Prometheus: Ridley Scott returns to Sci-Fi

[davejames]

Hmm, I know it's heavily edited, but at the moment it kinda feels more like an Avatar sequel than something from the quiet and eerie Alien universe.

Hopefully the actual movie will be a bit slower and more atmospheric...

Quiet and errie as in "Aliens" with it's fire fights?

Yeah but that movie still did a great job establishing up front that this was the same eerie, atmospheric planet as before. Which is why everything that came after was so damn effective.

Plus, being that this is Ridley I was naturally hoping for a tone closer to the first movie anyway.

 

[davejames]

There are bits and pieces that I'm not thrilled with so far, largely some very specific aspects of the design (and I wish the trailers hadn't gotten so spoileriffic over the last couple of months). Specifically, I'm not crazy about the suits, but they do have a definite lineage from the Alien ones, particularly when looking at the shoulder pauldrons. The bigger issue for me is the color palette of the inside of the Prometheus itself, which still feels overly bright.

I don't really have a problem with the art design or brightness level. I just want it to move and feel more like the original Alien than a typical, flashy, scifi/horror flick.

 

[Timby]

Hmm, I know it's heavily edited, but at the moment it kinda feels more like an Avatar sequel than something from the quiet and eerie Alien universe.

Hopefully the actual movie will be a bit slower and more atmospheric...

Quiet and errie as in "Aliens" with it's fire fights?

Yeah but that movie still did a great job establishing up front that this was the same eerie, atmospheric planet as before. Which is why everything that came after was so damn effective.

Plus, being that this is Ridley I was naturally hoping for a tone closer to the first movie anyway.

Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof have said that they're adhering to the continuity of Aliens, in which it was established that the planet shown in Alien was LV-426. I believe the planet in Prometheus has already been designated LV-423. The derelict from Alien is not the same ship as the one in Prometheus.

 

[MacLeod]

nitpick, LV-426 (Acheron) is actually a moon, one of at least three orbiting a ring world. So perhaps LV-423 is one of the other moons, as it also appears to be orbiting a ringed planet.

 

[davejames]

Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof have said that they're adhering to the continuity of Aliens, in which it was established that the planet shown in Alien was LV-426. I believe the planet in Prometheus has already been designated LV-423. The derelict from Alien is not the same ship as the one in Prometheus.

I realize it's a different planet, but I would still hope the mood and tone of the movie would be the same, considering it's still the same Alien universe.

 

[BenRoethig]

Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof have said that they're adhering to the continuity of Aliens, in which it was established that the planet shown in Alien was LV-426. I believe the planet in Prometheus has already been designated LV-423. The derelict from Alien is not the same ship as the one in Prometheus.

I realize it's a different planet, but I would still hope the mood and tone of the movie would be the same, considering it's still the same Alien universe.

Do remember, we're starting off under different pretenses. With Alien, you're starting off with a crew that has been pretty much forced to check something out when they'd they rather be in their pods asleep. With Prometheus. it starts as a grand adventure and they realize that things are not as they hopped. It would be unrealistic to start this movie was trepidation, that feeling of uneasiness has to work itself in as the situation changes for the crew.

 

[Aeolusdallas]

Charlize Theron is hot.

I know that's why I can't by Belle as Snow White. No way she is ever fairer than Charlize Theron

 

[Aeolusdallas]

This movie is going to be awesome.

There are bits and pieces that I'm not thrilled with so far, largely some very specific aspects of the design (and I wish the trailers hadn't gotten so spoileriffic over the last couple of months). Specifically, I'm not crazy about the suits, but they do have a definite lineage from the Alien ones, particularly when looking at the shoulder pauldrons. The bigger issue for me is the color palette of the inside of the Prometheus itself, which still feels overly bright.

In any event, I'm still ridiculously excited. That being said, Ridley Scott has always been a better designer than director. At least half of Blade Runner is him playing with his own toys, yet it somehow works because they're fucking amazing toys, so I'll wait till the film is out to judge the look, since Scott usually knows what he wants and he tends to be right more often than not. (Also, science fiction brings out his artistic side like there's no tomorrow, and he's insanely controlling of his art departments.)

People usually think the Nostromo in Alien was dark and messy but that was the refinery. The Nostromo was very bright and sterile looking.

 

[Set Harth]

(there's a reason the ads have been playing up that Scott is the director of Blade Runner and Gladiator, not Alien)

Because Blade Runner isn't a sci-fi film?

Blade Runner doesn't have the stigma of the last three entries in the franchise being God-awful. Fox was very deliberate to avoid any sort of direct link to Alien outside of promotions over the last couple of months, and for good reason -- by positioning Prometheus as its own thing, the studio was able to start the build and avoid people saying, "Oh, fuck, another one? Weren't the two Alien vs. Predator movies bad enough?"

And don't you think the ads are playing up Alien in ways other than showing the word "Alien" on the screen?

There's been a definite slow burn; now that they're mimicking the original Alien trailer (and using that siren), the connection is becoming a little more clear-cut.

The TV ad says in big letters "ALIEN" right along with the other films mentioned. So, just a smidgen more obvious.

( Not to mention the space jockey. )

If people are going to blame Scott for AVP or assume this film has anything to do with Predators, they're a lost cause anyway.

 

[Trubinator]

I think everyone needs to just cool it for a while. I have my doubts about some aspects of the movie too, but it's not fair to judge the film based on a few trailers and a one-minute clip.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Well the BBFC has given it a 15 rating, the other 'Alien' I think all got 18 ratings. Running time 123m 36s.

So is this the cut the same as the US 'R' version or is it an international cut.

Though the version submitted to the BBFc passed with no cuts.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/CFF286710/

It's probably the same - the 2004 rerelease of Alien was a 15 as well, and the original movie has subsequently been downgraded to that too.

 

[Disruptor]

Have they given away the whole movie yet? Because it sure seems like so. I'm avoiding any more trailers/behind the scenes stuff.

 

[davejames]

Yeah I'm a bit concerned about that as well. Even if we don't yet know the specific reasons behind everything, you can still guess the broad strokes of the plot pretty easily from the trailers that have been released.

 

[MacLeod]

Is not unusual for trailers to at least hint at the overall plot of film. It seems these days you almost have to tell the audiance what they are getting. It'll be a rare film that could basically through up a title card as an advert.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Have they given away the whole movie yet? Because it sure seems like so. I'm avoiding any more trailers/behind the scenes stuff.

From what I understand, we've seen nothing from the film's third act thus far.

 

[137th Gebirg]

I think everyone needs to just cool it for a while. I have my doubts about some aspects of the movie too, but it's not fair to judge the film based on a few trailers and a one-minute clip.

Bwaaahahhaaa... Welcome to the internet, brother! Measured reason and patience are the exception, not the rule.

I for one think this thing will be awesome (based on the one-minute clip). The second I saw the Space Jockey pop through that floor I knew that it's going to be amazing.

But I will reserve judgment until I see it...

 

[davejames]

Too bad it probably won't be the same Space Jockey from the first movie.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Probably not, but it would be nice to finally (hopefully) get some background info on that species.

 

[Timby]

Too bad it probably won't be the same Space Jockey from the first movie.

As I said a day or two ago, it isn't the same Jockey (or Engineer, as the script refers to them). I'm glad about that, really, since the Engineer, and its chair, seen in the Prometheus trailers is horribly out of scale to what was depicted in Alien.

The films take place on different planets, and the Engineers' ship in Prometheus is not the same ship as the derelict seen in Alien.

People usually think the Nostromo in Alien was dark and messy but that was the refinery. The Nostromo was very bright and sterile looking.

Exactly. Nostromo was a virgin that ended up being ripped to pieces by the penis rape machine alien.

 

[tighr]

First, despite the fact that this takes place before Alien, the Nostromo was essentially a space tractor-trailer, and I think the clunky suits and the dark industrial interior of that ship is a reminder of that fact. These guys were the working class, and wouldn't have top of the line...well anything. The Prometheus meanwhile is a state of the art research ship, so it would make sense that it would have sophisticated new technology and accessories.

What would be really cool is if our heroes in Prometheus encounter a brand-new Nostromo, fresh out of spacedock. It'd highlight exactly what you say, that the Nostromo is an ancient hand-me-down ship that's been in service for years.

Too bad it probably won't be the same Space Jockey from the first movie.

As I said a day or two ago, it isn't the same Jockey (or Engineer, as the script refers to them). I'm glad about that, really, since the Engineer, and its chair, seen in the Prometheus trailers is horribly out of scale to what was depicted in Alien.

The films take place on different planets, and the Engineers' ship in Prometheus is not the same ship as the derelict seen in Alien.

FWIW, we really don't know that yet. If they've told us that the planets are different, that doesn't eliminate the possibility that the derelict launches from the planet in this movie and ultimately crash-lands on LV-426, to set us up for Alien. As far as the scale being wrong, that can be chalked up to the Space Jockey being A) a matte painting appropriate for 1979 special effects techniques (shoot, it was still good enough for TNG in the 90s) but also B) children were used in the spacesuits to simulate scale. I can't really fault them for the scale being off.