PROMETHEUS - Grade and Discuss

[Warped9]

The movie isn't perfect, but none ever is. I really don't have much of a problem with how this unfolded.

Did some of the characters do stupid things? Yes, most certainly. And I find that quite believable because in the real whorl people who should know better frequently do stupid things. These characters were not Starfleet starship personnel. They were all distinct individuals with most of them there to make a buck. Not much idealism in most of them.

Although it's not discussed or referenced the film unspokenly establishes the method of star travel in this universe. If they can reach another star system with a few years (specifically two years in this instance) then they have to have some form of FTL capability. On the flip side it's obviously not Trek or Star Wars type FTL because they also use some form of suspended animation for the crew. It makes sense because any trip lasting more than a few weeks or months is going to need a lot of supplies if the crew are awake.

I know it was just a cgi alien, but the death of the Engineer by the oversized face-hugger near the end was really disturbing. It really reinforces how truly nasty and deeply terrifying these xenomorphs are. They are truly frightening weapons. It isn't enough that they can kill so wantonly, but that they can kill in such an invasive way.

[roliver]

Warped9 wrote:

---

They were all distinct individuals with most of them there to make a buck. Not much idealism in most of them.

And it makes sense that Weyland chose such people for a mission that he hoped would save his life? For someone who had accomplished as much as he had, those were some remarkably bad decisions.

Unless Vickers picked the crew, in which case it was equally stupid for Weyland to give her that responsibility. No matter how you look at it, it's just flat out dumb to hire people who only care about money for a mission with such high stakes.

[Warped9]

It could also well be that Weyland didn't intend to let any of them return home once he got what he wanted. He struck me as one cold son-of-s-bitch.

[hyzmarca]

If he got what he wanted he wouldn't have any control over the situation. remember, he wasn't expecting an archeological site. They was expecting a thriving civilization with advanced medical technology. Making contact with them means that he looses all control over the situation.

[roliver]

hyzmarca wrote:

---

They was expecting a thriving civilization with advanced medical technology.

Were they? The composition of the Prometheus' crew does not suggest this. Would you bring a geologist with you to meet an advanced alien civilization? Mercenaries with flamethrowers? Vickers clearly had no interest in making contact with anything.

I got no impression that the crew was really prepared for or expecting anything in particular. They certainly weren't trained for it, as the mission was only revealed to most of them when they got there.

It's like they threw the whole thing together at the last moment and placed classified ads for the lowest bidders. The most advanced FTL ship Earth has crewed by people they found on Craigslist.

[davejames]

Yeah the crew's cavalier attitude towards the planet and it's alien ship did kind of bug me a bit. Given the immense magnitude of the discovery, and the fact they were all a bunch of scientists, I would have expected them to be a lot more awestruck and amazed than they were (it seemed like Shaw and her bf were the only ones truly excited to be there).

And the way they rushed directly into the structure without AT LEAST doing a quick survey of the exterior seemed very odd and unscientific as well.

But I also realize this is a big budget summer movie that needs to move at a decent speed, so you're going to have to take some liberties with the science. You can't have the crew acting TOO careful and cautious, or else they'd never get themselves killed or infected with nasty alien viruses in the first place.

[MacLeod]

It might be a hard sell to say we'll be going on a mission to look for aliens.

[sidious618]

I thought they all seemed appropriately fearful and excited.

[T'Baio]

SalvorHardin wrote:

---

How is a guy having sex with his girlfriend when they finally get some alone time after 2 years in the freezer and the excitement of a big discovery "TOO fortunate"?

I don't know about that, but I know it was typical bullshit from male writers. Because man...now I know the next time I'm with a woman who is baring her soul and crying about being infertile, the way to make her feel better will be to start making out with her.

And of course, that's not to mention the fact of the lazy, terrible writing on display by having her infertility only brought up about 10 minutes before we need to know that to inform the next sequence.

[Bob The Skutter]

Man, how clumsy was that scene? "Any idiot can make life." "I can't... I can't make life... boo hoo" "I didn't mean that, lets shag."

[sidious618]

Bob the Skutter wrote:

---

Man, how clumsy was that scene? "Any idiot can make life." "I can't... I can't make life... boo hoo" "I didn't mean that, lets shag."

Definitely the film's weakest scene, I agree.

[Psion]

It is a beautiful film to watch. The soundtrack was stirring ... even uplifting. Fassbender delivered an incredible performance that was simultaneously chilling and poignant.

But there are so many mysteries! I get the parallels between the Engineers creating humans and the humans creating androids. I see the subtext of giving birth to life and yielding to death to make room for that new life. Then there's Promethean legend and gods and belly-cutting and all that.

It's just .... there comes a point where a movie takes on too many metaphors to actually make sense.

I'm willing to give allowances for style and artistic license and I'll set aside my personal beliefs to entertain the story-teller's ideology. But at the end of this movie, I'm wondering: did I just get a glimpse into the mind of a genius or a lunatic? Was this movie incomprehensible because I simply don't get it's calculus or because it's just a jumble of symbols arranged in an order that pleases a madman?

I suspect there's an amazing movie lurking behind this incomprehensible mess. Attentive watchers will no doubt be able to unearth buried clues which, when collected together and carefully studied, will reveal Ridley Scott's location and we'll be able to go there and ask him, "What did this incomprehensible mess actually mean?!"

[Hyperspace05]

My grade: A-, I really liked it.

The worst part was probably the last scene, the 'proto Alien' or whatever. It felt like a cheap way to tie in the film to the Alien series. Not needed at all, and ruined a pretty good last shot.

The best parts were the quiet and cerebral parts (more than I expected, much appreciated). I liked the big issues tackled.

The biggest plot hole for me was David's lack of interest in what had happened to Shaw. So he orchestrated the whole thing as an experiment to see what would happen - except that he showed no interest at all in what Shaw removed from her body.

It really does seem like there is a longer cut out there that addresses this and other issues. I would LOVE a 3+ hrs cut.

[Warped9]

Hyperspace05 wrote:

---

The worst part was probably the last scene, the 'proto Alien' or whatever. It felt like a cheap way to tie in the film to the Alien series. Not needed at all, and ruined a pretty good last shot.

Thats a fair observation. That last shot of the proto alien emerging was extraneous. At best all they needed to show was the beginnings of something starting or trying to burst through the chest. But actually none of it was needed. When we previously saw the Engineer succumb to the big face hugger we already knew his fate.

[JarodRussell]

Warped9 wrote:

---

Thats a fair observation. That last shot of the proto alien emerging was extraneous. At best all they needed to show was the beginnings of something starting or trying to burst through the chest. But actually none of it was needed. When we previously saw the Engineer succumb to the big face hugger we already knew his fate.

They actually pull an AvP?

Now I HAVE to see it.