Prometheus [SPOILERS]

[Robin Of House Hill]

Here are a few things I find amusing.

When rescuing Dr Elizabeth 'Ellie' Shaw during the sandstorm, Dr Holloway calls her "Noomi".

When Shaw enters the rescue pod that has crash landed on the planet's surface after the collision, Vickers' bottle of Vodka is still standing upright on the bar, unbroken.

I can't take credit for noticing either of these. Saw them on IMDB.

I'm sure someone will argue that there was a good reason the vodka bottle didn't fall and break.

[Werthead]

A fascinating study of the ideas in the film.

Even Lindelof is impressed by it.

Oh, a nice catch. LV-223 = Levictus 22:3

"Say to them: 'For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person must be cut off from my presence. I am the LORD."

Interesting if the Jesus = Engineer 'tainted' by the barberous humans executing him before he returns to the base, only for his tainted thoughts to transform the black goo into monsters that wipe out everyone. Interesting, but probably still bollocks.

Another interesting comment from that LJ post was the idea of the black slime being the distilled essence of the xenomorphs. So when Fifeld rolled up in a ball and then attacked people, he was behaving like a xenomorph.

[Francis Buck]

Whatever the flaws of the film, I must say that it has stuck in my head since I saw it on Friday, which doesn't happen often. As I said in the last thread, I don't think it's a conventionally "bad movie", in the sense of, say, Transformers 2. It just felt messy to me, and at some parts silly. And the technical aspects left much to be desired (primarily the characterizations).

All that being said, I do have a feeling this will somewhat go the way of Alien and Blade Runner; not especially critically praised upon release, but steadily gaining a sort of cult status over time.

I don't have the time to read what you posted Wert, but I'm definitely going to check it out later.

[Howdyphillip]

As many as required. Since the movie was full of crap, its hard to detail all of it in a finite number. Since you seem to be someone who, like the "faith" seekers in this farce, can discount 200 years of evidence and theory of life's origin, its clear why you object.

Recommended reading: "Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin, published in 1859

I am going to issue you a challenge. Can you please compose one post that doesn't contain anything negative? I have read tons of them from you that describes things that you do not like, but not a single one that tells me something that you do. I'm really not trying to attack you, but every time I see your username in the corner it is almost assuredly going to be a tirade against something in the content of your post. I personally would like to hear about things that you are exited about as well as things that cause you displeasure.

It also seems that you have a fundamental misunderstanding of Charles Darwin's work as well.There is nothing intrinsic about his theories that are atheistic. As a matter of fact, Darwin himself fervently denied being an atheist and said that his beliefs fell in line with agnosticism. There are plenty of Theists who support Darwin's work.

If anything, this movie supports some of Darwin's theories as it starts out on a lifeless planet earth that looked like that it had just been formed. I particularly enjoyed seeing the river and falls that had not been effected by erosion. That was a really cool nod to science, and something that showed that the writers were putting thought behind what they were doing. An Engineer then takes in a substance that breaks his body to a base cellular level. I am then naturally assuming that this forms prokaryotes, and that goes on to start the evolutionary process here on the planet.

The development of the Xenomorphs are also small nods to Darwin's theories as they seem to be a species that genetically progress from stage to stage as in a hyperactive quickening of the evolution process from generation to generation. I think that there was a reason that it was a worm that was first effected by the biological agent found in the cylinders. but I haven't really sat down to try and theorize why that is yet.

[Grack21]

As many as required. Since the movie was full of crap, its hard to detail all of it in a finite number. Since you seem to be someone who, like the "faith" seekers in this farce, can discount 200 years of evidence and theory of life's origin, its clear why you object.

Recommended reading: "Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin, published in 1859

Ha. Everything about you just clicked.

[Lannes]

Saw it last night.

What I liked-

The mystery or mysteries. All the questions unanswered or hinted at. I like that the movie is generating a lot of theories and debates. Good stuff.

What I didn't like-

Dumbfucks doing dumbfuck things to move the plot along. This goes hand in hand with the plot holes the size of an event horizon.....

All in all, a mixed bag. I cant wait for the inevitable and patented Ridley Scott So-Much-Better Director's Cut.....

[Grack21]

A fascinating study of the ideas in the film.

Even Lindelof is impressed by it.

Oh, a nice catch. LV-223 = Levictus 22:3

Interesting if the Jesus = Engineer 'tainted' by the barberous humans executing him before he returns to the base, only for his tainted thoughts to transform the black goo into monsters that wipe out everyone. Interesting, but probably still bollocks.

Another interesting comment from that LJ post was the idea of the black slime being the distilled essence of the xenomorphs. So when Fifeld rolled up in a ball and then attacked people, he was behaving like a xenomorph.

Damn thats good, explains a lot.

Edit: vodka is MAGIC

[ZombieWife]

I love to see Weyland-Yutani being the asshole corporation we all know and love. Funny, Charlize Theron's character seems the bitch at first, when all she was doing was humoring her father's Disney-esque obsession with immortality.

In Alien, the crew of the Nostromo are called to LV-426 due to a distress signal, correct? If we're in the same "universe" as Prometheus, couldn't LV-426 be one planet that Dr. Shaw and David visited on their quest to find the engineers' beginnings? Obviously leaving something nasty behind them. We're not sure what at this point. Xenomorph prototype could have retained some of the engineer's memories or such (same as the geologist seemed to have retained a bit of himself). Or, Dr. Shaw might have had other infestations within her. Or, David might have brought something along just to study. Nobody knows, but I think there are many valid possibilities.

As for David being "mended," I'm not sure why he couldn't do it himself over time, or given Dr. Shaw the knowledge to perform necessary procedures. I don't imagine it would be perfect. Kind of a franken-cyborg, but I think it's possible for an android such as that to know how to fix itself under many circumstances.

What struck me was that the xenomorph prototype still didn't look like our beloved alien. Not yet. Close. It could mean more transformation is in store.

Werthead wrote:

I'm assuming that the alien on LV-223 is either going to simply die off, and it was shown at the end of the film for simple shock value, or that in either Prometheus 2 or 3 the Company sends a follow-up mission to investigate the missing Prometheus and encounters this creature.

Interesting possibilities. I would think they would keep Rapace and Fassbender for at least one sequel, but who knows. But, I'll stand by what I said before, I don't think the xenomorph is "finished" yet. How that progresses and fulfills the notion of the alien we're familiar with is up in the air at this point, but it's fun to speculate.

Considering that Weyland Y is run by gigantic, greedy douchebags, the idea that they would send someone to follow up on the Prometheus is 100% plausible. They find the bodies, maybe find the final recording of Dr. Shaw. Fast forward to Alien when the ship detours to check out a distress call, Weyland Y isn't exactly going to fess up to what's happened previously. That's "classified" after all. :) Ahh to hack into the W.Y. archives. Imagine what fun that would be.

Maybe someone else knows, but the xenomorph . . . has it stayed consistent in all the Alien movies? Or, has it evolved? I don't think it's changed. We might be introduced to different types (the queen) or whatnot as movies go on, but in Alien(s) 1-4, they infest, utilize hosts and whatnot for procreation, not for species evolution.

In Prometheus, it seems they change as they are introduced to different types of DNA. There has to be a point where it stops, right? Perhaps when the creature reaches full potential (whatever that is)?

On Ancient Aliens. My husband and I had different ideas about where the movie began. He thought that the "engineer" they showed in the beginning was on the "alien" planet and that's how the plague or whatnot began there, causing the engineers to flee. I thought that was Earth, where the aliens dropped off one dude, had him committ suicide so that his DNA would be sprinkled across the Earth and help to move humans into the next phase of evolution (the missing link).

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, but I am quite fond of the mythology surrounding the alien franchise (and by that I mean Alien and Aliens. Everthing beyond is just not the same, imho). It's kind of like reading the Silmarillion after reading the Lord of the Rings just to get some interesting lore.

The only thing that truly bothered me was when David was insisting that Dr. Shaw be put into cryo-freeze and the whole pregnancy thing. Sure, David would absolutely do such a thing (he is, after all, a Weyland android!). But, where the heck was everyone else? Nobody seemed to bat an eyelash at that whole sequence (I'm preggo to self-alien-removal). It felt like there was a scene missing.

Liked it. Didn't LOVE it. Was entertained. I need to watch it again. I felt like I missed some things. I feel like it has potential in the sequel.

[Francis Buck]

Interesting possibilities. I would think they would keep Rapace and Fassbender for at least one sequel, but who knows. But, I'll stand by what I said before, I don't think the xenomorph is "finished" yet. How that progresses and fulfills the notion of the alien we're familiar with is up in the air at this point, but it's fun to speculate.

Fully agree with this right here. I thought it was pretty clear that the xenomorph we saw was not just a re-imagining, but more a sort of prototype. It was not nearly as weaponized as the aliens we see later on, and I think the addition of the red gums and mouth, and more "streamlined" anatomy was meant to signify that.

[Balefont]

A fascinating study of the ideas in the film.

Fascinating read and I'm not even that deeply wrapped up in the mythos of Prometheus or Alien.

[Grack21]

I believe Scott has confirmed the planet in the opening is earth or an earth like planet, and he was definitly creating life.

[Buttered Turnip]

Did anybody else notice that these scientists had technology that was light years away but were still using basic canvas duffel bags? Crazy advanced suit, crazy advanced tools, crazy advanced spaceship...canvas duffel bag.

For some reason this bothered me. Is everything else going to go on getting more advanced but the duffel bag will just stay the same? Has it reached the height of its evolution???

Other than that I enjoyed the film.

[Corvinus85]

One more question: was Vickers really a synthetic? She calls Weyland father, but if she is human, that means he fathered her late in his life. And Weyland also referred to David as the closest thing he had to a son.

[Howdyphillip]

One more question: was Vickers really a synthetic? She calls Weyland father, but if she is human, that means he fathered her late in his life. And Weyland also referred to David as the closest thing he had to a son.

I had a discussion about this with the friend went to see the movie with me. It left it open to interpretation. I thought that she showed too much emotion to actually be an android, but my friend believed that she could have just been a different model. I think the direct question that Idris Elba gave to her was supposed to generate this conversation.

[Kalbear]

I believe Scott has confirmed the planet in the opening is earth or an earth like planet, and he was definitly creating life.

Actually he said the opposite - that it was creating life, but it wasn't necessarily Earth and it didn't matter if it was. That wasn't the point; the point was creating the life.

I personally hate it when everything is super futuristic just because. For instance, the standard pistol many people use today is completely recognizable from 100 years ago, and point of fact the Colt 1911 is in use regularly now and is literally 100 years old. Suits and fashion haven't changed appreciably in 100 years, at least for men. A lot of times when something works we don't change it, or we explicitly keep it the same because we like the old way. Now that's not the case for everything, but everything doesn't need to be new or awesome; we use what works, especially scientists.

[Grack21]

Actually he said the opposite - that it was creating life, but it wasn't necessarily Earth and it didn't matter if it was. That wasn't the point; the point was creating the life.

I personally hate it when everything is super futuristic just because. For instance, the standard pistol many people use today is completely recognizable from 100 years ago, and point of fact the Colt 1911 is in use regularly now and is literally 100 years old. Suits and fashion haven't changed appreciably in 100 years, at least for men. A lot of times when something works we don't change it, or we explicitly keep it the same because we like the old way. Now that's not the case for everything, but everything doesn't need to be new or awesome; we use what works, especially scientists.

Yeah I mistyped. I meant isnt earth but is earth like. More like my brain doesnt work lately. I dunno.

[ZombieWife]

I had a discussion about this with the friend went to see the movie with me. It left it open to interpretation. I thought that she showed too much emotion to actually be an android, but my friend believed that she could have just been a different model. I think the direct question that Idris Elba gave to her was supposed to generate this conversation.

I really like this idea. Maybe she was an earlier model, albeit more flawed? More emotional? Created "too close" to human beings?

I also remember in Aliens, Bishop told Ripley that the earlier model had bugs. I wonder if there were multiple "buggy" models, or if Bishop was just trying to make Ripley feel better.

[ZombieWife]

Fully agree with this right here. I thought it was pretty clear that the xenomorph we saw was not just a re-imagining, but more a sort of prototype. It was not nearly as weaponized as the aliens we see later on, and I think the addition of the red gums and mouth, and more "streamlined" anatomy was meant to signify that.

Good points. It looked more "human" for sure. It really makes me wonder how it evolved to the alien we know in Alien/Aliens, if, in fact, it is a precursor to the true xenomorph. Contact with other species? If so, how many? Perhaps the final "contact" had some sort of DNA "cap" that kept it from further evolving, or, it evolved into what this black goo considered a perfect being? It's fascinating to me and makes me want to see more.

Also, where did the xenomorph-esque DNA come from? Was it always part of the black goo substance? Were the engineers trying to recreate themselves? Or, did another race (or multiple races) encounter the substance over time only to add their own DNA to the mix?

I'm wondering why the engineers had such a loathing for humans. If it truly was about destruction and rebirth, or, if the creation of humans (in the image of the engineers) was somehow a mistake? Or more of a success than the engineers anticipated and this led to some sort of resentment? I kept wondering this with all the "back and forth" about synthetic life (David).

David asks Holloway, "Why did you (mankind) create me?"

Holloway says something like, "Because we could."

David, "Imagine meeting your maker and hearing that same response."

There were other smaller moments that made one question life and the reason for creating synthetic life. It just made me wonder if there's an undercurrent of a theme here that's threaded through the film or if I'm reading more into it than I should.

[Grack21]

ZombieWife, Scott answers the question about why they hate us in the interview I linked a whie ago.

[Michael Cardwell]

Everyone on this site's expectations must of been way too high and it's funny! I had the perfect mindset going into the movie to enjoy it! I see this as a new franchise for Ridley Scott not a prequel to Aliens at all. What I take from this movie is that it merely hints at how the Xenomorphs even came to be. I was not expecting it to tell me anything else! For everyone else whining cause it was not a prequel to Alien go get a life! Lol