[movie] Prometheus (previously Alien the Prequel)

[leo8877]

Damn you Euros and your early release!

[metallicorphan]

Damn you Euros and your early release!

Huh?when does it get released on your side of the puddle?

nevermind i have just found out(8th June)....the film will be ancient by then!!

than again it opened 2 days ago in Belgium,France and Switzerland ...Damn Euro's with their early release!

[metallicorphan]

Okay i just got back from seeing it

I did enjoy it,but there were a few niggles

Spoiler for Hiden:

The movie felt short,but it wasn't it was 2 hrs long..but i think that is down to when it really started to pick up,the film ended and it left me feeling a little shortchanged,maybe feeling like that i just saw part 1 of a 2 part series
 
and there were quite a few answers that were left open(the questions being which this film asked)..again,probably because there will/should be a sequel

I think everyone knew what this film was basically about(origin of the Alien species),but it still threw up a surprise or two

for one,which i don't fully understand was that the planet was not LV.426..it was LV.223(at least it was labelled that on Prometheus star map),maybe Tilt or one of you guys when you see the film can fill me in on something i may of missed,but consider me confused


Michael Fassbender was definitely the standout,but i also enjoyed the lead Noomi Rapace...although one of her scenes felt a little...."what,really?"


8/10..I enjoyed it a lot,but how it ended bugged me

It reminded me of my mate when he saw Fellowship of the Ring,i was expecting that end,he was not


Oh and Odeon Cinema in Trafford Centre,you are robbing bastards...12 fucking quid to see the 11am showing,bastards!!



One more thing,remember the Japanese version of The Ring?...well it spawned two film sequels that went in two directions one was The Ring 2 that went on about the girl while The Spiral went the direction of what happened to the video tape...well it feels like its going to do that,the sequel to this film i feel will leave the Alien thing behind now that that has been explained

so in other words,i feel Prometheus will have two sequels one going in one direction being Prometheus> Alien>Aliens>Alien 3>Alien Resurrection and the other being Prometheus>Prometheus 2(eg)

understand what i am trying to say?,because i have lost myself in explanation

[TiLT]

Just came back from watching the movie. It was awesome. Just to temper some expectations for those of you who haven't seen it yet: This movie will not answer all your questions. I think you'll enjoy it more if you know this.

Now for the spoilers:

Spoiler for Hiden:

I agree that this feels like the first half of the full story. It leaves some very central plot points hanging (why did ancient civilizations paint maps to what was essentially an alien military outpost?) and doesn't directly connect to Alien, nor does it answer the basic question the leads are trying to answer (why all of this happened).

I'm pretty sure the planet this movie focuses on is NOT the planet from Alien. What I believe happened is this: As the Makers were preparing to send one or more ships to Earth to destroy humanity (for whatever reason), something went wrong and their bioweapons got loose. In the ensuing chaos, only two Makers (that we know of) survived. One of them placed himself in stasis, perhaps hoping that someone would wake him up again later. This is the one we see in the movie. Another managed to get one of the warships away from the planet, but while heading towards its destination the Maker was attacked by a face hugger while still piloting it, and crashed onto the planet from Alien.

I also think I can safely say that we've now seen the biggest face hugger we'll ever see.

[Roman]

Spoiler for Hiden:

this article: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/05/11/damon-lindelof-prometheus-life-after-lost/ might serve to explain why the feelings about more to come are prevelant.

[Blackjack]

Ebert positively raved about Prometheus (4/4 stars), which suggests to me we all here won't like it.   In fact, we'll probably hate the ending more than Mass Effect 3's.   I'm kidding... I think?

It's in the classic tradition of golden age sci-fi, echoing Scott's "Alien" (1979), but creating a world of its own. I'm a pushover for material like this; it's a seamless blend of story, special effects and pitch-perfect casting, filmed in sane, effective 3-D that doesn't distract.

imho he goes into way too much storyline/visuals detail (as he often tends to do), and I'd rather keep some surprise even if the trailers feel like they've revealed 2/3 of the film. So, I'm not linking it and I advise anyone to steer clear of it until you've seen it.  

Entertainment Weekly also quite mostly liked it (B+):

Prometheus elicits Alien memories for viewers who have them, but works on its own, too, as a model of a contemporary (and, as is the contempo mode, long-winded) sci-fi horror pic.

[metallicorphan]

i am reading at least half decent reviews,but some of my mates who have now seen it thought it was quite pointless,which is not good because i quite liked it and told them to go see it ...fuck 'em,LOL


I think its worth seeing just for Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace,they were both brilliant IMO


Guy Pearce although in quite a prominent role and i think is quite a decent actor was quite wasted IMO,they could of more or less got anyone for that part

[hepcat]

Ebert positively raved about Prometheus (4/4 stars), which suggests to me we all here won't like it.  

I usually agree with Ebert.  He's one of the few reviewers who won't automatically discount a film just because it's either a summer blockbuster or it's horror/sci fi/fantasy based.

[Blackjack]

Continuing the review snippet but no link motif 'cause the reviewer keeps recounting the whole darn movie...

Part philosophical treatise, part pulp fiction, part pure horror show, Ridley Scott's"Prometheus" ends up with less to say than it thinks it does. Though more involving than much of this year's summer blockbuster competition, by the standards set by its wizardly director it's something of a disappointment.

We'll see what we all think this weekend. I just think back to some classics of the 1970s, and I think sometimes what grows out of relatively shoe string budgets, tough circumstances and a director who's young and fresh -- think Jaws ('75), Star Wars ('77) and Alien ('79) -- is tough to top by the same person when they're older, have endless budgets and never have to struggle with tough set/production circumstances anymore.

Sometimes the more you struggle, the better the end product is. I joke about that even with this trade media newsletter we work on. When everything's tough to write, I seem to get a lot of kudos. If we get done early, nothing's a struggle, we get nothing.  

I do think it's cool Ridley doesn't really like too much green-screening and he likes to have physical sets built out as much as possible. It's something the Prometheus cast has pointed out a lot in interviews as helping their performances when they have "real" things to interact with, as much as possible.

[Blackjack]

Collider's capsule take:

While he [Scott] doesn’t come close to recapturing the magic of his original film (an almost an unfair expectation), he does manage to give Prometheus a unique majesty through gorgeous visuals, a thrilling pace, delightful sci-fi horror, and a slew of fantastic performances with a standout turn by Michael Fassbender.  However, some sloppy narrative shortcuts and a jumbled thematic through-line keep the flame from igniting into an all-consuming blaze.

[siege]

Just got back from seeing it. I'm greatly disappointed with it as a big fan of the Alien films but I also thought it was a decent sci-fi film. Just temper your expectations and you'll likely enjoy it.

They just don't make movies like they used to. 

[Jiffy]

I liked but didn't love Prometheus. I thought it did some really neat things, and had some STELLAR scenes/shots, but overall...just wasn't fantastic. Fassbender is outstanding, as usual, and most of the cast good to very good.

I especially thought...

Spoiler for Hiden:

Charlize Theron's character was wasted, and some scenes, including her death, pretty silly. I'm still a bit confused as to why her escape shuttle was jettisoned in a way to damage it, then she went and hopped in a pod instead of into her shuttle. There was a tiny bit of dialogue I missed right then when the Captain was telling her she had 40 seconds, but I had assumed he wanted her to get away from the planet, not be stranded there.

I thought the Space Jockey stuff was good though, and interesting. I'd still go and see another movie if Scott did a sequel. Or gave the sequel to James Cameron... And there are some good, creepy scenes in the movie. It just oozes atmosphere.

[Doopri]

after sneaking a vveeeeeeery quick look at jiffys spoiler, i cant believe i didnt even notice that theron was in this!  it says a lot about a movie that it doesnt neat to flex its "star power" to stress how great it is (yes i consider her a genuine top actress since monster).  i hope im not let down, but im looking forward to checking it out tomorrow...

[EngineNo9]

I haven't read the rest of the thread, but I went to the midnight showing last night and thought it was OK, but not great.  Definitely not worth keeping me out until 3am on a work night after a long week at E3.  

[Blackjack]

I think maybe I'll catch this early tomorrow afternoon. I roped myself into feeding/cleaning up after my best friend's sister's cats this weekend while she's on travel and it's kind of gumming up my usual movie viewing times. If you recall the importance of a cat in Alien, you'll see the irony.  

Plus I haven't played enough Diablo 3 this week, it's miserably hot outside, I think I better catch up on D3 today and work on the movie Sunday.  

I don't really think the movie had a prayer of living up to the hype, but I certainly want to see it and make up my own mind. Given that Ridley has been away from this genre 30 years, I wouldn't expect a home run out of the box. Of course he had zero sci-fi experience when he directed Alien, and that may have been to his benefit. Probably when you're young and inexperienced and have a chip on your shoulder (circa 1979), you work differently than when you're elderly Sir Ridley and everyone treats you like a God of Cinema.  

Most of what I read suggests the movie is exciting and to some extent fun, it just seemed to some eyes that it sort of hints towards something a little more ambitious and then doesn't follow through, something like that.

[leo8877]

I can't see this until tomorrow due to fail scheduling on my part.  Has anyone seen it in 3D?  Is it worth going to see in 3D?  I'm pretty sure it was completely filmed that way, instead of post processing.

[pr0ner]

I can't see this until tomorrow due to fail scheduling on my part.  Has anyone seen it in 3D?  Is it worth going to see in 3D?  I'm pretty sure it was completely filmed that way, instead of post processing.

Filmed in 3D.  Very much worth seeing in 3D.

[leo8877]

I can't see this until tomorrow due to fail scheduling on my part.  Has anyone seen it in 3D?  Is it worth going to see in 3D?  I'm pretty sure it was completely filmed that way, instead of post processing.

Filmed in 3D.  Very much worth seeing in 3D.

Ok thanks pr0

[PR_GMR]

Watched it last night, and found it a lovely movie. Like a beautiful cinematic ice sculpture. Gorgeous cinematography that any DP would kill to achieve. Tremendous art design (it'll likely sweep those Academy award categories next year). Great moments of visceral horror. And I was mystified by the characters and the story. The movie asks more questions than it answers. And that's fine by me. I understand that there's some internet hate rising for it, but frankly, this movie was never meant to be 'Avatar 2'. It's a full-fledged sci-fi thriller, and not a 'summer kaboom' sci-fi movie. The movie does tie in with the original 'Alien'; all the elements are there. All you must do is connect the dots (and I'm glad the filmmakers don't connect the dots for you). I'm still thinking about many of the unanswered questions. I very much enjoyed the film and will be watching it again. 

[Arclight]

Saw it today with the wife. The only sci-fi movies she really likes is the Riddley Scott Aliens stuff.

We both thought it was a very good movie. Some of the scenes were epic in style and execution. Tension filled moments were well done when they happened. Thats one beef I have, not enough edge of the seat madness. But the acting and look of the film made up for it mostly.

Spoiler for Hiden:

they sure do like decapitating robots who still manage to play a major role in the story

[USMC Kato]

I can't see this until tomorrow due to fail scheduling on my part.  Has anyone seen it in 3D?  Is it worth going to see in 3D?  I'm pretty sure it was completely filmed that way, instead of post processing.

Looked great in 3D. No headache inducing madness like other films.

[Blackjack]

Just returned from an afternoon show. I thought the hot weather would drive people into the theaters but there probably weren't more than 20-30 people in the whole theater.

The 3-D (Real3D at a Rave Cinemas theater) was fine. While it "pops" a bit (i.e., is noticeable) on some large scale set pieces, most of the movie I really didn't even notice the 3-D, for better or worse.

I think Fassbender and Rapace give memorable performances, though I'm not sure I much cared about any of the characters in the movie. I don't think the screenplay quite gave enough of an appealing back story, or even banter (which is sort of how Alien and Aliens built up some audience concern for their team members) for the characters, something to hang onto.

As far as the story, it kind of struck me as...

Spoiler for Hiden:

...an amalgamation of the first three Alien movies.
-Alien for obvious reasons.
-Aliens in terms of the later guns and flamethrowers and "don't let them escape."
-Alien 3 in terms of the pregnancy, and "angry, unappealing characters yelling at each other and doing stupid things that get them killed."   For me the whole emergency surgery bot cutting up her uterus and plucking out some alien came dangerously close to Jumping the Shark. Or Jumping the Alien.  

imho, for all the high faluting "where do we come from" talk, the movie isn't any deeper than say, Independence Day or War of the Worlds when it comes to its aliens. It's "all aliens want to kill us and each other and they never give a reason." The End. I was like, "Well, what's the writing on the walls about? Why do they wanna kill everything? What's their story?" We get nothing.

I was a bit disappointed it boiled down to that. And that the aliens turn out to be a hybrid of some octopus-alien and some giant killer human.

I think it has some tremendous set pieces, does really fascinating things with FX and computer screen displays, has those couple standout performances (albeit next to a bunch of supporting characters who don't register much). It's worth your time to watch it and see what you think.  

I just think it could've been a lot more intriguing. It delivers the "boo yah!" and I guarantee one scene will make you squirm... but there are things I wanted to know more about that the movie just sort of never bothers around to answering. Or if it did, it flew waaaay over my head.

If you're seeing at all, see it on the biggest screen you can so you can best enjoy some of the larger set pieces.

[faide]

I felt the same blackjack.  The first half of the movie was interesting thought provoking sci-fi.  When it turned to the monster movie type stuff in the second half it got dumb.  I never felt that Alien was a dumb movie.  It also seemed to drop all the interesting things they were setting up in the first half. 

The set pieces were awesome to look at though

[pr0ner]

Yes, Blackjack, it flew over your head.

[leo8877]

Big time Alien/Aliens fan who has been dying to see this movie since it was first announced and I'm pretty much been rabid in my anticipation the more infor that comes out.  Just got back from seeing this and loved it.  There's less than zero doubt that this is an Alien prequel.  Also, I cannot fathom in the least why people think these leaves so many questions unanswered.  It answers more than it does not.  So much stuff is explained.

I only wish I hadn't watched so many trailers that spoiled some good things in the movie.

Now for spoiler discussion:

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't understand why the hate about the non explanation about how/why we are created and why they now want to destroy us.  

Thoughts:  

- That dude at the beginning, was he a rogue or a renegade in creating humans?  Was it an accident what happened to him on Earth?

- Loved the nods to Alien films throughout, even Aliens.  "WE ARE LEAVING!", the engineers, all the HR GIGER architechture, "egg" things, the burst out chest on the corpse, the 3 holes in the ship where Shaw exists and lowers down David.

- They explicitly explain what the Aliens that we know are.  A biological weapon.  I found it ironic that humans have been trying to capture these for use for a couple movies and it apparent creators couldn't even keep them in control.  I think it's very clear that the Alien is a bioweapon that has caused at least 2 disasters for them.  One here and one on the crashed ship in LV-246 that was the site of the other movies.  I am thinking that there are different forms of the weapon.  Like the G I A N T facehugger in this one was obviously not the same as the other movies.  

- Vickers - was she an android?  Father could be used for that too.  I guess she wouldn't have been so concerned with dying if she was though.

That's all I can think of for now.  Absolutely loved it.

[hepcat]

cross posted from OO:

Saw it friday after work.  While I enjoyed it, it did reinforce my opinion that Ridley Scott as a director is, in my opinion, overrated...at least in light of his last decade of work.  The designs and cinematography were great, but I don't believe they lived up to the hype.  I really wanted something new and exciting.  And while I did have fun, I also didn't find anything in it to make it stand out.

As for the story, my issues were:

Spoiler for Hiden:

Our alien creators leave a sign post leading us to their...weapons research facility?   

Why did they cast Guy Pearce as an elderly man?  We still haven't advanced enough in film to the point where makeup creates an effective illusion of advanced age.  You've got hundreds of great, older actors out there, for god's sake.  

The last surviving Engineer on the planet is reduced to acting like Jason Vorhees when his ship gets shot down?

If they'd cut out the whole alien pregnacy thing, including the final battle between Space Squid and the Engineer, I wouldn't have minded.  It just seemed tacked on.  Plus, every time Rapace's character ran a quarter mile or so in a full spacesuit after having had major invasive surgery, it just took me out of the film with its goofiness.

Like I said earlier, I enjoyed it, but it did leave me a bit disappointed.

[leo8877]

cross posted from OO:

Saw it friday after work.  While I enjoyed it, it did reinforce my opinion that Ridley Scott as a director is, in my opinion, overrated...at least in light of his last decade of work.  The designs and cinematography were great, but I don't believe they lived up to the hype.  I really wanted something new and exciting.  And while I did have fun, I also didn't find anything in it to make it stand out.

As for the story, my issues were:

Spoiler for Hiden:

Our alien creators leave a sign post leading us to their...weapons research facility?   

Why did they cast Guy Pearce as an elderly man?  We still haven't advanced enough in film to the point where makeup creates an effective illusion of advanced age.  You've got hundreds of great, older actors out there, for god's sake.  

The last surviving Engineer on the planet is reduced to acting like Jason Vorhees when his ship gets shot down?

If they'd cut out the whole alien pregnacy thing, including the final battle between Space Squid and the Engineer, I wouldn't have minded.  It just seemed tacked on.  Plus, every time Rapace's character ran a quarter mile or so in a full spacesuit after having had major invasive surgery, it just took me out of the film with its goofiness.

Like I said earlier, I enjoyed it, but it did leave me a bit disappointed.

Spoiler for Hiden:

As for why they left the map to a WMD facility...I thought about this too, but they did say that one drawing was 35,000 years old and the dead body was only 2,000 years old, so maybe it wasn't always a WMD making moon?

[leo8877]

A complaint that I've read...

Spoiler for Hiden:

that the movie folks screwed up with continuity when the ship crashes because the engineer wasn't in the chair with its chest opened up....I can't believe people dont realize that's not the same planet/ship.

[Victoria Raverna]

cross posted from OO:

Saw it friday after work.  While I enjoyed it, it did reinforce my opinion that Ridley Scott as a director is, in my opinion, overrated...at least in light of his last decade of work.  The designs and cinematography were great, but I don't believe they lived up to the hype.  I really wanted something new and exciting.  And while I did have fun, I also didn't find anything in it to make it stand out.

As for the story, my issues were:

Spoiler for Hiden:

Our alien creators leave a sign post leading us to their...weapons research facility?   

Why did they cast Guy Pearce as an elderly man?  We still haven't advanced enough in film to the point where makeup creates an effective illusion of advanced age.  You've got hundreds of great, older actors out there, for god's sake.  

The last surviving Engineer on the planet is reduced to acting like Jason Vorhees when his ship gets shot down?

If they'd cut out the whole alien pregnacy thing, including the final battle between Space Squid and the Engineer, I wouldn't have minded.  It just seemed tacked on.  Plus, every time Rapace's character ran a quarter mile or so in a full spacesuit after having had major invasive surgery, it just took me out of the film with its goofiness.

Like I said earlier, I enjoyed it, but it did leave me a bit disappointed.

Spoiler for Hiden:

As for why they left the map to a WMD facility...I thought about this too, but they did say that one drawing was 35,000 years old and the dead body was only 2,000 years old, so maybe it wasn't always a WMD making moon?

Spoiler for Hiden:

I think you're correct. The planet is either a hub planet that connected to all planets that the engineer visited or it is their closest base to earth. They're not producing weapons at that planet, they're using the planet as the staging area for their WMD attack on earth.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Spoiler for Hiden:

As for why they left the map to a WMD facility...I thought about this too, but they did say that one drawing was 35,000 years old and the dead body was only 2,000 years old, so maybe it wasn't always a WMD making moon?

Spoiler for Hiden:

But they also found those same images in Egypt and Sumeria, both civilization that had their heyday around 3,000 - 4,000 years ago.

[leo8877]

Spoiler for Hiden:

As for why they left the map to a WMD facility...I thought about this too, but they did say that one drawing was 35,000 years old and the dead body was only 2,000 years old, so maybe it wasn't always a WMD making moon?

Spoiler for Hiden:

But they also found those same images in Egypt and Sumeria, both civilization that had their heyday around 3,000 - 4,000 years ago.

Spoiler for Hiden:

That would still leave 1000 years of peaceful worship before the Engineers said, "Wipe them out...all of them!"

[leo8877]

Stolen from OO, don't read until you've seen the movie as it contains SPOILERS

http://cavalorn.livejournal.com/584135.html

[hepcat]

It's a great read and I love the ideas it evokes, but

Spoiler for Hiden:

The concept of the Engineers as wise caretakers of their offspring who sent us one of their own in order to keep us from becoming bloodthirsty killers suffers a great deal (imho) in light of the final scenes in the film in which an Engineer essentially wakes up and goes on a killing spree.  Talk about hypocritical asshats.  

Although it does give weight to the belief that we were "created in his image".

[leo8877]

It's a great read and I love the ideas it evokes, but

Spoiler for Hiden:

The concept of the Engineers as wise caretakers of their offspring who sent us one of their own in order to keep us from becoming bloodthirsty killers suffers a great deal (imho) in light of the final scenes in the film in which an Engineer essentially wakes up and goes on a killing spree.  Talk about hypocritical asshats.  

Although it does give weight to the belief that we were "created in his image".

Spoiler for Hiden:

About the guy waking up and going killer, if he's at that facility then he's probably a soldier right?  Not a life giving monk like in the opening scene.

[hepcat]

Spoiler for Hiden:

Being a soldier does not automatically mean you're a bloodthirsty killer.  Being a soldier in a civilization that is supposed to value the creation and guidance of life makes his actions even more goofy. 

It's like there's two movies in play here:  one is a great sci fi/2001 style movie full of great mythology, the other is Event Horizon with external shots. 

[PR_GMR]

Spoiler for Hiden:

Being a soldier does not automatically mean you're a bloodthirsty killer.  Being a soldier in a civilization that is supposed to value the creation and guidance of life makes his actions even more goofy. 

It's like there's two movies in play here:  one is a great sci fi/2001 style movie full of great mythology, the other is Event Horizon with external shots. 

Spoiler for Hiden:

Hep, you've to keep in mind that the engineers see human as significantly inferior to them. The engineer's killer reaction is unsurprising considering this. They see humans in the same way we see our pets, or even worse, insects. You can't float your expectations of what a 'superior' alien species would do into the movie.

[PR_GMR]

And...

Spoiler for Hiden:

Our alien creators leave a sign post leading us to their...weapons research facility?    icon_confused

Why did they cast Guy Pearce as an elderly man?  We still haven't advanced enough in film to the point where makeup creates an effective illusion of advanced age.  You've got hundreds of great, older actors out there, for god's sake. 

The last surviving Engineer on the planet is reduced to acting like Jason Vorhees when his ship gets shot down?

If they'd cut out the whole alien pregnacy thing, including the final battle between Space Squid and the Engineer, I wouldn't have minded.  It just seemed tacked on.  Plus, every time Rapace's character ran a quarter mile or so in a full spacesuit after having had major invasive surgery, it just took me out of the film with its goofiness.

Like I said earlier, I enjoyed it, but it did leave me a bit disappointed.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Feel compelled to respond to these. First, all previous 'Alien' films have been hinting that the xenomorphs were bio-weapons. I wasn't surprised in the least that 'Prometheus' confirmed that theory. The human expedition flies all the way out there hoping to discover our ideal 'creator' species. As Dr. Shaw exclaims in the movie: 'We were so wrong'. They weren't creators. They were destroyers. Intergalactic weapon dealers. I like that twist just fine. Apparently, you were expecting some Spielberg 'goody goody' aliens. That's a completely different movie.

There's nothing wrong with Guy Pearce's performance. There had been plenty of great performances by younger actors as their older selves. Dustin Hoffman in 'Little Big Man' for example. There's no hard rule of casting that requires you to cast an old actor here.

It wouldn't be a horror film without some sort of final battle. That's how the genre works.[/quote]

[leo8877]

And...

Spoiler for Hiden:

Our alien creators leave a sign post leading us to their...weapons research facility?    icon_confused

Why did they cast Guy Pearce as an elderly man?  We still haven't advanced enough in film to the point where makeup creates an effective illusion of advanced age.  You've got hundreds of great, older actors out there, for god's sake.  

The last surviving Engineer on the planet is reduced to acting like Jason Vorhees when his ship gets shot down?

If they'd cut out the whole alien pregnacy thing, including the final battle between Space Squid and the Engineer, I wouldn't have minded.  It just seemed tacked on.  Plus, every time Rapace's character ran a quarter mile or so in a full spacesuit after having had major invasive surgery, it just took me out of the film with its goofiness.

Like I said earlier, I enjoyed it, but it did leave me a bit disappointed.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Feel compelled to respond to these. First, all previous 'Alien' films have been hinting that the xenomorphs were bio-weapons. I wasn't surprised in the least that 'Prometheus' confirmed that theory. The human expedition flies all the way out there hoping to discover our ideal 'creator' species. As Dr. Shaw exclaims in the movie: 'We were so wrong'. They weren't creators. They were destroyers. Intergalactic weapon dealers. I like that twist just fine. Apparently, you were expecting some Spielberg 'goody goody' aliens. That's a completely different movie.

There's nothing wrong with Guy Pearce's performance. There had been plenty of great performances by younger actors as their older selves. Dustin Hoffman in 'Little Big Man' for example. There's no hard rule of casting that requires you to cast an old actor here.

It wouldn't be a horror film without some sort of final battle. That's how the genre works.

In regards to your second one:

Spoiler for Hiden:

But they did illustrate that they are creators of life in the very opening scene.  So they have the power to create and destroy.  I think it's implied that they creates the xenomorph sludge, but who knows, maybe they are just stockpiling it.

[PR_GMR]

To Blackjack:

Spoiler for Hiden:

I was a bit disappointed it boiled down to that. And that the aliens turn out to be a hybrid of some octopus-alien and some giant killer human.

Spoiler for Hiden:

In my opinion, one of the coolest things about this movie is how is not just an 'Alien' prequel--it does tie to it. it's all there--but how it broadens the scope on the 'Alien' universe. And it does so in a very smart way. The naysayers are vastly missing the point in the film: The Xenormorph is not just a creature. The monster in 'Prometheus' is a strand of DNA. It's all about DNA. And it's right there on the opening sequence when you seen an engineer poisoned and killed by taking in this DNA.. and then you see a close-up of the 'monster DNA' reconfiguring itself underwater. The progression of this 'killer DNA' thru the film is brilliant. It literally creates killer creatures out of any DNA it comes in contact with. That's smart.. and much better than any literal monster the filmmakers could have put there. After all, we've seen the xenomorph undergo different incarnations in the 'Alien' films.. because the creature reconfigures according to the DNA sequence of its parent host. That's brilliant! To me.. that's genius I think people who are dissapointed in this film really, really need to reconsider it.

[hepcat]

Spoiler for Hiden:

Hep, you've to keep in mind that the engineers see human as significantly inferior to them. The engineer's killer reaction is unsurprising considering this. They see humans in the same way we see our pets, or even worse, insects. You can't float your expectations of what a 'superior' alien species would do into the movie.

Spoiler for Hiden:

At no point in my life have I ever felt compelled to pursue any insect or animal to the point of endangering myself just to extract vengeance.  I stick by my assertion that the engineer's reactions towards the end of the film were, in my opinion, incongruous with the rest of the film's narrative.