Suprised no one made one yet here on CAG so here it is. Feel free to share your thoughts on the film and what theories you have and things like that. I advise anyone who plans to see it, you must watch it in 3D to get the full experience.
As I said the big movie thread yesterday, I was very let down as well. Was slow at times, and felt like lots of needed exposition got cut. Maybe there will be a directors cut on BR/DVD that will flesh things out more.
But definitely don't go in expecting it to be on par (or similar to) Alien. It's not a scifi horror movie at all, and only connects loosely with Alien.
I just saw it in 2D as I don't care much for 3D and mainly just see it as a gimmick to sucker more money out of people for already overpriced movie tickets. I go to the movies for the stories, not for the visuals anyway. And that's the main weakness here is the plot is pretty simple, and lots of things that happen kind of come out of nowhere--again probably because of cut scenes.
3d was great, wasn't any gimmick pop outs, it felt comfortable. And yes the movie does leave lots of stuff unansewered but this movie is different than the other Alien movies. I liked it alot and it felt like half Blade Runner and half Alien to me and there was some tense moments but don't go expecting this movie to be like Alien or Aliens. Ridley Scott said there would be no director's cut as the movie is around 2 hr and 4 mins anyway and the first Alien was only 1hr and 50 mins. If you love Ridley Scott and hard sci-fi then def check out Prometheus. I want to see it again because its one of those movies where you just want to see it again and see what you missed out on the first time through.
[quote name='Soodmeg']I saw the movie....it is by far the most disappointing movie I have ever seen. If you are an Alien franchise fan than I would advise not even seeing it because its so loosely connected to the canon of the franchise (in fact that change something that has been around for 30 years out of sheer convenience to them) that it will only frustrate you. If they didnt named the movie after the ship you would never even know it was part of the same universe. Read some reviews before you see it because if you come in thinking it is at all connect to the Alien franchise you will be disappointed.
It answers nothing from the original Alien movie like why the ship had Alien eggs as cargo, who were the space jockeys, where did the Aliens come from, why were they engineered. Then it adds a bunch of questions that it doesnt bother answering.
If you think of it has a indie movie then its alright....not good not great just there...at a certain point its clear that Scott is just throwing shit at the wall to see if it sticks
The scene in which Shaw gets "whatever" out of here is the only good scene in the movie...but its so ing misplaced that it might as well not even be there. During that scene its like no one else in the entire ship knows her struggle...she is just off by herself and immediately after she just stumbles into the room with the old man and pretends like it didnt happen. No one even responses to it. Not to mention her husband/boyfriend just died and no one really cared that much.
Then of course there is the....hey I just saw and alien snake let me goo goo ga ga it and stick my face as close to it as I can. This then leads to that crew member growing 10 ft tall and walking around like spider man for no apparent reason.
.
It does have really cool landscapes and the 3d is superb.[/QUOTE]
I feel like the main reason you didn't like it because you went in with the absolute wrong expectations. It's been said this is NOT a direct prequel to Alien and only eludes to the fact that it take place in the same universe as Alien. I would suggest watching it again and just taking it as it's own movie, but you seem really upset.
I am actually happy that they didn't explain everything to you, it leaves so much to think about. They did give you a lot of hints as to what was going on, so if you have any sort of imagination, you can figure things out for yourself. They also left it pretty open for a sequel so maybe we'll get more direct answers in that.
Anyway, to answer some of your questions:
IMO, the alien eggs were laid by a queen alien, obviously, and that queen alien might have been spawned from a female engineer or maybe it just evolved like all life does. I'm thinking that that ship crash landed on LV426 because the biochemical weapon they were carrying (that black goop shit) must have gotten out and killed all the Engineers and spawned a queen that laid eggs, etc. That's just my speculation because it's not explained, but you can make some pretty accurate guesses.
Who were the space jockeys? A race of humanoids that created humans and the bioweapon that they planned to use to kill humans on Earth. That's pretty evident, but I guess you want more explanation, which could happen in a sequel.
The Aliens were engineered by the Engineers to kill humans, the captain explicitly said that, did you miss that scene?
[quote name='tcrash247']I feel like the main reason you didn't like it because you went in with the absolute wrong expectations. It's been said this is NOT a direct prequel to Alien and only eludes to the fact that it take place in the same universe as Alien. I would suggest watching it again and just taking it as it's own movie, but you seem really upset.
I am actually happy that they didn't explain everything to you, it leaves so much to think about. They did give you a lot of hints as to what was going on, so if you have any sort of imagination, you can figure things out for yourself. They also left it pretty open for a sequel so maybe we'll get more direct answers in that.
Anyway, to answer some of your questions:
IMO, the alien eggs were laid by a queen alien, obviously, and that queen alien might have been spawned from a female engineer or maybe it just evolved like all life does. I'm thinking that that ship crash landed on LV426 because the biochemical weapon they were carrying (that black goop shit) must have gotten out and killed all the Engineers and spawned a queen that laid eggs, etc. That's just my speculation because it's not explained, but you can make some pretty accurate guesses.
Who were the space jockeys? A race of humanoids that created humans and the bioweapon that they planned to use to kill humans on Earth. That's pretty evident, but I guess you want more explanation, which could happen in a sequel.
The Aliens were engineered by the Engineers to kill humans, the captain explicitly said that, did you miss that scene?
I loved the movie and can't wait to see it again.[/QUOTE]
i agree with u too. movie is great and i need to see it again. its a great movie that makes u think and wonder.
but I thought they were on LV246. The xenomorphs come from them canisters. You see the evolution of them during the movie.
I do remember that they planed on 3 movies so maybe more will be explained. The one thing I did not like is that the tech seems so much more advanced than in the Alien movies. I know them were made a long time ago but I would have liked for this movie to use the same tech.
Also I saw little point in the 3D other than when
the space jockey started to use the ships systems
. I did like seeing it in IMAX but could have done without the 3D. I'm going to hold out for a directors cut before I buy it. I felt the film had parts missing however nothing felt like it was needed. It just seemed like something was missing in between some of the scenes.
but I thought they were on LV246. The xenomorphs come from them canisters. You see the evolution of them during the movie.
I do remember that they planed on 3 movies so maybe more will be explained. The one thing I did not like is that the tech seems so much more advanced than in the Alien movies. I know them were made a long time ago but I would have liked for this movie to use the same tech.
Also I saw little point in the 3D other than when
the space jockey started to use the ships systems
. I did like seeing it in IMAX but could have done without the 3D. I'm going to hold out for a directors cut before I buy it. I felt the film had parts missing however nothing felt like it was needed. It just seemed like something was missing in between some of the scenes.[/QUOTE]
Prometheus takes place on LV223, Alien and Aliens took place on LV426
I thought it was pretty good. Loved Fassbender's performance, and the visuals are pretty amazing on an IMAX screen (I wish you could go to an IMAX without 3D, because that was a waste.).
Loved this movie, but mostly because Hollywood has practically abandoned sci-fi and this was just the shot I needed. As a fan of Borgias, seeing Sean Harris in this was an awesome surprise as well. Although, his character seemed ill-conceived for a geologist lol. Seemed like he would have been a better fit as the security/merc detail.
That said, the imagery is fantastic and creative; more of this please, Hollywood. This movie really makes me wonder how good Dead Space could have been with good writing, since the intensity and fear is very real on a psychological level during certain events. Excellent pacing, brilliant sets, and the universe it's set in feels very natural rather than over the top like Star Trek or Star Wars.
I think Scott did a good job allowing this one to stand alone from the Alien franchise, even with the connections, so I give it a 9/10. Not everyone will enjoy it, but it's a breath of fresh air to see well-done sci-fi again. Perhaps we could get a new Bladerunner, Ridley?
I absolutely loved the movie. I went to it expecting small allusions to the Alien franchise, but by no means was I expecting any direct references. Because of that, it instantly became one of my favorite sci-fi movies. I'll definitely be buying it on Blu-ray and I can't wait to watch it again.
[quote name='keithp']Haven't seen it yet but I plan to. Watched Aliens last night as a warmup.
[/QUOTE]
There was no need to rewatch Aliens for this movie.
To be perfectly honest with you guys, this movie could have done well without any connections to the Aliens universe.
I think they evolved the alien's way too quickly in the movie to the end result, which was an early xenomorph. It was wierd how she got knocked up, had that squid thing, which grew bigger than the engineer within hours into a face hugger which infected the engineer, which spawned that alien.
Honestly it would have been better if that alien was the first xenomorph queen.
The 3-d did nothing for me honestly. The holograms where great and the landscape and ship shots were amazing in IMAX. Honestly where can this go? Can't call it Prometheus II because the ship is destroyed for the sequel.
The guy who played David was pretty good. I am pretty sure the reason for him infecting the other guy is in a deleted scene. David had his own secret mission....too bad it's a cut scene.
[quote name='Soodmeg']$$$$a please I came in with the wrong exceptions. It was a classic bait and switch...the movie had barely anything to do with the Alien franchise and Scott and his marketing only dropped 30 hints that it does to get people that many more people to see it.
I would not have saw this movie if it had not constantly shown the Space Jockey in the nav deck, constantly alluded to being about them and what they are about. Like I said, its fine to make whatever movie you want but clearly this movie wasnt suppose to represent anything to do with the Alien franchise so why pretend that it does.
Also, I dont engaged in fake theory...by that I mean I hate the lazy water cooler debate. Lets just throw a scene in here...not explain any of it then let the viewer come up with thousands of theories as part of your ethos. Its lazy.
Now to your point of trying to explain things....no. None of those things are true. That is what I hate about this movie....it deliberately goes against all of the canon of the franchise. Space Jockey ARE NOT HUMANOIDS...period. They state in the original movie that those were bones and in the Predator universe there were always humans with nothing supporting that Space Jockeys pre-date Predators. Since they have been using earth since they found it. They did not create ing xenomorphs they were the first victims of xenomorphs. It was already explained in other canon forms of media. The pyramid in AvP is actually a Jockey pyramid and they are ones who sacrificed themselves to them.
the comics are not directly canon
but Alan Dean Foster who worked with all of the scripts to write the official novels explained and supported almost all the original theories.
Again....I am not saying that you cant make your own movie...but this movie go against the entire 30 years of Alien canon. So it would have be better for him to make his own stand alone movie...I probably still wouldnt have liked it because of the plot holes but at least I wouldnt hate him for it.
O'Bannon explained everything...the ship was not an attack ship, it was not carrying biological weapons, it landed there, notice the entire planet was dead...Space Jockeys found some eggs, decided to take them with them for study. Eggs open....jumps on the face of the pilot before he can take off. He also explains why there is only 1 space jockey in the ship that is 4 times the size of grand canyon.
Again, Scott was vetoed and virtually everything he wrote was re-written because everyone else thought what he was doing was idiotic. Scott isnt the father of Aliens, O'Bannon, Shusett, and the Brandywine are. You guys are going off the words of the guy who directed a movie not the ones who created the universe.
Also I admit I am a huge fanboy for the Alien Franchise which is why I know all of this.....the movie goes against everything of the last 30 years. It would be like if someone told you Sonic isnt an hedgehog he is actually a human with a blue afro. It would be like if Peter Jackson decided that Frodo was just a short human....the movie itself I didnt like but I hate it because it goes directly against the everything I actually loved about the Alien Franchise...(which other than directing the first one had very little to do with for 30 year years.
EDIT:
I know that I am ruining this thread because as I said.. everyone has their golden franchise that they know everything about...I was never into star wars or star treck...I was into Alien. So I wont be debating anything as to not guck up the thread but know that almost everything in this movie was just Scott being an ass because he always wanted to go this direction and no one else on the team did.....almost everything has been explained by the people who first thought it up and most of it was directly opposite of what is in this movie.[/QUOTE]
The fact that you consider anything from AvP canon makes this post pretty funny to me.
Avoided all the pre-buzz and saw it in 3D Saturday afternoon. Left feeling it was a "good" movie, but not great. Well directed, certainly. Well shot. Excellent sound and visual fx. Well acted.
Aside from a couple interesting shots, the 3D was generally a waste.
The editing and the story left much to be desired. Plot holes. Stupid choices (honestly, those guys got lost on the way back?). Scenes of characters coming to certain understandings/conclusions, but no pre-scenes supporting those realizations. There's just an awful lot missing.
And
as for David infecting the male scientist, Weyland's command was to go further - so I suppose the logic was that the scientist and his wife would have sex and she would become pregnant (how, if she's sterile??), then she'd be put into cryo so the fetus could be taken back to earth? Yeah, ing flimsy.
Really need to NOT watch this as an Alien prequel, as that sets up a poor expectation of what the finished product is. That said, I'll eventually see it again - ESPECIALLY if some footage is restored. As-is, it's leaking story ideas all over the place and leaving a muddy puddle underfoot.
I didn't read anything up on this beforehand and saw it blind. I didn't even know it had any relation to the Alien films until
the final scene
, then I remembered "oh yeah, I remember hearing something about that somewhere."
A little long but it's Ridley Scott so I wasn't expecting it to be condensed. They don't make too many movies like these these days, so it was pretty cool in that regard. I probably won't see it again, be it in theater or at home, but it was fine.
Didn't waste the money on the 3D version, I've been done with 3D for a while now.
[quote name='Soodmeg']I know that I am ruining this thread because as I said..[/QUOTE]
You overestimate the importance of your post. You didn't like it but you like the Alien franchise. Okay, great.
[quote name='JasonTerminator']The fact that you consider anything from AvP canon makes this post pretty funny to me.[/QUOTE]
That's what I got stuck on in the post. I don't see how you can count AvP canon unless it is the comics. The movies have been nothing but crap.
I really hope that if the next 2 movies are made a better job explaining things is done. I thought this would take place on LV-426. When I saw the ship land it looks like it does on LV-426. The next in this series need to fix what this did and bridge the gap to Alien. I also think the timeline is off but I don't know why.
The AvP movies could have been amazing but ended up being so ed up. I remembered how excited I was when AvP:R was coming out and the trailer made it look like the badass the first one should have been. Now see that series needs a reboot.
[quote name='JasonTerminator']The fact that you consider anything from AvP canon makes this post pretty funny to me.[/QUOTE]
Put into a decision of making AvP canon or Prometheus canon; Prometheus is clearly the more logical choice. Ridley Scott has been wanting to make a prequel for years to tell a story explaining the setup for Alien.
AvP on the other hand is based on a comic book and an Easter egg from Predator 2. Not to mention the quality if Prometheus is far beyond either AvP movie.
Yeah the AvP stuff was fun to get our Xenomorphs fix but everything about it was wrong. Hell, those movies up canon themselves, 10 minute facehugger gestation anyone? Or perhaps the fact that the Xenomorphs, despite having a queen in the pyramid make absolutely no attempt to start a hive and just kill everyone they come in contact with...
The novels, comics, AvP movies, etc are fun side stories but they just can't be resolved in canon.
I liked the movie, I didn't go in expecting another Alien film or a direct sequel so I wasn't as disappointed as other people. As with Scott's films the production design and cinematography was pretty much spot on - it looked fantastic.
I liked that there were many unanswered questions, and sets the film up nicely for Prometheus 2. Something the film has generated is alot of talk / discussion with audiences - just like this thread. Which is good, normally most films these days don't offer up such discussions.
I think if they ever were to reboot or restart the AVP films they need to completely change the tone. The stupid teen characters getting sliced up needs to go. I think the film needs to be back in space / on a different planet and have a dark serious tone.
I would also like to see another Predator film maybe similar to the original.
[quote name='ITDEFX']I honestly was expecting something scarier.[/QUOTE]
You prefer peek-a-boo scares? This movie had some uncomfortable, intense scenes IMO.
Look, I like most of the previous Aliens movies minus Aliens 3 and the AvP debacles. This movie is set so far in the 'past' that I don't think it trumps anything. Granted, I haven't read too many of the books or any other material aside from a few novels that Steve Perry did.
Great sci-fi doesn't explain everything and I thought they had a decent balance of 'oh, that connects' and 'wtf... well if that then why ___". Honestly I'm not sure if I care if it connects to the 'canon' of the old movies mainly because I don't think the old movies explained enough in the first place. Not to mention half of the movies were just bad all together. To me, you keep Alien and Aliens and throw out the rest.
It's a little slow at the beginning but it works out. I think the next film will probably be more action packed. This one just builds it.
[quote name='Bunneh3000']To me, you keep Alien and Aliens and throw out the rest.
[/QUOTE]
That's almost the exact thing I said to my friends this weekend. As much as Aliens is my favorite movie franchise, I really don't like the majority of the entries in the series. Alien, Aliens, Prometheus are my faves; Alien 3 and Resurrection are alright; AvPs are fun what-if side stories but let's face it, the questions of canon aren't the only reason they didn't include those movies in the Alien anthology set, they suck...
Saw it last night and walked out a bit disappointed. It was a beautifully shot film but story didn't draw me in. I'm going to make my final judgement after the director's cut comes out.
As summer blockbusters go, it was definitely worth watching. As scifi goes, it's pretty good, full of holes (character motivations/actions, distances, alien morphology and growth, etc.), but they're smaller things. As bigger issues go, the movie made it clear who the Engineers were, what they were up to, where it's all leading.
They got some good performances, the female lead was good and the android was even better.
I don't know anything about the Alien canon, but I don't see how it's more important than the fact that this is a decent film. At least that's what I've been told to think as a trek fan who HATES the updated, "younger," lensflare-y Star Trek. I accept that argument, I guess, and I think in Prometheus's case it should get more of a pass from Alien fans than the ST reboot deserves from Trek fans, as Prometheus has some actual scifi meat to it. ST is a fashion show next to Prometheus.
I absolutely loved it, yet the reasons why people hated it are the reasons why I loved it so much. The ambiguity and mysteries surrounding it made the film extremely fascinating to me. I didn't want the film to end and when it did, I wanted to turn right back around and see it again.
I saw it opening day on Friday afternoon and when it was over, I ran home and instantly started reading forum threads and interpretations on the film, while throwing in my own. I couldn't stop thinking about it's themes and motivations. I went and saw it again on Sunday with a different group of people and still enjoyed the hell out of it.
That being said, the film certainly has its flaws, but the flaws are so dumb that they can easily be forgotten. I honestly feel the plot holes are intentional and make the film more interesting IMO. It is one of the best shot films I've seen in years and the imagery is unforgettable (especially that opening sequence). LOVED it.
Give it a shot. Some people will certainly not dig it, but any film buff owes it to their selves to at least give it a try.
[quote name='Soodmeg']You guys seem to not be understand this point. Scott DOES NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE Alien canon. He has had nothing to do with the franchise for 30 full years.
You seem to constantly contribute him to creating the universe which is false..O'Bannon and Shusett did David Giler Walter Hill did, he only directed the movie. He also had a lot of his original ideas vetoed by the original team because they thought he was going in this crazy direction that no one else agreed with.
Hell even Giler and Hill after re-written everything wanted to talk O'Bannon off the books. But the point is that none of the actual story as anything to do with Scott at all. He would be like Peter Jackson claiming he wrote lord of the rings and there for can change what is canon and what isnt.[/QUOTE]
I realize Scott has nothing to do with the story. Hell Scott has just as much to do with it as James Cameron. I look at O'Bannon as the creator of it.
I really wanted to like this movie, but I couldn't get past the bland characters and perfunctory plotting. It seemed almost like they spent most of their time writing a sophomoric essay on metaphysics and forgot to build an actual movie around it when the time came.
It's really too bad, since the film is visually stunning and pretty well-acted across the board. Oh well.
If your mission was to destroy an alien race and you went into hypersleep with that plan in place but then woke up (with no sense of time mind you...) with said alien species surrounding you I'd think the first response would likely be to fight because they've come to kill you.
Hey also, and I admit I might have missed this because I was too angry at the movie....did they explain why the drawings told them to go to a weapons factory and not any other place?
They didn't know it was a weapons factory till later. They said god does not form straight lines or something to that effect. I know it had to do with the structure and how they were all lined up. That is why they landed there.
EDIT: One thing I did not like about the Space Jockey is that I thought they were taller.
[quote name='sendme']They didn't know it was a weapons factory till later. They said god does not form straight lines or something to that effect. I know it had to do with the structure and how they were all lined up. That is why they landed there.
EDIT: One thing I did not like about the Space Jockey is that I thought they were taller.[/QUOTE]
If you look at production photos from the original Alien they're the same size. The problem is that in using kids to film the scene in Alien it made it look bigger.
[quote name='Soodmeg']One of the other things that kinda bothered me about the movie (and now I am strictly talking about the movie itself...I am done with comparisons to Alien franchise) is how animistic the space jockey was in this.
For such an advanced race he did nothing to show it. He might as well have been a zombie or one of the gorillas from planet of the apes. Thats what I was referring to when I said the movie is lazy.Tossing so much subjective content and then sitting back and letting the viewer come up with everything while you do nothing.
Its like he only half thought out the plot...I wish the Jockey would have showed some type of logical thought like, "hmmm I just woke up after 2 thousand years sleeping, maybe the universe is different now. Maybe I dont need to kill all the humans.....no wait yes I do"
Something other than "durrr Space Jockey Smash things" From that part of the movie on it just turns into a generic B slasher flick. Complete with potholes, giants leaps of imagination and convenience set pieces. (Really? They both run straight for 20 min and then she gets to just roll 3 ft to the left and escape a ship crashing? Then a rock prevents it from actually crushing her? Please)[/QUOTE]
Holy ...THIS POST EXACTLY.
I mean what the hell was the Jockey's motivation
for chugging that black goo
in the beginning? It was lazy as balls and not running to the side was so freaking contrived. Everything looked great while the story was running dry, but it reaffirms Kingdom of Heaven syndrome, which is to wait for the directors cut.
in the beginning? It was lazy as balls and not running to the side was so freaking contrived. Everything looked great while the story was running dry, but it reaffirms Kingdom of Heaven syndrome, which is to wait for the directors cut.[/QUOTE]
I thought it was pretty clear that the beginning was
The seeding of DNA for life on Earth.
And as people have said,
you wake up from going on a mission to wipe out humans, only to see them right there, might have freaked him out a bit. The fact that David spoke their language might have scared him into thinking that they read their plans somewhere and knew what they were going to do.
Or was the engineer supposed to just ask them to get off the ship while he goes to wipe out Earth?
[quote name='Soodmeg']I think the point is that you can not simultaneously claim the movie is awe inspiring with such deep complex thought yet show the exact opposite the entire time. Its lazy.
For example....you just said they david speaking his language might have scared him? Just how the did you come to that conclusion...beacuse what actually happened was he stared blankly for 20 seconds and then murdered everyone. Thats it..shut it all down...clearly than can be no performance better than this guy who played the space jockey...he managed to delivery all types of emotions without doing anything.
Now I am not knocking you for coming up with that. Maybe its because I work in TV/Film and I interact with script writers all the time but that is the lazies form of writing. Its like that guy everyone knows who has all of these apparent million dollar ideas but he can never get it off the ground. Part of directing is showing what your vision is...not throwing the lowest form of it out there and having the viewers come up with it.
I thought the movie was just going to be a pop corn flick but its clear that Scott wanted much much more....he was just either too lazy or the studio killed to much of it to finish.[/QUOTE]
We don't even know if they process emotions the same way we do. That 20 seconds might have been the time he needed to contemplate his options, since we don't know how they think. The dude at the beginning of the movie was committing suicide by drinking that black stuff, and he seemed pretty damn calm to me.
ing misplaced that it might as well not even be there. During that scene its like no one else in the entire ship knows her struggle...she is just off by herself and immediately after she just stumbles into the room with the old man and pretends like it didnt happen. No one even responses to it. Not to mention her husband/boyfriend just died and no one really cared that much.
