[Erigu]

Mark Kermode review.

[Fusion//Torch]

Hooo boy.

So, Ridley Lucased Aliens.

[Zampano]

A lot of my criticisms come from the general way the story and characters are handled, but in terms of the highlights and lowlights I can remember right now:

Amazing bits:

The look of the movie. Just stunning. Like a 70's Sci Fi novel cover come to life.

Fassbender. God tier performance.

Set pieces Medical pod was just fantastic. Ship crash. Sandstorm.

Terrible bits:

"FATHER" God that dialogue was terrible.

Running from the gigantic ship, running from the gigantic ship, trip, oh god the gigantic ship is going to crush me, roll three foot to the right, all nice and safe

Edit: Also, I hope there is a director's cut as it felt like large parts were removed in points.

[Wilbury]

Mark Kermode review.

This is basically what I think of it.

[Mr Swine]

Hooo boy. So, Ridley Lucased Aliens.

At least this is very good compared to the crap Lucas gave us

[Lucius86]

Mark Kermode review.

Is this spoilery? Love his reviews, but don't want anything ruined.

[kavinsky]

Oh no. My review is at the bottom of the previous page :(

[Wilbury]

A lot of my criticisms come from the general way the story and characters are handled, but in terms of the highlights and lowlights I can remember right now: Amazing bits: The look of the movie. Just stunning. Like a 70's Sci Fi novel cover come to life. Fassbender. God tier performance. Set pieces Medical pod was just fantastic. Ship crash. Sandstorm. Terrible bits: "FATHER" God that dialogue was terrible. Running from the gigantic ship, running from the gigantic ship, trip, oh god the gigantic ship is going to crush me, roll three foot to the right, all nice and safe

Yeah, you take away that one word from Vickers and her character is much better. The script could have been shortened in a lot of places actually, would have loved it to be more minimal in its approach. Further pays credence to my theory that Ridley's given up on control and just wished to make it visually fantastic. It's editing is fine, its the script that lets it down.

Is this spoilery? Love his reviews, but don't want anything ruined.

I think it's fine. He alludes to one sequence being a standout sequence but doesn't say what it is. I'd say it's fine to listen to.

[zoukka]

I feel like a watched a different film to you, I don't like to be down on someone's enjoyment, but you must have seen a version that had more scenes in it or something because half the characters didn't get the screen time or lines in the film to ask questions in the first place, and the characters that did sure didn't get any answers.

I was very glad that not all the character had equal screen time. There wasn't your cookiecutter "funny guy" and all the other forcefully ecposed character types that you'd expect from a movie like this. The characters asked questions indirectly via their views of life. You had takes on mortality, parenthood, discovery, god etc, all the essential things about humans.

The movie felt like it was built on top of this immense lore, which is so rare nowadays. It also felt very short while lasting 2 hours which tells a lot about it.

Ask me anything, I'll try and answer, there was not a single thing in the movie I didn't understand.

[Sub_Level]

Hooo boy. So, Ridley Lucased Aliens.

- Prometheus doesn't really retcon anything

- Prometheus is not a bad movie.

- Prometheus has actual physical sets. Like....pretty good ones.

[Vibri]

Haven't stopped thinking about this movie for hours now.

Thoughts on the mythology and plot:



- Clearly the opening sequence is an alternate origin story of life on earth. Read Chariots of the Gods which is a hokey but influential book tracing evidence in Mayan civilisation that our ancestors mistakenly worshipped aliens who originally 'fertilised' earth's ecosystem with the DNA for human life. Scott has cited the book as a major influence for Prometheus.

- The black goo is a biological WMD that is massively adaptive to environment and / or its host. The way I read it, the reaction differed on proto-earth and LV-233, local atmospheric conditions, and characteristics of the host. There is clearly more to be explained here than can be narratively though in this two hour film.

- Loved the symbolism of humankind landing on Christmas day, ie the birth of a new mythological lord. And how the film took place over seven days (creation).

- Interesting upturning of the Adam/eve allegory at the end too with Noomi/David exploring the bring of an unknown world. David/Adam being the original proto-species, created by mankind in place of 'God'.



You're either into Lindelof's narrative style (provide answers that stimulate bigger discussion) or you're not. Personally I much prefer a film that explores big ideas with space to think to one that serves up a prescribed solution to the philosphical mysteries of the universe. How could it anyway?

[pringles]

There are now officially three alien movies. Amazing movie, best sci-fi since anything, made avatar look like a kids show. Mature, brutal, masterfully directed, great cast and mindblowing effects completely lacking that homogenized cgi motion capture look of modern cgi. Inspirational.

Yep. Can't stop thinking about it. Best movie I've seen in forever. GAF is GAF and complains about everything that is good, picks it apart and overanalyzes everything every little scene. Truth is this is one smart movie, but most of all it is terrifying, exciting, gripping, and an incredibly fun ride. Is it perfect? Maybe not. I could see a Director's Cut with 10-15 minutes addes being better, but if this wasn't burdened with being compared to Alien so much, we'd see much more glowing impressions and reviews.

[Wilbury]

Haven't stopped thinking about this movie for hours now. Thoughts on the mythology and plot: - Clearly the opening sequence is an alternate origin story of life on earth. Read Chariots of the Gods which is a hokey but influential book tracing evidence in Mayan civilisation that our ancestors mistakenly worshipped aliens who originally 'fertilised' earth's ecosystem with the DNA for human life. Scott has cited the book as a major influence for Prometheus. - The black goo is a biological WMD that is massively adaptive to environment and / or its host. The way I read it, the reaction differed on proto-earth and LV-233, local atmospheric conditions, and characteristics of the host. There is clearly more to be explained here than can be narratively though in this two hour film. - Loved the symbolism of humankind landing on Christmas day, ie the birth of a new mythological lord. And how the film took place over seven days (creation). - Interesting upturning of the Adam/eve allegory at the end too with Noomi/David exploring the bring of an unknown world. David/Adam being the original proto-species, created by mankind in place of 'God'. You're either into Lindelof's narrative style (provide answers that stimulate bigger discussion) or you're not. Personally I much prefer a film that explores big ideas with space to think to one that serves up a prescribed solution to the philosphical mysteries of the universe. How could it anyway?

I think your second point isn't clear enough in the film but I hadn't noticed your third, love it.

[Lucius86]

I think it's fine. He alludes to one sequence being a standout sequence but doesn't say what it is. I'd say it's fine to listen to.

Thanks - watching now. Get ready for angry PMs if there are spoilers. :D

[Wilbury]

Thanks - watching now. Get ready for angry PMs if there are spoilers. :D

Just do it here so everyone can join in!

[zoukka]

Haven't stopped thinking about this movie for hours now. Thoughts on the mythology and plot: - Clearly the opening sequence is an alternate origin story of life on earth. Read Chariots of the Gods which is a hokey but influential book tracing evidence in Mayan civilisation that our ancestors mistakenly worshipped aliens who originally 'fertilised' earth's ecosystem with the DNA for human life. Scott has cited the book as a major influence for Prometheus. - The black goo is a biological WMD that is massively adaptive to environment and / or its host. The way I read it, the reaction differed on proto-earth and LV-233, local atmospheric conditions, and characteristics of the host. There is clearly more to be explained here than can be narratively though in this two hour film. - Loved the symbolism of humankind landing on Christmas day, ie the birth of a new mythological lord. And how the film took place over seven days (creation). - Interesting upturning of the Adam/eve allegory at the end too with Noomi/David exploring the bring of an unknown world. David/Adam being the original proto-species, created by mankind in place of 'God'. You're either into Lindelof's narrative style (provide answers that stimulate bigger discussion) or you're not. Personally I much prefer a film that explores big ideas with space to think to one that serves up a prescribed solution to the philosphical mysteries of the universe. How could it anyway?

Thank you. The movie had so much detail thought out in each sequence, that takes some time to fully grow in your mind and probably takes multiple viewings for many people (me included). You have a keen eye for these things.

So brave for a man of Ridleys age to make Weyland utter "there is nothing" as his final words (or something along those words). And I was very pleased with Davids "don't everyone hope for their parents deaths" comment too.


Also wtf reading the past few pages and it seems most of the movie went far above peoples head. The opening sequence is clear as a day... this movie doesn't need a directors cut smh pay some attention.

[Lucius86]

Just do it here so everyone can join in!

You're clear - was spoiler free. Interesting review from Mark, still very much looking forward to my IMAX viewing next week. If he gave it a 7.5, I am happy.

[Wilbury]

You're clear - was spoiler free. Interesting review from Mark, still very much looking forward to my IMAX viewing next week. If he gave it a 7.5, I am happy.

Good thing he didn't mention the bit where the xenomorph bursts from Fassbender's fassbender

[Chopper]

Ask me anything, I'll try and answer, there was not a single thing in the movie I didn't understand.

So, the Engineers came to Earth, created humans (which may or may not be depicted in the opening scene), and then fucked off to LV-223 to create/farm/store a shitload of lethal alien goo that they plan on using to kill us (for reasons that aren't made apparent in this movie). And they did this by burying their ships under ground, where they were all killed by their own alien goo? Am I missing something?

Why wasn't the film set on LV-426 so that the Engineer pilot/mysterious pilot from the first film tied in properly? Instead I'm left wondering how an Alien (Xenomorph, the first of which appears at the end of this film, on this planet) can burst from the stomach of an Engineer over on LV-426, as depicted in the first film. Although I did mark out when the pilot chair came out the floor.

Again, if the origins of the Aliens was a giant, human born face hugger raping an Engineer, how was there an image of one on the wall in the goo containment chamber?

[Dax01]

Good, fun film. Expect more Aliens than Alien. Music was excellent. It's not Alien scary, it is rather, I would say a kind of mixture between a slighter suspense of Alien, the wonder of space so elegantly displayed in alien, and the explosiveness of Aliens. The dialogue was not the same as in Alien. It also sacrifices spending time with characters, for scale. It does scale, immensely well though. There are no real moments where you feel anything for most of the characters that die as a result. Part of me believes that this is due to the fact that we've seen it all before. A crew encounters an alien, the crew die a horrible shocking deaths. I think it is also because you as well as the crew, know that they might encounter aliens when they land on the planet, whereas the Nostromo crew had no idea and knew just as much as you did. So really, in context, it all makes more sense. Although, the developed characters have been done well enough for you to care for them. They do explain some important things, and bring in new questions. I found this was done rather well actually. Although, I was not expecting any answers at all, and actually didn't want any answers as I was scared this would ruin, for me at least, the mysterious nature of the xenomorph, however as far as origins go, the explanation here was not disappointing. Lawrence of Arabia bit made me giddy as hell To get the aesthetic, the clever jokes and easter eggs, watch: Lawrence of Arabia Space Odyssey Alien Aliens (2x) Blade Runner Vicker's grey suit is essentially another version of Rachel's. Only thing I did not like, was the opening scene. Absolutely pointless and took away from the actual mystery for the rest of the film. All in all, I would say that this is a worthwhile standalone/prequel to Alien and Aliens. I am not disappointed in the slightest bit. It was enjoyable, in its own way. So essentially, expect to watch Aliens, with more scale and less classic action hero stuff. More realistic action I would say. Slightly more human characters, and with the exception of a few, not nearly as good as the Alien crew. Bring on the Blade Runner sequel! Also Prometheus sequel!

Oh no. My review is at the bottom of the previous page :(

I read your review. :)

Very interesting reactions so far. Among the people who saw it, it seems fairly mixed between people who really like it and people who thought it was simply "okay." Very interesting indeed.

[raphier]

Just came back. Visually it was very interesting. I was very impressed by soft body DNA physics. I found some of the sequences very awesome. Everything else? very meh.

I understood the story well, but. A big but. It was typical Lindelof. It lost it's credence midway. It felt like everyone had their own agenda on this half-pointless trip. There were no protocols and nobody acted like a real professional as they ought to be for a such million-class project.
So for the most of the movie I just couldn't take it seriously. It's like they did those things to be killed.Hello little cobra that looks like it's going to attack any time now. How stupid can you be?
Alien-fearing Geologists go on a trip to search for our beginnings? That should have been on the report.
Taking out the masks because the air is breathable? And only couple of days later it goes to their heads that it may be contaminated with infectious parasites...you never take out your gear at any point even if the air is breathable for various of other reasons.

[Truant]

I'm back. From my ban, and the theatre.

My thoughts.

A good movie that could have been great. Having just seen Alien only an hour prior to Prometheus, the simplicity of the former really stands out. By comparison, the events of Prometheus could easily have been made into several films.

Everything that happens is technicically cool, but it's just too much for a two hour movie.

I also felt they should have left out the xenomorph shot at the end. Wasn't needed at all.

[1138]

I really enjoyed this film, and would also rank it between Alien and Aliens. Some scenes where a bit wierd like Rapace and Theron running straight forward in front ot the falling space ship instead of going left or right Loved the opening sequence, as well as the soundtrack, and how the movie left some issues ambiguous (Felt appropriate here, unlike the final seasons of Lost).

Did anyone else think that the date where they decided to terminate life on earth had some significance? I'm not a religious person but it seemed like an odd coincidence that they decided to press the resert button around the time of Jesus. In the movie universe maybe Jesus posessed abilities that the Engineers did not forsee or powers they did not plan on passing on, and that they therefore decided to start over again in fear of being surpassed by their own creations.

[Dax01]

raphier, you may want to put that body in spoiler tags.

[Gowans]

Just got back from this, really enjoyed it, a few groan moments but awesome overall.

How I WINCED!

[ezekial45]

I've got one question, and please answer this without spoiling anything; does this movie tie in well with the original Alien movie? Going in with the assumption that it takes place on the same planet that was in Alien, I'm having a hard time believing that all the stuff in this movie happened before the Nostromo showed up in the first movie. Of course, I haven't seen it yet.

So, does it tie in well?

[Erigu]

So, the Engineers came to Earth, created humans (which may or may not be depicted in the opening scene), and then fucked off to LV-223 to create/farm/store a shitload of lethal alien goo that they plan on using to kill us (for reasons that aren't made apparent in this movie). And they did this by burying their ships under ground, where they were all killed by their own alien goo? Am I missing something?

And they told us where LV-223 was, too. Many times.

[Kyaw]

I've got one question, and please answer this without spoiling anything; does this movie tie in well with the original Alien movie? Going in with the assumption that it takes place on the same planet that was in Alien, I'm having a hard time believing that all the stuff in this movie happened before the Nostromo showed up in the first movie. Of course, I haven't seen it yet. So, does it tie in well?

Except it doesn't take place on the same planet.

[Wilbury]

I've got one question, and please answer this without spoiling anything; does this movie tie in well with the original Alien movie? Going in with the assumption that it takes place on the same planet that was in Alien, I'm having a hard time believing that all the stuff in this movie happened before the Nostromo showed up in the first movie. Of course, I haven't seen it yet. So, does it tie in well?

Going to spoil one thing for you but will put it in spoiler tags in case you don't want to know, but can't really answer your question without it.

It isn't the same planet

I think it ties in well enough. There's enough room so if there's a sequel it can either elaborate on the links or leave them alone and it would still be good.

edit: whelp

[Chopper]

Except it doesn't take place on the same planet.

For some fucking reason.

[Wilbury]

For some fucking reason.

Yeah I really don't get it. It's like some random decision to try and distance itself from Alien whereas it should have just taken the plunge after having so much linked to it and done it anyway.

That's one of the main things that need to be elaborated on for me. Did the aliens kill every single Engineer on every single ship on every host planet (if there was more than one?) Is the LV426 one a single engineer that escaped and got a little further before being chestbursted?

[TUROK]

I haven't seen it yet, but is it possible that Shaw crashes the ship on LV-426, and that's where the two stories meet? Like I said, I haven't seen it, I'm just trying to make sense of this supposed mess of a script. Where is the engineer when the proto-xeno bursts from it?

[Wilbury]

I haven't seen it yet, but is it possible that Shaw crashes the ship on LV-426, and that's where the two stories meet? Like I said, I haven't seen it, I'm just trying to make sense of this supposed mess of a script. Where is the engineer when the proto-xeno bursts from it?

Imagine if Shaw was the Space Jockey in Alien pahahaha

And to answer your question, it's in a sort of escape pod on the planet

[Jason Raize '75 - '04]

I just came back from seeing it with no expectations and without reading any build up or following media coverage of the film. In a word: disappointed. It felt like a TV pilot and I sat there as the credits rolled realising the second episode would take longer than a week.

Specific complaints

The reasons nor significance behind Charlie Holloway's bizarre death are never explained. David's character and motives are never explained. Meredith Vickers antagonism to her father is never explained or explored. And curiously the nature of her relationship to David is never explored; only hinted at through their fathers contrasting attitude towards them. But most of all, the greatest sin was the lack of screen time spent on ancient astronaut side. The opening waterfall scene to star map hologram later were the most distinctive, most revealing and most entertaining in the movie - it's disappointing that more time was spent showing the dark corridors of the alien ship than the uncovering the background of the aliens. What we do know of them can be filled in a single sentence: they created mankind. Reason. Unknown. But decide to then wipe them out. Reason. Unknown. Instead they chose to take 2 hours telling us that.

Honestly, I was bored. The only thing that kept my imagination running was Vickers in her uniform I'm sad to say. Some beautiful cinematography but, really, I can't say I have any interest to ever watch this movie again

[Chopper]

Yeah I really don't get it. It's like some random decision to try and distance itself from Alien whereas it should have just taken the plunge after having so much linked to it and done it anyway. That's one of the main things that need to be elaborated on for me. Did the aliens kill every single Engineer on every single ship on every host planet (if there was more than one?) Is the LV426 one a single engineer that escaped and got a little further before being chestbursted?

As far as I can work out, the only way it is plausible is that the queen born at the end of Prometheus laid eggs somewhere, and the face huggers travelled far enough from the nesting site to find another Engineer that was still alive under ground somewhere else. Said Engineer was awoken by the facehugger, managed to take off anyway, was impregnated at some point (probably what caused the ship to crash on LV-426), and the spawn hatched whilst he was in the pilot seat.

Tenuous.

[Midas]

Well, wasn't it just a way to see if what they had created had become smart enough to be a threat to its creator? And if that was so - they had to die?

[Wilbury]

Specific complaints The reasons nor significance behind Charlie Holloway's bizarre death are never explained. David's character and motives are never explained. .

He was under orders to do it. Objective was to get it back to Earth. Weyland is there for immortality - and at that moment it was the only life any of them knew existed out there. Seems logical to me. It is the same thing they did in Alien, and the same thing Burke tried to do in Aliens.

[Truant]

There's not a direct connection as far as I see it, in terms of actual events in Prometheus leading up to Alien. It's just a picture into a much larger world, and like the captain said, this was probably just one of many installations. What we saw here just hints at what might have gone down to get the other ship to crash and set of the events in the Alien series.

[XDaveyboyX]

Just back from the cinema, and thought this was a brilliant film.

Fantastic performances, interesting characters (in part), flawless special effects.

Fantastic use of 3D - and at no point are there any 3D "money shots" - Ridley just happened to film a 2D film with 3D cameras. Breathtakingly good in parts - even in shitty Real3D.

There MUST be about 30 mins of character development type stuff missing. Assuming that footage exists and there is a DC - I'm calling future classic.

My only solid criticism is trouble making out some of the dialogue in early scenes ... that could just be me though.

Can't wait to get this on Blu Ray and watch again.

[Erigu]

Well, wasn't it just a way to see if what they had created had become smart enough to be a threat to its creator? And if that was so - they had to die?

Weren't the ships meant to leave for Earth thousands of years ago though?

[MMaRsu]

JUST GOT BACK

Holy fuck what an amazing movie! Great performances, and such delicious imagery! I always love watching Fassbender, and this is another role he pulled off with perfection. A few minor gripes here and there Shaw doesnt tell anyone she just removed a fucking alien from her stomach? Maybe she was afraid she'd get killed? Nobody asked about her stitchings either :/ uhh ok

The story was actually pretty grandeur in my opinion, it deals with more than most movies. If there is a sequel honestly I cannot wait for it :D.

It was so good in 3d too, I really want to rewatch it already. Now to read all the spoiler tagged stuff itt :D

Glad I went!

[TUROK]

And to answer your question, it's in a sort of escape pod on the planet

Well, nevermind then.

Now I have no idea how they could possibly link the two.

I mean, black goo+human+space squid+Space Jockey are supposed to have made the Proto-Xeno, which is on LV-226, so how does another Xeno end up on LV-426 to lay Facehugger eggs? I read that Space Jockeys and humans have the same type of DNA, so I guess listing them separately MIGHT be redundant.

[Chopper]

There's not a direct connection as far as I see it, in terms of actual events in Prometheus leading up to Alien. It's just a picture into a much larger world, and like the captain said, this was probably just one of many installations. What we saw here just hints at what might have gone down to get the other ship to crash and set of the events in the Alien series.

But the problem is the human connection. I thought the point was that the Xenomorphs are direct descendants of humans, who were integral to their creation. i.e. Shaw "giving birth" to the first facehugger. It's muddled until they clear it up in a sequel. If they don't do that, the final scene was a waste of time, which is a shame.

[Jason Raize '75 - '04]

He was under orders to do it. Objective was to get it back to Earth. Weyland is there for immortality - and at that moment it was the only life any of them knew existed out there. Seems logical to me. It is the same thing they did in Alien, and the same thing Burke tried to do in Aliens.

If his goal was to get it back to Earth, then why remove it from the vase he had retrieved? What's wrong with not taking the vase back to Earth? And how does effectively murdering Charlie achieve that goal? What am I missing here

[Erigu]

He was under orders to do it. Objective was to get it back to Earth. Weyland is there for immortality - and at that moment it was the only life any of them knew existed out there. Seems logical to me.

Why infect somebody during the mission (without any way of knowing the effects beforehand) instead of simply bringing that black goo sample back to Earth though?
One might infer that David was jealous and actually meaning to get rid of a rival, but it still seems an extremely haphazard method, especially coming from a supposedly ultra-smart android...

[CorrisD]

Edit: Also, I hope there is a director's cut as it felt like large parts were removed in points.

There MUST be about 30 mins of character development type stuff missing. Assuming that footage exists and there is a DC - I'm calling future classic.

Nice to know it wasn't just me that felt like there were pieces of the film missing, parts felt disjointed through the film like there should have been some development where there was not.

[Wilbury]

Well, nevermind then. Now I have no idea how they could possibly link the two. I mean, black goo+human+space squid+Space Jockey are supposed to have made the Proto-Xeno, which is on LV-226, so how does another Xeno end up on LV-426 to lay Facehugger eggs? I read that Space Jockeys and humans have the same type of DNA, so I guess listing them separately MIGHT be redundant.

I would just assume that something evolves that is capable of oral impregnation like the original facehugger, and by popping out the Engineer the queen on LV-426 is born. All I have right now. I'm hoping that a sequel tidies everything up.

Maybe it's not a good idea Ridley does another one, he's become increasingly lazy in looking at everything. He's wonderful visually but he really should have boo-boo'd some parts of the script.

[MMaRsu]

Oh, I was entertained alright. I'm just trying to piece everything together. If you'll excuse me, I'll repost my questions from the bottom of the last page:

I guess it's possible they tested it out on some other shit first and already created that alien then destroyed it? Probably just a plot hole..or maybe not

[Wilbury]

If his goal was to get it back to Earth, then why remove it from the vase he had retrieved? What's wrong with not taking the vase back to Earth? And how does effectively murdering Charlie achieve that goal? What am I missing here

Why infect somebody during the mission (without any way of knowing the effects beforehand) instead of simply bringing that black goo sample back to Earth though? One might infer that David was jealous and actually meaning to get rid of a rival, but it still seems an extremely haphazard method, especially coming from a supposedly ultra-smart android...

Maybe it was to see the effects it would have before taking it back to Earth? If they took it back to Earth without testing it on the ship beforehand all hell might've broken loose. As to killing Charlie, I guess he was the easiest to get into because he was drinking, and obviously they didn't know whether he'd die or not. I'm not saying it's right but that's what I've got.

[berg ark]

As I understood it (regarding the issue with the two planets):

There are two different planets, A (in Prometheus) and B (in the original Alien).
Planet A was the main hub and base for the development or storage of these biological weapons. On planet A, the base, there were many different ships with lots of weapons. But they (the creators) were all dead here because the creatures, the weapons, had turned against them. They (the creators) could not finish their mission to kill the humans.

On planet B (the one from the original Alien) there was only one crashed ship. These were the same people onboard it (the creators, which inhabited the base on planet A). But these were also killed, by the creatures this time aswell. There was only one ship on planet B - so my guess is that they had left planet A, the base, to go to Earth with the weapons, to try to kill us. But something had back fired and they had to emergency land/crashed on planet B. Maybe this ship had left planet A before everyone there had died, and then were killed while on their way to Earth.