Aeus Reviews Prometheus
Prometheus marks the long awaited return of Ridley Scott into the Science Fiction arena, the culmination of a 30 year hiatus that has over recent months been at the forefront of the public eye due largely to an extremely effective marketing campaign by 20th Century Fox – albeit a somewhat misrepresenting one.
Yes, Prometheus is not quite the film the trailers would have you believe. Advertised as something of an action movie experience, Prometheus is in fact a film that takes its time being..well…I’m not quite not sure what the film is trying to be, and I’m not quite sure it does either.
The central theme, or question of the movie is ‘what does it mean to be created?’ – a question that offers a wealth of ideas to be discussed that could carry any plot, however the film shies from taking bold steps into real depth and ends up desceding into what is essentially an uninteresting haunted house movie where you care more about having these ideas discussed than you do the fate of the characters.
This could also be because the characters largely aren’t that great. Whilst Michael Fassbender offers a stellar performance as the scenery 
chewing David 8 and Noomi Rapace delivers for the most part as conflicted theologist Elizabeth Shaw, the rest of the cast is left with rather unmemorable roles – less it seems due to editing than issues with the script itself. Characters are one dimensional, and some arcs and payoffs that I won’t spoil feel forced.
Paced badly the film drags its narrative along at an inconsistent rate. The third act especially guilty with stop-start action and some frankly bizzare choices both in character and in plot – leaving the story with less a conclusion and more of a wink-nudge.
As this is a Ridley Scott film however, the visuals don’t dissapoint – from the expansive landscapes to the claustraphobic interiors Dariusz Wolski does a terrific job of capturing the grandeur of the story. It is sad then that no where in the 124 minute run time is there an image that will remain as firmly embedded in our minds as those given to us 30 years ago in Blade Runner and Alien. However the striking images of otherworld lifeforms and structures are presented in a seemless blend of practical and non practical effects that arrive like a breath of fresh air in a summer drowning in computer generated imagery.
Marc Streitenfeld delivers with a simple but effective score – that although lives in the unfortunate shadow of Jerry Goldsmith’s stellar work on Alien, serves the plot well and accentuates the images on screen rather than giving them a loud facelift. One or two nitpicks though Marc, scoring an orchestral eruption alongside a jump-scare is tantamount to scene suicide.
Overall Prometheus is by no means a bad movie, it’s just not a great movie. It’s the flawed and confused younger sibling that sits awkwardly next to it’s 30 year old brothers – they share the same DNA but have grown up generations apart.
Those looking for future sci-fi on the horizon shouldn’t fret – Fox’s stellar marketing campaign should give the film decent takings at the box office, and the plot certainly declares its intentions to continue before the credits roll. The irony there being in a film about questions the only one it left me with is ‘do I really need more?
Feel free to comment on this here or at PrometheusForum.net !
Hail Ridley!
I’ll be in the cinema, watching this great movie!, I’m happy that the original Director of Alien and Bladerunner is back with the space travel!
Prometheus looks very ambicious!
wow…..funny because ive got a few shots from the trailers alone that will stick with me………the snake going down that poor guys throat…..the engineer fighting cuddles……the structures the prometheus lands next to…..the prometheus itself……..nice review, sounds like your FULLY qualified to give us all the low-down lol
The film looks great. But these aren’t images that are going to last 30 years, don’t kid yourself. They lack the haunting artistic brilliance of Alien or the dazzling expanse of Blade Runner.
Fassbender is getting universal praise. I hope the high-profile nature of this film vaults him into superstar status… he deserves it.
Yeah he’s fantastic in this. You really can’t keep your eyes off David 8.
Between this and Shame he’s having a great year.
Well worded and honest. But to remind people here: this is not the definitive opinion of PrometheusNews. Both Jonesy and I still have to do our reviews after we finally watch it. But I expect nothing less than total honesty when our staff members write their reviews.
sounds like every review that alien got back in 79
so like…..if alien and bladerunner never existed………can you rewrite the review as if they had not been made because it seems like your major grief point is that its not as great as those movies ??? so im wondering how your viewing of the movie would have gone had you not been constantly comparing it to alien and bladerunner…………..
just some thoughts…….and a question
That wasn’t my intention – in fact I went into the theater expecting it to be neither. My comparison to the two was only meant to show how it sits uncomfortably next to them, considering their status in the pantheon of sci fi.
The review addresses all of my criticisms I had with the film as it was presented, not so much in relation to other films.
For more on the film though Jonesy and I should be doing a podcast on it this weekend.
“sounds like every review that alien got back in 79″
EXACTLY
actually i come across as a little abrubt and cuntish maybe in my posts and THAT IS NOT my intention…..im sure your review was a very honest and open one and im sorry if i come across disrepctfull or anything, thanks for writing the review and keeping it spoiler free
No worries. Figured it was the least I could do considering I got a free ticket to the movie
Thanks for the great review Aeus. Appreciate your thoughtfulness & honesty!
A little disappointed by the mixed reviews, particularly given the long wait and buildup. Sounds like whatever story flaws it contains, Lindelof is to blame. And that doesn’t surprise me b/c he indicated in interviews that he was influenced by Inception–and that movie had some pretty awkward flaws despite its inventiveness.
I suppose I was hoping for some kind of unanimous consensus that Prometheus was going to be an instant classic. Maybe that was asking too much.
In 1979 I saw Alien at the only movie in the small college town I lived in, where I attended grad school. The reviews of Alien were uniformly unspectacular. There was not one review or reviewer that called it a great movie or a movie destined to become a classic and a cinematic hallmark. Either Time or Newsweek characterized it as a movie about a beast with metal teeth, a slathering maw, and an idiotic crew. Blade Runner bombed at the box office. I loved Alien from the beginning. No one else I knew did. One of my buddies went with me to see it for what he called, “the vicarious thrill.”
Now, decades later critics consider both movies to be canonical. I wouldn’t have believed it then–but back then the first review I read about Jimi Hendrix back in 1967 by rock critic Greider characterized him as “an electric Uncle Tom.”
Now, we are faced with Prometheus. Neither Alien nor Blade Runner are flawless masterpieces. But they’ve both outlasted the indifference of their first critics. Jimi Hendrix is now considered classic. Miles Davis’ electric recordings have been re-reviewed and canonized.
Six months or a year from now Prometheus may begin to be understood on its own terms. Even if it is flawed I guarantee this: in time it will be considered a classic and years from now you guys will be reminding readers that some critics once hated Prometheus.
nice
have you seen the movie? looks like you haven’t.
already seen it, i must add that it is not epic as expected, and it could be great disappointment to “alien” and “aliens” fans, as it really provides some intuitive corellations not with original movies but with stupid “alien: resurrection” movie, not in the plot but in the whole atmosphere.
SPOILER.
**************************************************************
the movie is not that dark – literally and figurally. that’s why you don’t get the unique atmosphere of original movies.
few charismatic personnages but not enough. janek looks like tribute to apon – the good one, but hasn’t enough screen time. movie doesn’t seem to have analogues to strong second plan roles such as hudson or vasquez. david is nice to watch, his actions might be nicely compared to ash’s and bishop’s ones, and still it is not totally clear whether his personnage is a great villain or just soulless robot that doesn’t understand the value of human’s life and is ready to perform some irresponsible dangerous experiments kept in secret to everyone else. noomi rapace plays great, but there’s one issue that you keep wondering about throughout the whole second part of movie: could her personnage really do all the things she does in THAT kind of condition?
the most disappointing thing is too flat plot structure – it gives no proper climax feeling. it has some stupid parts like revealing the REAL purpose of the mission or cathegory b horror movie type actions like splitting of group with no adequate reason. what also looks missing is lack of tragic feeling when expedition loses people one after one – actually, the sequence of deaths looks very poor. don’t want to spoil too much but vickers’ death looks super-idiotic.
and the last one – the score. music is the weakest part of this movie. it is not bad itself, but it is NOT alien type of score.
forgot one more. there are more questions left than answered, and if you waited for “prometheus” to uncover the secrets of space jockeys and derelict ship for last 30 years, then you might be a little disappointed. the finale of the movie implies that if it gets good box office, we might expect the sequel which can be connected to “alien” much closer and become the actual prequel to it.
**************************************************************
anyways, sorry for spoilers gyus. just needed to share and compare opinions.
Interesting comments, if somewhat acerbic ahaha
again a review that CONSTANTLY compares to alien movies when from the START the cast and crew have said ITS NOT A FUCKING ALIEN MOVIE!!!!!
…….question……..why would a massive feeling of grief be shared between characters when a crewmember dies when nobody fucking knows each other?????? i dont remember hicks crying when apone died……or anybody else for that matter……
and the only GRIEF thats displayed in alien is when kane gets blasted out….and even then …….
im not waiting for a 100%direct sequel…..that would be pretty fucking lame if you ask me , the spacejockey mystery from alien is ONE OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT THE ENTIRE SERIES…….why would scott want to fuck that up???? i propose your another idiot fanboi who went in expecting the nostromo and chestbursters and marines……oh and alot of crying over dead crewmembers you hardly know…….get a grip
Never mind all the clap-trap about whether it’ll be a classic or not. Does it answer the questions true Alien fans have had for 33 years????
1. Who was the space jockey ,- why was he there?
2. What burst out of him and where did it go? .
3. What laid the thousands of eggs in the egg-chamber and where did that go?
4. Was the alien an indiginous species of another world or just a genetically-engineered bio-weapon?
Its great that RS has another visually stunning sci-fi movie on the books and the cgi folks will probably be nominated for oscars. But do us diehard Alien fans who have to go to our graves without knowing the answers? RS has sidestepped the questions like all the other producers of the Alien movies. It seems to be where no one wants to go. “Strands of DNA……” Give me a break!
yeah, i agree with the Barber, Does it answer any of those questions?
SPOILERS
– —————————————————————————————
SPOILERS
1. Who was the space jockey ,- why was he there?
If you’re referring to the one in Alien – No.
2. What burst out of him and where did it go?
Doesn’t say.
3. What laid the thousands of eggs in the egg-chamber and where did that go?
Doesn’t say.
4. Was the alien an indiginous species of another world or just a genetically-engineered bio-weapon?
Doesn’t say, put points towards the latter.
Excellent review, man. Somewhat glad to hear that character shortcomings are more to do with the editing than the script. I once (okay, multiple times) joked about how they should avoid a ‘hint, hint, wink, wink”, so it’s really disappointing to hear about that final shot.
Yeah, and it’s a somewhat comical premise for a sequel. You’ll understand when you see it.
Get lindelof on board and you get.a shitty film
Fantastic review Aeus. Obviously will still be making up my own mind on the movie but if you don’t review movies already, you should start thinking about doing it. Clear, concise and well written piece.
Thanks for answering my questions Aeus, you did a great review. Now I can go see the movie without expectations of having any questions answered. The only real link being the company and the giger-esque interiors. I should have guessed without Gigers direct involvement there’s nothing really new – just sparkly sets and big drum soundtrack. Expendable crew and impregnated individual included – all the usual ingredients….predictable and safe.
I can’t help but feel ‘cop-out’….this could have been a wild descent into the heart of darkness, to depths of our psyco-sexual subconscious nightmare where the alien still lies waiting for so many of us. Instead, just another hollywood thrill-ride repleat with all-star good-looking cast (give me Harry Dean Stanton any day)….shame on you Ridley….
Thanks for the review, much appreciated. Have to agree, very well written.
Is there anywhere in the last ’8′ minutes that there is a connection to Alien…
spots:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPAlFf_XTJc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YND3VXDT
I think not.
So I’ve now seen it…
If any one knows Ridley Scott, please let him know I’ve a killer idea for the sequel . Anyhow here are my thoughts…
30 years ago I first saw Blade Runner, I arrived early and accidentally saw the last five minutes of the film, then had to wait another 45 mins for the film to actually start. The film, as we know was an amazing experience and something that made me a fan boy of it ever since, I became a nut collecting books and other memorabilia of the film, even though, at the time the critics hated it.
The Prometheus experience is like my first experience of Blade Runner, I saw a little too much before I saw the film, and spent too long wondering just how it was all was going to get there. The viral campaign for Prometheus, as excellent as it was, was like seeing the last 5 minutes of Blade Runner, great and imaginative but it ultimately killed of any suspense, we didn’t need to see what we were shown in all the viral and internet clips.
I hate to being a critic but the viral and internet promotion has draw me in way too far, and I’m a very big fan of Ridley Scott’s movies that I feel like a traitor even writing this, and expect to be cut down by Maximus’ sword.
There’s no point in me going into the semantics of the plot, it’s all over the web, saturation of advertising has replaced the feeling of suffocation the film should have induced.
Remember ‘In space no one can hear you scream”?, that was true of Alien but it is also the same of Prometheus because there are too many of the characters talking all the time for anyone to notice, and dare I say it, for us to care.? The environment on the ship is a great example of the 21st Century work place, everyone is bitching about nothing, I’m surprised you couldn’t hear the kettle boiling every half hour and see someone texting… or asking ”latte or cappuccino any one…David’s making it”
If Weyland was such an incredible businessman he would have sent the two archaeologists with a corporate rep (Vickers) and several identical David’s, cutting out any human interaction, and just getting the job done. The fun would have been to see each of the Davids realise that they were each ever so slightly different, and a tension, no… competition arise between them, during the crews hyper-sleep. Something that Vicker’s or Weyland would not have banked on, and would have to have struggled to cope with. It would also have been confusing in the third act, when the human characters need help; in as much as you would not have known which David to trust… God knows with the CGI today, it would have been easy to do, and far more entertaining to watch.
Killing off Weyland was also a mistake, the character this time, if a sequel is made will need to have been an android this time around.
Also, one of the characters needed to hate the fact of being so far from home; someone had to crave going back, even if their curiosity got the better of them, it was all too run of the mill.
There was also not enough made about sending earth dwellers into space, and travelling for so long. There was no paranoia after coming around, no bad dreams just push-ups… in Alien it was the crews job to be out there and realise what a miserable time it was, in Prometheus it seemed par for the course and an everyday thing.
Holloway’s character was too one dimensional, and too obvious, he needed to be someone who was seen to try to control things and people, we needed a spoilt personality, he personality needed to be affected by the journey. He should have been more controlling over Shaw, and it should have been a conflict for her to deal with her love(?) for him and her need to find God, her character needed to be over controlled and emotionally shut in by it all, her faith should have been her great release and escape, as should the journey, whose goal would have liberated her beliefs and given her strength, it should have been her chariot to the gods.
Edris Elba’s character ‘Janek’ was old school, not enough back story to support why he would be piloting such a damn expensive ship/expedition, and have such a salty sea-dog attitude, it could be argued that his determination and down to earth approach was what was needed but why not a suit/professional?
Again, as for Shaw, why when things turned sour didn’t she rely on her faith to save herself, this would have sent a great message that faith is personal and not the result of belief systems and texts? Maybe having a David who should have thought that his understanding of religion would have him believe that he could be a god, it would have shown how unimportant a belief system is, and just how important personal belief is.
The death of characters, the birth of a squid were all good examples of their type but nothing new, you won’t care about them, because you know something is coming.
The dislike of the Xenomorph, face hugger and all of the sequels, the many, many wasted clips of munitions and badly written characters; and any obvious reference to nasty chest busters may have been a big mistake, even the thought of it would have been enough to keep me on the edge of my seat but the mix of horror shocks and religion doesn’t work, it needed to be tied to Alien.
The design of the engineers and the black stuff suggests a clear mutation to come but it was needed now, how gruesome could that have been, and what a sceptical it would have made before Shaw’s confrontation with it?…???
The different approach to the story, the combinations of what if and ‘shit I’ve bad IBS’ were good attempts at shocks killed by the symbolism of shooting a rocket at a crescent flying to a star, which in turn killed a corporation suit… is all too obvious for it’s own good…
Anyhow, it isn’t all bad. The design and look of the film is amazing, if a little flat colour wise at times. The use of 3D is subtle and the cinematography award worthy. The editing is top notch and the music, while at times too orchestral did a fine job.
One other thought is, wouldn’t it have been interesting if when they the Prometheus found the ‘engineer’s’, that the engineers thought that the crew of the Prometheus were their gods visiting them …again? The pictograms on earth could have been ‘if you ever find God, this is where you find us, we are looking for them’. This could have suggested that the derelict spaceship in Alien was hauling cargo, to remove civilisations that didn’t have ‘faith’, the engineers could have been devoutly faithful, and hated scepticism in life’s, no humanities ability to live together. All it then needed was for the Weyland Corporation to destroy this universal peace any use their ultimate weapon for their own good, now we’re talking killer sequels.
Your not Lambechop, he’s on holiday in Greece, use your own handle creep!
Hummm
Sorry all for the odd typo!
30 years ago I first saw Blade Runner, I arrived early and accidentally saw the last five minutes of the film, then had to wait another 45 mins for the film to actually start. The film, as we know was an amazing experience and something that made me a fan boy of it ever since, I became a nut collecting books and other memorabilia of the film, even though, at the time the critics hated it.
The Prometheus experience is like my first experience of Blade Runner, I saw a little too much before I saw the film, and spent too long wondering just how it was all was going to get there. The viral campaign for Prometheus, as excellent as it was, was like seeing the last 5 minutes of Blade Runner, great and imaginative but it ultimately killed of any suspense, we didn’t need to see what we were shown in all the viral and internet clips.
I hate to being a critic but the viral and internet promotion has draw me in way too far, and I’m a very big fan of Ridley Scott’s movies that I feel like a traitor even writing this, and expect to be cut down by Maximus’ sword.
There’s no point in me going into the semantics of the plot, it’s all over the web, saturation of advertising has replaced the feeling of suffocation the film should have induced.
Remember ‘In space no one can hear you scream”?, that was true of Alien but it is also the same of Prometheus because there are too many of the characters talking all the time for anyone to notice, and dare I say it, for us to care.? The environment on the ship is a great example of the 21st Century work place, everyone is bitching about nothing, I’m surprised you couldn’t hear the kettle boiling every half hour and see someone texting… or asking ”latte or cappuccino any one…David’s making it”
If Weyland was such an incredible businessman he would have sent the two archaeologists with a corporate rep (Vickers) and several identical David’s, cutting out any human interaction, and just getting the job done. The fun would have been to see each of the Davids realise that they were each ever so slightly different, and a tension, no… competition arise between them, during the crews hyper-sleep. Something that Vicker’s or Weyland would not have banked on, and would have to have struggled to cope with. It would also have been confusing in the third act, when the human characters need help; in as much as you would not have known which David to trust… God knows with the CGI today, it would have been easy to do, and far more entertaining to watch.
Killing off Weyland as a character this time was a mistake, if a sequel is made(?) he will have needed to be an android this time around.
Also, one of the characters needed to hate the fact of being so far from home; someone had to crave going back, even if their curiosity got the better of them, it was all too run of the mill.
There was also not enough made about sending earth dwellers into space, and travelling for so long. There was no paranoia after coming around, no bad dreams just push-ups… in Alien it was the crews job to be out there and realise what a miserable time it was, in Prometheus it seemed par for the course and an everyday thing.
Holloway’s character was too one dimensional, and too obvious, he needed to be someone who was seen to try to control things and people, we needed a spoilt personality, he personality needed to be affected by the journey. He should have been more controlling over Shaw, and it should have been a conflict for her to deal with her love(?) for him and her need to find God, her character needed to be over controlled and emotionally shut in by it all, her faith should have been her great release and escape, as should the journey, whose goal would have liberated her beliefs and given her strength, it should have been her chariot to the gods.
Edris Elba’s character ‘Janek’ was old school, not enough back story to support why he would be piloting such a damn expensive ship/expedition, and have such a salty sea-dog attitude, it could be argued that his determination and down to earth approach was what was needed but why not a suit/professional?
Again, as for Shaw, why when things turned sour didn’t she rely on her faith to save herself, this would have sent a great message that faith is personal and not the result of belief systems and texts? Maybe having a David who should have thought that his understanding of religion would have him believe that he could be a god, it would have shown how unimportant a belief system is, and just how important personal belief is.
The death of characters, the birth of a squid were all good examples of their type but nothing new, you won’t care about them, because you know something is coming, the obvious.
The dislike of the Xenomorph, face hugger and all of the sequels, the many, many wasted clips of munitions and badly written characters; and any obvious reference to nasty chest busters may have been a big mistake, even the thought of it would have been enough to keep me on the edge of my seat but the mix of horror shocks and religion doesn’t work, it needed to be tied to Alien.
The design of the engineers and the black stuff suggests a clear mutation to come but it was needed now, regardless of suggestion, how gruesome could that have been, and what a spectacle it would have made, before Shaw’s confrontation with it?…???
A different approach to the story, the combinations of what if and ‘shit I’ve bad IBS’ were good attempts at shocks killed by the symbolism of shooting a rocket at a crescent flying to a star, which in turn killed a corporation suit… is all too obvious for it’s own good…
Anyhow, it isn’t all bad. The design and look of the film is amazing, if a little flat colour wise at times. The use of 3D is subtle and the cinematography award worthy. The editing is top notch and the music, while at times too orchestral did a fine job.
One other thought is, wouldn’t it have been interesting if when they the Prometheus found the ‘engineer’s’, that the engineers thought that the crew of the Prometheus were their gods visiting them …again? The pictograms on earth could have been ‘if you ever you find God, this is where you find us, we are looking for them, we will work with you’.
This could have suggested that the derelict spaceship in Alien was hauling cargo, to remove civilisations that didn’t have ‘faith’, the engineers could have been devoutly faithful, and hated scepticism in life, suggesting that humanities are unableability to live together.
All it then needed was for the Weyland Corporation to destroy this universal peace and use their ultimate weapon, the Xenomorph for their own good, now we’re talking killer sequels, and constructive ideas.
30 years ago I first saw Blade Runner, I arrived early and accidentally saw the last five minutes of the film, then had to wait another 45 mins for the film to actually start. The film, as we know was an amazing experience and something that made me a fan boy of it ever since, I became a nut collecting books and other memorabilia of the film, even though, at the time the critics hated it.
The Prometheus experience is like my first experience of Blade Runner, I saw a little too much before I saw the film, and spent too long wondering just how it was all was going to get there. The viral campaign for Prometheus, as excellent as it was, was like seeing the last 5 minutes of Blade Runner, great and imaginative but it ultimately killed of any suspense, we didn’t need to see what we were shown in all the viral and internet clips.
I hate to being a critic but the viral and internet promotion has draw me in way too far, and I’m a very big fan of Ridley Scott’s movies that I feel like a traitor even writing this, and expect to be cut down by Maximus’ sword.
There’s no point in me going into the semantics of the plot, it’s all over the web, saturation of advertising has replaced the feeling of suffocation the film should have induced.
Remember ‘In space no one can hear you scream”?, that was true of Alien but it is also the same of Prometheus because there are too many of the characters talking all the time for anyone to notice, and dare I say it, for us to care.? The environment on the ship is a great example of the 21st Century work place, everyone is bitching about nothing, I’m surprised you couldn’t hear the kettle boiling every half hour and see someone texting… or asking ”latte or cappuccino any one…David’s making it”
If Weyland was such an incredible businessman he would have sent the two archaeologists with a corporate rep (Vickers) and several identical David’s, cutting out any human interaction, and just getting the job done. The fun would have been to see each of the Davids realise that they were each ever so slightly different, and a tension, no… competition arise between them, during the crews hyper-sleep. Something that Vicker’s or Weyland would not have banked on, and would have to have struggled to cope with. It would also have been confusing in the third act, when the human characters need help; in as much as you would not have known which David to trust… God knows with the CGI today, it would have been easy to do, and far more entertaining to watch.
Killing off Weyland as a character this time was a mistake, if a sequel is made(?) he will have needed to be an android this time around.
Also, one of the characters needed to hate the fact of being so far from home; someone had to crave going back, even if their curiosity got the better of them, it was all too run of the mill.
There was also not enough made about sending earth dwellers into space, and travelling for so long. There was no paranoia after coming around, no bad dreams just push-ups… in Alien it was the crews job to be out there and realise what a miserable time it was, in Prometheus it seemed par for the course and an everyday thing.
Holloway’s character was too one dimensional, and too obvious, he needed to be someone who was seen to try to control things and people, we needed a spoilt personality, he personality needed to be affected by the journey. He should have been more controlling over Shaw, and it should have been a conflict for her to deal with her love(?) for him and her need to find God, her character needed to be over controlled and emotionally shut in by it all, her faith should have been her great release and escape, as should the journey, whose goal would have liberated her beliefs and given her strength, it should have been her chariot to the gods.
Edris Elba’s character ‘Janek’ was old school, not enough back story to support why he would be piloting such a damn expensive ship/expedition, and have such a salty sea-dog attitude, it could be argued that his determination and down to earth approach was what was needed but why not a suit/professional?
Again, as for Shaw, why when things turned sour didn’t she rely on her faith to save herself, this would have sent a great message that faith is personal and not the result of belief systems and texts? Maybe having a David who should have thought that his understanding of religion would have him believe that he could be a god, it would have shown how unimportant a belief system is, and just how important personal belief is.
The death of characters, the birth of a squid were all good examples of their type but nothing new, you won’t care about them, because you know something is coming, the obvious.
The dislike of the Xenomorph, face hugger and all of the sequels, the many, many wasted clips of munitions and badly written characters; and any obvious reference to nasty chest busters may have been a big mistake, even the thought of it would have been enough to keep me on the edge of my seat but the mix of horror shocks and religion doesn’t work, it needed to be tied to Alien.
The design of the engineers and the black stuff suggests a clear mutation to come but it was needed now, regardless of suggestion, how gruesome could that have been, and what a spectacle it would have made, before Shaw’s confrontation with it?…???
A different approach to the story, the combinations of what if and ‘shit I’ve bad IBS’ were good attempts at shocks killed by the symbolism of shooting a rocket at a crescent flying to a star, which in turn killed a corporation suit… is all too obvious for it’s own good…
Anyhow, it isn’t all bad. The design and look of the film is amazing, if a little flat colour wise at times. The use of 3D is subtle and the cinematography award worthy. The editing is top notch and the music, while at times too orchestral did a fine job.
One other thought is, wouldn’t it have been interesting if when they the Prometheus found the ‘engineer’s’, that the engineers thought that the crew of the Prometheus were their gods visiting them …again? The pictograms on earth could have been ‘if you ever you find God, this is where you find us, we are looking for them, we will work with you’.
This could have suggested that the derelict spaceship in Alien was hauling cargo, to remove civilisations that didn’t have ‘faith’, the engineers could have been devoutly faithful, and hated scepticism in life, suggesting that humanities are unableability to live together.
All it then needed was for the Weyland Corporation to destroy this universal peace and use their ultimate weapon, the Xenomorph for their own good, now we’re talking killer sequels, and constructive ideas.
Well, that’s killed this comment thread….
“…that although lives in the unfortunate shadow of Jerry Goldsmith’s stellar work on Alien…”
Thats funny that people keep saying that since most of the Goldsmith cues used in Alien where not the ones that he wrote for Alien but borrowed from other movies.
You know the thing about a alien, he’s got lifeless eyes. Black eyes like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at ya, he doesn’t seem to be living until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over and white and then, ah, then you hear that terrible high-pitch screaming. The ocean turns red and despite all the pounding and hollering, they all come in and they rip you to pieces.
“scoring an orchestral eruption alongside a jump-scare is tantamount to scene suicide.”
Exactomundo! Unless you’re trying for a B-movie thing, and thus sidestepping the millions of dollars spent to make the scene believable.
It’s amazing what can be done, but movies are such an immersive medium, that the moment it’s off, it’s WAY off!
Everybody’s seen things in movies that have blown their minds, and it stinks that we can’t get mind-blown unless it’s mind-blowing.
The movie geniuses of our generation are probably just writing apps for the iphone, and sitting on a beach somewhere.
“scoring an orchestral eruption alongside a jump-scare is tantamount to scene suicide.”
Exactomundo! Unless you’re trying for a B-movie thing, and thus sidestepping the millions of dollars spent to make the scene believable.
It’s amazing what can be done, but movies are such an immersive medium, that the moment it’s off, it’s WAY off!
Everybody’s seen things in movies that have blown their minds, and it stinks that we can’t get mind-blown unless it’s mind-blowing.
The movie geniuses of our generation are probably just writing apps for the iphone, and sitting on a beach somewhere.
hmm, think i’ve eaten too much of the spoiler cake for today
There were lots of unused ideas from the long ago proposed/discussed sequel to Bladerunner that were rehashed in Prometheus – most notably there was a plot device for Bladerunner where Roy Battys remains were carried around in a bag but were still functional. The idea also cropped up in the book “Bladerunner 2: Edge Of Human” but in that version Battys “Essence” was transferred to a briefcase that kept his persona alive and had a voice module attatched. Another concept that was lifted from Blade Runner II was a stasus pod where Deckard kept Rachels body in suspended animation & only revived her every 5 or 10 years as she had not much life left. I believe he used a “brain stimulator” to bring her round (I think – Im not 100% sure but i think that was part of the book). The design of the Pyramid/Complex/”Egg” Temple as most people here might know was lifted from Giger’s Dune artwork for David Lynch. The creatures were all too slippery & monotone/white/grey IMO – we needed some biomechanoids – what we got was simply biological entities. It wasnt a great film at all – it was sagging after the first 20 minutes when it should have kicked into it’s first “Action” sequence. Too much too & fro between Temple/Ship, Temple/Ship, Temple/Ship – we needed to get into space & see the derilict crash and make a direct connect to Alien I feel.
having now seen the movie Aeus your review is excellent and well written,also sadly spot on,
I would be disappointed if I wasn’t so irate at this film. The pace is all over the place, the dialogue is threadbare and frankly DAFT in places e.g. (spoiler alert) when Vickers blurts out the word FATHER! I had to try hard not to laugh; kind of a suspense killer that one. And I don’t know but if I had just crash landed a massive spacecraft I’m not sure that my first and only thought would be locating and murdering a small, unarmed woman suffering the effects of post operative surgery. I’d probably take a minute, make a cup of tea and assess the situation instead of sprinting at what must have been warp speed into the airlock of another crashed vessel which I somehow already knew the location of…
However, Fassbender is good. Although he did have LINES and stuff. And visually its pretty awesome at times. And forget all this comparison to Bladerunner and Alien: you need a solid plot to tell any story i.e. when you build a house start with foundations, not the smoke in the chimney!!!
For a refreshing and different review of Prometheus, go to http://www.davidmurph.wordpress.com