesterday so here my thoughts: Ok, so let's assume that the Engineers arrived on Earth to 'seed' it. Now forgive me if I'm wrong, but in those opening vista shots, didn't we seen greenery? So we can assume that what they tend to do is show up in a place were the amino acids have already started to form proteins and then DNA, all they do is stick some black goop in the mix and thus steer the evolutionary process to come up with humanoids. So then they turn up 35,000BC and hang out with some cave painters on the Isle Of Skye and give them a star map. Then they keep coming back every now and then and give the same star map to some other ancient cultures. Noomi's right in saying it's an invitation. Right, so basically they keep coming back and checking on us and probably haven't done for about 2000 years. Hmm, now what was going on about 2000 years ago? False gods. Romans, Greeks, Christians... essentially we stopped believing the big tall dudes who keep showing up. So one of the Engineers goes back home and says, "Hey, they don't worship us anymore" and the rest of them all go "WAH! Kill the dicks!" So they head to LV 233 where the military base is and they're about to send a ship off to Earth full of nasty biomech goop that will essentially cause a mass extinction and reset the evolutionary process. So, basically by now, the invitation is out-of-date and they've totally unfriended us on Facebook. However in the process of doing this, some shit goes wrong, perhaps some black goop gets out and they have to evac (the hologram record), leaving one dude behind in stasis. About 2000 yrs later, Noomi Rapace shows up being all sexy like and throws her squidbaby at the remaining Engineer. Then Fass-Bender B. Rodriguez is all like, "Bite my shiny latex head... oh, and there's more ships." This implies that the Engineers have been seeding other planets and keep getting all pissed off when they suddenly start worshiping a Coke can or something. We can then assume that the ship on LV 426 is one of those ships that had already taken off, maybe in the evac of 2000 yrs ago. We know that the Space Jockey had a chestburster wound, so it's likely that during the contamination that caused the evac something went wrong and black goop infected the Space Jockey, burst out and started laying Eggs in the cargo hold. I daresay that if Kain hadn't managed to get himself facehugged, then he'd find the actual cargo hold, full of black goop vases. So, yeah, it's completely a prequel to Alien, but one that requires you to fill in the blanks yourself. Just because it's not all laid out on screen for you doesn't mean it didn't happen. Filmmakers make films, not explanations. Ridley Scott has made a film that lives in the same universe as Alien, without being directly related to it; in the same way that Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction are in the same universe without having a connecting storyline. That said, I thought that many parts of Prometheus are flawed. Charlize Theron's character, for example: she's obviously the company stooge, ala Burke, meant to be unlikeable, so you should be glad when she get squashed by a rotating banana ship, but she hardly does anything reprehensible, except maybe have her own lifeboat. Hardly grounds for hating her. I award this movie a grand 7/10, good effort - hardly the masterpiece we were expecting.
-
June 3, 2012, 7:15 a.m. CST
Its a prequel. End of. Anyone that pretends it's "something different" is being a pretentious asshole.
by Magic01273
The jockeys, the androids, the tech, the evil company, the Alien at the end (duh!). Its a prequel. Its not just set "in the same universe" - this film is is sat squarely on the Alien franchise's face and is jumping up and down on it. Get it?
-
June 3, 2012, 7:15 a.m. CST
It seems like Harry's review is way too reserved and prepared for apologist defense mode.
by vorlonkosh
That alone makes me think this flick may be a letdown. I'll have to see it to judge. I just hate the idea of throwing time and money at a bad movie.
-
I'm left not really knowing what the film is about, if it works and whether or not it's something I would like to see. In fairness though, 99% of reviewers seem to be making the same mistake with this particular film from what I've read. Most are just diving right in without treating their audience as a blank slate that needs to be INFORMED about the film.
-
Harry doesn't review films. He reviews how he felt watching it.
-
Why the same Alien universe? Ridley can use the exact same script in a totally different settings. Just use new designs, no Weyland and everything. Ridley (you?) want the audience to forget the Alien movies but then why the "subtle" connection or as Ridley says "DNA"? It's very obvious, they have always want us to think of Alien so they can pull the crowd in.
-
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents If that does not tell you a lot about this movie (remember John Carter came out very quickly as well) you are oblivious to what is going on & how much PR spin is being deployed to grab your hard earned cash for this movie. http://www.amazon.com/Prometheus-Blu-ray-DVD-Digital-Copy/dp/B005LAIHY0/ref=sr_tr_sr_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1338726495&sr=8-3
-
Go and see the film - if nothing else, see it so you can join in on the discussion. Whether you like it or whether you hate it - the visuals alone are enough to justify the cost of a ticket I think. Its a good looking film. I'm an Alien fan - and a sci-fi fan (and not all that easily pleased in my opinion) and I thought it was overall a decent film. Its not perfect, there are issues - but in spite of these I didn't hate it.
-
Not spoon fed but more implicit in both imagery and subtext. I had the same misgivings about that last shot, a token gesture to the Alien fans; and a pretty weak proto-xenomorph design to boot. That said I can't wait to see where this new franchise goes.
-
Saw this the other day in UK. The IMAX 3D is very dissapointing with no depth at all so dont expect Avatar 3D. Now the movie is not a horror, it will not make you jump look away or feel terrified. You do have to not think of Alien to enjoy it because if you expect horror your not going to get it. This is a thriller and a beautiful looking one. The last shot is the alien bursting from the chest of our creators, and to be honest i dont really know what Harry is talking about with the "what the f***" moment ???? Like i say an enjoyable film if your going to watch a thriller. If your going to watch an Alien horror you will be dissapointed.
-
Harry liked it = it's rubbish. Honestly, this is a new low point for AICN. At least Drew had the balls to call it a turd.
-
that's about all this movie is worth.
-
Yes both my wife and I noticed the Queen-like characteristic jaw of the Proto-Xeno at the ned of the flick :)
-
It's a prequel the same way the Phantom Menace is a prequel to A New Hope, it doesn't directly connect, but with 2 more episodes -which Scott has all ready proposed- it will. Prometheus is not as bad as the Phantom Menace but that doesn't make it a good film either.
-
June 3, 2012, 8:15 a.m. CST
HOW DO THE PREDATORS FIT INTO ALL THIS?
by big_dicks_cum_from_small_beginnings
-
I had the pleasure of watching he film on Friday on its UK release. I enjoyed it and it has kept me thinking about it ever since. I did not however think it was a wonderful film. The characters often tended to do stupid things for no reason and it was diffinately riddled with plot holes. Many other people are talking about these so I will not discuss them here. The one thing that so far have not see discussed is the historic star maps found. Why do these maps all point to a place that Is clearly not the Engineer homeworld but would in fact appear to be some sort of weapons dump. This makes on sense to me. Can you or anyone clear it up of me Harry.
-
You owe magic a very big and honest thank you. You posted up a LOT of questions in a trolling attempt to discredit PROMETHEUS and he answered very one of them for you in a gracious and intelligent way. He took you to school. Say thank you. Hopefully you can watch the film again armed with the knowledge to actually comprehend what you are seeing.
-
Harry's either watched a different film, been bribed to stop the negativity about the film or he's an asshole. Prometheus is well made yes and looks good but it completely fails in what it tries to achieve. It's a real missed opportunity too. The last hour is some of the worse scripting I've witnessed (so in the future a woman can deliver her own cesarian and be running around 2 minutes later? and not a hard warrior woman but a scientist?). I applaud the film for trying to be bigger than most hollywood films and do whats ci-fi shoudl do which is ask questions but this film fails miserably and instead asks questions and thne never even attempts to answer them but instead gives silly shots that are meant to make you think 'what did that mean...' The 3D looks good though, adds a lot of depth. And it is a prequel otherwise the last shot makes completely no sense.
-
the desperate 'please can we have a sequel' ending is reminiscent of Predators, not to mention AVP with the 'birth'
-
ALIEN 4 IS BETTER THAN THIS TURD WTF?!
-
if he thinks sci fi fans aren't going to look at this film as an Alien prequel. "This is rumor control and here are the facts." Prometheus takes place in the same universe as the Alien films, it has a SJ ship like the one from the previous films, it has an actual SJ in it, it has acid bleeding aliens in it, it has the Weyland company in it, it has an android like Ash, it has a proto face-hugger and a proto-Xeno type thingie in it, and etc etc etc. So Ridley puts all of this in the film and yet he insists that we watch this movie without thinking of it as a prequel? WTF? o_0 I'm sorry Ridley but if you wanted it to be separate from the Alien films, you shouldn't have even had it take place in the same universe, let alone put in all of these other specific tie-ins. And Harry...why aren't you the one bringing up all of these facts? You aren't in bed with Ridley for an interview are you? Now having said that, I'm not saying Prometheus is a bad film. I'm simply saying that it's unreasonable to expect it's critics to not compare it to Alien when it clearly was made, whether Ridley will admit it or not, as a tie-in to Alien. Now the real question is will Ridley have the balls to specifically say that the inevitable sequel will be a prequel to Alien or will he dance around the subject like he's been doing with Prometheus? Time will tell.
-
Harry says you are not a prequel to Alien. Even though you are.
-
What Kingdom of Heaven was to Gladiator. The acting was kind of okay. There are plotholes, particularly during action scenes, in form of story logic being sacrificed for the sake of cheap tension. The visual effects and production design are exquisite. During the second half the story which was promising started to lose its momentum and built up to an ending that can only be described as absolutely terrible. This movie was released here in Holland last week, and before it started we were asked repeatedly not to use any recording devices during this film. After it ended we were given a ballot where we could answer a few questions, for example how we would rate the movie from 1 to 10. From our group, eight in total, none of us rated it higher than a 7.
-
...was better than the script for Prometheus. And that truly, truly PAINS me to say that. Lindelof has a lot to answer for.
-
I'm sorry, but I've watched this film twice now, and it is a complete and utter mess. Entertaining but ultimately empty. I understand what Harry is saying when he says that you should purge Alien et al from your mind going in but the problem with this is that the script doesn't. The "Alien DNA", so to speak, appears to have been more pronounced in an earlier draft and is never fully excised from the film Scott made. So, while you want to immerse yourself in what is happening on screen, too many cues make you think of Alien (these are not just myth or symbol-based; they are there in the technology, and so on). It also doesn't help that, with only a few exceptions, the characters are two-dimensional; and, while, yes, you will talk about the film endlessly with your friends, the aspects of Alien that the film plays with (and it does) completely confuse the newer elements that Scott and co have introduced here. There is no internal logic at work here and it is so utterly confounding. A really bad film. Sad-face.
-
Nobody was really raving about Kingdom of Heaven when that was released, and thats one of the best movies ever made in my eyes. But then again, Robin Hood was a total bore and letdown. PLEASE BE GOOD!!! That sound of the ship crashing in the latest tv clip is haunting me.
-
I hope you enjoy it, mate, even if I didn't. It's better than Robin Hood (by virtue of the fact it's sci-fi and entertaining) but not fit to lick the blood off Kingdom of Heaven's sword, sadly.
-
I think your missing the point .this is a movie . Here are some fundamental instruments in conducting a half decent movie. Acting=Poor. Music=Bad. Story=interesting but badly executed. Dialogue = Poor. Ending= Insulting. 3D and Sets= Very Good. Unfortunately 3d and sets a good movie do not make. Dont use large words to convince yourself this is a good movie,it's not art believe me. It is merely a movie that lost its way .
-
It's fucking stupid to use the same ship, character names, et all if it's not supposed to be setting this all up. Why not just create a different looking ship, not use Weyland, etc? I'm sure the movie is amazing, but it will always disappoint slightly because it LOOKS like an Alien movie. Names, ships, sets. It's all VERY Alien. It SHOULD be setting up Alien. It really takes the wind out of my sails that it doesn't.
-
The only character really worth a damn in Prometheus is Fassbender's David - the fucking android - and the best part of the film is a wonderful montage of him going about his daily routine. The rest are fucking dicks!
-
June 3, 2012, 8:54 a.m. CST
Imagine if Bishop was the only character we cared about in Aliens!
by AnalFissure
Uh-huh! Someone please send Ridley Scott to the retirement home so he can't fuck-up Blade Runner!
-
completely agree with this guy. The film was poor and the ending was an insult. Bow your head in shame Ridley Scott.
-
June 3, 2012, 8:58 a.m. CST
'the best part of the film is a wonderful montage of him going about his daily routine'.
by tomdolan04
They should do a 2hour prequel of him going about his business in this manner. <p> I'm serious. It would be a more intelligent sci-fi experience than what we got. <p> Lindelof: 'You see Ash became just a talking head. Then Bishop basically got ripped apart and became a talking head in 3. We needed David to just become a talking head but again draw no comparisons to the Alien saga because we're not...' OH DO FUCK OFF.
-
Don't watch the theatrical version. Followed closely by Alien and Blade Runner.
-
June 3, 2012, 9:07 a.m. CST
'This is sloppy, pedestrian film making masquerading as intelligent and thought provoking.' - So PROMETHEUS is JUST LIKE LOST then, isn't it?
by gruntybear
And with Lindelhof involved, there's no wonder the script sucks. ALL of LOST sucked just as hard. Half-baked ideas woven around a collection of brain-dead pretty person cast members. Why am I not surprised?
-
I appreciate your well-mannered attempt at answering those questions I posed. Personally I think any movie of this sort is bound to have a plot hole or two (or three). Sometime we can just overlook them as poetic license (as you've clearly done). Point is, when there are too many -- and there are an inordinate amount in PROMETHEUS -- they just drag the film down to the point that you no longer have any respect for it. Some clarifications. Yes, I meant Holloway. David motives remain inscrutable throughout. So he wants to see what happens if Holloway is infected (marking him manipulative, Ash-like). Yet when examining Noomi why does he tell her she's got a monster inside her? Why not just get her frozen and shipped back to Earth (as Ash would have done)? Anyway you cut it, his motives are not well drawn. So Noomi thought she'd killed the squid? Correct me if I'm wrong, but when she enters the lifeboat-suite at the end, she picks up an axe and heads cautiously for the medilab, as if expecting something monstrous to be there? Vickers' lifeboat with two year supplies seems pretty pointless anyway. How long would it take to mount a rescue mission? magic01273, there are way too many half-baked, half-assed things going on in this movie for you -- or anyone else intelligent -- to spend so much time rationalising it. It's not a grandly mysterious movie like 2001. It's a irredeemable piece of schlock which ends with the heroine opening a door and screaming "DIE" as the absurdly large squid monster springs out and kills the absurdly stupid Engineer. Only to jet off in an alien ship to the last place she'd be welcome. As a baby xenomorph bursts out of the Engineer's corpse. Schlock. Schlock. Schlock. Cobra-kai, you're just a fool.
-
June 3, 2012, 9:10 a.m. CST
Sounds like there's a shot at the end that reminds everyone it's just another fox alien film
by UltraTron
-
June 3, 2012, 9:11 a.m. CST
Maybe you were expecting something different from your alien movie set in the alien universe with nothing but alien universe stuff all over the movie
by UltraTron
-
might disagree with the dude, but he's a good talkbacker. respect where it's due.
-
I enjoyed it as a spectacle, it's technically brilliant no doubt. But the film has some blatant flaws. The characters; there's too many of them and - aside from Rapace, Fassbender and Theron - almost all of them are interchangeable. You tell me which one is Ravel or Chance without looking it up on IMDB. The film is 126 minutes long but we never get any kind of character development except for what Lindelof considers "witty" banter. The characters do not seem to relate to one another either. Every time something happens - Fifield's attack, Shaw's abortion of the alien foetus - it's like it all happens in a vacuum. There is no real sense of lives being in jeopardy because we don't know enough about the characters and they themselves couldn't care less about each other or what's going on around them. Look I know it's not set out to be a Robert Altman film but regardless of what genre you venture into you better work on the characters in order to draw in the audience emotionally. I found that lacking. Again the film is beautiful to behold and Scott is the master of creating alien worlds. But in MY opinion "Prometheus" doesn't work as anything but just a visual spectacle. It sets itself out to be an "ideas" film but every single idea, except for the main premise, is undercooked. That's typical of Lindelof and that might explain why he's going back to writing for television because there you can just throw in ideas without worrying too much about how they tie together. Considering that Scott has proved in the past he can flesh out characters (see Thelma and Louise) it is disappointing how he rushes the film just to deliver some pretty images and the odd intense scene. And come on Harry even you can tell the film is being marketed as an Alien movie, - the evidence is abundant: the trailers (the Alien font, the same score from the original Alien trailer), the various images of the Space jockey, the crescent spaceship (all available to the public before the film is released). I'm not shitting on your review Harry, I've been a fan of Ridley Scott for decades and I didn't go into it wanting or expecting a carbon copy of Alien. I wanted to see something new. Hell I wouldn't have complained if he had thrown all Alien references out the window. But "Prometheus" remains for me a missed opportunity, because despite its scope it feels like a hollow vessel.
-
I find it fascinating when people like Harry, who, if nothing else, are enthusiasts, confuse plot-holes with profundity. Prometheus makes no fucking sense whatsoever. If you pay attention to it, as Harry implores, you may in fact lose your mind. Nothing adds up. Just one example: There is no logic to the way in which the primordial goo (I don't know what else to call it) works. It mutates; it impregnates; it destroys etc. Whereas, in other Alien films, the life-cycle was kept pretty intact, there are no guiding principles to how the goo works here, other than it functioning in whichever way the director and writers see fit. This is so horribly lazy on their part.
-
June 3, 2012, 9:23 a.m. CST
State if the art ship, 15 crew, 1 life pod... genius!
by CeejayNightwing
-
See what I did there?
-
Because he's blinding himself to what the majority can see, an appalling, badly written mess of a film. The main flaw for me runs throughout the film, nothing has consequence. Fifield gets mutated, his attack on the ship is stopped in the cargo bay. Pointless strand. Holloway doesn't even make it onto the ramp. Pointless strand. Shaw gets infected but removes the creature. Pointless strand. People who we don't care about die. We meet our makers, but the revelation is ruined by the opening scene. They hate us, but we don't know why. Something destroys the engineers but we don't know what. Shaw flies off to Engineer Prime but her reasons are shaky, the logic is flawed. Weyland appears only to walk into the temple and die. Pointless strand. This was at least 2 rewrites away from being a workable script, and great imagery (NOT great creature design/FX though) and some clever use of greek mythology doth not a good film make. This for me was on par with Pandorum. OK, but forgettable.,
-
Hey, RS directed two of my three favorite sci fi movies of alll time so Im just glad hes back where he belongs. Im not going in thinking about the connection to Alien either, I just want to see some grownup (more or less) sci fi that doesnt think the audience is a bunch of idiots. Blade Runner, 2001, Alien, Silent Running and maybe the first 2/3's of Sunshine and maybe Prometheus. Ill know for sure next week.
-
It's pretty bad...not Phantom Menace bad but not far off either. Quite what they were thinking off in some scenes if beyond me - during the final scene the audience in the Cinema actually laughed. The biggest dissapointment is the "what I really want to do is scare the shit out of you" intention from Ridley - he fails. Miserably. I can't even see how he thought that this mess may even be remotely scary. These talkbacks will be interesting when it opens in the States in a few days...
-
this is Alien lite for kidz.
-
June 3, 2012, 9:34 a.m. CST
So do ta Alien's seed worlds in order to grow 'food' colonies to one day in the future come back and chow down on?
by even9
I know little to nothing nothing about the Alien universe, ( i may have seen the one they talked about in relation to the Matrix sequels at the time, i can remember imagery bits of aliens & people having to swim in water but not much else) but the above plot driver would be a truely way out foundational B grade sci-fi serial. Then you could do all these different worlds & their advanced cultures slowly catching up to the scheme of being invaded by this cannibalizing alien species, with some advanced off world human types coming to Earth to warn a future Earth society & seek volunteers, and then have like a futuristic war in a futuristic planet of all these different planet civilisations making a stand against this carnivorous alien species that's being doing the same trick evolving them for millions of years & then when ripe chowing down, after which they go into deep hibernations for millions of years, as this is the only way they can survive, repeating the same thing to diff. worlds ad naseum. Kind of like a freaky backwards Frankenstein inter-galactic space odyssey? I've got no idea what i just typed!
-
June 3, 2012, 9:36 a.m. CST
Harry -- it's "character archetypes" not "character arc types".
by jawsfan
-
It's not intelligent sci-fi unfortunately. It's really schlocky trash that is not fit to be in the company of the films you mention in your excellent list.
-
...don't expect Alien redux or a direct prequel. This film is much more fun when you just open your mind to it. Like I wrote in my mini-review, this film isn't perfect, it is a rough diamond. I stand by that - it's a beautiful visual journey movie, only let down by a script that rushes from point a-to-b without observing some basic plotting rules and without addressing the characters properly, or at all in some cases. What it most certainly is, is a return to R-rated big question SF in a Summer Hollywood cycle and that needs to be supported by anyone serious about SF, or serious about good movies. Otherwise just let Michael Bay have the keys to the Kingdom and make even more 'clanking balls' braindead dross. Keep cool, Ummphoo
-
it has quite a few flaws, some of the characters are very weak, a fair share of the dialogue is a bit clunky, a few too many philosophical discussions, the music was too bombastic, and a clearer story line could have been drawn up but overall it's a hugely rewarding film, it's very ambitious both thematically and in it's scope, there are awe inspiring moments, breathtaking visuals, the design is immaculate, Fassbender creates a new iconic sic-fi character, there are lovely nods and evocations to the original and other classic films The amount of love for the original and the huge hype surrounding prometheus meant that the film was never going to meet expectations. But I do think that given time, Prometheus will stand proudly next the first two alien films. I also have a sneaking suspicion that there is a more satisfying cut of the film out there and that hopefully the public will get to see it
-
...as follows: 2001: A Space Odyssey Planet of the Apes Forbidden Planet Metropolis Alien The Abyss (directors cut) The Day the Earth Stood Still (Wiseman) Star Trek: The Motion Picture The Omega Man The Blob (original) The Thing (Carpenter) Blade Runner Silent Running Akira Logans Run The Iron Giant Total Recall Starship Troopers Dark Star Solyent Green Westworld 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Brainstorm Inception Aliens Lifeforce Terminator 1 + 2 Dr Who (as a genre) Star Trek (as a genre) Star Wars (as a genre) Prometheus Keep cool, Ummphoo
-
Rapace is great in this movie but this whole scene is superb. Fassbender is also really great in the film and he does steal it. It's quite a slow burner but then all the shit kicks off and it's pretty tense. Especially when Fifield turns up outside the ship. The ending seemed abit rushed and I don't know what to make of the 'fanboy' ending but it's definately a 2nd viewing film. It looks gorgeous and is very grand in scope. I hope we get the next installment. When it comes to Sci Fi, Ridley Scott always makes movies that make us think and he's done it again. Just don't go into it expecting it to be like Alien and you'll enjoy it for what it is.
-
June 3, 2012, 10:04 a.m. CST
Great review Harry. I agree with everything, including the criticism of the ending, so out of place, and forced. Awesome movie
by FreeBeer
-
June 3, 2012, 10:17 a.m. CST
@zapano, 5secondfuse and freebeer... "Did IQ's just drop sharply while I was away?".
by RoaringInYourCleavage
Irony... you guys are fucking MASTERS! I mean, you're being ironic, right? There's no possible way you could have thought this gorgeous looking clusterfuck of a movie is in any way a well plotted, character driven masterpiece with a couple of minor scripting *flaws*? You really are fucking kidding, am I right? All this second-hand "interpretation" and fanboy apoplogising is a joke, yes? "Did IQ's just drop sharply while I was away?". Looks like they have...
-
June 3, 2012, 10:19 a.m. CST
I love how all the PRO reviews are actually just a list of things that are wrong with it eg..
by Fortunesfool
Just seen it. It's Excellent. Yeah the scripts shit, its boring and largely nonsensical, only one of the characters is actually likeable. I suppose the ending is rubbish but, yeah it awesome.
-
June 3, 2012, 10:23 a.m. CST
Regarding Noomi - I'm with Drew's review on that. I just don't "get" her. She was serviceable (ahem) as the heroin in this, but she leaves me cold generally.
by Magic01273
-
June 3, 2012, 10:24 a.m. CST
roaringyoourcleavage, no need to be insulting, everyone's entitled to their opinion. You have yours, I have mine. Fanboy apologising? What is there to apologise for? Prometheus is great...
by FreeBeer
...People going so far as calling it Worst Movie Ever" just bring to mind Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. People not liking it I get, but Worst Movie Ever? Ridiculous. I enjoyed it, my friends enjoyed it, many critics enjoyed it. Just because you didn't you insult everyone that did? Whatever, as if i give a flying turd what you think.
-
Zapano and 5secondfuse, I really feel the same way as you two guys. Nice mini reviews, and I also agree that perhaps an extended cut will tip PROMETHEUS from being a good film into a great one. Coolbritannia, thx for what you said too.
-
June 3, 2012, 10:31 a.m. CST
CALL IT A GUT FEELING BUT I KNEW SOMETHING WAS BAD ABOUT THIS MOVIE WHEN
by big_dicks_cum_from_small_beginnings
I saw that Coors tie-in commercial. Thirst for knowledge, thirst for a cold beer? Really?!
-
The only thing that I felt a bit of a groan over was the two guys getting lost... However this is NOT a plot hole, it's a well worn (too well worn) plot device in the genre, where the group get separated and one or two secondary characters get picked off. PROMETHEUS wasn't the first to do this and it certainly won't be the last (Brett going to look for the cat in ALIEN or Parker and lambert being sent off to load supplies).
-
most of the negative reviews have come from the fucking moron reviewers that go in with a closed mind. They want to see Alien/Aliens, and when they don't get that they throw a tantrum. If you want to see a good and interesting movie go see Prometheus. If you want to see Alien or Aliens, then stay at home, and watch your Blu-ray or dvd of those movies.
-
June 3, 2012, 10:44 a.m. CST
Prometheus is to Alien what Chronicles of Riddick is to Pitch Black !
by jason john
-
It has nothing to do with having expectations of an Alien movie and the reviews I've seen ding it for genuine script issues like dialogue and characterisation and not because it's not Alien. For me it was obvious there were problems - I even laughed a few times - but it wasn't enough to make me hate it. I just felt it fell short of its potential. It's obvious, though, that people have different tolerance levels for this kind of thing. If you liked JJ's Star Trek, you'll LOVE this movie. If you wondered wtf everybody was smoking not to have seen what a god awful mess JJ's Star Trek was, you're probably going to disappointed with Prometheus (maybe even hate it). While nowhere near as bad as Star Trek, it suffers from a similar sort of superficiality, lack of attention to the script and oddness of tone. <SPOILER> That said, the movie pretty much directly ties to Alien. It's not the same planet or ship but there's more than one planet and more than one ship and there's many vases full of all manner of different biological weapons. Alien could have easily happened after this movie with another one of these ships headed somewhere (maybe Earth) that crashed. I think the idea behind the big storage room with the vases is that each one contains a different kind of monster.
-
I think it says more about you (as a cliche' typical AICN talkback troll) than it does about me that you scoff at people like myself, who liked the film overall, despite the fact I can identify and agree with some of its flaws. I personally believe the script had some issues and that there were times when the characters acted unrealistically for their archetypes. Plus a couple of scenes (such as Vicker's exit) that I thought could have been done better/differently. Yet those issues didn't completely ruin the film for me. I had a handful moments where my eyes threatened to roll at a few pieces of dialogue but taken as a whole I was able to see passed those things and appreciate other aspects of the movie that I really liked. And the script was not ALL bad. It had moments of being very good in fact. Some great character moments and some well written interactions at times. It was just kind of erratic and a little inconsistent. But I don't cry like a big girl just because every line wasn't the sci-fi equivalent of Shakespeare. And this isn't the first movie to have characters making a few "WTF" decisions that I don't agree with, in the name of setting up a scene or moving the story forward. Does it make me an apologist to be able to see the issues, acknowledge them but allow other areas that I do like to temper my overall impression of the movie to being positive? No, it doesn't. It makes me a more mature film-goer than you and all the others that seem to believe you have to be able to stamp either "AMAZING" or "CRAP" onto every movie's forehead and that discussion or contemplation of anything in between those poles is BS. You sir are a tool of the highest order and I pity your linear one-dimensional mind.
-
I didn't like the film much but you guys are fully entitled to. It's kind of ridiculous that you should even have to defend your opinion in that respect. I will say again that I think the film struggles to make sense of its larger themes. Personal agendas are not so much mysterious as they are just presented inconsistently. I'm not too bothered about the guys going missing etc, that's an entertaining trope of the genre, after all (as you point out), but I think what Alien did was offset some of that with a certain level of realism that the audience could immediately sympathise with e.g. disgruntled blue collar workers complaining about bonuses, an issue that overrides their potential excitement at being part of an incredible discovery. The attempts to convey that in Prometheus (Fifield etc) are just not as well observed as they are in Alien and Aliens. Also, Ash's agenda was pretty clear, and, rather than have him winking at the audience, Ash's malevolence was directed towards his crew and the preservation of their discovery at all costs. In contrast, the character of David, though brilliant, is compromised somewhat by the writers' using him almost too reflexively in relation to what has come before in Alien films, if that makes sense (?).
-
I know this isn't LV426, and that somewhere another ship will crash after another payload escapes and another Engineer is killed by their own creation, but the ending is so close to what we find in Alien, a lot of reviewers are asking if this is a reboot. That's really poor writing.
-
June 3, 2012, 11:07 a.m. CST
silver_joo, props for being mature. Your argument is sound and your views valid, I have a few friends who also didnt like it much for similar reasons...
by FreeBeer
...But what can I say, I enjoyed it despite these issues, I felt there was more to recommend it than not.
-
Isn't it funny the critics are mainly the ones trashing the movie while most of the audiences have enjoyed it. You can't say it's not because they went in wanting/expecting Alien(s) either. The negative reviews are tainted with the whiny I want Alien(s) snark. The deep, dark shadows that played such a crucial role in the shot-on-film Alien and its sequels are gone in Prometheus. Um gee maybe because this isn't Alien(s). Then this asshat goes on to call the script writers fanboys. You can almost hear these critics stomping their feet screaming for xenomorphs à la Alien(s).
-
June 3, 2012, 11:12 a.m. CST
Lads, at this point, I'd tell anyone who hasn't seen it yet to go and see it for themselves and make up their own minds...
by FreeBeer
...It's clear you cant rely on any of the reviews, because they are so divided. The only way to know if you dig it is to see it for yourself.
-
...cos it's a crock of shit. And weep for the brilliant Lovecraft movie we may now never see. Damon Lindelof...DIE!
-
June 3, 2012, 11:15 a.m. CST
you don't think the coincidence is a stretch magic01273?
by cool_britannia79
-
The photography, the sets, the costumes, some of the music, the visual effects. Fassbender, Theron and Elba are good. The birth scene is intense, if nothing else. Funnily enough, I liked the captain's last minute heroics, as ineptly set up as they were. That's it. I'd give it 4 or 5 out of 10. Far too many false notes and laziness. Still, you can forgive a lot if the film compensates with a few brilliant scenes, whip-cracking dialogue or ingenious twists. Nope. Not there. Plenty of ham-fisted attempts to make it all seem more profound than it is, though. Was I looking for a xenomorph? How could I be, since the filmmakers had done to such great pains to assure us all that we shouldn't? Would have been nice to see some memorable creature, though, or something halfway terrifying. Since the director himself said his main intention was to scare the shit out of us.
-
June 3, 2012, 11:22 a.m. CST
"xenomorph from end of film picture here - http://i.imgur.com/e7brT.jpg"
by buggerbugger
Is it just me, or does that chestburster look absolutely fucking terrible? Honestly, it looks like something from 'Fingerbobs' (if you're of a certain age).
-
June 3, 2012, 11:29 a.m. CST
I can't wait till our American friends see this movie... Ha. Ha haaaaaa
by Jaymie69
They'll tear the fucking cinema down
-
June 3, 2012, 11:29 a.m. CST
"Given the timelines involved, it also appears to completely invalidate the AvP films"
by buggerbugger
...because there's no such thing as time-travel in science-fiction? Where better to hide your 'alien vs. predator' ritual temples than in the distant past, thousands of years before alien eggs and facehuggers and chestbursters even existed?
-
June 3, 2012, 11:35 a.m. CST
[LINDELOF] "I hadn’t really heard the word “prequel” before Phantom Menace."
by buggerbugger
Potentially utter bollocks, surely? The first time I remember hearing the word 'prequel' was in the UK newspaper articles leading up to the release of 'Temple of Doom'. Lindelof was 10-11 years old when 'ToD' came out - pretty much an ideal age to be absorbing every tiny detail of geek-worthy films that were due out back then.
-
June 3, 2012, 11:39 a.m. CST
you're promoting the use of time travel in the alien universe now??
by JAMF
the alien universe only just about has ftl and even then they have to use suspended animation coz it's still too slow. i'm surprised damon didn't already put time travel in prometheus to be honest. how much you wanna bet shaw travels back in time in the next one then?
-
like a Xenomorph on the wall at the start of Prometheus, despite them not being created until the end?
-
"I think that one man’s loose ends are another man’s ambiguity, and I think that Ridley was very interested in ambiguity… There were drafts that were more explicitly spelled out. I think Ridley’s instinct kept being to pull back, and I would say, “Ridley, I’m still eating shit a year after Lost is over for all the things we didnt directly spell out, Are you sure you want to do this?” And he said, “I would rather have people fighting about it and not know then spell it out.” And I know it’s horribly obnoxious to say “You need to see the movie a couple of times in order to truly appreciate it”, but I do feel like it was designed that way and there are little things that seem like a throw-away on first viewing. For example, when they do the carbon dating on the dead engineer and realise he has been dead for 2000 years then you wonder about when, 2000 years ago, the Engineers decided to wipe us out. What happened 2000 years ago? Is there any correlation with what happened on the earth 2000 years ago and this decision that was already in motion? Could a sequel start in that time period and contextualize what we did to fuck these beings off? I think it’s a very interesting question to leave dangling. Is it a loose end? Yeah, probably. But it’s probably what sends you to the pub after the movie and has you arguing with your friends as to what you think it might mean. I can definitely tell you that if a lot of people go to see this movie and there is a critical sense of people wanting there to be another one, the second movie would clearly answer the question of “what did we do to deserve this?” If there was a sequel to Prometheus it wouldn’t be Alien. Because it’s moving off in it’s own direction."
-
June 3, 2012, 11:47 a.m. CST
It's not just the Jockey, a Weyland corporation is there, so it is a prequel.
by hank henshaw
not to mention it has a whole lot of nods to the imagery of the original movie, so, fuck this shit.
-
...Marc Streitenfeld's score wasn't bad by any means, but it belonged in a totally different movie. It was completely at odds with what was on screen.
-
June 3, 2012, 11:58 a.m. CST
"you're promoting the use of time travel in the alien universe now??"
by buggerbugger
"the alien universe only just about has ftl and even then they have to use suspended animation coz it's still too slow" Well, I wouldn't say I was promoting the use of time-travel, merely saying that sci-fi as a genre already has a built-in explanation for continuity bollock-ups such as this :). The 'Alien' universe may have FTL **now** (c.2090-whatever, etc.), but that's not to say the people or Predators of c.3090 don't have time-travel. That's the thing about time-travel. It doesn't have to exist 'now', it just has to exist eventually. :)
-
Change the space jockey ship to a different ship and the space jockey to a different creature and then it will have no connection to ALIEN whatsoever? Did Ridley tenuously tie this to the franchise just for a brand name recognition cash grab?
-
universe is meant to lean more towards hard sci-fi where time travel as a concept is generally looked down on as unrealistic/impossible. but yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if they pulled an 'enterprise' and had shaw and ripley meet eachother and have an adventure as a result of some descendant from the 30th century sticking his oar in. i was just looking up timelines and they reckon ripley is 1 year old at the time of prometheus. http://time.absoluteavp.com/time1.html
-
June 3, 2012, 12:07 p.m. CST
"I've always found the search for these questions to lead to a lot of frustration, because the pursuit of those questions never ends in truth, but in beliefs."
by berserkrl
Well, HOW have you been searching? a) The question of how human life originated is a scientific question, and there are established scientific methods for investigating it. b) The question of the meaning of existence is a philosophical question, and there are established philosophical methods for investigating it. Confusing (a) with (b) will lead to frustration, for sure.
-
...but not a pleasant one. It'll be interesting to see how much time does it take for people to be able to say it out loud: Prometheus is a shitty movie. When Phantom Menace came out, it took YEARS for apologists to be able to admit that it was a subpar showing. For Indy 4, it took at least few months. For Prometheus it has taken a few days, outside the US that is.
-
Too soon?
-
The problem of the film isn't the relation to Alien, the problem is that the movie just doesn't really work.
-
is the first ALIENS VS. PREDATORS. Seriously. Ridley Scott's dismissive remarks about AVP are cover for the fact that he essentially stole the main idea from it. Archeologists working for Weyland investigate an alien-built pyramid with ties to several past Earth cultures ... Weyland has certain motivations ... etc. I won't deny that PROMETHEUS does it better.
-
June 3, 2012, 12:12 p.m. CST
coors will help bring in the rest of the people so it makes money. so scifi movies like this can keep coming.
by DarthBlart
-
Unless he flew over and saw it in these countries he hasn't seen it. So, yes it is bullshit. Belgium 30 May 2012 France 30 May 2012 Switzerland 30 May 2012 (French speaking region) Azerbaijan 31 May 2012 Belarus 31 May 2012 Bulgaria 31 May 2012 (limited) Chile 31 May 2012 Denmark 31 May 2012 Israel 31 May 2012 Kazakhstan 31 May 2012 Netherlands 31 May 2012 Russia 31 May 2012 Ukraine 31 May 2012 Bulgaria 1 June 2012 Finland 1 June 2012 Ireland 1 June 2012 Norway 1 June 2012 Sweden 1 June 2012 Turkey 1 June 2012
-
...that the last scenes in both AVP and Prometheus are basically one and the same. I shit you not.
-
It's much closer than that when you break it down. Which movie am I talking about? Scientists and a dying billionaire investigate alien temple, only to discover a few different alien species, which kill each other at the end as our female human survives. Which movie is that? AVP or Prometheus?
-
yes! add that final 'money shot' to both films too!
-
June 3, 2012, 12:25 p.m. CST
Genuine question for those that've seen it:
by chronicallydepressedlemming
Which is better, this or Sunshine in the sci-fi stakes? Just trying to get an idea of where it falls in the 'good sci-fi movie' stakes here.
-
Sunshine is actually one of my favourite modern scifi films - even with its flaws. I wouldn't even talk of it in the same sentence with Prometheus.
-
and characterisation. Prometheus beats it visually I guess, I think i appreciate the bigger picture Prometheus touches upon, if it is a bit crap. Think, Mission to Mars.
-
and now.... turns out it gives me chills the second time I watch it. I hope the guy get to go on his mission.
-
"true but i was referring to how the alien universe is meant to lean more towards hard sci-fi where time travel as a concept is generally looked down on as unrealistic/impossible." Ah, yeah, I see what you mean. Well, I suppose it all depends on whether or not you view (or want) the Predators in your 'Alien' universe or not (and vice versa). Is it an 'Alien' universe or is it a 'Predator' universe? Is the latter also a 'hard sci-fi' universe? Is either universe 'hardened' or 'softened' by being merged with the other? I suppose you've got: (Option A) Facehuggers and chestbursters weren't originally created c.2090, as evidenced by the wall mural and the fact that the other Space Jockeys had been chestbursted 2000 years prior to Prometheus's arrival. This sort of shit always happens whenever Space Jockeys get gooy / facehugged / chestbursted. The chestbursting c.2090 is merely the latest outbreak. The Space Jockey in 'Alien' is an ancient husk because it was chestbursted during this earlier outbreak 2000 years ago. No time-travel required. (Option B) Facehuggers and chestbursters were originally created c.2090, so someone has to develop time-travel at some point in order to 'export' them to Earth thousands of years ago for Predator rituals. (c) Oh, I dunno. Something else? Suggestions? Personally, I think Option A is the one that looks most likely, therefore 'Prometheus' doesn't 'decanonize' the 'AVP' movies (unless you want it to, heh)?
-
No wonder Harry likes it. Damon Lindelof should really go into hiding.
-
So the crew on Nostromo were smarter than all the scientists on Prometheus? WARNING SPOILERS!!!! Millburn smokes spaceweed, tries to befriend worm-snake-vagina mouthed creature, ends up getting mouth full of slimey wormcock. Dies Charlie commits suicide by flamethrower because of the risk of infection (fairly sensible) -and yet- Bunch of other interchangeable crewmembers get killed by Fifield who approaches them like some mutant spacecrab. Fifield has at this point been missing for over 24 hours; the crew seem to have forgotten all about the risk of possible infection The captain, the Asian dude and what's-his-face gladly sacrifice themselves by crashing into the crescent spaceship. Asian and the other dude even crack jokes before they die. My question is - were they even aware of half the events that took place before that? We'll just assume they were morons Meredith runs straight into the path of the falling spaceship, it falls in a straight line and she runs in the very same direction. She gets crushed And so on etc Let's just all wait for Harry Plinkett to cover the rest
-
listening to Theron talk about her role as if it is akin to Ripley - you American viewers have so much to discover in the next few days...
-
June 3, 2012, 12:57 p.m. CST
As either a horror, or a Ridley Scott movie, his film hurts.... BUT...
by Seph_J
...the trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts. Still a quality movie.
-
Screw the naysayers! These movies are related. They're supposed to be related. If the movie is good, then no amount of watching and re-watching the Alien movies before seeing Prometheus will leave me disappointed.
-
Because he watched a downloaded or pirated version of the film? Or did he actually get a screener? I'd really like him to clarify this point.
-
June 3, 2012, 12:59 p.m. CST
Harry it's alright, just accept the movie was a disappointment.
by Randy
Sometimes it's alright for a movie you wanted to be great to not be great.
-
switched it off to dig up avp though, i thought i had it around here somewhere...
-
Dazzling, atmospheric and thought-provoking. The story is compelling and the thrills are intense. Quite mesmeric from start to finish with a complex subtext and a subtle meta-analysis about the nature of copying, replication and origin. Wonderfully grotesque, smart science fiction. Anybody that thinks it's crap is probably a bit simple. Pity them
-
June 3, 2012, 1:05 p.m. CST
If you don't understand how to read a film properly, don't post.
by james brook
It hurts my eyes.
-
The film is oiss poor because it is piss poor - it has nothing to do with how much it is or isn't a prequel to Alien. Wait until you see it, then come back and hold forth.
-
If you want a connection that is.....
-
Those movies have a special place in my heart (sit between the Alien and Predator movies) on my shelf. But I'm pretty sure Ridley Scott doesn't consider them part of the same universe and retconned AVP out. If you're not joking, I you compel to reveal this illusive connection that's present only in the AVP movies.
-
"It's much closer than that when you break it down. Which movie am I talking about? Scientists and a dying billionaire investigate alien temple, only to discover a few different alien species, which kill each other at the end as our female human survives. Which movie is that? AVP or Prometheus?" You nailed it sir
-
I haven't even seen the film but some of the comments here show a total bias and lack of understanding ( do to some stupid agenda ) of what Ridley Scott is doing here. Some of the comments like " It's got the same ship so it's a prequel " ) are really dumb. It's like saying something about a WWII film like " Well it's giot the same model of tank they used in Saving Private Ryan so it's got to be a prequel ". Geez! So what if this takes place it what is Scott's vision of the future. I've read lots of books like the stuff written in Larry Niven's known universe stories that have similiar elements but that doesn't make the stories prequels or sequels. They are their own story set in the same mythos or universe or what ever the hell you want to call it. As I've stated I've yet to see this film but none of the haters comments here hold any water for me they are so nonsensical. Anyway I'm thanking Harry for making the effort to explain something that people should have gotten from listening to what Ridley Scott himself has said about this film instead of listening to their hopes or assumptions as to what this film is or what they think it should be.
-
*facepalm*
-
June 3, 2012, 1:41 p.m. CST
When Marion shows up wearing armor, it kinda ended right there
by BoRock_A_Boomer
But i still weep for Harry's crippling obesity.
-
Buzzzzzzz! You're wrong it's really holding steady as it was at 79% yesterday. I'm betting once it hit's the states you'll see that number go up Here's the link for all to see : http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/prometheus_2012/
-
Because Harry seems to like the film. In my experience, his reviews are almost certain contra-indicators. If the Fat Boy likes a film, it will undoubtedly suck, and vice versa. What a pity -- I was really looking forward to Prometheus. What do I have to look forward to now? Ted? I HATE Marky Mark, though I like Mila Cunis, and the bear looks cool, especially when he's humping or toking or fighting... Alas...
-
i don't get it. damon says it's a prequel and he wrote it. even ridley has referred to it as a prequel (he's been on and off about this, admittedly) so what's your problem? you know people don't like it because they feel it fails as a FILM not as an ALIEN FILM, right?
-
" Because Harry seems to like the film. " Like I've said the reasoning from the haters is nonsensical and shouldn't put off anyone from seeing this film if they're interested.
-
Prequels are the worst. Rule of thumb.
-
June 3, 2012, 2 p.m. CST
I think it's hilarious how people are defending it without seeing it
by cool_britannia79
get a clue, how on earth you can say our opinion is wrong when you have seen nothing to form your own argument with is just incredible. credibility. you have none.
-
You basically said exactly what I feel about this film. I was actually completely absorbed in this movie form the opening scenes and all the way through. I loved it. I'm completely baffled by the vitriol on here.
-
Theron, sweating on top of you.... what more could you ask for.... Its not the worst movie. i personally gave it 5-6/10. Can't wait for the states reaction, cos it will be mixed. whose gonna fall where... Next weekend all be revealed
-
Not afraid of anything buddy. And the writer is not the director. This isn't Lindleoff's film or concept it's Scott's. I've already supplied reasoning that effectively negates the notion that this hasn't been billed as a straight across sequel by the director or any trailer and you've ignored them. Thank you for proving my point about the haters comments being nonsensical.
-
Just reading some of the nonsensical comments here and knowing my love for Scott's directing style makes me want to defend it. I've seen this dog and pony show on the talkbacks before. Give me a extra big break!
-
So we've got some black goo and tiny snake-things that can grow to an impressive size. Are the snake-things part of the goo, have they been added deliberately by the Engineers, or have they found their way into the goo all by themselves and are responsible for the Engineers' black goo experiment going wrong centuries ago? Holloway is infected with the black goo and/or tiny snake-thing. After having sex with Shaw, something of this goo/snake-thing is passed on to the woman and it quickly grows into a tentacle-thing. So the snake-things are kind-of chestbursters and the tentacle-thing is a kind-of facehugger? As some other talkbacker posited elsewhere, was the addition of a female (Shaw) to the mix the event which led to the creation of the facehugger/chestburster mutation? Up until the point that the black snake goo became a proto facehugger inside Shaw's womb, there had only been snake-things in existence? Without the proto facehugger tentacle-thing, the proto chestburster snake-things had no way to replicate themselves? Is that what's going on? If the snake-things come into contact with males, they mutate them, etc., in a failed attempt to change the host into... another snake-thing or something? But if they combine with a male's sperm that goes on to fertilize an ovum within a womb, they create a hybrid creature, the facehugger, that has both male and female halves of the alien life-cycle in its DNA? So the snake-thing proto-chestbursters are kind of like sperm (yet female, hence Queens, etc.) and the tentacle-thing proto-facehuggers are kind of like wombs (that rape you with their face-cocks)? Does any of that make sense?
-
Faults with the movie, obvious spoilers: We know the Engineers created us from the first scene, before the main characters do. Scene on Skye was superfluous, we learn nothing until the briefing scene. Androids being able to watch your dreams, and dreams being filmed like soap operas, not first person perspective. Crew members not vetted for suitability, having to speak their motivations for the audience 'I love money, I love rocks'. Just spotting the temple by looking out of a window, it's like spotting the white house on a low level fly over Earth, if it was the only building. Scientists rushing off into the biggest discovery in history, seconds after landing. No observing first. Scientists detecting oxygen so taking off their helmets, not worrying about disease etc. Scientists howling like idiots. Yes, howling. The guy with the map equipment getting lost. The captain reading a life form but deciding to leave his stranded crew members without assistance so he can get laid. That only takes you about 30 min in to the movie. I could go on and on and on about how insipidly stupid it is. You'll notice no criticism of it not being Alien, it's just criticism based on common sense and the logic laid out in the movie.
-
sorry my english obviously isn't as good as yours. you're right in the second post to brit, though - you are just in here to defend scott's honour as a 'great visual director' - which isn't even what people are complaining about, it's the script.
-
I've seen it. I'm fine with it being it's own thing. it was going well, until a point. Characters say and do random stuff, stuff happens. We move on. and its not as deep as Blade Runner, not that intelligent. Easier enough to follow... anyhoo, i know for a fact, very shortly you will come face to face with a person who shares the same disappointing thoughts as me. I'm sure your gonna have a very interesting conversation. The idea of Prequel or Not is the least of its problems. But its Stunning on the eye, i'll give it that.
-
When the whole bruhaha over the possible/likely/now confirmed fake script for this film, one and only one thing bothers me. Why would anyone want to do such a thing? OK. -You'll need to be willing and have the time to write up, say at least 100 pages. -You'll need to know HOW to write a proper script, probably have to use special software -You'll need to be talented enough as a writer to make it read like a Hollywood script -You'll need to research the shit out of the movie's promotional material available to you, and deconstruct and then rebuild it in such a way as your fake script makes sense. All the above takes time and a certain degree of talent. And yet it's wasted on crafting a fake document which would only be amusing to the writer. To which I say: COME UP WITH YOUR OWN IDEA AND DO THAT. Y'know... CONTRIBUTE. Or are you afraid to risk the rejection of your own precious ideas? Hack.
-
June 3, 2012, 2:18 p.m. CST
Do the tiny details of the "snake things" matter, scratchmonkey?
by Ray Gamma
Do those tiny details about "snake-things" and "goo" really matter to you, scratchmoneky? Or are you just pretending to be as thick as a plate of horse shit?
-
I'll chalk it up to you not having your chocolate-flavored pussy juice enema for the day. Btw, if you're paying attention to these talk-backs, you will see the point I made is true; the criticisms of this movie having NOTHING to do with "Alien" expectations. The problem cited is ALWAYS with a inadequate script. For example, what sense does it make for scientists, supposedly the best and brightest on earth, to take off their helmet in an alien environment when they've already observed alien, unknown organisms? We're supposed to believe these scientists have never heard of airborne diseases? Yes, I understand this is and the whole "getting lost in the temple" are plot contrivances meant to move the story to it's plot points. But this movie has always been marketed as intelligent, hard sci-fi. So we SHOULD expect a bit more than plot contrivances and horror cliches. As an aside, an earlier talk-backer referred to such plot contrivances as "tropes of the genre". Which is funny to me since a movie came out a few months ago that expertly skewered the whole notion of horror tropes...a meta horror movie that was praised and beloved by geeks everywhere, including Harry. Yet it seems the lessons learned are forgotten, and now we're back to diminished expectations and apologizing for horror cliches. A lot of people seem to think that many of the plot holes in the script will be answered in subsequent movies. But, there is no guarantee there WILL be subsequent movies. When do you think the next installment of John Carter is going to come out?
-
Damon Lindelof - 'what does the black goo do? That is the question that you’re supposed to be asking coming out of this movie. The movie demonstrates what it does in certain circumstances. So, here’s what it does if it gets on worms; here’s what it does if it gets on your face; here’s what it does if someone just puts a little bit of it in your drink. So, now we see that that lots of this is headed to Earth. Now, you used the word “weapon”, you’re extrapolating that based on the theory [Prometheus captain] Janek has, because it looks like a payload to him: all these ships are loaded with this stuff, and they’re headed for Earth. The intent has to be to wipe us out, or is it to evolve us, or is it for something else?' http://www.slashgear.com/ridley-scott-talks-prometheus-with-slashgear-candid-uncut-02231334/ Again, it's so badly written that I never understood the black goo coming into contact with worms made those snake things, did anyone?!
-
gets face hugged right. and dies. was he not impregnated. Cos the Engineer suffered the same fate right. and he gives birth. can someone explain, did i think that wrong?
-
June 3, 2012, 2:23 p.m. CST
They teased the aliens connection to sell tickets because they wouldn't have sold without it.
by Arcadian Del Sol
-
Well for starters some of the references like : " Scene on Skye was superfluous, we learn nothing until the briefing scene. " Having not seen the film I can't place this in context but others like : " Androids being able to watch your dreams, and dreams being filmed like soap operas, not first person perspective. " Seem pretty subjective in their judgements. " Scientists detecting oxygen so taking off their helmets, not worrying about disease etc. " If you're going to complain about stuff like this you've got a lot of movies to tackle. Sounds like a bad case of nit picking. Also : " We know the Engineers created us from the first scene, before the main characters do. " And what is wrong with that? You sound like you're trying too hard to find anything wrong with this film.
-
June 3, 2012, 2:24 p.m. CST
So let me get this straight...AVATAR is to Fern Gully and Dances with Wolves as PROMETHEUS is to MASTODON SLEEPING GIANT? Check out vid...
by Darth_Kong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnjoXKmO16I
-
Well since I really didn't watch Lost I don't have a built in bias for the writer.
-
I can't agree entirely on it being a separation from the Alien set... not with the content that appeared right at the end? And how about those engineers??? I aint seen anything that well realised in an awfully long time. Amazing!
-
June 3, 2012, 2:26 p.m. CST
Re : " They teased the aliens connection to sell tickets because they wouldn't have sold without it. "
by Real Deal
Nonsensical.
-
Spoiler A recurring problem some seem to harp on is the Millburn character approaching the first alien that grew from the centipede. People think it as out of character. In fact, if you've absorbed the film then it's entirely in character. Think. How are we introduced to Millburn? He is the guy that goes over to Fairfield and tries to engage him. He makes an effort to befriend the surliest, most frightening crew member. He is the guy that prods the bear. That's his defining character trait that we as the viewer are shown. His attempt at engaging with the alien is EXACTLY in character. As Harry and many other intelligent tubers have tried to explain... The answers to the naysayers questions are all there if you engage your brain and pay closer attention.
-
he did it with lost too. he poses a question with no answer, lurks on fan forums for people to come up with a good answer then steals it for the sequel. if he can't work the fan-originated answer into his sequel then he'll have shaw die and meet up with everyone else in the afterlife and they'll all hold hands and walk into the light together.
-
1. Those who enjoyed the movie "Prometheus", and 2. Those who get obsessively hung up on whether this film is technically an "Alien" prequel, who get laughably aggressive about the logic of a fictional creature's life-cycle, and who get even more frothy at the mouth when they see their fellow pack-members joining in the cunt-frenzy.
-
June 3, 2012, 2:29 p.m. CST
"Do those tiny details about "snake-things" and "goo" really matter to you, scratchmoneky?"
by buggerbugger
No, I'm merely theorising, like fans are wont to do. Is this a bad thing? Are you seeing this as some sort of 'attack' on the movie neither of us has seen? "Or are you just pretending to be as thick as a plate of horse shit?" Please, feel free to elaborate on that. What on earth have I said to cause you to react in such an unfriendly manner? I'm talking about a movie and you act like I called you a cunt or something.
-
June 3, 2012, 2:29 p.m. CST
So how fast can FOX crank out a SHADOW 19 video game? Can they do it in time for the release of Xbox 720?
by Darth_Kong
-
Fairfield = fifield ... Predictive text!!
-
June 3, 2012, 2:31 p.m. CST
Scientists are usually the first to do something stupid in the name of science.
by Paul Paradis
Just like most fudge data, and outright lie to prove their theories.
-
June 3, 2012, 2:31 p.m. CST
"laughably aggressive about the logic of a fictional creature's life-cycle"
by buggerbugger
I hope that wasn't aimed at me, because there wasn't anything "aggressive" in my ramblings. You must be reading my words in your own angry-voice or something, if that's the case. Believe it or not, musing about a film isn't an automatic attack on it.
-
it's like when you put money on a horse that's done well in previous races, you know? it's called 'form' lindelof, on the other hand, is an old lame horse, every race he runs he comes last. he needs to be put down.
-
I want to hear each point of view describe why the opposite view point is being made. I'm tired of hearing biased views both positive and negative. Please explain why the opposition is justifying their view and try to do it with some objectivity. Let me spell it out: Everyone raving about it: Please explain and describe the reasoning for someone having a very negative view point of this film. Everyone hating it: Please explain and describe the reasoning for someone to rave about this film. Please be objective! I want thesis type of explanations! Please don't explain your side of things! Ready....... set.......... go!!!!!
-
and ray gamma is part of the master race. you heard it hear first people! he implys the others are "thick as a plate of horse shit", "obsessive" and "laughably aggressive" what a wonderful human being.
-
Not specifically aimed at you, to be honest. just the general pack mentality on here. And for the record, I have seen the film. I'm in the UK. And yeah looks like I'm the only person on AICN who really, really enjoyed this film.
-
...and I loved it. If you didn't like it, you can suck my balls you bunch of toss-rags!
-
June 3, 2012, 2:47 p.m. CST
I quite enjoyed Prometheus and unlike Transformers 1-3 and Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull or whatever it's called, I didn't fall asleep halfway through it.
by in6087
I think that's a testament to its intellectually stimulating script. This is most definitely not a "by-the-numbers" "fone-it-in" Michael Gay film. Oops, sorry about the spelling. That should be "phone-it-in"
-
June 3, 2012, 2:51 p.m. CST
I liked and number of my friends liked it, and number of my friends didn't. None of us are idiots. It's a fucking movie, not an i.Q testy
by FreeBeer
-
Well, I'd say that the "are you just pretending to be as thick as a plate of horse shit?" comment was aimed directly at me, merely for having the audacity to wibble out loud about snake-cocks and tentacle-twats in the hope that someone might add to or correct my fan-assumptions. "And for the record, I have seen the film. I'm in the UK." Ah, I think I mistook you for real deal (who's in the US and yet to see it?) for a moment there. Apologies, old chap (And to think I didn't even call you a thick plate of horseshit before offering that. What can I say, I'm a pleasant fucker at times).
-
...because the talkback is trying to get you to actually use the COMMENT section instead of just the SUBJECT line. Seriously, everything you've posted is like, one comment. Not four or five. Most talkbackers really are capable of expanding and reading a comment.
-
...I do tend to just knock out a thought without paying attention to where I'm writing it, I try and watch it in the future. Appreciate you housekeeping
-
You couldn't go into detail about two sequences, and told us (who have seen the money) what the second one was - what the other sequence? The operating table? That's the most stupid, pathetic redilcoous not credible piece of junk. Seriously. Whilst the movie is good ad asking 500 questions it doesn't answer - it doesn't answer the biggest one, namely: Why would you care how or why we came into being?! Its totally irrelevant. Just because you feel your life is empty its not going to be better because you meet your "maker". The Android asks at one point why it was created - and a human at a loss for words shrugs and suggests it was because we (the humans) could. That's probably what "they" thought as well. If you have a cute friend, I suggest looking at her, its going to be a better experience that looking at slimy creatures escaped from the X-files goo.
-
I know you have been objective, even before you saw it. What seems so strange with Prometheus is the divide of strong opinion that's been created. When I say strong, it's 95% strong by either being negative or positive. What is it about Prometheus that could be causing this? Do we just blame all the hype? The old saying is that: "the bigger they are, the harder they fall." Sure seems that way so far. I won't see it until Friday, but one thing I do know is this....... I am a Sci Fi buff all the way. Mostly "realistic" Sci Fi. Alien is one of my all time favorites even though I'm willing to admit that you need to be in the right mind set to really appreciate Alien for what it is. When it first came out, many critics hated it. Why? I have my theory that it was the "Star Wars effect". I get the notion that Prometheus seems to be suffering a bit from the "Alien effect" because there seems to be too many people being in the mind set of the style of Alien going into viewing Prometheus. I think that's what Harry is trying to convey also. I will know for sure when I see it Friday and then I will come back and give an honest review of the film.
-
faux1975, I can't explain why some people liked it and some didn't, although I offered up my review earlier in the thread. I don't think people who didn't like it are idiots. Not at all. But I do think that people who keep posting up supposed *plot holes* which arent plot holes at all - merely them not being able to keep up with what's shown or said on screen - are sadly idiots. All I can say is that I haven't felt this invigorated to talk back and discuss a movie for a long, long time. Even the haters are posting again and again about PROMETHEUS like their on crack so... take from that what you will!
-
In the first 'Alien' film, they crew of the Nostromo went to a planet, and discovered the SAME EXACT ship that appears in this movie. Just going by the trailers, it's obvious that the details are incredible between this and 'Alien' --- Now, just because the planet hasn't officially been named LV-426 yet, doesn't mean that it won't be later on. This movie IS a prequel to 'Alien', just without any xenomorph action--- storywise though, it's a prequel; It's the same universe, features a corporation named WEYLAND (Just without the merge of the Yutani company) Sure, it's plenty of years before the events of 'Alien', but that doesn't mean it's not a prequel. Just watch 'Alien' again and skip to the scene where the Nostromo touches down on LV-426... all the details are there, from the ship to the space jockey. It's ridiculous to declare this as not connected to 'Alien' as a prequel just because it doesn't feature more of the same. The details of 'Prometheus' are more then enough to prove its status as an 'Alien' prequel.
-
I read your post and assumed you had seen the movie and were obsessing about irrelevant details about the creatures glimpsed in various shots. Apologies. There's generally been a lot of criticism going on here about things that are just incidental elements in the movie. Some of the most bilious commenters here seem to think the point of the film was somehow buried within these trivial details.
-
PROMETHEUS is a unique, slightly mesmeric film. And when the lights go up and you snap out of that trance like state some people seem to come around with a negative reaction, and some have a positive one. I can't say which way you will side - but for those very reaons it is for sure a film worth watching.
-
I can love a 3 star science fiction just as much as a 4 star one. Then again, I love Flash Gordon.
-
...It just seems to me that people are blowing the faults (there are faults) way out of proportion, and ignoring all positives. There's a classic character in David, interesting questions being asked, and images that will stay with you long after you've seen it. Just as I don't understand how the positive reviews can ignore the films problems, I don't know how those knocking it can ignore everything it has going for it, and it has a lot going for it.
-
June 3, 2012, 3:08 p.m. CST
freebeer, no worries. I was mostly just poking at you with a talkback stick...
by Jaka
...and notice I said MOST talkbackers are capable. I'm sure there's a few who don't fit that description. Heh.
-
June 3, 2012, 3:19 p.m. CST
Just gonna re-post my boyfriend's review cos it says it all
by james brook
Go back to the Avengers and MIB3 you dumb cunts. This film contains a meta narrative about replication and primacy that elevates the film to high art. We are presented with a mirror image of Alien and asked to consider both the film and its thesis as nothing more than addenda to the countless iterations and forms that preceded them. Life is perpetuated by copying DNA from one generation to the next. Ideas are perpetuated in the same way. Insofar as modern man represents the latest version of the prototypical 'Engineer' we are asked to consider the very nature of originality itself. If we are nothing more than copies, albeit with subtle variations (mutations) then we ourselves are nothing more than a permutation in an ever expanding fugue. A cosmological canon of reverberating hymns that cannibalize each other in order to be reborn anew. If we are the symphony then DNA is the score. But scores do not write themselves. Indeed, the music inside a composers head surely exists before it is ever played, encoded within the mind and by extension within the DNA. That information then is sacred, secure upon the throne of originality, of creativity.... or is it? The code is begotten of earlier code and that code of yet earlier code and so on in infinite retrograde steps until at some point the first code. But what of it? One presumes that even the first code was anticipated by its environment, an unwritten, primordial instruction that existed in spite of the chaos that surrounded it. Are we then to conclude that instruction is implicit in the universe and that creation is therefore inevitable. That the blueprint for the blueprint is anticipated by the structure of nature and therefore by the metaphysical information held within it. If that is the case, then perhaps we are children of god after all. This film presents as its central idea that we, like film, like stars, like even alien worms have been and forever will be anticipated by the films, the stars and the lives that came before us. That Prometheus is a narrative copy of Alien but with a different tone, a different resonance, a different meaning, is a thing to be celebrated and an achievement indeed. I for one cant remember being this challenged by a film in decades and to Scott I take off my hat. Bravo Sir, you have made a film like no other. Beautiful, terrifying and enjoyable on several levels. I think you have earned your place in the stars
-
Good point. I agree. I do notice a bit more objectivity coming from those raving about the overall production of Prometheus. I want some objectivity from all the negative Nancie's. Great films need certain things going for them in order to be great: 1. Great Cinematography 2. A well acted cast 3. An interesting story 4. Great visuals 5. A tight screenplay In my opinion, those 5 things that all exist within a movie make it great. Now, based on all that I've read, it would seem that Prometheus has all of the above with the exception of #5. So I ask all the negative Nancie's out there, is the screenplay that bad to warrant rating it in the same breath as AVP films and Alien 4? Because those films not only lacked quality screenplays, but they also lacked #1,#2,#3, and #4 to some degrees. It would seem to me that the hype got the best of some of you hence creating more hate than it deserves.
-
"it's so badly written that I never understood the black goo coming into contact with worms made those snake things, did anyone?!" (Without my having even seen the film:) Could the black goo be a sort of ambrosia/nectar of the gods equivalent? Imparting sudden growth or immortality on those who come into contact with it? Maybe that explains how, in one instance, it causes worms to grow to the size of snakes, while in another instance, it reanimates one of the dead crewmembers?
-
"Milburn, he gets face hugged right. and dies. was he not impregnated. Cos the Engineer suffered the same fate right. and he gives birth." Milburn gets attacked by one of the goo snake-things, which don't have the ability to reproduce themselves, while the Engineer gets attacked by the proto facehugger thing that gestated within Shaw's womb, so it has the ability to reproduce because it's picked up the missing 'female'/womb/egg half of the life-cycle from its female host? Just guessing, of course. :)
-
http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/8400166/1024/various/Judge-Dredd-film-poster---version-2bcd.jpg
-
Maybe all of these negative talk backers are really Devin Faraci having many accounts on AICN and is simply spamming hate. He's known to do that sort of thing from time to time. For example...... The Dark Knight
-
"I read your post and assumed you had seen the movie and were obsessing about irrelevant details about the creatures glimpsed in various shots." Nah, haven't seen the movie yet, despite being a fellow UKer. Not obsessing, more like musing about irrelevant details and hoping for more spoilers from those who have seen it. Thanks for the apology, mate. I can see how you could misread my post now that I've read your explanation. You were in 'battle mode' at the time? Heh.
-
I agree with you. Makes no sense to reject the label "Alien prequel", when there so much detail there linking Prometheus to Alien. Need to wait several movies before we get to the "prequel" point? Utter nonsense. Definitely agree with you, even though I am an unapologetic christophernolannuthugger lol
-
That's what seems to be the point that many are making who have seen it and enjoyed it for what it is. Yes, it's in the same Universe, but in terms of the actual style, pacing, and overall ideas of the film, it's not connected to the style of Alien at all. Freebeer or cobra--kai , would this be accurate?
-
You really think we're buying that? "My boyfriend"? That kind of poncy writing just proves you've never been laid
-
Hi there, I am an Alien fan from the first hour (1979). We live in Germany and made a trip to Belgium today to see the movie. Prometheus is great. Visually absolutely stunning and the story fits. There are small hints to Alien but its a different movie you might expect. You will enjoy! - and Harry: the ending you mentioned - its not that bad - at least it make sense and has also the appoval/work form Mr. Giger in it. Rating: 9/10
-
We are all the same person originally, just like Scott said. Well observed my friend.
-
Could you explain why someone that hates the movie would have justification to do so? If you could, try to give an objective opinion why that would be. Thanks!
-
I have been laid. His prose makes me all slimy inside.
-
I wanted so much to enjoy this. But not even the amazing visuals (and they were spectacular) could save this film from its awful script, bad dialogue and useless plot holes / directions. I found myself laughing in this film. Something I really didn't expect. Guy Pearce, as great as he is, really didn't need to be in this. His viral video was enough. There were some great moments but overall a let down. shame.
-
Prometheus is to ALIEN as Soldier is to Blade Runner...yeah same Universes but totally different story lines...for Prometheus to be an ALIEN prequel it would have to explain how the derelict got to LV-426 and who/what set off the distress signal to bring the Nostromo there...that's the only way for it to be considered a prequel...just telling a story that includes a Space Jockey/Engineer does not make it a prequel just like having an Alien skull in Predators 2 doesn't make that an Alien prequel either...the Alien franchise (doesn't include AVP IMHO) is the story of Ripley...that's it...anything else in that universe that doesn't revolve around her story is an entirely separate thing...Ripley's saga is dark and horrific...her story is one of loss and terror...to expect that same style and mood in a story that has nothing to do with her is having unrealistic expectations
-
I avoid slagging matches and have no intention of getting in to one now. What i will say though (at you and your boyfriend) is that not only is your 'boyfriends' review utter horseshit but it was instantly dismissable with the first line telling all the dumb cunts to go back to Avengers and MIB 3. Because I can see Prometheus for what it really is, a badly executed, poorly conceived movie unworthy of playing in the same realm as Alien, that makes myself and pretty much everyone else a dumb cunt?!!! Excuse me, but go fuck yourself you ignorant prat. No. I'm afraid you so want to love this shallow, misguided, mess of a film that you are seeing far more than is or was ever there to begin with. All the fancy writing or big words you can type will never change that the movie pretty much blows and has already earned its place in history as another missed opportunity. High art? Have a fucking word with yourself you moron.
-
Would that make us all God's? We were originally inspired in his likeness. Yes, AICN is full of Godliness. Harry being the biggest one among us ;)
-
Nice try. Go back to sniffing your spiderman underoos.
-
If it has no links to the alien UNIVERSE then explain - Space jockey/Ship Weyland End chestburster/jockey hybrid alien I hate it when people who condem a film without seeing it, it wasn't the best of scripts but the visuals were very good. The squid/alien reminded me of "At the mountains of madness" & as the film went on David turned into something out of spielbergs A.I, loved the long shots of the ship passing planets & the second to last one before the birthing
-
That's actually funny Well played
-
i'd say ok fair enough... but still feel disappointed. Many things to like, but massive flaws.
-
June 3, 2012, 3:59 p.m. CST
deaddak nobody is saying it's not linked to that universe
by Raskolnikov_was_framed
absolutely nobody is saying that...what I'm saying is that just because it's tangentially linked doesn't mean it should try and be like the originals...let's not forget the space jockey in Alien served literally no purpose in that story...none...he was a creepy side note...so to think that the space jockey is somehow a big part of ALIEN is absurd...Alien was about The Nostromo, facehuggers, yes a chestburster, the classic xeno but mostly it was about the crew and more specifically about the character of Ripley...Prometheus is about exploration, philosophy, men vs. gods, and yes the space jockey WHO HAD NO PART IN ALIEN BESIDES BEING A CREEPY SET DECORATION!!! so they are not related except in the most superficial sense
-
How have so many people seen it already? Are these all dirty foreigners posting about it? Or is there some stream of it available online somewhere?
-
June 3, 2012, 4:01 p.m. CST
I'll still wait to watch this movie from REDBOX for a dollar
by Just_Some_Guy
It's not worth the $10 or whatever to watch it in the theatres.
-
I'm from the U.S. haven't seen it yet but I've read too much and basically know the entire story from reading criticisms from those who have
-
Yeah, I just don't see where the film needs to include an xenomorph, or feature a cameo from the Nostromo or Ellen Ripley in order to be accepted as a prequel (If you go to the scene in 'Alien', it does appear that the ship and space jockey have been there for a looong ass time) It's a stand alone film, sure, but it's also still a prequel --- if it wasn't meant to be a pre 'Alien' story, then they could have easily changed the design of the alien ship, no space jockey and not named a character and his company Weyland. It doesn't need to be point blank obvious to still be a prequel by ending with the beginning of 'Alien' --- hell, it could even be a film that not only kick starts a major plot point for the 'Alien' franchise, but it could be the start of its own, seperate yet connected franchise as well. It expands the universe rather then just giving us the same exact shit that we've seen in 6 other films. :P And no worries on my screenname. I'm not a Nolan hater at all, but I have a low tolerance for SOME of his fanbase (Not all) ... I'm just waiting for him to make another film as perfect as 'Memento' (he came close with 'Inception', his 2nd best film) ... ;D
-
Saw it at the Imax. US gets it this Friday 8th. and i'll have you know, i'm not dirty,
-
Firstly I went to see Prometheus on the first day in the UK and I did not want an alien film, so lets just put that excuse in the trash This is an incredibly disappointing film It has fantastic visual flair but It lacks in Characters so much! Ironic that the most interesting character was an android, I cared more for the cat "jonsey" in Alien than any of the people in this film. You had characters who just pointed at things and said " thats a big mountain" and others that were killed and you didn't even know who they were. In an age where CGI can give you anything, the creature design was so poor and so samey. That was one thing that disappointed me about the film was just how pedestrian it is. It was a mash of event horizon, sunshine, alien and at the mountains of madness. Also guy pierce just looked like one of the old people suits from Jackass. Also these characters were meant to be scientists or be it people who were obviously educated but seem to be as thick as pig shit "here beautiful" says one of these characters to a creature worm cock thing (its obviously a 46" snake that is going to hurt you, you seemed keen on walking away from danger before but yes, lets try and stroke the alien worm underneath a giant foreboding human head with loads of black goo oozing out of capsules), also if these engineers (the creatures of man) are so intelligent why do they just seem so stupid and look like a bad guy from street fighter? and bash people about like Jason Statham? Really disappointed, I didn't want Alien at all, I wanted something new, this was so standard and dull and at points became a parody of films that had copied Alien. I wont be bullied into thinking this is a good film because of the marketing campaign and Ridley Scott. Scott has made some stinkers despite his career being incredible.
-
Again, I saw the movie today. The problem with many fans will be the their (too) high expectations, which no movie in the world could stand. In my opinion people who enjoyed the ALIEN franchise (except ALIEN 4 ;-)) will also like Prometheus. Its different, more spiritual - bigger from its story. Its about us - were we came from... Who made us... In that way. This idear is quite clever from Mr. Scott. And everything is packed in an awesome SiFi-Movie in the ALIEN Univers - good action, excellent thrills, suspense... Frankly what do you expect more? What should be then in it? And there is room for more - I am very curious if they will do another movie - there is alot of potential...
-
June 3, 2012, 4:15 p.m. CST
Why do talk backs always descend in to juvenile slagging matches?.......
by Paul French
FFS. Some people will like it. Some will hate it. Some will be somewhere in the middle but despite whatever the individual thinks it doesn't make them an idiot or a moron or any of the other choice insults that are flying around. Everyone has and is entitled to their opinion but when people start insulting just because you don't agree with their view it really begins to grind me. I thought the film was pretty poor. Not without some plus points, but overall a rather crushing disappointment. And the amount of people on here who haven't seen it that are attacking those who have seen it and we're disappointed is just hilarious and says a lot about many of the talkbackers. Not name checking anyone in particular but there are several people on here many who claim to be rather authorative
-
.........authorative figures on movies such as Alien and Blade Runner who are in for a shocking disappointment this coming week!
-
Caught again! No more Spiderman underoos to sniff?
-
Unfortunately, it also seems to say, "You know all that freaky, unearthly alien shit they discovered in 'Alien' - that space jockey thing, those freaky eggs and spider-finger rape-things and those things with metal teeth and acid blood? Well, they're not so alien after all, because we're related to them in a seriously major way." 'Prometheus' - making the truly alien less alien and making the cold vastness and endless possibilities of interstellar space look like a banjo-solo by an inbred cousin. Space Jockeys, facehuggers and chestbursters: not so alien after all. I dunno, just typing that makes me feel a bit effing depressed in the same way that Tatooine turning up every five minutes in the SW prequels depressed me.
-
Thank you for reinforcing my last comment about juveniles on here. So everyone on here that doesnt agree with you is Devin Faraci? That what youre saying yeah cos it's getting really fuckin old? Fuck knows what youre on about with sniffing Spiderman underoos you freak. Clearly you think everyone should love and worship Prometheus but are unable to articulate an actual argument so just resort to kiddie shit. Do everyone a favour and sign off.
-
Ah, so it's not a prequel unless it's a by the numbers, spell it out for you type of story... gotcha *Thumbs up*
-
Can't fool me Devin. I'm sure there's a forum out there dedicated to flaming The Dark Knight. Why don't you find it and leave the flame war of Prometheus to other one track minded amateurs. We already have plenty here. Please shower too, it shows that's lacking too...
-
Was it excellent? no. Was it awful? definately not. Was it ok to good verging on very good at times. Yes. I've read alot of reviews/talkbacks etc and when I read that Prometheus dissapoints on a similar level to Phantom Menace and Crystal Skull, I went in with my expectations set very low and i'm happy to say the film exceeded those expectations. It is nowehere near as bad as those films. I would say its alot better than both the alien vs predator movies and alien ressurection. For me its as good as alien 3 which I like. Some of it doesnt work. Many of the charaters are indeed weak and thinly drawn and are not given much screen time therefor we dont really care if/when they bite the dust. The film is for the most part action lite. This is by no means an action sci fi film. There are a few action beats but nothing we havnt seen before. The film answers some questions and raises many others and clearly sets things up for a sequel as there is no real resolotion. This is part 1 of an unfinished story. If Ridley Scott set out to scare us he failed. Despite one or two intense scenes, there are no scares to be had here. Very little tension either, with perhaps the exception being a scene which involves the first death of one of the crew members invovlving a snake like creature. If anything this film felt more like a philosophical psychological thriller rather than a horror and if you go in to this movie realising this, perhaps your experience will not feel too dissapointing. The positives however just about outweigh the negatives. Of the cast members, Michael Fassbender does indeed steal the show. Noomi Rapace is also very good, more so in the 2nd half of the movie. And Idris Elba brings a likeability and swagger to his role as the ships captain. The look of the film is amazing. It really does have some beautiful imagery going on straight from the opening frames. The effects do not detract from the story and they do not become the story. They serve it. Ridley still understands this and his use of practical locations and sets is admirable and a relief. Its true that the quiet silence and dredd of the original alien is replaced by a more conventional style of music score, which plays throughout most of the movie to sometimes good effect. There is a reccuring musical cue throughout this film which I rather liked. It plays throughout the opening credits and at various points throughout the film. It is not a horror cue, or an intense cue, rather a positive hopeful cue which wouldnt feel out of place in a trek movie, but it worked in creating a more wide eyed innocent atmosphere and for whatever reason I liked it. The film left me wanting more which as i said sets things up for more and I would definately go see it based on this first outing. its far from perfect but its also far from a disaster and there is much to like.
-
When's the marriage?
-
Well said..I think the scene where the first human ever to face an alien life form (snake) happens is a fucking disgrace. It's like he's seen loads of friendly aliens over the years and to him there very tame and he's mates with this FEMALE thingy even though he's never witnessed anything like this in his life before. BAD .. Just terrible
-
What better way to cheer myself up the jump into my yet unseen extras on my Star Wars blu rays...untouchable ...g'nite
-
AND I DON'T GIVE A SHIT WHAT ANYONE HERE SAYS.
-
take your dog with you, it'll serve as his breakfast
-
on the side. Scifi for dipshits. Everything has to be dumbed-down these days.
-
Those who love good, intelligent "hard" sci-fi and it's far-reaching ideas and who expect, when grand concepts are introduced, that they be investigated thoroughly. And. Those who are hard-of-thinking, easily pleased and who think Prometheus is intelligent sci-fi and not just a misleadingly-marketed, badly-written pile of half-arsed Hollywood-by-the-numbers dogshite. I'm proud to belong to the first group.
-
...I love how you're attempting to appear intellectually allof, claiming that those who dislike this steaming pile are only capanle of enjoying MIB3...by quoting something your pretentious tool of a boyfriend wrote. Prometheus is NOT high art. It's a mediocre sci-fi actioner. It may ask a serious question, but it never answers it. In fact it just poses question after question and never answers ANY of them. BAD WRITING. Try reading some real, intelligent sci-fi. I'll recommend Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos for starters, or some Iain M Banks. I doubt you're smart enough to appreciate it, though. Not enough hammy dialogue and sop-opera bullshit for your tastes.
-
johnnywrong, actually you're contradicting all the people in the first group. Haters are saying why did this happen? Why did that happen? Why did that person do that? I dont understand this? That's not *Hollywood-by-the-numbers*. No sir. Quite the opposite. If only it had been a bit more *by the numbers* a bit more straight forward like ALIENS then perhaps the trolls would be happier?
-
...I'm not.
-
And comparing hardcore sci-fi literature to a movie is a bogus comparison, for obvious reasons. Different mediums. Your high expectations wont be met by PROMETHEUS or indeed any movie until the day you die.
-
WHO THE FUCK DO CHANNEL 4 THINK THEY ARE? When a broadcasting company buys the right to televise a movie do they also buy the right to chop it up into an absolute mess too? District 9 was on Channel 4 this evening and I've just come online to find out if other people are as mad as I am . They seem to have randomly cut out several scenes and moments seemingly completely at random. At first i thought i was blinking veeeeery slowly as i could have sworn i missed several bits but then it dawned on me that some cunt at channel 4 had randomly cut MANY violent scenes and moments from the movie. I checked my watch... yup... it is 10.20. Well over an hour past the watershed. All the bad language was left intact, any many violent scenes were too. but somehow many of them had just randomly been cut. the funniest bit in the movie was excised (if you've seen it you know its punctuated with the word "FUCK!") and the whole seige scene ended up being "dudes blow up wall, walk into lab, get shot at, hide behind some lab equipment, steal a container and run away."..... where the fuck were the exploding Afrikaners? why were some exploding dudes removed from the movie whilst others left in? And the deaths of the 2 bad dudes edited down to next-to-nothing? whats with the inconsistency? WHO THE FUCK DO CHANNEL 4 THINK THEY ARE? If they show a 15 rated film past watershed they have no right to edit it. if they own the rights to broadcast ANY film that has material that is deemed not suitable for pre-watershed, they have no right to edit it so that they can show it pre-watershed. they are fucking with art here! and most importantly they are Censoring the artists and telling us as adults that we can only watch what they deem suitable. I am an adult Channel 4, i'll watch what i want... which from now on will not be movies on your shitty channel. I'll stick to netflix and lovefilm. At least they have a sense of pride in the great movies they have available. Shame on you Ch4! District 9 is the most important science fiction film of at least the last twenty years. you did it, and your viewers a major disservice tonight.
-
One of my friends posed a good question though, why does Shaw assume 100% that the Engineers invited us and created us? That's not science, what if they were invited there too? Maybe that's why they all died, they were a first contact scenario that went wrong too? So the films not all bad, it does at least pose some interesting questions.
-
It is daring in some places, it doesn't want to spell everything out - which I do appreciate - but there are certain scenes which the studio blatantly forced on Scott, for example the very last scene
-
by the opening scene, which ruins all the mystery and the engineer helmet/head reveal later on.
-
June 3, 2012, 6:35 p.m. CST
Please stop saying that those who dislike it just expected another ALIEN movie...
by BobbyBrown
I did not expect an Alien movie. I expected a Prometheus movie. Which I got. And on it's own terms, it failed. It starts off promisingly. The central story idea is a good one. It's filmed beautifully, and the 3D is excellent and immersive. It fails on the script. The first half is better, although the characters constantly behave in the most obvious, idiotic ways. They also don't really react to points of the film that are intended to surprise. Halfway through, it becomes a half-baked model of incoherent sub-plots that add nothing and pull us away from the main storyline. A better script, and we'd have a good movie. But isn't that always the case these days?
-
I mean, I didn't expect to see a xenomorph, but the trailer did show a space jockey. Whatupwitdat?
-
June 3, 2012, 6:44 p.m. CST
Prometheus=Spiderman3/MIB3/Batman&Robin/Terminator4/level letdown
by genrefanboy
Prometheus is an EPIC letdown on the scale of MIB2/Batman & Robin/Spiderman3/Terminator4. US viewers will see in 4 days what us europeans are moaning about then the shitstorm will begin & you will know in future who is telling the truth!! Fox are trying to drop this bomb on you with guerilla marketing tactics. Check out imdb forums there are plenty of negative views & lengthy paragraphs as to why this is a poor movie. Check out the global reaction thread on aicn forums & again there are plenty of lengthy negative opinions (not just from me either!). Now see how many positive lengthy opinions you can find on imdb/aicn other than the odd paragraph.....hmmmmm do you not think it a little suspicious that haters can find plenty to say yet the positive posters who would mislead you into believing this is a movie worth spending money on have little to say I wonder why that is.........go figure you can probably work it out yourself eventually otherwise waste your money & don't say you were not warned in advance by many people!
-
June 3, 2012, 6:45 p.m. CST
Prometheus=Spiderman3/MIB2/Batman&Robin/Terminator4/level letdown (sorry MIB2 not 3 which was excellent!!)
by genrefanboy
Prometheus is an EPIC letdown on the scale of MIB2/Batman & Robin/Spiderman3/Terminator4. US viewers will see in 4 days what us europeans are moaning about then the shitstorm will begin & you will know in future who is telling the truth!! Fox are trying to drop this bomb on you with guerilla marketing tactics. Check out imdb forums there are plenty of negative views & lengthy paragraphs as to why this is a poor movie. Check out the global reaction thread on aicn forums & again there are plenty of lengthy negative opinions (not just from me either!). Now see how many positive lengthy opinions you can find on imdb/aicn other than the odd paragraph.....hmmmmm do you not think it a little suspicious that haters can find plenty to say yet the positive posters who would mislead you into believing this is a movie worth spending money on have little to say I wonder why that is.........go figure you can probably work it out yourself eventually otherwise waste your money & don't say you were not warned in advance by many people!
-
you'll also notice the crew are morons. we're talking Cabin in the Woods style gas induced lapses of logic here. dialogue is also bad, really bad. Apart from David and Shaw we don't care about any of the characters. Zero character development in most cases. Its a shame the film is so average, it looks amazing and there's some brilliant ideas in it but its just executed so poorly. Its worth going to see but don't let Harry's review get your hopes up folks.
-
Sounds very Freudian to me! ;) I'm looking forward to when Prometheus opens in the US and we can have some ripe debate with our American cousins. As for me, I'm off to watch it again. SPOILER: if nothing else just to see that great moment when the Space Jockeys (fuck Engineers, we know who they are really) come running down the corridor through David. The audience I saw the movie with were literally slack jawed at that sequence in 3D. Visuals are truly among the best I've seen in the last decade - it's not the quality of the CG or the design work, it's the cinematography and photographers eye that makes it work so well. Someone compared it to BBC Planet Earth and that's a fair comparison to the quality of the panoramic and top-down work. I'd say that Prometheus will age very well, just as Bladerunner and Alien have done. The haters who call the film 'worst of all time' must have missed a whole bunch of that DNA infusion... in preference to bright orange Koolaid bubbles. Keep cool, Ummphoo
-
The rip off implications are astounding. Even the ancient alien stuff is in there!
-
June 3, 2012, 7:18 p.m. CST
Obvious late rewrites... And the AVP connection is undeniable.
by AnarchyWorldsEnd
The planet they were on was originally going to be LV-426 from Aliens. That final engineer chest burster WAS to be the Space Jockey burster from Alien. Somebody at FOX along with the other creative people thought they had a franchise on their hands and somewhere along the line made the utterly transparent decision to leave the door open for sequels. Think about that when people are praising the "vision" of this drivel. It's a worse cash in than AVP. At least we all knew PW Anderson was shit. This is riding Ridley's coat tails and masquerading as a good film which it most certainly isn't. And to all those who called the AVP homage/hackery you get a gold star for paying attention :-)
-
June 3, 2012, 7:19 p.m. CST
all the fanboys are about to just their justifications for the build up to this in 5...4...3..2...
by peter
-
so damn excited...
-
...is that James Cameron directs the Prometheus sequel. Now that would be poetic justice. :) Keep cool, Ummphoo
-
...even if the last frame of the film isn't the first frame of the next, like the Thing prequel. Didn't hear anyone arguing that Rise of the Planet of the Apes wasn't a prequel.
-
June 3, 2012, 7:58 p.m. CST
Harry also says forget about portion control and sensible eating!
by Bob
-
I downloaded a decent bootleg and just finished watching... they will DEFINITELY not be getting my money. To me, this is not quite Phantom Menace level of disaster, but it is easily just as bad as Indy IV. I had not been this underwhelmed by a summer film since the Matrix sequels. Could have been decent with a couple of rewrites.
-
June 3, 2012, 8:36 p.m. CST
Imagine encountering someone who said they watched a digitally filmed bootleg of 2001, Blade Runner or Alien...
by Jay
You'd probably want to slap them across the face. I can't for the life of me understand why someone would purposely remove any possibility of visual awe from the film by watching a poorly recorded bootleg. (And no. I don't think Prometheus is on the same level of those mentioned film.)
-
With at least 12 people.
-
With less Sean Penn (which would automatically make it better ... )
-
June 3, 2012, 8:55 p.m. CST
prequel, protoquel, reboot, remake, sequel, spin-off... whatever it is
by lv_426
Reading the various reactions, both positive and negative, it sounds as if Prometheus didn't remotely need to be set in the same fictional universe that the Alien films are set in. It sounds as if not being set in the Alien universe would have done Prometheus a whole lot of good. Except the cash grab mentality of the studio of course. Revitalizing the Alien universe as a quasi-prequel lets them eventually bring in Lindelof and his pal JJ Abrams or some other producer or director that makes safe summer tentpole effects films (Roland Emmerich, Ratner, etc.) to do the sequels. Let's face it, Sir Ridley is 75. His next film is The Counselor. Then maybe Blade Runner 2. So is Prometheus 2 next? I wouldn't be as apprehensive about it all if they had been straight with us from the get go about the *you gotta see the next one to finish the plot* bullshit they're throwing on us now. As if stands now, I'm going to go into Prometheus with the expectation that it is a big A-budget sci-fi film that is basically a mashup of a B movie version of 2001 A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Vampires, filtered through whackadoo ancient astronaut mythology and visualized with a Metal Hurlant/Heavy Metal design aesthetic. Oh, and a little The Thing and Dead Space body horror mutation thrown in for shits and giggles (giggles Headgeek... giggles!!!!!!!!!!) I'll get back to all of you on whether or not I think Prometheus is canon. I also will admit to being an idiot who does on occasion dream in the third person.
-
June 3, 2012, 8:58 p.m. CST
Oh, I also forgot to mention the ancient alien Jason Stathems from Dark City
by lv_426
aka, the space jockeys.
-
June 3, 2012, 8:59 p.m. CST
reportabuse -- so what the fuck does Terrence Malick's A L I E N end up like?
by lv_426
-
June 3, 2012, 9:36 p.m. CST
creepythinman should be banned for that "mail order whore" comment. It's racist, and Jesus, it's Harry's girl!...
by FreeBeer
...Ban this dickhead Harry.
-
June 3, 2012, 9:56 p.m. CST
I think Mallerick2001 has the best take on this film as is.
by CrushKillDestroy
Search to find comment doesn't seem to work though. Something like "Prometheus" is really the alien at the start of film and humans encounter the wrath of the gods for what "he" has done. The film did not go in the direction I thought it should and is weak if you look at it any other way.
-
June 3, 2012, 10 p.m. CST
I wish people would not complain so much about characters not acting like they would.
by CrushKillDestroy
1. You likely aren't scientists and shouldn't pretend to speak for them. 2. It seems many of them have been waiting all their lives for something like this and are kids in the candy store. Which is somewhat understandable but not prudent. 3. If everybody acted reasonable, we would have very few entertaining films.
-
June 3, 2012, 10:09 p.m. CST
SPOILER ALERT: Harry, I saw Prometheus and you're completely misleading people into thinking there's anything here
by jaws007
Prometheus is a TERRIBLE MOVIE. The only negative comparisons to Alien I've heard all have to do with Alien being an excellent film and a milestone in the genre, while this film is none of that. The creatures look TERRIBLE. The performances are awful. The script is garbage. Not a single character in the film behaves like a human being. Logan Marshall-Green gives a Paul-Walker-esq turn as a "scientist" (yes, that's right, not snowboarder, but scientist) in a role reminiscent of Denise Richards as Christmas Jones, nuclear physicist. Theron, I'm sorry to say, is a joke in this. Fassbender was great (best in the movie, but we've seen great android performances before, nothing new here), and I felt bad for Noomi Rapace as she struggled against a poorly motivated character with a lot of heart, all for naught. The script is so bad and the characters so poorly drawn that you don't care about what happens to anybody: you can't identify with them because every time they open their mouths they remind you they're not human and have no credible human motivations (thank you for that, Damon Lindelof). Harry, you should be ashamed to mislead people into thinking that there might be a worthwhile film here. You're entitled to your opinion, but don't LIE to people and tell them that people who are disappointed are disappointed because Sigourney Weaver isn't in it or something. People are disappointed because they thought Scott had something interesting to add to the genre here, like he used to. The fact is that The Thing prequel you screamed about and panned, while not great, was a better film with better craft, story, and performances. It was also at least as effective at CGI body horror. You seem to imply that if you strain to look past the terrible filmmaking, there's something ambitious about the story Scott's trying to tell. There's no ambition here. The concepts are nothing we haven't seen in Mission To Mars, which is a movie that would also prepare people for how terrible Prometheus is. Other movies I was reminded of, both for content and quality: Event Horizon (better than Prometheus) AVP, and Leviathan, for God's sake. The nicest thing I can say is that it looks nice, but so does John Carter. I heard Ridley's son directed the David 8 viral. He should have directed the movie. I feel so sorry for everyone who is looking forward to this movie. The percentage of 'good' reviews is completely misleading and you're not doing these people any favors, Harry.
-
Domestic critics are going to blast this out of the water I have a feeling. I'm not a screenwriter just a movie geek, but I can't believe that Scott got behind this rubbish. I'm so bummed.
-
looool
-
June 3, 2012, 10:28 p.m. CST
Also, Event Horizon gets a bad rap because of that guys later films
by Jaka
That film is pretty damn solid from front to back. I just watched it again last week and damn if it isn't still creepy.
-
I agree about Event Horizon, it's unfair to even compare it to Prometheus, it's a much better genre flick. It did come to mind as a similar genre film though, and people who are expecting Prometheus to set a new genre standard should recalibrate and just hope for a middling sci-fi/horror hybrid genre pic that is being sold as the next Alien or 2001. BTW, I watched Leviathan recently again and I have to say that even THAT is a better film than Prometheus, with hammy but solid performances by Peter Weller, Richard Crenna, Ernie Hudson, and Hector Elizondo, a solid if unremarkable script and a decent Jerry Goldsmith score (something else Prometheus could have used).
-
June 3, 2012, 11:24 p.m. CST
I'd be far more willing to concede to the review's point that this is not ALIEN
by Jacob Underhill
if Harry did not take the opportunity in almost every paragraph to explain why this was not ALIEN. You spend so much time dismissing the connective tissue to ALIEN that the reader can't help but think about ALIEN the whole review. I suspect the movie suffers from the same issue, though.
-
I'm actually kind of surprised that a more elaborately done version of Sir Peter Weyland's TED speech wasn't the opener to the film. It seems to cover the whole *we are the gods now* hubris that he seems to lead his company with. Also, hearing how Guy Pearce appears later as old man Weyland in bad make up that causes him to look like Montgomery Burns from The Simpsons... is just fucking disheartening as hell. It actually makes me wonder why they didn't have a younger Guy Pearce as say the son of Peter Weyland be the protagonist of the film instead of Rapace's religious scientist Shaw. Think about it. Sir Peter Weyland dies, then his son takes over the company, finishes the Prometheus ship and puts the team together to go out and meet the gods (who shouldn't have been revealed in the trailers, interviews, and opening scene of the movie). So this Peter Weyland II maybe wants to outdo his father by being the first to actually make contact with these gods, cause not only will he be able to unravel that spiritual knot, but it seems he and his company would also be the first to make contact with an alien race. David 8 could have been a sort of brother to this Peter Weyland II since the elder Weyland was also obsessed with creating artificial life. Maybe Weyland II is somewhat jealous of David 8 for these reasons? Charlize could have been the sister or wife then. Maybe take it to where Weyland II has to choose who to side with, his sister/wife or his brother. I don't know, it just seems more bold and daring to do something like that character wise instead of having to always have a female protagonist cause it is an Alien movie. At this point, the whole *oh my gosh, a female heroine* thing doesn't feel new or bold. It also seems like having Guy Pearce as the main character would have allowed a more capable actor carry the movie, and they would have avoided the cheesy old man make up effects. It also would have tied in with the notion of king and father that Prometheus seems to be focused on (Prometheus was male in the myths, male space jockey dudes, the whole king has his reign speech). Finally, we've never had an Alien film with one of the company stooges as the one who drives the plot and maybe arcs as a character. The company man in the Alien films is always a slimy backstabbing manipulator or just an asshole (Ash, Burke, Clemens and Bishop II in Alien 3, the scientist in Alien R whose head gets chestbursted at the end). As for any more Prometheus prequels, sequels, or spin-offs, I wonder if Ridley went along with the notion of franchising this as a new spin-off trilogy for his son to direct? Or maybe his brother Tony? I say this guessing that Ridley might make The Counselor and the Blade Runner sequel next, which by then he'd be about 80, then retire from directing and pass Alien/Prometheus onto his relatives.
-
I'm not sure I love the idea of putting a face to such an iconic sci-fi megacorp like Weyland-Yutani via a live action Mr. Burns who crops up as a side character and is barely in the film. I say either go big or go home in this regard, meaning Weyland should have been the main character. Otherwise it reeks of what was done to another iconic but faceless sci-fi villain. If you haven't already guessed it, I'm referring to SKYNET in Terminator Salvation. They took one of the all time scary, nearly god-like non-human villains of sci-fi film and stuck Helena Bonham Carter's face on it. Not that I have a problem with Helena Bonham Carter. I just thought putting a human face to SKYNET was a big stumble in that film, and something I'd never ever expect to see James Cameron do had he been at the helm of Terminator Salvation.
-
June 3, 2012, 11:45 p.m. CST
At least Harry is kind enough to weep for us fool who can;t pay enough attention to understand the movie like he does.
by Jacob Underhill
-
June 4, 2012, 12:23 a.m. CST
@lv_426 - Weyland leading the exploration would have been cool.Pearce would have done well as an ambitious explorer leading his crew (and himself) to doom...
by kenchun24
...but it seems Prometheus is not that good.Sounds like it fails on really simple levels that we always discuss here on AICN.Script,character development,motives of the characters and logic in regards to the script. I said it at the top of this talkback,sounds like the story of Prometheus is an Ancient Aliens episode,and characters are all rehashes of former Alien archetypes. Too bad.
-
June 4, 2012, 12:44 a.m. CST
blood in the water.... the sharks have started circling. Prometheus is about to be kicked to the curb. I feel sorry for this film...
by peter
It was doomed from the beginning and you only have yourselves to blame. Couldn't leave well enough alone, you all HAD to search and scour the interweb for every little tid-bit of info up to the point where you all started to hypothesis on the who, what, why's and where's would be in the film. I will still see this, I'm going in with LESS then high expectations but always was going to anyway. I'm sure I'll enjoy it. But as for the EPIC that all the bullshit fanboys were yelling this would be for months now, well, you can all kiss my ass. You get what you deserved. Tough shit. No sympathy from me.
-
Just like he did with Lost. The script is fucking horrible.
-
June 4, 2012, 12:59 a.m. CST
I knew that so-called script from months ago was gonna turn out better than the actual film. I have absolutely no fucking faith in that cocksucker Lindelof.
by GQTaste26
-
spoilers kinda.... (not that it matters, the movie blows either way, I promise) Yeah, Guy Pierce is just one of the many letdowns in store for everyone. And I like the Company as the Company, not as the Empire with Guy Pierce filling in as Palpatine. Going with Weyland or Weyland Jr. as lead would be one way to go: Make our protagonist an ambitious Shackleton type instead of those two wastes. Maybe they're saving him for the sequel, maybe there'll be a younger Weyland, but who cares? The main problem, I'm afraid, is that the filmmakers weren't able to effectively tell a story, regardless of the specifics. I'm sure there was a story worth telling here, they just couldn't deliver. The mistakes and holes are absolutely embarrassing, right from the beginning with their completely inexplicable theory that's handled in SEVERAL clunky and embarrassing scenes without bothering to give the characters any basis to HAVE this theory... But even without all the logic problems there's nothing here anyway. Nothing worth watching about the characters, nothing that intriguing or fresh about the story, and you can't even fall back on the world and the hardware: all will insult your intelligence, from the self-operating machine to the over-designed ship itself, don't expect to enjoy it even on a basic geeky sci-fi life systems level. One nice early moment: Fassbender tending the ship before everyone wakes up. But so what. I think people were justified in thinking this would be more than just a dead-behind-the-eyes popcorn genre movie. They're not going to be pleased when they see it.
-
SPOILERS It borrows heavily from AVP, right down to ancient temples/statues of the gods/crew separation/Weyland in charge/alien artifacts/hieroglyphs/etc. etc. It also borrows heavily from EVENT HORIZON, as others have observed. In other words, almost NOTHING original. There's no tension. No scares. No dread. You've seen it all before. Such a complete waste, and I actually saw ALIEN back in 1979 in the theater. Why, oh WHY did Ridley need to explain the space jockey, who is just a humanoid in a SUIT?! FAIL. Just UTTER FAIL. Lindelof shares the blame, that guy is utterly incapably of creating any kind of big reveal. His escape is simply to create more questions. The finest hackery at present. Save your money (and expectations) by waiting for the Blu-ray.
-
Who out there who has read anything about this thought it was going to be Alien or Aliens? And those two films don't even have that much in common. Yes it is some kind of prequel but I never thought the tone would be the same. But I was worried about the "Lost" hack writing a shitty screenplay and turned out that he did. Why did Ridley Scott direct it is the better question? Is he clueless or does he just like to work or wanted the paycheck? I haven't seen it yet but am curious.
-
June 4, 2012, 2:07 a.m. CST
It's great science fiction ... if L. Ron Hubbard is great science fiction
by No Respectable Gentleman
Yeah, I'm still bitter about this thing. And one thing that's getting me increasingly annoyed is this notion that the film is some thoughtful piece of high art that us philistines are too dumb to appreciate (as we wait for the next TRANSFORMERS film). Truth is, real SF writers (and I use the abbreviation that science fiction writers prefer) would be appalled by this schlock. At a time when Creationism rears its ugly head ... when an alarming number of Americans reject evolution ... we get this cheesy/camp/kitschy albino bodybuilder in a loincloth seeding the Earth. And black goo. And beings with absurdly accelerated life-spans. And clunky dialogue about God. Hopefully SOUTH PARK rips this thing apart.
-
June 4, 2012, 2:26 a.m. CST
no respectable gentleman -- A L I E N = hard science fiction / PROMETHEUS = whackadoo ancient alien creationist techno-fantasy
by lv_426
I think you have really nailed what is bothering me about the direction they've taken with this. They might very well have ripped out the hard SF guts of the Alien saga.
-
It's not really fair to blame Lindelof considering it was why Ridley hired him, but Lindelof was hired to get rid of all Alien/xenomorph/chestburster references from Spaiths' original screenplay. EW: So the original script was more of an Alien prequel than yours? Lindelof: Yes. The job that I was hired to do was to scale back the familiar tropes or symbology of what we think of when we think of an Alien movie. When I say Alien to you, you think face-hugger, chest-burster, eggs, acid blood, queen — the concentration of those things was much higher in Jon’s script than they are in Prometheus. http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/05/11/damon-lindelof-prometheus-life-after-lost/3/ So Ridley is to blame, fair and square. Not that I'm blaming anyone, I haven't seen the film yet!
-
June 4, 2012, 2:37 a.m. CST
And yes, I am an idiot for mixing up prequel with prologue in yesterday's comments
by Hardboiled Wonderland
I humbly eat pie. If Harry hasn't eaten it already.
-
June 4, 2012, 2:47 a.m. CST
re: Prometheus characters not being very engaging or memorable
by Hardboiled Wonderland
Alien was lightning in a bottle. You had Ian Holm, Harry Dean Stanton, Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Koto, John Hurt, and newcomer Weaver at the top of their game, encouraged to improvise in almost every scene. I mean seriously, even though they weren't blockbuster names they had serious acting cred. Put them in a room, let them improvise, and magic happens. Only a fool would try to repeat that with Prometheus. You can't catch lightning in a bottle twice. I'm seeing Prometheus this week, but the general consensus is that the characters, their behaviour is a weak point of the movie. This isn't just the domain of the screenwriters, but Ridley and the actors. It's no coincidence the only standout was Fassbender. Theron imho is overrated.
-
June 4, 2012, 2:54 a.m. CST
"Theron imho is overrated. "..No, ONLY saying someone/thing is 'overated' is overated....
by quantize
How ANY sane human being could say she's "overated" after viewing either Monster, Young Adult or The Road is fucking mindblowing.. Again the ignorance on this site is spectacular...what you MEAN to say is she's been in a few movies lately and that annoys you that she's beautiful and talented AND getting attention.. for fucks sake, save your snide comments for truly phony assholes who really can't act at all.. sheesh
-
June 4, 2012, 2:58 a.m. CST
Whoa quantize, easy tiger. As they say, opinions are like assholes
by Hardboiled Wonderland
No need for the abuse. I never said Theron can't act (and I was never snide about it either) -- I just think her reputation is overrated, I've never seen her appeal, she doesn't do anything for me. I also think Cormac McCarthy is overrated. So suck it.
-
June 4, 2012, 3:18 a.m. CST
@hardboiled wonderland The lead actors are good, the bit players are useless or pointless
by marineboy
Instead of a crew of 17, 7 would have sufficed.
-
We get that many of you are disappointed, yet the rest of us have plenty that we enjoyed in Prometheus to deem it worthy of anyone's time - so get over it. Am I frustrated because I see a great film buried in there? A little. Yet I'm not going to waste time crying about it when there was so much in there that I thought was brilliant. The movie's biggest problem is that its connected to Alien at all. If anything, it becomes reliant on conventions we know to death when the first 45 minutes felt so original. The first half feels like Ridley Scott; the second half less so. For all it's problems it is a very entertaining movie
-
June 4, 2012, 3:38 a.m. CST
Holy crap talkbacks and spoilers and questions warping my brain
by SuperXY
The shear number of comments on this is a testament to how people feel about these movies. I am having people over tomorrow night to watch Alien and Aliens to get ready for the midnight release. Should be fun. But... I am so confused now. I have tried to stay away from everything. Even though there was a breech of spoiler etiquette along my quest to not learn anything, I am still psyched about this movie. But, Harry, how can it not be the same planet? I'm just so confused. Wasn't the spaceship in the trailers? And all the other stuff from the old movies? I am so confused. Thank God for that because it helps the following story become a little less awful. Some chick saw the poster while we were out on a date and told me about a mystery character. She had never seen Alien and knew nothing about the story, but one of her friends - who had watched some damn youtube video - had said something to her about it. So when I said it was my most eagerly anticipated movie of the year she didn't know she was about to ruin a big mystery for me. I spent the rest of the night quietly hiding how angry I was and waiting for the movie we were watching (Avengers) to get finished so that I could get the date over with. It still bugs me that she said something. I mean you gotta have priorities. Don't fuck with a movie geek's enjoyment of a movie.
-
If you don't care what anyone on here thinks why come and foist your useless opinion on us? Alien: Resurrection is terrible, anyone with half a brain knows that. Giler and Hill were disgusted by it. Alien is brilliant, Aliens is brilliant, Alien 3 is very good, everything else is shit. And sadly that includes Prometheus.
-
It is another planet they go to, it is not LV_426. You'll understand once you see the film.
-
is that Lindelof is a terrible writer. The script is something you'd expect a 14 year old to come up with. It is truly awful. There are just a sequence of events, no drama rushing the film along.
-
Spot on.
-
You could lift out her entire role and it wouldn't affect the 'narrative' at all.
-
The film sucked for all the reasons outlined above. But the coda at the end... Since this was a ham fisted attempt to link directly to the Alien movies, you would have thought they would try to make the xenomorph look like they do in the rest of the films. This has no extendable mouth, red gums and the shape of the head is wrong being more cone like. Honestly if you're going to pay fan service to those movies, at least attempt to make it look better than the 2nd rate ripoff we get here. Before anyone bitches about alien life cycle blah blah blah I know all that. But in every film, despite the creature that hosts the xenomorph, the end result usually share the same traits, such as extendable jaw and penis shaped head. All except the Predalien from AVP2
-
good point about canon... never occurred to me... maybe we can just pretend this never happened, like nu trek. hmm...
-
Genius sci-fi from Ridley Scott sucks balls, and yet the MacGruber 2 thread is filled with "Best movie ever!!!". Yep, that's AICN.
-
June 4, 2012, 4:18 a.m. CST
@kwisatz, wasn't that Theron's complaint about Spaihts's script?
by Hardboiled Wonderland
Theron demanded big changes, Vickers given more to do with more depth, before she'd sign on. Considering the criticism of Lindelof's script, that doesn't say much for Spaihts's!! ;-)
-
The more childish garbage you write the more pathetic you become. Boo hooing because I don't like your new favourite movie. Are you not seeing the pattern in the talkback yet? Anyone with taste and a half decent IQ doesn't like it. Oh that's right, you don't fall in to that category...... Maybe you should go back to watching movies like the Friday The 13th remake or pretty much anything by Platinum Dunes or Michael Bay. I'm sure you've got them all on DVD. Plenty of entertainment there for you! One track minded amateur? Look in the mirror my friend.
-
... before people stop inviting him to play in their sandbox? Star Trek 2 is co-written by the Triumverate of Suck (Lindelof, Orci and Kurtzman) - is there anyone who thinks it has any chance of being anything but complete horseshit? If you do, you're an idiot.
-
June 4, 2012, 4:41 a.m. CST
syn flood - It's not genius sci-fi. It's banal, dumb sci-fi from Ridley Scott. hence the anger and frustration.
by Fortunesfool
-
June 4, 2012, 4:46 a.m. CST
The actors in Alien being forced to improvise in every scene:
by david starling
Does that also include Harry Dean Stanton saying "riiiiggghhhhhttt" in as many different ways as he can?
-
June 4, 2012, 4:53 a.m. CST
It looked lovely but after 3 decades since doing SCi-FI Scott chose this script?!!
by Gabba-UK
It was an enjoyable enough movie. But I wasn't scared, wasn't made squeamish and more importantly I didn't care. Disappointing is the best praise I can give it.
-
June 4, 2012, 4:58 a.m. CST
best line spouted by a so called scientist in this flick ' is this alien piss' whilst wondering what the rain is
by axemurder
-
June 4, 2012, 5:01 a.m. CST
I need a caesarean .. NO you need an ABORTION you thick cunt
by axemurder
-
June 4, 2012, 5:03 a.m. CST
"Whoa quantize, easy tiger. As they say, opinions are like assholes" , yeh that was obvious from your first post...
by quantize
and fuck you loser.
-
June 4, 2012, 5:04 a.m. CST
kwisatzhaderach, when i say i dont care what anyone thinks, try to imagine im specifically talking to you...i've read your 'opinions' thanks
by quantize
-
The alien is a cone head? What the holy fucking fuck?
-
June 4, 2012, 5:05 a.m. CST
"Alien 3 is very good," I rest my case, even the director wanted his name off it...it puts people to sleep..
by quantize
-
These two smart ladies are being chased by a massive crashing spaceship. A circular massive crashing spaceship rolling towards them. So they run away from it along its route? If a car is about to hit you, you jump out of the way. Not run along in front of it? This is just one of the many little niggles that the script has that chips away at the credibility of the film. Logic is thrown out of the window throughout the film in favour of 'trailer moments'. In the film its mentioned that the Weyland company has invested one trillion into the Prometheus mission. Yet they crew it with a bunch of cretins? Seriously?
-
June 4, 2012, 5:31 a.m. CST
Well Boxofficemojo is reporting the film has opened in 1st place in 14 out of the 15 markets - for an estimated $35MM weekend.
by Magic01273
Strong openings in UK, Russia and France particularly (queue the European/UK/French insults) And yes - I realise its success will ultimately depend on its US release and whether it has any legs or not - however its not a bad start for a movie that is - according to some on AICN - the cinematic equivalent of a direct-to-DVD Catwoman sequel starring RuPaul. Expands to the US and 35 other territories this week. Should be interesting.
-
June 4, 2012, 5:31 a.m. CST
@axemurder They kill the Darwinist. You really think they're gonna allow and abortion!!!
by Fortunesfool
It's christian propaganda from Damon Lindelof. Again.
-
I felt that scene was a bit tacked on but I get why it didn't look exactly like the Xenomorphs from the original saga. I think it's meant to be something the xenos evolved from rather than the actual xenos themselves. I'm guessing the crashed ship on LV-426 is another botched attempt to wipe out earth, we may yet get to see it in the sequels, if this doesn't bomb that is. As much as the film had its problems, which Harry so graciously tried to pretend don't exist, I would still be eager to see a sequel.
-
that's why he's so smug on twitter at all the complaints - he already got his gold-pressed latinum, so why should he care?
-
June 4, 2012, 5:38 a.m. CST
=They've neutered the alien's penis shaped head!= explains why quantize is so grumpy
by Hardboiled Wonderland
-
Only in the opinions of the utter retards here. No other sci-fi movie has dealt with such themes in such a daring manner as this film for many, many years. Comic book nerds are just crying because they were expecting Pandorum 2.
-
June 4, 2012, 5:41 a.m. CST
Just got this review from a friend = Prometheus is like U2
by Hardboiled Wonderland
Prometheus is like U2 trying not to sound like U2. I still can't wait to see Prometheus this Thursday, regardless of Ridley making an Alien prequel (there, I said it) without making an Alien prequel.
-
"This visually alluring mess also includes gobs of cheesy dialogue and a hokey-looking alien."
-
I agree, thematically it was very ambitious and that's to be applauded. Its just a shame the script built around those themes was below par.
-
Clearly this movie was set on LV426, and a Fox suit saw the franchise opportunity and changed the planet/moon name. Otherwise, we're asked to believe that another derelict with a hole in it crashes and rests in the same position, with another Engineer crew infected by their own bio weapon payload? C'mon.
-
June 4, 2012, 5:49 a.m. CST
Oh gods, Mission To Mars -- all the Lindelof haters should read *that* script
by Hardboiled Wonderland
I'm still scrubbing my eyes with steel wool after seeing Ford Koppola's film suicide.
-
cool_britannia79 you need to have an inquiring mind and dwell on the questions and then logical answers will present themselves. or something.
-
2 hours sleep, 2 bottles of wine = stay off the internet.
-
That doesn't add up at all. For a start there's no eggs in the ship, the Jockey didn't die in the cockpit. Also the atmosphere is different and there was no non-natural structures on LV-426.
-
June 4, 2012, 5:53 a.m. CST
the most depressing thing of all is that I'll never look at the space jockey in Alien in the same way ever again....
by axemurder
-
I like what Prometheus is trying to do. The problem is, it fails miserably while trying.
-
But not that surprising. It seemed like this return to sci fi for ridley was a bit forcedd after the failures of his last few films. Well at least there's always danny boyles sunshine if I wanna catch a mature and visually stunning and smart sci fi film.
-
It raises them and then doesn't have the balls, or intelligence, to follow through on them. Having one character be a 'creationist' and another a 'darwinist' isn't a theme. It's a clumsy chunk of high school level profundity. No one ever talks about, or considers it. It's just presented to us and then forgotten about. Sure we can debate it afterwards as we are now, but I think you're giving the film too much credit. Compare it to Blade Runner where you can pick away at it and reveal even more hidden layers. Picking away at Prometheus just reveals dead ends and more logic issues. Its what happens when you get a screenplay by two guys who live in a cultural void and just regurgitate the movies and books they read as kids. Look at the 'scientists' in this film. It's like the writers reference for 'what scientists do' is taken from some 50's b-movies - lets poke it and see what it does. As a huge Ridley Scott fan ( i even found lots to enjoy in Robin Hood) i'm trying my best to find some good in this but I just hit frustration at every turn
-
all you had to do was have the engineer fight before he got in the pilot seat and die there. the temple is surrounded by mountains the ship could have crashed on. you're right about the eggs though. imagine if they do focus on the LV426 ship in a sequel, how confused is the average audience member going to be watching another Derelict crash and another Engineer get chest burst?
-
THAT'S why the engineer was in cryo, same reason Shaw was about to be put in cryo. He was infected. OK, the Jockey in Alien has no cryo pods, but I can see him waking up and immediately trying to get home, to be chest burst and then crash the ship. I bet that was the original story before Lindelof's rewrite.
-
June 4, 2012, 6:22 a.m. CST
If it was LV 426 they'd have found the crashed Prometheus in Alien too
by Fortunesfool
-
also, i'm guessing previous drafts of screenplay here, in the chestbursting scenario there's no reason for prometheus to crash at all.
-
It's really simple. The film itself is mutated copy of Alien and this parallels the nature of DNA replication and hence the theme of the film which is that not only life but ideas require a blueprint prior to their creation. Plato argued that behind all things there exists a universe of perfect forms. To illustrate his thesis he provided the following example: Horses. Every single horse is unique and subtly different from the next yet somehow we all know precisely what we are looking at when we see a horse. That's because the 'idea' of the horse is permanent. The idea precedes the object or at least information precedes origin. It is this idea of recursion, the chicken and the egg if you will, that underlies Prometheus. It is a thesis embedded into the structure of both the script and the completed film. That Prometheus depends upon Alien to exist despite it being a prequel adds yet more layers to this already compelling story. The film is enhanced even further by the character of David. David depended on man for his creation and yet, he despises man for not valuing their creation. He values himself for his own sake, much as we value ourselves in spite of the fact that we ourselves are nothing more than food to 'lesser' life forms that populate this film. There is simply so much going on in this film that I feel it is a fascinating triumph. Yes, I didn't feel the kamikaze scene had been earned. Yes, the film is not as relentlessly tense and scary as Alien. Yes, the music is not as memorable. But I tell you what... This film is as fascinating a creation as any of the previous films and I mean that sincerely. The detractors are obsessed with conservative formalism. Prometheus is the future. Get used to it.
-
June 4, 2012, 6:58 a.m. CST
Hey movie studios, fuck you for this non-U.S. first release crap
by MooseMalloy
It makes me not want to see your movies in the theater and just wait for the discs when I read articles like this one.
-
June 4, 2012, 7 a.m. CST
How about just fuck off with your high art attempts at trolling?
by cool_britannia79
I don't really think you're stupid enough to think this is a brilliant movie. You may find the themes resonating with you more than most, but I think you can still see a poor script, stupid characters and bad direction up there on screen.
-
June 4, 2012, 7:02 a.m. CST
Hey movie studios, would you really like to create a "global" market, then release your movies on the same day all around the world
by MooseMalloy
-
June 4, 2012, 7:02 a.m. CST
It's ok, saw it yesterday. Hack TV writers have proven themselves...as crap
by Tomarru
I can see both sides of the argument, the vitriol being aimed it's way is not without cause. The limited praise it receives is also justified. I kinda agree with the Kermode review right now, not quite 3 stars bad, not quite 4 stars good. The film looks stunning from top to bottom, the visual flare of Ridley Scott hasn't diminished in the slightest. Some of the ideas presented are great and there is a good movie in there waiting to get out and it does deserve a continuation. It doesnt butt up against Alien, but definately resides within it's universe much like pitch black and riddick are the same universe. There was a sense of foreboding and dread bubbling underneath, even if the pacing and lack of payoff failed to turn it into anything worthwhile. [SPOILERS] However a lot of the issues raised by others do afflict the film and it all stems from the script. It seems to be that Hollywood has dried up of all writing talent, orci, kurzman, lindelof. A crack team of the best producers of dreck and yet they have managed to taint just about every big movie of the past 5 years or more. Prometheus is just another example of their policies leave the answers to the sequel and make every character as one dimensional and logically challenged as possible. 95% of the cast are nothing more than red shirted cannon fodder, they change personality several times within a scene. How they managed to create a mercenary geologist mapping specialist who manages to get himself lost while having access to several maps and in contact with the main crew in the ship is beyond me. And all it took for him to leave his weapons behind was for some pissant scientest to cry a bit. The logic just dropped out of the movie at the most conveniently opportune moments. Taking off the helmets, one guy does it, and none of the others say thx but no thx. Going up to a strange alien creature and trying to coax it like its a kitty, people wouldnt go and put their face near a strange dog on earth. Actual procedures seemed to be very lax, nobody staying on the bridge while the 2 were lost in the facility, opening the cargo doors and one guy going out to check on the corpse, nobody checking what david brought back, trying to resurrect the engineer head to see what the "strange growths" were. Nobody communicating anything, "excuse me everybody, im pregnant with an alien and David just tried to hide it." Black goo does "stuff" at random to suit the plot. A lot of the threads also just start and end with nothing, the boyfriend getting sick just ended up with him dead, the 2 getting lost just ended up with them and a couple of faceless crew members dead. Weyland being on board just ends up with him being dead. David learning the language just ends up with him being dead. The engineer being alive just ends up with him being dead and an out of place finale. The only real answers we got were anecdotes or exposition from David, the rest of the crew just guessed at stuff and were too busy wrapped in their own existance or place in the universe to actually ask anything about what was going on. I still enjoyed it for the spectacle, but with a better script it could have been a FAR better movie. I wish Hollywood could respect its audience a bit better and create a set of characters and circumstances that hold up to logical reasoning of real people instead of hollow caricatures. Thank fuck lindelof won't be anywhere near the cinema in the future, unfortunately he already claimed a pretty major casualty.
-
June 4, 2012, 7:03 a.m. CST
SPOILER!! Axemurder... How about this brilliant piece of a scene
by Chapeau
You've just discoverd the greatest find known to Mankind. You have 2 stranded crew members in an Alien world. You briefly teased casually that there maybe a lifeform,...oh no its gone again, don't worry. Sleep tight. and without a moments thought of those 2 guys stranded who, you could easily walk out of the cave, cos your bloody staring at a 3-D map FFS!!! Decides, to Fuck Them off, and Go Fuck Vickers..... oh and guess what, now your 2 boys are DEAD!! Then again, it would be just like StringerBell, to back stab a man over Pussy! Makes sense now.....NOT!!
-
He really does, so flawed. Bravo sir.
-
June 4, 2012, 7:20 a.m. CST
All the other reviews call it an Alien prequel Harry...
by Bullet_time_Facehugger
...And Scott and Co. dancing around that topic was them trying to distance themselves from the stink of shit on this franchise from the AVP movies. Yet you say its not. It makes me wonder if you actually paid attention to the movie at all.
-
June 4, 2012, 7:26 a.m. CST
@congcongbo - Quit taking examples from 'Sophie's World' we've all read that book and stop charging the film as an intelligent 'fascinating triumph' because it is no such thing...
by AllThosePowers
...anyone who applies even a good review to this film is either, a plant who is being rewarded in some way or if they're not studio hired, they've little idea about good writing and are just so contaminated with far too much insight about a film's director/writer and expectations, they can no longer make accurate assessments and fail to evaluate correctly a well written film from one that is so badly executed in terms of script, characterisation, editing, pace, dialogue, etc - as is the case with Promethues. Furthermore, they, much like Harry and any other person who arms this piece of shit film with a glowing review, lose every and all semblance of creditibility they had ever earned previously when judging films. So, please ... do be honest about Prometheus, say it like it is, do not raise expectations of those who have yet to view the film by saying it is intelligent and advances anyone's thoughts about our creation upon viewing, because it DOES NO SUCH FUCKING THING!! If the makers of Prometheus - and this is targetted specificaaly at the writers - intended to educate viewers by engaging them into some mind boggling sci-fi theory no one had ever thought of, they are, one, patronising because all sci-fi lovers have nurtured minds that are for the most beyond the reach of shit like this and have sufficiently advanced to levels way above any story arc conveyed in Prometheus due to other far more superior material in books and other films and two, everybody I know has been to school and can read and therefore are fully equiped and qualified to understand and make judgements about what is good and terrible. Prometheus is worse than terrible as it pretends not be a prequel and yet everything in it is contrary to that notion also it is a very poor film, story is complete crap it is not indecipherable as many are saying ery simple in fact, there is no atmosphere, nobody I know felt totally transported into a world as they have done in other films, not just sci-fi but countless other films. This is just a bad fucking film, don't fucking argue about it, becuase anyone writing a glowing review for this epic failure, is akin to arguing over a hot steaming pile of poo that has twirled out of the filmakers' assholes and now lays here for you to assess its foul-funky smell, vicossity and texture. Don't fucking do it, writing anything good about a piece of shit does not make you sound credible
-
sith17, the two guys getting seperated from the rest of the group and then picked off is an old well worn genre trope. We've seen it hundreds of times before, including of course in ALIEN with brett going off to look for the cat, and Parker and Lambert going to load the shuttle. It was definitely a cliche part of the film. But you seem to have entirely missed the point that the reason that the stranded guys had to *sit it out* rather than be rescued straightaway or just *walk out of the cave* as you put it was because of a blooming massive sandstorm. Another case of haters proclaiming supposed *plot holes* when in reality they simply didnt keep up with what was said and shown on screen.
-
allthosepowers, posting a load of hate-filled drivel in a big block of text... does not make you sound credible either. Sorry.
-
June 4, 2012, 7:36 a.m. CST
ROBIN HOOD, PROMETHEUS and the franchise imperative
by No Respectable Gentleman
ROBIN HOOD: Starts as a hot screenplay called NOTTINGHAM with an intriguing concept: the Sheriff of Nottingham is actually the good guy (which admittedly sounds like a neocon fantasy). Ridley Scott gets a hold of it, orders it rewritten (by Brian Helgeland, a much better writer than Lindelhof admittedly), and goes into production with a half-written mess of a screenplay that has the temerity to position itself as the first in a series. PROMETHEUS: Starts out as an Alien prequel, probably sef-contained and (as others have pointed out) very likely set on LV-426 with an ending that explains the space jockey's death. Ridley Scott orders it rewritten (by the writer of COWBOYS & ALIENS), the egg chamber becomes the ampule room, the chestbursters become a variety of forgettable creatures etc. etc., and the film again goes into production with a half-baked screenplay that has the temerity to position itself as the first in a series (which, like ROBIN HOOD 2, will probably never get made). Anyone else troubled that the only way a hugely expensive film will get greenlit this days is as the opening film of a franchise? Makes that clip of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA all the more poignant ... because those days, sadly, are gone.
-
tomarru, you seem like an intelligent guy and I mostly agree with your summary. However not everything you said was correct - you wrote *A lot of the threads also just start and end with nothing, the boyfriend getting sick just ended up with him dead* Did it? Think. Was the boyfriends death really the end of that thread? Was something important not passed on from him to another character?
-
*Anyone else troubled that the only way a hugely expensive film will get greenlit this days is as the opening film of a franchise? Makes that clip of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA all the more poignant ... because those days, sadly, are gone.* Respectable gentleman, you've not heard of AVATAR then?
-
Cobra, I had meant also to mention that they rely heavily on horror genre tropes and that it often leads to the logic fallicies. However it is inexcusable to gut characters to the point where their only addition to the plot of the movie is that "they die." We knew they had to sit it out, but the fact that THOSE characters got lost in the first place is inexcusable, they were mean't to be scientists, all they had to do was ask they crew to direct them out before the storm and follow the directions. Tropes today are no longer a viable excuse for poor writing, you can still create danger and tension without relying on them. Kill them off earlier, infect them before they leave, have them trip and fall into the "alien piss." Them getting lost was just an impossible occurrence given the tools at their disposal and how the rest of the crew got out quicker. Nevermind how they willingly died in a room they had refused to enter a few scenes before.
-
June 4, 2012, 7:39 a.m. CST
@cobra--kai - unlike the Prometheus filmakers I do not patronise viewers of films, I am merely stating give a glowing review to Sci-Fi films that are good, because readers and viewers of sci-fi books and films are elevated in their logic and thinking to g
by AllThosePowers
...but far too simple for even a fucking twelve year old. Fact!
-
June 4, 2012, 7:41 a.m. CST
@cobra--kai unlike the Prometheus filmakers I do not patronise viewers of films, I am merely stating give a glowing review to Sci-Fi films that are good, because readers and viewers of sci-fi books and films are elevated in their logic and thinking...
by AllThosePowers
...to grapple with complex stories, a pathetic piece of shit like Prometheus is not complicated...
-
June 4, 2012, 7:43 a.m. CST
@cobra--kai unlike the Prometheus filmakers I do not patronise viewers of films, I am merely stating give a glowing review to Sci-Fi films that are good, because readers and viewers of sci-fi books and films are elevated in their logic and thinking..
by AllThosePowers
...to grapple with complex stories, a pathetic piece of shit like Prometheus is not complicated, but is far too simple for even a fucking twelve year old. FACT!
-
I don't see your point ... isn't James Cameron as we speak planning to make nothing but AVATAR movies for the rest of his life? Do you think Fox greenlit the movie without asking about its franchise potential? And that would be back in 2005 or so, when things were a little better.
-
Yes, it was passed, very briefly with little consequence to the main crew and it set up the out of place end sequence. Could have been a stronger thread had the pregnancy been revealed to the crew culminating in them finding out weyland was on board rather than the odd scene of her just showing up in a room with all the conspirators and pretending she was honkey dorey. Or even if his mutation was allowed to progress or infect others.
-
June 4, 2012, 7:48 a.m. CST
@cobra -perhaps you fail to realise it's the 21st century so many 12 year olds who have access to the web are famliar with the concept of creationist v. darwinism
by AllThosePowers
-
Yes the storm prevented them returning once the storm hit (the same storm as standard for LV426 - noted) But before that, they had the mapping gear, were in full contact with the ship, at any point, they just had to speak out loud 'Prometheus, please direct us out' and they'd have left in plenty of time. For no one to notice they're not with the returning teams until it's too late is laughably moronic. What next, the captain detecting Alien life for the first time in history but leaving them unmonitored to go and get laid? As if. Oh wait.
-
and their random, decision to go have sex, rather than observe the two guys. All over the film, there is just characers doing random stuff, which is then forgotten about. Its lazy writing at best. I'm no hater, doesn't bother me that's its not directly linked to Alien, I wanted to love this film, embrace it for what it is on its own terms. But the logic of the writing is shocking. and feels rushed in Edit. and i'm not saying its the worse film ever. i give an an average score, for Stunning Visuals, Butler Fassbender and 1 or 2 good executed scenes, that ultimately go nowhere. But it's not enough. I'm pretty sure a second viewing with lowered expectations, knowing where the foolishness starts, i can see it for what it really is... and for me it won't go above an Average rating.
-
...its the fact that this movie is full of fucking pointless callbacks to Alien that completely compromise whatever else it might have been. Its like no-one had any confidence to break away from the template of Alien, and so a lot of shit happens for no reason other than it happened in Alien. So, some examples: After the stupid prologue, it starts on a silent starship, and then a bunch of people wake up from cryosleep. They then head down to a mysterious planet and look around an ancient alien artefact, designed by HR Giger. They find urns that look like eggs, squids and worms that look like chestbursters and facehuggers, as well as long headed aliens that jump out of people's chests (although they all look a bit different). There is an untrustworthy, very English android who ultimately screws the crew over for the company, by infecting them with the alien virus. The company has a sinister, second agenda. It doesn't work out too good. The crew have a bickery, awkward relationship and refer to each other by their last names. Some of the crew are only there for the money. Others are sticklers for the rules. People become 'infected' with an alien virus that turns them into, or otherwise causes the creation of, horrible monsters. Infected people get flamethrowered to death. (More in Aliens, I know, but still). The final part of the film features an alien monster chasing people around. The main female character strips down to her 'bandage' skimpies towards the end, and then has to hurried put on a spacesuit. A central character goes through a horrible, gory sequence where an alien comes out of their chest, quite unexpectedly. The climactic fight occurs aboard a lifeboat which has been ejected from the original ship. It is resolved when the heroine cleverly tricks the alien into getting too close, and opens a door. The android gets his head knocked off, but still talks. The film ends with the heroine speeding off, basically alone, into space. A final sequence (previously a noise at the end of the credits, but now an actual sequence) suggests the alien is still around. --- Not a prequel? Prometheus is so unsatisfying because its something worse - a feeble rehash.
-
get it on. is this because theron demanded it to satisfy her interracial fetish or is lindelof into that shit too? everyone says it comes out of nowhere and for no purpose. the best sex scene in aliens was hicks giving ripley his gps watch. that's how you do it damon.
-
are yopu referencing protoxeno final scene or was there something else in the end credits?
-
...the protoxeno. That's one's pretty tenuous, I admit.
-
June 4, 2012, 8:07 a.m. CST
Why after getting laid does the cap say something along the lines of 'the last radio transmission we had from the two was of them being lost' but then...
by AllThosePowers
...upon boarding the ship to pick them up, he then says something like 'the last radio message was of them encountering a life form but the signal went dead." Anybody tell me what was the point of uttering the first line, which becomes immediately redundent when he speaks the second line? I've heard better dialogue uttered in a supermarket by some fat bird behind a cashier till. Prometheus is junk!
-
June 4, 2012, 8:13 a.m. CST
It's beyond the life of me why anybody would give credit to Fassbender...
by AllThosePowers
...you people do realise he is playing a android - a robot - and correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Arnie play a robot in that film I forgot the name of ... exactly which deep seated levels of conciousness and hard to access emotional experiences must an actor employ in order to play a robot? I'll tell you; FUCK ALL!!
-
Lol, actually I think you're right. I read Sophie's world like 15 yrs ago and had forgotten where I'd gotten that from.
-
without scrunching up his face! it's oscar time, michael.
-
can't wait for Yanks to see this.. it really is awful
-
land on planet... go to the temple... go back to the ship .. go back to the temple.... go back to the ship! wtf... seriously disappointed.
-
my fav shot is the prometheus hurtling through space right at the beginning with starfield background - beautiful shot... damn wish the rest did not suck....
-
June 4, 2012, 8:45 a.m. CST
The Yanks will love it. It's boring, unengaging, has spaceships and CG things.
by Fortunesfool
The Yanks liked John Carter too.
-
June 4, 2012, 8:47 a.m. CST
Why does the captain tell them to 'strap in' or 'brace for impact' near the end?
by Fortunesfool
They know they're going to die. They're crashing headfirst into a massive spaceship.
-
Thats not the worse bit they raise their hands up the 3 pilots left on ship including Captain I kid you not!/.. Like they are on the Hulk ride in Florida.. happy to smash and die.. then one says see you on the other side...
-
plot needed 2 more rewrites ffs
-
there is a film in there somewhere but don't know if another 30 mins would save the film from the major FLAWS it has
-
June 4, 2012, 8:54 a.m. CST
fortunesfool: I love doctor who. Will I like Prometheus? How about British sausages? Will I like those?
by UltraTron
-
June 4, 2012, 8:55 a.m. CST
I like the globe that glows red like our Krypton sun. Will I like Prometheus?
by UltraTron
-
If it was LV426 they'd have found the crashed Prometheus in Alien too. No, they wouldn't; because this piece of crap was written 23 years later than that piece of Gold and screen writers IQ's have clearly dropped sharply in that time away.
-
June 4, 2012, 9:08 a.m. CST
Ultraton - sorry, it was cheap shot and was in reply to someone but this talkback is f'ing useless
by Fortunesfool
-
Read my quick thoughts here... http://www.moviepush.co.uk/2012/06/prometheus-movie-review.html
-
June 4, 2012, 9:33 a.m. CST
It's time that Brits get their own version of AICN going over there
by MooseMalloy
Why would you guys WANT to post on an American site anyway, because, you know... you hate us so much. Why would you watch an American movie at all?
-
"Sunshine" was a boring low-budget piece of crap which felt like it was made up as they went along. I think the script went something like this; "A bunch of actors stand around in a set in a studio in London that has been made to look like a spaceship."
-
I dug the hell out of this. http://thecrat.com/reviews/prometheus-review-by-adam/
-
June 4, 2012, 9:38 a.m. CST
@moosemalloy - During the war when everyone else was fighting America got a hold on the cinema market.
by Fortunesfool
Since then, no one else get a look in. We have very little choice outside of American Movies. You asked ;)
-
June 4, 2012, 9:41 a.m. CST
hardboiled wonderland, you haven't heard me even vaguely grumpy yet..
by quantize
but for a twat like you, i might, if you're lucky
-
sith17, regarding Janek and Vickers decision to have sex... I don't see this as a plothole, more of a nitpick on your part and when people use nitpicks to tear down a movie then really that's rather desperate. I will try and give my interpretation though. Vickers motivation - she has no intention of having sex with Janek until he questions *are you a robot?*. This pushes a button within her and tells the viewer a lot about her character. We already know that she presents herself in a starched robotic way. Why? We later discover it's because her father shows more paternal pride over David the robot than to her. Janeks motivation - he's a horny guy who hasn't had sex for two years and Vickers is sexy as fuck in her catsuit. Also he knows that there's a mission to the alien site first thing in the morning and in the meantime there's absolutely nothing he can for the two guys within because of the sandstorm. Besides which he's only the captain of the ship - the pilot. Fifield and Milburn aren't his men, he doesnt know them from Adam. He takes orders from Vickers and she has just ordered him to come and fuck her! Yes maam!!
-
...is because there's a group of dudes in the basement pumping gas into the ship, the temple, etc. It's all part of a ritual that must take place to appease the even older gods who created the Space Jockeys. This isn't an A L I E N prequel... it's a Cabin in the Woods sequel.
-
right now - is the editing really that choppy? let me provide a link to these scenes for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKQaMMGAdmU the ones at 09:28, 17:32 and 19:01 that's gotta be due to them being excerpts right? coz i've read the editing's a bit quick on other sites. oh and check out noomi's response here haha: 09:15
-
and the shitty monster from cloverfield should've been cthulhu or something, so it's a sequel to cabin. would've been amazing. they could do a ton of films in that universe. even linked in del toro's cancelled project.
-
the first two scenes aren't that edited down actually, but Shaw's 'come in Prometheus' bit is missing her jumping like an olympian over the opening doors in the ground, when all she had to do was run along the arm she was on until she reached solid ground. Any one of those jumps could have killed her and ended the human race.
-
June 4, 2012, 10:20 a.m. CST
cobra Kai - are you Damon Lindelof. You're very defensive of the film.
by Fortunesfool
You seem to have an answer for every complaint but the bottom line is, most of us were bored shitless during the film. It wasn't exciting, or engaging so the flaws were all we began to notice. Had the film been any good then we'd probably happily overlook some of the problems. The Avengers had numerous problems but was so entertaining that we just didn't care. Prometheus fails on many basic narrative levels. You can shout all you want about how smart and intelligent it is, but all that stuff is buried under a mountain of atrocious writing and unless you've engaged me in the story and characters, i'm not gonna bother digging for the good stuff. Inception managed to be hard sci-fi without losing the exciting blockbuster spectacle. You know why? Because it was well written.
-
June 4, 2012, 10:24 a.m. CST
Cobra... You call it nitpicking...if it was just that one scene, but it's not. That is One of Many foolish scenes
by Chapeau
written in a lazy manner. I understand, where, you have a film and forgive its flaws for the overall finished article. But here, the moment it lost me was after the Medipod, and it's downhill from there. and upto that point, the flaws had been building up, to the films detriment. but after the Medipod it was WTF time. I was at the Imax Friday, everyone was buzzing at the beginning, but you could hear a pin drop at the reaction as credits rolled. Don't worry about me, you will come face to face with the 'Naysayers and doom merchants' like myself. This film will get a mixed reaction, no doubt. You think, i didn't want to like this film? you think i'm getting pleasure, venting my disappointment? it is what it is. IMO it's average.
-
June 4, 2012, 10:36 a.m. CST
from the director of A Good Year and the writer of the black smoke thingamabob
by Martin Strachan
Remember the X-Files? The black oil sucked then and it sucks now. Think of Alien as the chestburtser and this the ARSEHUGGER. Zero internal logic. Truly terrible Noomi. But LOST fans rejoice: this makes even less sense, so get out the tissues and pore over it 'til you balls are content. SHITE!!!
-
June 4, 2012, 10:44 a.m. CST
Is the origin of mankind in this any more novel than in 'Mission to Mars'?
by Laserhead
Also, is the climax shown in the trailers? The kamikaze wrecking of the Weyland ship with the space-jockey's ship in order to prevent it going to earth? If this has already been answered in the talkback, I apologize. This bitch is too long to read all the way.
-
I could have sworn he said it cost a Billion...
-
June 4, 2012, 10:48 a.m. CST
Moosemalloy and Fortune's Fool: British viewers and Prometheus
by JABlank
Prometheus has a British director, it was mainly filmed in Britain (like the other 'good' Alien movies), many of the central cast members are British. It was funded through an international credit arrangement, and produced by a British company, Scott Free. The idea that this is a purely American film is pretty specious. Its a product of the British production industry - like the Batman movies, Harry Potter, Snow White and a whole bunch of other supposedly American blockbusters. I don't know why I would want to take ownership of this turd, but seriously, if you know anyone who works in the British film business, its doing OK at the moment - and these are the sorts of movies we make.
-
June 4, 2012, 10:49 a.m. CST
I wish the Director of A Good Year had turned up. That was a perfectly enjoyable film.
by Fortunesfool
-
You can all go back to explaining why Prometheus is shit (or, uh, not that shit?) now...
-
5 - 10. What a stunning looking clusterfuck of a movie.
-
Don't know why Harry is so forgiving of exposition. It's hard evidence of bad writing. Some of the worst ever here! And for a film that's so vainly high-falutin' and embarrassed by its vastly superior progenitor it sure does its best to rip it off, while dispensing with any logic whatsoever. Also, Noomi has hobbit hands.
-
June 4, 2012, 11:08 a.m. CST
-- jablank: I'm pretty sure I could give you a challenge over a British Film trivia contest --
by MooseMalloy
-- My whole point is all the animosity that Brits give out on this site's talkbacks. One of my favorite directors is Michael Powell. I praise him when ever I can here on these talkbacks and in real life. I can't recall insulting the British film industry on here ever except for my dislike of ATTACK THE BLOCK. Yes the film has a British "crew", but Fox studios is still considered an American company. When the studios leave L.A. and set up in London then you can guys can finally relax. Ultimately, I just want to see the movie at the same time as the rest of the world so I don't have to skip these articles or not read the comments.
-
...you don't have to sit through an hour of this every Thursday for four months to get that they're making it up as they go along. Sequel? Blu-Ray? Director's Cut? Nah, I'm good.
-
So u made a decision, and it was... wrong. It was a bad call, Ridley. It was a bad call.... God, I hope Cameron saves this franchise.
-
The talk backs have been great, especially all the ones filled with hate and loathing. I absolutely must see this film! As a college librarian, I've noticed a marked drop in the intellect of everyone. Therefore, I am super curious to see how Damon Lindelof attacked the notion of our origins, in the context of Prometheus stealing fire from the gods, with my own two eyes. No spoiler filled trashing shall deter me, if anything, it incites a serious thrill of excitement. We'll see if that still holds after I view Prometheus, once the gf arrives.
-
I wanted it to be good, my expectations were low, if anything just give me an enjoyable ride... but what I got was a pretentious, poorly developed, cliche ridden, excuse for a film. It left me cold and angry. The cinema burst into laughter at the last shot and people were cussing the film as they left the cinema. Yes, the most engaging character is the android. All the other characters are weak, with little or no development. The plot has holes throughout. Characters forget things and just have lapses of basic common sense throughout and do very stupid things. The score doesn't fit with the film and seems to be added to fill all the scenes that lack tension, momentum or any drama. It's badly edited, the second half feels especially rushed, and for all the talk of it being epic, locations consist of Spaceship - Temple - Spaceship - Temple. The design is pretty uninspired, from the engineers to the new creatures. Overall, this is a crap film. Please keep Ridley away from the Blade Runner sequel and please no more of these Prometheus movies.
-
PROMETHEUS still holding a mighty 80% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes after 45 professional critic reviews. For audience rating it's even higher 87% - only one in ten did not like the film, from a sample of 40,000 respondees. However on aicn seems like the trolls are winning the day. Question for those who hated it; please name which of these movies is better than PROMETHEUS? (complete list of sci-fi films released in past 12 months) APOLLO 18 BATTLE LOS ANGELES COWBOYS & ALIENS GREEN LANTERN (not really sci-fi but he goes into space for a bit right?) PAUL REAL STEEL TRANSFORMERS DARK OF THE MOON BATTLESHIP THE HUNGER GAMES JOHN CARTER MEN IN BLACK 3 Because imho PROMETHEUS would top that list comfortably. No? I'd love to hear your thoughts on which of its contemporaries are better than it.
-
Don't ask me, because I avoided all those movies. Which just goes to prove yet again that everything is relative. Because if you really saw those eleven flicks, NO WONDER you like PROMETHEUS.
-
... there's RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. Not a perfect film, not even a great one. It even has a couple of plotholes and some sloppy writing. But it doesn't make nearly as many fundamental errors as PROMETHEUS. So I liked it.
-
respectable gentleman, way to duck the question. The question remains is PROMETHEUS not the best science fiction film of the last 12 months? ps. full admission I havent actually seen all those films (waiting for blu ray on JOHN CARTER and MIB 3, and APOLLO 18 just looked like utter dreck!)
-
sorry respectable gentleman I had accused you of ducking the question before I saw your other comment - I hadnt included it but I guess RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is kinda sci fi (even tho the *planet* is present day Earth).
-
June 4, 2012, 1:13 p.m. CST
Pointless to argue, just see it for yourselves and you'll understand
by Jeespox
It's not like it's some intelligent cinema. Don't believe the talk backs and comments: just see it for yourself and you'll understand all the negative word of mouth.
-
I loved your break down of the scene for scene comparison of ALIEN and Prometheus. Rather than a prequel, it sounds more like a re-imagining.
-
It was an average movie with a few snatched moments of greatness. I've seen and enjoyed a great many sci-fi classics over the years and me and my wife don't go to the cinema all that much however (and I know it will be met with derision and snobbery here) - we honestly had a much better time with MIB3. Not really seen the others. Chronicle I kinda class as a sci-fi and we had a good chat about that when we caught up with it on DVD. After Prometheus we were just like - 'drink'? Hell yes. <p> Prometheus has an air of pretentiousness and dour intelligence that it just doesn't earn. I do encourage people to go see it and make up their own minds as it is 'an event' movie and the visuals are impressive in part. It's just as a film it left us both cold and no desire to converse about - and we both like ripping into thoughtful sci-fi as much as popcorn fare. Sure MIB is fairly lowbrow stuff but (and I'm speaking with my joe public hat on not geek hat), as a night out it just was ultimately more satisfying.
-
I did think it was missing a little bit in pacing. Additionally, in my opinion, which is the only thing this post is supposed to reflect, there were some inconsistencies. For instance in the very different ways the alien species manifested itself, from the same species of hosts. Also, some things felt strange. Like the very willing sacrifice of the captain´s essential crew at the end of the movie. The character of Captain Janek at least had some meat on him, but those two others...who were they? Maybe a director´s cut will deal with these things in the future. On the whole, I enjoyed the movie, but there is a sense of disappointment. In retrospect, perhaps that was inevitable..
-
The real film or that bullshit script you reviewed?
-
I've been looking forward to this movie for months and I am sorry to say I was very dissapointed. It just didn't work for me even though I really wanted to like it.
-
'Not a thing ties in to alien directly,!? Did we see the same film? It,s a direct prequel to alien there's Geiger stamped all over it. The same (not actually) derelict alien ship' 'identical to the alien 1979 one right down to the same jockey in the same chamber. Elizabeth Shaw bears an uncanny resemblence to ripley' David an android who gets his head ripped off ' just like in alien one black man cast just like in alien' , flame throwers, just like in alien, don't bring him in he's infecte, just like in alien, weyland funded expedition, just like in alien, chest bursting, just like in alien. Do I really need to go on?
-
Exactly my thoughts
-
Just watch.
-
June 4, 2012, 2:43 p.m. CST
"the pursuit of those questions never ends in truth, but in beliefs."
by Dreamfasting
I would argue that it ends in models - which aren't quite "truth" but are better than "beliefs". However scifi scriptwriters are the absolute worst inspiration for this sort of thinking because they get to make up their own universe complete with their own answers to the question, deliberately throwing out any accountability to reality. It's actually something that really bugs me about modern scifi. Instead of saying "imagine a world where X is true", it too often comes across as "imagine our world and discovering that X is true".
-
Is the storm truly that horrifically violent that the two scientists couldn't be outside or get back to the ship? Remember in Alien when Dallas, Lambert, and Kane* walked to the derelict ship, there was a pretty fierce storm blowing. They seemed to have trouble walking normally when they were heading away from the Nostromo. Also, speaking of the Nostromo. It seemed to land in the middle of this raging storm in the first place. *Who admittedly leans a bit close to the alien egg after the petals at the top open up. Curious Kane.
-
it's a prequel alright.... and it is an awesome sic-fi movie in its own right
-
I don't know why it frustrates me so much because I realize they're in the minority. The criticisms I get, and I agree with some of them. But the outright whining that some are doing? The new Episode 1!?!? This is the exact movie we've been clamoring for. SciFi that isn't afraid to show something different. And doing it well (For the most part). Fuck how ever much it is or isn't related to Alien. It's like watching a Laloux animated movie come to life. It's beautiful. And some are even admitting to watching a bootleg AND THEN complaining about the film? I wasn't 100% in love with the film after my initial screening, but the more I've thought about it every day since, the more fond I am of it all. There's some truly awe inspiring and intense moments that you rarely see anymore. I feel so bad for people who are willingly spoiling it for themselves. The pre-credit sequence is probably my favorite of the year. I can only dream of Ridley Scott bringing one of my favorite comic books to life. Leo's Antares. I can only imagine what he'd do with those visuals. But the glimpses I got from Prometheus will do.
-
Reposting this from the other 01/06/12 aicn global reaction forum to save some US dudes some money from seeing this garbage! Trust us brits/europeans this movie is the one you will remember summer 2012 for all the WRONG reasons. Online media will not be honest there is too much money at stake in lost advertising revenue if anyone outright pans it so you will get what Harry did a light on detail skipping around the edges wishy washy review. Read below then go to imdb forums see how many people say similar negative things & draw your own conclusions!! Just back from from the first morning showing in London could not believe how poor this was its pretty shocking that so many studio plants are out in force on the internet to defend/negate the $$$ loss this may well incure. Its so poor spoilers mean nothing the movie has no real shocks you cannot work out yourself very early on. I have some minor spoilers below but like I said spoilers mean nothing here I went into the movie blind & still found it terrible (I liked Alien1+2 even 3 in places. This is way worse than Alien4!!). Michael Fassbender absolutely owns his android part & is the only standout in the entire movie (yes even VFX,makeup,set design). He plays an android with humour but also has several hidden agenda's & plays it to absolute perfection. Cross between Data trying to become more human & Lore. But played to perfection & interesting as well. Charlize Theron is the only other acting highlight. She looks incredible & also plays her part very well (she may or may not be an android the movie never confirms either way I suspect not but who only you the audience knows how you feel about her). She is cool, cold, detached but is that because she is artificial or just does what it takes to realise her ambition?? Apart from Fassbender/Theron every other actor I felt was appalling/charisma free/forcing emotion/lacking gravitas/credibility. Noomi Rapace was badly miscast & has a terrible forced english accent which disappears about 20 mins into the movie. She just did not suit the role at all. Theron should have been the female lead here & they could have got another stronger actress to play the corporate CEO part Theron got. I have no other comments to make on the actors they are so poor & unlikeable you could not care less the casting was terrible this needed strong actors due to weak material it got weak actors & weak script/storyline. Storyline was a jumbled confusing mess what were they thinking it was really poor. The screenplay was dumb & confusing I could not even tell you what it was supposed to mean overall. This is one of the dumbest movies I have seen in many years there is so much garbage onscreen I expect this to get booed in some cinemas its that bad. The 3 Star Wars prequels were all way better than this by a very long way. Avatar was even a better movie (and I hated that as well it was mediocre garbage). Music was appalling & really weak. This needed a James Horner rich score it got a TV movie background noise score which is obviously very cheap & nasty. Set design was nothing special I have seen way better in other movies they functioned but were not atmospheric or anything more than average. Makeup FX were pretty poor in places money was obviously saved here & this is a new low for the Alien series. A lot of it looked like TNG TV series quality! VFX were nothing special either. The trailers/tv spots give almost every shot away there is little else to see if you have not already seen if you have seen the trailers. No obvious CGI just bland/generic you have seen it done way better elsewhere. Ridley Scott did a poor job here as the director he is in control but this is an obvious studio movie with the usual by commitee tinkering. Do not be fooled by the 15/R rating either that seems forced as most of the deaths are goreless the few gory moments are obvious insert shots done in a hurry or designed for a directors cut bluray the overall tone/gore level is pretty light here in UK its a 15 I would say its a very light weight 15. R in US is a joke no-one over 13-14 will be scared at all they have seen way more intense in video games or TV series!!! Overall I would say this movie is close to being a total disaster there is little to no suspense, the storytelling is jumbled & a convulted mess. The acting apart from Fassbender/Theron is horrible. The sci-fi spectacle is pretty mundane & uninteresting. Any mainstream media positive reviews for this must be studio plants its really a huge letdown considering the talent involved & unlikely to make enough money to break even as it will die quickly on poor word of mouth I cannot imagine many people watching this more than once either its hard to watch even once & I love popcorn movies with no thought involved just sit & watch/enjoy. This does not have a single memorable sequence from start to finish. Fassbender/Theron save it from being totally unwatchable. FEW DETAILED SPOILERS BELOW SO GO NO FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE PURE BUT THIS IS SO SHOCKINGLY BAD YOU MIGHT AS WELL SAVE THE MONEY FOR SOMETHING BETTER SO READ ON MY FELLOW AICNERS: Charlize Theron runs away at the end of the movie from the alien C shaped ship seen in Alien1 on the planet surface. Instead of running sideways to live long & prosper Charlize runs in a straight line & gets crushed I presume you never ever see it just the hull about to smother her. Its so dumb & unreal completely unmemorable & no gore involved. Strong razzie contender for worse onscreen death ever its really that poor/laughable/shockingly amateur. Noomi survives but has a stupid encounter on a lifepod where she tricks the Space Jockey into following her then a giant facehugger attacks & slowly devours the Space Jockey. Again a terrible dumb scene mishandled totally. Space Jockey wakes up after being asleep for 2000 years & the first thing he does is rip David the androids head off (Michael Fassbenders character) then he kills Guy Pearces Peter Wayland character (who looks just like Bowman @ the end of 2001 in the bed chamber sequence!!). Then he kills 2 other nameless crew but you do not even care its so poorly conceived. Guy Pearce hides for most of the movie on the ship then appears when his motives for funding the trillion dollar expedition become clear. He wants to extend his life as he is really old & dying. Michael Fassbender is his son & Charlize Theron his daughter (Michael is an android but Charlize may or my not be I suspect not she is just cold & obviously had a poor childhood so wants to inherit her fathers company/money). Opening sequence is so confusing you will wonder what on earth its supposed to mean (not that this is a deep movie on any level). Space Jockey swallows a black liquid then something rips him apart internally & he falls into a raging waterfall cue main titles!! Its really just like that & so bad I was shocked & had a good feeling this movie was not going to work on any level. Approx 65% of the movie happens in dark tunnels on planet LV223 (where its set for 95% of the movie. Iceland redressed as planet LV223!!) these tunnels are so boring/plain & poorly lit yet contain no suspense or hide any dangers. The captain of the Prometheous & 2 faceless crew members decide to ram the C shaped space jockey ship from Alien1 by detonating the ion drives on LV223 & driving straight into it. This they do & the prometheous explodes on contact. The alien ship is hardly affected in any way whatsoever & slowly crashes in 1 piece on the LV223 planet surface. This all happens in 30-45 seconds & is so poorly conceived its laughable. I have seen more dramatic work done by amateurs using CGI software like Lightwave or Studio Max! Links to Alien1 are very minor & blink & you will miss them its really not a prequel more a story which has some links with Alien1. Countless character motivation is so dumb it insults any audience over the age of 10 which is a massive problem for an teenagers/adults only movie it just makes it all seem so unconvincing. Noomi gives rips out an alien egg from her stomach whilst awake via futuristic surgery/tools but this is not that gory & very boring its just watching a going through the motions sequence not scary at all it seems so forced. Only likeable characters are Fassbender/Theron which is a monumental problem as 1 is a droid the other may be so the 2 artifical lifeforms are more interesting who knew what a bad idea this was it should never ever have gone to production as it needed a lot of script work & a stronger cast not just 2 topline actors an entire cast load. Overall the forced hollywood studio fingerprints are all over this mess I expect it to perform poorly perhaps close to Battleship level one word of mouth escapes from Europe! (Battleship was more entertaining & that was pretty poor so its saying a lot that Prometheous is sub-par vs Battleship!!! RANDOM SPOILERS/DUMB MOMENTS FROM THIS FILM: One of the space jockeys plays a space flute in a flashback. Never explained why. (Yes its lame as well) David the android gets decapitated by another space jockey who has been asleep for 2000 years even though David is the only one who can communicate with them due to his advance programming the space jockey rips his head off despite him not even being human (we quickly learn they want to destroy the humans they have created its never explained why as the space jockey aliens never talk in a language we can understand no subtitles for alien dialog either). Vickers suggest the captain comes to her cabin in 10 mins for sex after he calls her an android (we never see those 10 mins the audience is left to decide if it happened or not is she a droid or human after all??). The giant facehugger at the very end looks like an octopus in a bad way & the battle with the space jockey is so laughable/lame you may well burst out laughing (this is the climax of the movie BTW). Makeup FX are poor so are the CGI work here obviously rushed & makes I Am Legend creatures look better thats how poor! Mankinds DNA is identical to the space jockey engineers who are supposed to have created humans for no explained/implied reason given whatsoever. Several of the crew members who are supposed to be leading scientists do some incredibly dumb things like open faceplates to breath alien air as its hostile outside but terrforming makes it breathable underground even when you can see the sky & water streaming in (we are supposed to buy this BTW with no proper explanation or force field to contain the atmosphere). Expensive but dumb CGI alien holograms which serve little purpose other than to state the obvious a few lines of dialog could have done the same thing. All the scientist crew members do not come across as credible in any way they just seem miscast & most are nameless/line less so you do not care either way what happens to them. Dumb scientists approach hostile looking aliens then wonder why they get attacked! Even dumber 3 crew members decide on 1 line of dialog from Noomi to suicide crash the prometheus into the space jockey ship in a few seconds. Prometheus explodes space jockey millon tonnes ship flattens meredith but avoids noomi due to super strong rocks Meredith Vickers despite being an android or not cannot sidestep the falling space jockey ship despite being of amazonian stature yet Noomi can survive this as some handily places rock stop the million tonnes from crushing her like Meredith! Believe me it looks much worse on screen its so poorly staged you go into shock from what you just saw & are supposed to believe just happen. Then the same Noomi can still find the strength (despite her stomach being stappled back together after her DIY abortion) to outwit the octopus face hugger alien at the end who eats the space jockey chasing Noomi for its dinner! So as the film is finishing & most people get up to leave as the screen is black so it looks like thats it after about 10 seconds the screen flashes & you have a 1min or so CGI sequence where an Alien which looks similar to the adult one from Alien is born & when he extends his teeth (which are dripping in a sticky liquid) the movie then ends properly & credits start. Most people in my screening were so jaded/tired they looked at the screen once then carried on walking & could not even be bothered watching it all as it was just a cut n paste last minute rush job which like most of the movie meant nothing whastoever! Coloured hard boiled eggs & a flute!!! I kid you not that is yet another lame example of WTF what where they even thinking here! David was able to decypher them as he is a genius but space jockey dude was so pissed after 2000 years sleep being woken up so he ripped Davids head off & killed some other crew members.......fear not though at the end of the movie David's head is living happily in a duffel bag carried by Noomi & can still talk fluidly (just like Data/Lore when they got detached!!). She saved his body as well for the sequel I guess by lowering it down on a rope. How about the scene(s) where Noomi is superwoman (few mins after having some wonder medicine to get over slicing her own stomach open to remove the alien baby) & can seemingly move like an olympian. Boy that medicine is damn good no wonder she can move so fast & be so agile (yet the amazonian maybe an android woman by comparrison is a total dumb ass & runs into her death despite seeing it coming!!. Guess she never got the memo to run sideways ha ha). Facehugger octopus vs Space Jockey is probably the biggest laugh though you will know that when you see it so unintentionally funny that 1 scene alone destroys the entire movie. If this was as a workprint I could understand a little but its the finished product so sets a new low for big budget movies in so many areas I expect multiple razzie awards!
-
In the movie they mention that it consists of silicon or silicate and that it would eat through their suits in a matter of minutes. Even when we see noomi in it she is lifted off her feet easily and thrown 20ft or so and the "rain" looks like razor blades. Certainly wouldnt like travelling any distance in it.
-
How can you forget stupid stuff like Fifield (the man who map the temple) getting lost? How can you excuse Shaw escaping the 2 hazmat who don't pursue her? How can you excuse David and Weland dont give a damn about the squid when they see the c section? how can you excuse the poor characterization of Ravel and Chance who happily commit suicide? How can you excuse the lame use and fate of Weyland? How can you excuse the lame use and fate of Vickers? How can you excuse the squid staying gently in the medpod room while the lifeboat crashes waiting to pop in to save the day? How can you excuse the Engineer acting like nemesis from resident evil or jason X? How can you excuse that the movie is not open to a sequel but is made up for a sequel? ALIEN MATRIX and many other are open to a sequel but they don't forget to tell a self suficient story that could or can open new doors. And please stop trying to make it about people wanting this to be ALIEN all over again. First because IT IS ALIEN all over again, Scott uses ALL of the unused concept (script and visuals included) from ALIEN original script (hell even the ENGINEERS have been designed in 1979 just look at the alien life cycle mural by Giger) it's ALIEN with baysplosions, its for those who need everything to go boom every 30 minutes or they are bored (the hangar attack is just that). On a final note the visuals are awesome but it's the script that is pure shit, not because of the story itself (pretty generic tho) but because it's just badly written. I never had any hate for Lindelof, i digged LOST for what it was but now its clear that this guy is a hack. He ruined Scott return to scifi and deserve to burn for that. You're praising this movie for the same shit that made most of us hate AVP. PROMETHEUS is basically AVP with top notch actors and production design bu its basically the same shitty story. YOU should have the decency to recognize that.
-
I didn't get it. In fact, that's exactly what it said in one of it's paragraphs. "Opening sequence is so confusing you will wonder what on earth its supposed to mean" If someone found that confusing, than I suggest they never watch 2001. You won't make it past 15 minutes. It's amusing to see such a range of contradictory statements from most of the whiners. It's simplistic, yet totally confusing. Visually beautiful, yet visually dull. Great acting, yet poorly acted. You guys try too hard.
-
This may take some time, so if you don’t want to read my rambling thoughts then i’ll just rip the bandage off now: It’s probably Ridley Scott’s worst film. It’s not all his fault though. Much of the films problems stem from the terrible screenplay by Damon Lindelof and John Spaihts which, at best, is high school philosophy report, and at worst, Transformers level stupid. After a vague opening in which a buff albino man kickstarts human evolution by drinking some black goo, falling apart and mingling with the oceans (apparently) we are introduced to our lead characters. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace, good if a little bland) and her boyfriend Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green). She’s a ‘creationist’ with a leaning towards Christianity and he’s a Darwinist and a skeptic. Nothing is ever made of this potentially interesting relationship. Simply mentioning it seems to be enough for the screenwriters to feel that their ‘intellectual’ job is done. Shaw discovers a cave painting which matches up with others collected from civilisations around the world. They appear to be a star map to a distant galaxy which she interprets as an invitation from our creators to come and visit for tea and cakes. Rich old guy, Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce in lots of old guy make up) funds the intergalactic expedition and our heroes set off on their quest for THE answer aboard the good ship Prometheus. Amongst the random collection of scientists (I’ll get back to them) is an android called David 8 (Michael Fassbender, in his now obligatory role of ‘best thing in the movie by a country mile’). He is the best thing in the movie by a country mile. As the crew sleep, David 8 walks around checking vital signs, doing housekeeping and playing basketball while riding a bike. He also watches peoples dreams (never explained how). Shaw’s dream seems to be a badly written movie about a young girl and her dad. Patrick Wilson is in it. This scene is the first real alarm bell in the movie; a clumsy ‘TV movie of the week’ bit of exposition and character back story. So far the films been perfectly fine, nothing exceptional, but i’m hanging in there as it’s a Ridley Scott film. Once the Prometheus arrives at its destination and we get to spend some time with the crew, the film really begins to start falling apart. The highlights of the crew are Fifield (Sean Harris, excellent in last years underseen British thriller A Lonely Place to Die but wasted here) a slightly psychotic looking ’Geologist’ who has mercenary attitudes and very little social graces. Take a minute. Yes, a mercenary geologist. His movie buddy is Milburn (Rafe Spall), a botanist apparently, but you’d be forgiven for thinking his role was that of ‘ships moron’ or that he had tagged along as a favour to someone. These two are the comedy heart of the movie, although none of the humour is intentional. Their behaviour is more like badly behaved kids on a school trip than that of well regarded scientists. Fifield in particular seems to be a different character in each new scene. There’s also the Captain (Idris Elba) who does captain stuff and also has the handy ability to burst into rooms with new information to move the story along. And then there’s Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) the icy, all business Weyland Industries suit, who has a few secrets up her sleeve. In all honesty though, if this character were removed from the film it wouldn’t effect the movie in any way. It would, in fact, improve it slightly by removing two of the dumbest scenes (just run sideways woman and ‘father’). Needless to say, the Prometheus manages to appear on its destination planet almost right next to what they’re looking for. “God doesn’t build in straight lines” says Holloway, looking out the window of the ship. “Can you land over there?” (by that thing that is probably exactly what we’re here to see). A nitpick I know but is it really that hard to create a convenient way for them to arrive where they need to be? Moving on. An assortment of crew members set off to explore the creepy tunnels etc and are a bit miffed to discover that no one has put the kettle on for their arrival. In fact, they haven’t even had a tidy up. Alien bodies are everywhere (those elephant like Space Jockey things from Alien now known as Engineers) and they’ve left big pots of black goo everywhere. And a big statue of a head, which looks nice but doesn’t seem to have a reason for being. Oh, the films big scary villain is the black goo by the way. It’s pretty scary stuff this black goo, it can...well, it’s never really made clear what it actually does. It turns little worm things into big penis snakes (which professional Botanist and ship moron Milburn will approach as if it’s a cute little kitten) and does things to other people that would be big spoilers. At this point, most of the characters just go about doing their own thing and don’t really tell each other anything, even if it’s something that’s really important: I’m five months pregnant, for example, despite being sterile. Oh and those five months happened overnight. David 8 continues to be the best thing in it by a country mile, going about the business of following a linear narrative. He discovers a live Engineer in stasis and sets in motion the last act of the film. This amounts to a lot of exposition, a great caesarian section shocker (ruined by the characters ability to run and jump afterwards like it’s no big deal getting sliced open and stitched back up), a big dramatic moment which was given away in the trailer and the posters, a really dumb big monster moment and a gobsmackingly awful ending. Actually, two awful endings when you include the unnecessary last scene. All told, it’s a mess. Technically, it’s as accomplished as you would expect from Ridley Scott. It looks great, although never quite as stunning as some reviewers have claimed. The 3D is nice but washes out the image and makes everything look murky. I wouldn’t have missed it and would rather have seen it with the correct brightness and colour. It’s a pity then that all his efforts are wasted on the screenplay which is aiming for 2001: A Space Odyssey but has dialogue and characters that wouldn’t be out of place in Teen Slashers in Space 3. A real disappointment.
-
Posted this in Fatboy's thread, but bears repeating. <p>Saw Prometheus at the London IMAX on Friday night - (packed house for the 21:20 showing by the way) <p>Depending on how well you felt the sub-plots and internal mysteries woven into LOST eventually played out and were resolved, will probably give some indication of your enjoyment of this movie.</p> Right from the very first scene, I shit you not, we get threads that are intentionally left to dangle. No explanantion, no hints, nada. Room for speculation? Sure A massively cynical attempt to hook you in for inevitable sequel? You fucking bet. <p> <p>As entertaining as the movie is, and it IS a good watch at a basic level, and certainly well shot in terms of imagery (awesome in IMAX 3D by the way) and quite atmospheric at times with a palpable creeping dread, the 'sci-fi' parts of the story - the meat I was most looking forward to was constantly teased with threads or plot elements that were LEFT DANGLING as soon as they started to get interesting... <p> Everytime that happened I could here that grinning cunt's voice in my head saying "Don't worry, answers are coming - stick around for the next movie"... <p> </p> <p> Go eat a camel-dung sandwich.</p> <p>You have no idea what you're going to do in the next movie, or even if there will BE one. To deliberately generate THAT many unresolved story elements in a movie is a fucking disgrace. It makes me sad that there are still people out there that think this 'Emperor' is actually wearing clothes. <p>Yes, the finest cloth in the land. <p>It does not take any skill or genius to write open-ended, unresolved, story elements when you have no intention of ever paying them off. <p> Looking forward to the 'maybe' ending of Prometheus 3 when Shaw emerges from an enviro-suit staring off-camera into some blinding light, says "So, thats what its all about!" Crash cut to black. Roll credits. <p>All the TB'ers start selling the "It was always about the character journey" line.
-
It appears to have life...but it doesn't.... Just back from a UK screening.... Before I start, to give you context I'm a massive Alien/Aliens fan, I hated Alien 3 initially but have adjusted to it over the years. Hated Alien 4 and the AVP films. Alien and Blade Runner are in my top ten. I love 2001: A Space Odyssey. So, if your in that camp, listen up people. I felt so lucky that the UK were getting the earlier release for once. That way, no real spoilers would spoil the film for me. Well, I now wish the UK release was a week later than the US. Why? Because I'd be given a heads up, read the poor reviews, read the spoilers, seen through the smoke and mirrors and wouldn't have signed up for this, that's why. In short, the film is a mess. I won't post actual spoilers in this thread. Not that that would make any difference anyway. Everything 'cool' has already been shown in the needless, over hyped marketing/trailers. The film has absolutely no tension. No hint of suspense. It consistently feels like a bunch of trailer shots edited together. Oh yes, its that bad. Basically Prometheus is a weak, pretentious sci-fi film that tries to elevate itself by a nod or two to the original Alien. And even at that, fails spectacularly. Tries to be 'all things to all men'. In short, it's a complete mess. There's plot holes aplenty (no doubt they were 'calculated' and will be 'answered' somewhat in a sequel of sorts...) and no redeeming features/expansion of anything related to either Alien or Aliens. If anything, it detracts from them. But hey, they've been clever - it's not an Alien film if you don't want it to be, right? Hmm...what's the last (poorly done) 30 seconds all about then, not to mention the countless nods to Alien and 'shudder' BLADE RUNNER (yup, the BLATANT nod's in there and is cringe-worthy) Want the kicker? You wouldn't know it was a Ridley Scott film if his name wasn't 'tagged' on the sell. You really wouldn't. There's no stand out, believable, atmospheric shots - and certainly none that 'last' long enough to absorb you (everything is cut far too short). To give you an idea - remember in the first Alien, where there was a 5-6 second or so shot of Ash moving his chair? If that same sequence was done in Prometheus it would be done in three quick shots - one of him starting to move, another showing the progress half way, and the final showing his arrival. IN TWO SECONDS. Too extreme an example? Watch the landing sequence and try not to laugh. The film is really badly paced, and seems to suffer from 'clipped' editing (i.e. 'hacked' scenes to get the run-time down). Dialogue is terrible. Script if terrible. Starts off intriguing but all too quickly decends into chaos (not of the entertaining kind) and throws aways story threads left right and centre only to create more. Kind of like LOST, funnily enoughs. Character motivations are frequently inexplicable and forget about any arcs, cause there ISNT A SINGLE ONE. The score has promise at times, but overall is dull and unmemorable. The film could have been directed by PW Anderson and you wouldn't have known the difference. Okay, okay that's perhaps too harsh - the space jockeys were interesting (at the beginning) but were quickly negated as the 'story' progressed. And in response to those saying everyone who hates on this film doesn't appreciate an 'intelligent narrative' or 'intelligent sci-fi' - YOU ARE IN DENIAL. This film is anything but. There may well be an extended edit somewhere which bridges towards those accolades but this version certainly doesn't. I like the intention of Prometheus, I get what they were pitching for. It's just the script and (to much surprise) the execution gets it WRONG. So WRONG. Really, I'm so disappointed - what a sell out, Ridley. Not quite a 'Lucas', but pretty damn close. Please DONT do a sequel/brother/sister/cousin/or whatever excuse you come up with to cover up the cracks 'in all about everything' to another of your classics: BLADE RUNNER. Leave it be, please. Why? LESS IS MORE.
-
that's the single most retarded thing that stands out to me.
-
June 4, 2012, 6:02 p.m. CST
Jamf - that whole dream scene was a shocker. TV movie stuff
by Fortunesfool
-
June 4, 2012, 6:18 p.m. CST
@jamf I haven't seen the movie yet, but yes I believe it was
by AlienFanatic
It was actually in the Alien novelization by Alan Dean Foster. He wrote an extended introduction about dreaming in Hypersleep and how it was actually an industry to record and replay the dreams of really expert dreamers. If that's how Prometheus plays out, that's definitely something explored long before this movie and within the Alien universe. It seems like Lindelof went back over all of the original material and tried to glean things in order to push the buttons of longtime fanboys like me. Kind of like LIFTING COBB's COCKPIT DESIGN WITHOUT GIVING HIM CREDIT!! (OH, that one steams me!!!)
-
One of the movies Cobra- Kai listed was Paul which was a really good movie. Anyone who didn't find that film very funny and well writen is a moron with no sense of humor whatsoever.
-
June 4, 2012, 6:46 p.m. CST
SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT. I HAVE NOT SEEN THE FILM YET, I'M GOING TO IMAX 3d @ 12:01 MIDNITE IN THREE DAYS... BUT FROM WHAT I AM GATHERING, THIS FILM "SUCKS????"
by Astronut
I mean, I guess I am having a hard time coping with the possibility that this film just actually sucks donkey dicks??? The story is dodgy? The characters run around kind of hap hazardly? Is that what I'm understanding? Is it mainly because it's not "AS GREAT AS ALIEN?" Not many films can claim to be that. So I guess I'm wondering why, after dealing with such a unique and awesome subject (Chariots of the Gods stuff) how this film could be anything less than awesome.........? Maybe not "ALIEN" awesome.......... but close? Maybe? Isn't it eyeball fucking awesome? And interesting? Fascinating? On some kind of 2001 level? No?? I mean, I do not expect ALIEN-level perfection - - - - but Jesus, I really hope I am going to at least walk out of the theater saying to myself, "WOW, that was cool." NO???????
-
I'm not Lindeloff either and I'm very defensive of the film as well. Only because the trolls here are so full of utter shit. And I haven't seen the film yet either. However when the trolls here lock on to something they get extra stupid. Maybe I won't like this movie and maybe I will ( I'm betting I will ) but the trolling that goes on here is truly disgusting. I'm only wondering if 2001 or Alien or Blade Runner for that matter had been released in the age internet forum trolls what would have been said. I'm betting they would have trashed 2001. I can hear it now : " It didn't explain enough! You didn't get to see the aliens! Subpar FX! That acting was dull and boring ". God! I can hear it now.
-
June 4, 2012, 6:56 p.m. CST
I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THE FACT THAT I HAVE WATCHED THE ORIGINAL ALIEN MORE THAN 60 TIMES SINCE THE DAY MY FATHER TOOK ME TO THE THEATER BACK IN 1979. THIS FILM *** MUST *** BE GOOD. PLEASE!!! PLEASE DO NOT LET ME DOWN, RIDLEY!!!!
by Astronut
My father (R.I.P.) said to me, after hating STAR WARS (he thought it was too silly), after begrudgingly taking me to see ALIEN, he said, "Son, that was the greatest movie I have ever seen in my life." I couldn't believe it. He loved ALIEN. He even went and bought an embroidered NOSTROMO BALL CAP. He LOVED that film. As do I. Damn it, this film just HAS to be good. Please?
-
81%. Yesterday someone here was trying to claim that it was sinking and it was 79 %. Sorry Trolls. Here's the link for all to see : http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/prometheus_2012/