[movie] Prometheus (previously Alien the Prequel)

[Teggy]

I finally got a matinee of this in on Sunday (wife not really into scary sci-fi). Definitely felt let down and I kept myself on pretty much blackout beforehand.

I guess to me it felt like a non-really-as good version of Alien. It's kind of the same story really. The themes are different, and perhaps there is more hidden, but it's still basically, people go somewhere, find weird stuff and get eaten by aliens.

I think the part that pulled me out of it the most was the

Spoiler for Hiden:

Cesaerean. Woman goes into the machine and has the thing ripped out of her. Then she goes stumbling about the halls in her underwear. David just lets her in and gives her some clothes and she starts talking with Weyland. I guess it's possible they were monitoring her, but it wasn't mentioned at all?

I guess there were a few things like that. The geologist gets lost? He was mapping the whole place. I didn't have a big problem with the biologist getting close to the creature. He probably just likes his job and it's not like the have encountered any creatures that like to jump down your throat.

I actually didn't have a problem with the squid getting bigger, because that happened in Alien. The chestburster is very small and gets a lot bigger before its first kill.

The whole Jesus concept is kind of interesting, but I tend to get turned off when major parts of the story have to be pulled from interviews with the director (and then may or may not be true).

At least it was better than Resurrection.

[McNutt]

Where in the hell did those worm things that the biologist tried to pet come from?  Had they just been slinking around for two thousand years or were they recently released after being stored for two thousand years?  And what released them?  Did the architects design some killer goo that was so unstable that it went ballistic when anybody approached it? 

And why would Vickers go to all of the trouble and expense of having her own personal surgery tube installed and order one designed for men.  Did I miss something there?  Was she a man??? 

Too many questions about this movie, and these aren't the good kind of questions.

[leo8877]

Where in the hell did those worm things that the biologist tried to pet come from?  They had just been slinking around for two thousand years or were they recently released after being stored for two thousand years.  And what released them?  Did the architects design some killer goo that was so unstable that it went ballistic when anybody approached it? 

And why would Vickers go to all of the trouble and expense of having her own personal surgery tube installed and order one designed for men.  Did I miss something there?

Too many questions about this movie, and these aren't the good kind of questions.

Answers to your questions, imho that were clearly spelled out in the movie:

Spoiler for Hiden:

The worms were shown growing from the black goop that was released when the doors opened.

The tube wasn't for Vickers, it was for Weyland.

[McNutt]

Ah, it was for him. Ok, so that makes sense.

I don't really remember the worms forming, but I'll take your word for it.  I was too confused as to why the guy who did the mapping was the one getting so lost.   

[corruptrelic]

Just saw this last night (still $14.50 for the ticket! plus another $5.75 for the soda) definitely enjoyed it, but didn't really notice any 3d effects.
Actually, I only noticed the 3d twice during the movie (once when the "engineer" dropped his cup and another time when they pulled up the virtual map and the icon came out) anyone else in the same boat? I was expecting a lot more.. I mine as well have saved $5 and just saw the 2D version.

As far as Charlize Theron in that wrap around towel or whatever they were wearing when they got woken up.. 

[CeeKay]

At least it was better than Resurrection.

even the AvP movies were better than that

[th'FOOL]

At least it was better than Resurrection.

even the AvP movies were better than that

I wouldn't go that far...

[Teggy]

There's a point where someone steps near a canister and you see some mealworms squiggle up - I'm not sure if they were supposed to have formed out of whatever was in the dirt or what. But I believe that is what became the snakes.

[jament]

I recently read a quote from Bret Easton Ellis talking about why he didn't like the movie adaptation of American Psycho that I think applies to Prometheus: 

"I think the problem with American Psycho was that it was conceived as a novel, as a literary work with a very unreliable narrator at the center of it and the medium of film demands answers. It demands answers. You can be as ambiguous as you want with a movie, but it doesn’t matter — we’re still looking at it. It’s still being answered for us visually."

I loved the movie and didn't at all mind the things that didn't add up because the characters in the film are unreliable. The pilot speculates about the facility being a bio weapons factory but he doesn't really know. The scientists speculate about how the black goo works but they don't really know either - all of those answers are beyond them.

Sometimes I wish filmmakers were just allowed to put their vision on film and just say - This Is What Happened.  Maybe it doesn't make sense, you figure it out, but this is what happened to these characters. They don't know why and neither do I but here it is. Kind of like the classic film Picnic at Hanging Rock.

But then the director has to do a press tour and answer questions and try and explain and it all gets convoluted and in the end, Ellis is right.  Film demands answers.

[hispanicgamer]

Really enjoying the conversations about the movie. I'm with the first group who says they liked the movie. So here are my contributions to the conversation..
I went back and saw it a second time because I couldn't remember what happened to the Biologist, who I thought was poorly acted as a supposed biologist. So I saw he had died and that the worm got out of him but  nothing else happens to his character. The geologist, gets transformed from the goo, which seems to transform space worms into evil worms, humans into monsters, and human sperm into squidy type monsters.
Maybe this has been covered but here are my contributing questions:
1. Why is the "seed" engineer different from the sleeping engineer? The opening has the seed engineer practically naked while the engineer that wakes up is different in that he has been transformed somehow. Kind of like he was infected because he has weird xenomorphic features to his  body. I don't think he is wearing a space suit.
2. The engineer who loses his head. Why did the door seal? Why were all the bodies piled up outside the door and David conveniently knows the code in? Were they trying to stop the pilots?
3. Why is the spaceship in the opening completely different than the colon shaped ship? Did these engineers discover the nasty goo and were now going to use it as a weapon rather than the hypothesis that this was the creation of the engineers?
5. WTF did David say to the engineer?!

[Purge]

Not having seen the movie, the black bottle looks like Drakkar, I'm guessing the segmented nose is the Space Jockey, and then there is a Zombie Moe (ala 3 stooges).

The Moe plus chick equals squid smell. segmented nose dude plus squid smell from moe-chick sex made him invent the aliens.

[McNutt]

I'll try to answer:

1. Why is the "seed" engineer different from the sleeping engineer? The opening has the seed engineer practically naked while the engineer that wakes up is different in that he has been transformed somehow. Kind of like he was infected because he has weird xenomorphic features to his  body. I don't think he is wearing a space suit.

They aren't different.  The only difference I saw was the space suit.  In the first movie it looked like the alien had some sort of elephant trunk that was attached at both ends.  In Prometheus it is shown to be part of a space suit.  Everything about the head was actually just part of the helmet.  

2. The engineer who loses his head. Why did the door seal? Why were all the bodies piled up outside the door and David conveniently knows the code in? Were they trying to stop the pilots?

I believe the door was sealing as a protective measure.  The engineers had lost control of their weapon (the goo canisters) and they were running for a safe area.  The door came down to seal them off and decapitated one of the aliens.  I'm not sure why the bodies were piled up.  That could have been done by the living engineers before they figured out what kind of trouble they were in and headed for the safe area.

3. Why is the spaceship in the opening completely different than the colon shaped ship? Did these engineers discover the nasty goo and were now going to use it as a weapon rather than the hypothesis that this was the creation of the engineers?

They are different space ships.  From what I could gather the ships on the planet were designed to deliver their weapon to the planets that they supposedly created.  The shot from the beginning of the film was probably thousands of years, if not millions of years, in the past.   They were seeding a planet.  Much later on they decided to kill those planets with their weapons.  Don't ask me why they'd do such a thing.  And I'm also guessing that the goo the engineer drinks in the beginning is different from the goo in the canisters.  If not, why is it a weapon at the end but a great gift in the beginning?

5. WTF did David say to the engineer?!

Who knows?  How did David even know their language?  Studying different Earth languages does not mean that you automatically know how to speak and read an alien language, but I guess it does in this movie.  Maybe he said "Hi, I'm an android in an alien movie.  I think I'm supposed to be ripped apart yet retain my ability to talk to the protagonist."

[Razgon]

Re language - David said several times that earth languages were based on the aliens languages, since they taught us stuff.

[McNutt]

Yes, he said that, but that doesn't make his ability to speak an alien language, not to mention read it, believable.  You have to admit that's pretty out there, even in a science fiction movie. 

[metallicorphan]

Yes, he said that, but that doesn't make his ability to speak an alien language, not to mention read it, believable.  You have to admit that's pretty out there, even in a science fiction movie. 

I dunno,you see people cracking hieroglyphics and stuff like that in movies,and here we have an android who can probably do a million calculations in a second,i don't think its that far fetched,within reason i mean-as in no bigger deal than the rest of the movie

[Razgon]

Yes, he said that, but that doesn't make his ability to speak an alien language, not to mention read it, believable.  You have to admit that's pretty out there, even in a science fiction movie. 

I think the direct qoute sometime was "Language is basically mathematics" and he's working backwards towards the base language. I have no particular beef with that in a movie about aliens, spaceships and cryosleep.

[hispanicgamer]

I'll try to answer:

1. Why is the "seed" engineer different from the sleeping engineer? The opening has the seed engineer practically naked while the engineer that wakes up is different in that he has been transformed somehow. Kind of like he was infected because he has weird xenomorphic features to his  body. I don't think he is wearing a space suit.

They aren't different.  The only difference I saw was the space suit.  In the first movie it looked like the alien had some sort of elephant trunk that was attached at both ends.  In Prometheus it is shown to be part of a space suit.  Everything about the head was actually just part of the helmet.  

2. The engineer who loses his head. Why did the door seal? Why were all the bodies piled up outside the door and David conveniently knows the code in? Were they trying to stop the pilots?

I believe the door was sealing as a protective measure.  The engineers had lost control of their weapon (the goo canisters) and they were running for a safe area.  The door came down to seal them off and decapitated one of the aliens.  I'm not sure why the bodies were piled up.  That could have been done by the living engineers before they figured out what kind of trouble they were in and headed for the safe area.

3. Why is the spaceship in the opening completely different than the colon shaped ship? Did these engineers discover the nasty goo and were now going to use it as a weapon rather than the hypothesis that this was the creation of the engineers?

They are different space ships.  From what I could gather the ships on the planet were designed to deliver their weapon to the planets that they supposedly created.  The shot from the beginning of the film was probably thousands of years, if not millions of years, in the past.   They were seeding a planet.  Much later on they decided to kill those planets with their weapons.  Don't ask me why they'd do such a thing.  And I'm also guessing that the goo the engineer drinks in the beginning is different from the goo in the canisters.  If not, why is it a weapon at the end but a great gift in the beginning?

5. WTF did David say to the engineer?!

Who knows?  How did David even know their language?  Studying different Earth languages does not mean that you automatically know how to speak and read an alien language, but I guess it does in this movie.  Maybe he said "Hi, I'm an android in an alien movie.  I think I'm supposed to be ripped apart yet retain my ability to talk to the protagonist."

Well allow me to retort! 
I went back specifically to see about the biologist and also read some blogs about the supposed back story. That's when I noticed something about the two engineers looking different. Below is a picture of the Engineer about to jump into the Space Jockey suit, notice his eyes have dark circles and that he has black veins on his face. Similar to Halloway’s transformation.

Now look at a picture of Engineer looking at the Space Chair: It was during this scene where I noticed that his skin blends into the Xenomorphic protrusions, looking like he has undergone some type of transformation. His legs and body begin to look like our classic Alien.

It was also more prevalent during the fight scene with the Trilobyte:

My theory is that some of these Engineers had begun to experiment with this black goo and were transformed into Evil Engineers. That’s why we see a chase in the poorly shot Engineer replay where the Engineer loses his head. If Halloway had been allowed to transform, he would have become evil just like Fifield. I agree that this isn’t the same goo as the opening since the seed Engineer falls apart. This goo is meant to transform things to a more evil or violent thing rather than destroy. The mixing of Halloway’s child, the Trilobyte, with the transformed Engineer breeds the ultimate evil: The Alien. My $0.02 but you might want to go and see it again or we can have this discussion once the DVD is released. Still having fun dissecting this story.

[McNutt]

I look like hell when I wake up.  This guy just woke up after a couple of thousands of years, so that might explain his appearance.

Interesting ideas about the goo.  That picture of the engineer standing up still looks like a suit to me though.

[hispanicgamer]

I look like hell when I wake up.  This guy just woke up after a couple of thousands of years, so that might explain his appearance.

Interesting ideas about the goo.  That picture of the engineer standing up still looks like a suit to me though.

LOL. Hope to never wake up next to you.
There were shots in the movie where the Engineer's arm was opened up, like wounds, and blending into the Xenomorphic suit or transformation. Going to try and see it again to get more info. Call me crazy but never call me late to dinner! 

[hispanicgamer]

I got my wife to go with me on my third viewing and I can definitely say that the engineer is not wearing a suit. There are too many things that show that it is a different engineer. The engineer hologram shows that they were running away from something because they kept looking back as they ran.  The space jockey hologram shows that they were heading to earth but why is there only one engineer in hypersleep? Maybe they were waiting for the earthlings to show they had the technology to come see them? Or as David said it all went to pot, which still doesn't help to answer the why?

[McNutt]

I didn't notice that and what I wrote off these changes as his uniform, albeit a skintight uniform. 

Yeah, I'm not sure what they were running from, but it could be anything.  That goo has been shown to do really nasty things to whatever it touches, so if they had brought along a pet space dog and he lapped up that goo he could have turned into Clifford and chased them down the hallway.  I know that's a dumb joke, but that goo plot device was so broad in its effect that it really could have been anything chasing them in that hallway.

I really hope that there are cool little mysteries like the engineer's space suit/alien skin that can be solved and actually lead to a well thought and fully developed story.  It sure didn't feel that way when I saw it though. 

[metallicorphan]

didn't want to make a new thread for it,as its probably years off anyway,and its still unconfirmed anyway


Ridley Scott had said that some questions could be answered in the sequel,but it was still how good it did at the BO on whether a sequel would happen anyway

but anyway i found this
http://www.prometheusnews.net/movie/unconfirmed-sequel-development-news/

Unconfirmed Prometheus 2 Development Details

The people behind the website called NexusNews claim to have insider information on the development of the Prometheus sequel. This information is unconfirmed and thus it should be taken with a BIG grain of salt especially at this stage of the game. Here’s their report on the matter:

According to our insider information: Prometheus 2 is under works, and it planned for a 2014/2015 release. The filming will start shortly this year. Currently they are at the Planning stage, where they lay out the entire plan on how to film the movie in the proper order and how to achieve some of the special effects described in both the scripts (currently in progress) and the concept arts. Later this year there would be production videos showing the progress that they made thus far, and how they didn’t waste any time.
Their ideas are very solid, and answer several questions that were asked in the first movie. Although several questions will answered throughout Prometheus 2, the story would be based on two main plot lines that were left off from the last movie. The first and most important is where will Dr. Shaw and David go, and what will they find there. It has been speculated that Elder Engineers that were cut from the last movie will play a huge role in the sequel. They were probably cut from the main movie for the same reason. Because it was thought that perhaps they need to be reworked, and represented in a whole different way.

But if there’s anything worth taking from their report is their inclusion of a scan from the July 2012 issue of American Cinematographer. The scan (below) shows 9 Engineers by the waterfall from a deleted scene. People part of the production have been posting their personal photos online– only a few days ago we had our first look at the “Elder Engineer” and more behind the scenes photos. And so we know the photo below is legit as it also shows the same character.

2014/2015 sounds about right(well i would say 2015),filming this year still sounds a bit too soon TBH...but I am in hope of it happening anyway,i enjoyed Prometheus,not sure what part 2 would be called though

[hepcat]

I don't know about this report.  I'm skeptical that Scott will revisit the franchise and without his clout to back it up, I find it hard to believe it will get past the concept stage.

[leo8877]

Fox confirms sequel is a go

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/57379

[hepcat]

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle...   

[TK-421]

Prometheus 2: Bigger Plot Holes & More Unanswered Questions in 3D

[CeeKay]

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle...   

hey!  Raz is sensitive about his looks.

[hispanicgamer]

Fox confirms sequel is a go

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/57379

Awesome!

[Razgon]

Aye, I'm excied about this one as well - While the movie had its flaws, I was decently entertained and I'm interested in whether a sequel will expand and explain upon the things that were missing from this one.

[Bullwinkle]

I'm most interested in the fact that Lindelof won't be involved.

[ravenvii]

Not involved? Good riddance!

I still doubt the clusterfuck that was Prometheus can be salvaged. But would be happy to be proven wrong.

[leo8877]

Interview with the writer:

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/08/03/prometheus-screenwriter-damon-lindelof-tweets-all/?mod=WSJBlog

Something I didn't catch and wasn't mentioned:

Q: On the seemingly “flubbed” line of dialogue, where Fassbender’s android says “2 years, 4 months, 18 days, 36 hours, 15 minutes” (emphasis mine):

A:  The “36 hours” line has been burning a hole in my side because I wasn’t there on the day they shot it. I don’t know if it was an ad-lib by Michael or an idea by Ridley, that wasn’t the line that we wrote. So when people contact me and say “Explain this. Is it a glitch in David?” I have to say “I can’t take responsibility for this.” So, I do think in terms of fair play with the audience, Twitter is a medium for me to say “I can’t come out now and bullshit you.” God forbid somebody pulls the script one day and sees that line is not even in the script. So I have to be honest.

Also this one, which I have seen discussed:

Q:  A lot of fans scrutinize every line in this film like it’s the Bible. And you tend to respond to their very detailed questions.

A:  My feeling is: this is what I signed up for. I am driven and captivated and interested in these open-ended stories that have a high level of interpretation to them. There’s a certain level of frustration that comes with that package. So, when I was involved in the movie just looking at tiny little effects, naming planets and star systems, you have to be responsible. Charlize [Theron] has a line in the movie where she says, “I wouldn’t be half a billion miles away from every man on earth if I wanted to get laid.” And Neil deGrasse Tyson [the well-known astrophysicist] came out said “This would put her somewhere in the neighborhood of Jupiter, when they are much, much further out.” I chose not to say anything because the line was intentional. It had been dinged before we even shot it. But we stuck by it for reasons I don’t feel like discussing.

[Bullwinkle]

Interview with the writer:

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/08/03/prometheus-screenwriter-damon-lindelof-tweets-all/?mod=WSJBlog

Something I didn't catch and wasn't mentioned:

Q: On the seemingly “flubbed” line of dialogue, where Fassbender’s android says “2 years, 4 months, 18 days, 36 hours, 15 minutes” (emphasis mine):

A:  The “36 hours” line has been burning a hole in my side because I wasn’t there on the day they shot it. I don’t know if it was an ad-lib by Michael or an idea by Ridley, that wasn’t the line that we wrote. So when people contact me and say “Explain this. Is it a glitch in David?” I have to say “I can’t take responsibility for this.” So, I do think in terms of fair play with the audience, Twitter is a medium for me to say “I can’t come out now and bullshit you.” God forbid somebody pulls the script one day and sees that line is not even in the script. So I have to be honest.

Also this one, which I have seen discussed:

Q:  A lot of fans scrutinize every line in this film like it’s the Bible. And you tend to respond to their very detailed questions.

A:  My feeling is: this is what I signed up for. I am driven and captivated and interested in these open-ended stories that have a high level of interpretation to them. There’s a certain level of frustration that comes with that package. So, when I was involved in the movie just looking at tiny little effects, naming planets and star systems, you have to be responsible. Charlize [Theron] has a line in the movie where she says, “I wouldn’t be half a billion miles away from every man on earth if I wanted to get laid.” And Neil deGrasse Tyson [the well-known astrophysicist] came out said “This would put her somewhere in the neighborhood of Jupiter, when they are much, much further out.” I chose not to say anything because the line was intentional. It had been dinged before we even shot it. But we stuck by it for reasons I don’t feel like discussing.

It's not a prequel to Alien at all.  It's a sequel to 2001!

[leo8877]

The bluray has 35 (!) minutes of deleted scenes, including 15 mins in the last act.

http://www.slashfilm.com/prometheus-blu-ray-to-feature-nearly-15-minutes-of-footage-deleted-from-ending/#more-134113

[metallicorphan]

cool stuff

I take it that these Deleted Scenes will be a separate feature from the film and not reinstated for the Blu-Ray version?

[Blackjack]

cool stuff

I take it that these Deleted Scenes will be a separate feature from the film and not reinstated for the Blu-Ray version?

I looked at the Bleeding Cool site the scene names are sourced from, and it says:

There’s still a hope that some of the deleted scenes from Ridley Scott’s Prometheus will tidy up loose ends and make sense of some thematic, plot and character confusion. Of course, these scenes are not being reinstated into the film, at least not just yet, so it’s probably more or less irrelevant.

So yeah, I don't think the scenes are put back into the film. I don't get the impression Scott was forced to do any particular editing. So for better or worse (worse I and many say, but certainly many like it fine as is), the released film seems to be Scott's "vision," and a "Director's Cut" seems unlikely.

Although since no studio passes up chances to make more money, maybe they'll release one with all these scenes and call it "Prometheus Complete," "Prometheus: The Version That Makes Sense," or "Prometheus: The Fans' Cut" instead.  

[hepcat]

the released film seems to be Scott's "vision," and a "Director's Cut" seems unlikely.

quoting this so it's easier to find in a few months.

[leo8877]

I got the iTunes early HD release last night and it only has 4 deleted scenes.  I thought there was gonna be 15 or so?  I think I got screwed.

[Blackjack]

the released film seems to be Scott's "vision," and a "Director's Cut" seems unlikely.

quoting this so it's easier to find in a few months.

Thanks... I think?  

Maybe it'll be the opposite. Instead of a "director's cut," we'll get a "studio's cut" with all the changes they would've made if they hadn't had such blind faith in Ridley Scott. "Hey, it's RIDLEY SCOTT! He knows what he's doing!!! Wait... What the hell did he do???" 

[Blackjack]

Exclusive: Damon Lindelof Is Not Writing the PROMETHEUS Sequel; Explains Why
http://collider.com/prometheus-sequel-damon-lindelof/219084/#more-219084

But much to the delight of all the fanboys, I don’t see myself being involved in Prometheus-er.”

Yippee!!!!  Although, since I'm not a fan of Prometheus, I guess I'm not eligible to be a "fanboy" per se.