PROMETHEUS - Grade and Discuss

[Pauln6]

I enjoyed it but I think my expectations were too high so it only gets a C+.

On the plus side, Fassbender's David is fantastic and the movie's early scenes with him on the ship were nicely done. The sets and actors look great, and the concept is really cool.

However, I don't know if it's just that shoddy writing has become more acceptable in the last 25+ years or if I'm being hyper-critical but I was disappointed in the movie overall.

I watched Alien on TV the other night just to get myself in the mood and there really isn't much comparison in the quality of the storytelling (all Alien needs is a bit of CGI in the closing scene when the alien is blasted out the hatch and the movie would not date at all).

For me the story started to go downhill once the crew started to interact. They did a really poor job of establishing the characters early on, many of whom, for some inexplicable reason, had not even met before setting off...? Even at the end of the movie there were several characters running around who had done nothing more than deliver a few lines of dialogue. I genuinely believed that Charlie was Elizabeth's gay best friend rather than her lover until it became obvious, quite far into the movie, that this wasn't meant to be the case - there was very little chemistry there at all.

What jarred the most though was the lack of realism in the characters' behaviour. In Alien we were dealing with working class joe public; in Aliens we were dealing with boneheaded marines; in Alien 3 we were dealing with criminals but in this movie we were supposed to be dealing with scientists. Why then did they go charging in like idiots?

They didn't set up a lab on the planet to examine finds without risking contaminating the ship, they took helmets off without taking samples of the air for bacterial or viral analysis, we had a geologist who didn't even carry a samples case and a biologist who wasn't even carrying a basic testing kit. In one scene somebody asks why the water isn't frozen given the temperature - do they stop to take a sample to find out? No! Someone says, "Maybe it isn't water," and on they go, wading through this unknown substance without a care in the world.

They claim to have a quarantine procedure but given that their basic safety protocols are lacking, they would have had to quarantine the entire crew.

In short, their scientific method was shambolic and it really dragged me, almost weeping, out of what should have been a decent story.

The plot was a bit obvious compared to the first two Alien movies. I was mildly offended when one of the characters, despite having a serious injury, was performing physical, one might even say, acrobatic, activities with little more than the odd wince of pain. Given the larger cast, I would have much preferred it if they had taken a leaf out of Contagion's book to keep us on our toes with several leads, any of whom could die at any moment, sharing the burden of action hero among them.

Overall, I did enjoy it but it fell quite a way short of what I was hopng for. If Del Toro wants to make in the Mountains of Madness there is plenty of room left to do a better, more atmospheric job.

[Starkers]

Yeah I can accept people in the other Alien films fucking up because they're all out of their comfort zone (with the exception of Ripley after the first one) but the guys in this should have been right in their comfort zone, at least up to a point.

I wouldn't go as far as to say I didn't enjoy it, but I was still massively underwhelmed. The film looks great, but like an old Hollywood set once you go behind the facade there's nothing there holding it up.

The script is a total mess in places, as people have said characters do random things for random purposes, and how the hell Shaw runs around during the last portion of the film beggers belief!

Rapace is no Sigourney Weaver, Theron isn't given enough to do and is then

allowed to survive just so she can be killed 5 seconds later

and Idris Elba could have been the beating heart of the film, except he's forgotten about until the end.

Hats off to Michael Fassbender though, he is is the best thing about this by miles, and his David really deserved to be in a better film.

[Deckerd]

These results are disappointing. I was sort of hoping Bob had been excessively critical but it doesn't appear so.

[Starkers]

Well in the interests of fairness I went with my best mate and he really enjoyed it, said he thought it was a true cinematic event.

[Bob The Skutter]

Deckerd wrote:

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These results are disappointing. I was sort of hoping Bob had been excessively critical but it doesn't appear so.

I was, but I stand by my excessive criticism.

[The Mirrorball Man]

Pauln6 wrote:

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They didn't set up a lab on the planet to examine finds without risking contaminating the ship, they took helmets off without taking samples of the air for bacterial or viral analysis, we had a geologist who didn't even carry a samples case and a biologist who wasn't even carrying a basic testing kit.

What bothered me far more was that these characters don't behave like actual people. Nothing they say or do rings true from an emotional perspective:

A team of scientists who make one of the most significant discoveries of all time and don't sound thrilled, excited or even a little bit curious? A biologist who finds a pile of alien corpses, the actual bodies of the creators of mankind, and would rather go back to the ship than study them? A sick man letting himself get killed in the most painful way imaginable before examining any other option? A woman who goes through the most traumatic experience of her life, one that could have consequences for all her colleagues, and tells no one about it?

Suspension of disbelief is crucial for the scientific/tech stuff, but it shouldn't be required for the characters' behavior.

[wahwahkits]

I was very underwhelmed by it. On the plus side the cinematography is beautiful and Fassbender and Theron are on fine form but the script left me cold.
I think it will get better with repeated viewings and so i'll no doubt buy it on blu-ray.

[throwback]

Can someone name one movie where scientists acted as scientists, and not as buffoons? I can't think of one.

[OmahaStar]

throwback wrote:

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Can someone name one movie where scientists acted as scientists, and not as buffoons? I can't think of one.

Certainly, my boy. The Monster of Phantom Lake and its sequel It Came From Another World are exactly what you're asking about. The star is a Professor of Science, who thinks and acts like a scientist should, with an incredible thirst for scientific knowledge.

[Asbo Zaprudder]

The scientists also behaved like absolute idiots when they couldn't wait a few extra hours after travelling for 2+ years. It was more like a school trip for a bunch of ADSD-afflicted kids. I blame the recruiters at Weyland Corp, who obviously put way much faith in the candidates' LinkedIn profiles.

[137th Gebirg]

So you're saying it was like driving a short bus to Disney World and every seat had a steering wheel?

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Pretty much. However, idiot plot syndrome is pretty much ubiquitous in any movie set in the Alien universe. The ride is great until you start to think.

[throwback]

I think the only exception to that rule is the first movie. In that movie, I think the biggest issue was not stupidity, but the corporate culture in which the characters inhabited. This culture and the expectations it placed on its inhabitants doomed the Nostromo.

The second film had one major stupid thing - they didn't check the space above the ceiling. Otherwise, I think the Marines had become complacent and were led by an inexperienced leader.

[sidious618]

throwback wrote:

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I think the only exception to that rule is the first movie. In that movie, I think the biggest issue was not stupidity, but the corporate culture in which the characters inhabited. This culture and the expectations it placed on its inhabitants doomed the Nostromo.

They made some idiotic decisions i.e. Harry Dean Stanton wondering off alone after the cat and then closing his eyes, standing in the middle of a very open room. I don't disagree about the corporate culture but I do disagree that they didn't make dumb decisions.

[throwback]

For me, up to that point when he entered that room, Brett believed that he was hunting for a small creature. However, upon further reflection, I agree with you that he acted stupidly when, after finding the shedded skin, instead of reporting his discovery to the crew, Brett decided to proceed further into the room, and placed himself in greater danger. Another moment that can be argued for a case of stupidity is when the captain went alone into the vents without a partner. So, in conclusion, I retract what I said earlier about the first movie.