Ridley Scott's Prometheus Discussion Thread

[supernaut]

NO SPOILER TAGS!

I couldn't decide what to put in spoiler tags, writing this was work enough. I don't hold myself back at all, so be warned. It's more of a journey anyway, not much to spoil as with twist-heavy plots. It's safe and predictable, for the most part. If you've seen Alien, you've more or less seen Prometheus, but that's me.

I got excited when James Cameron was returning to sci-fi, which ended with, well, Avatar. The thought of Ridley Scott returning to the genre is no less exciting, him fathering the masterpieces that are Alien and Blade Runner. Prometheus is Scott's third sci-fi and my excitement has been replaced with mixed emotions. Not surprised to see the critic reaction being all over the place in many aspects, but generally it's been more positive than negative.

The opening scene set the kind of mood that I didn't expect. This is not Alien nor is it Aliens, it's something else. Ridley Scott is no longer in his 40s, he's not hungry as a director, as he seemed at the start of his career. Prequel or set in the same universe, these tales have a harder time justifying their place among films that stand on their own. Prometheus feels like something created in a parallel universe. It's not the effortless modern sci-fi classic I hoped it would be, for example, Moon is a lot more refined and modest than this, both being in familiar territory. Then again, I wasn't naive enough to hope for something as timeless as his previous entries in the genre, that said, a fan can't help but hope for the best.

On the ship, Prometheus, Scott immediately goes more into detail, aspects that the original grazed over effortlessly. I'm not sure what is the payoff to showing routine space travel stuff, to such an extent, when you could get the plot rolling faster. I'm probably nitpicking here, but this stood out to me. In marketing, one featurette was dedicated to the ship itself. This is 2012 though and the world is insane, we've gotten used to it. That said, I doubt anyone gives a ♥♥♥♥ about Vickers' living quarters. In Alien, many of the plot devices were attributed to Ash and the larger forces were in the background, they held a sense of mystery. Less is usually more. That's why we developed an intrigue with the unanswered, the faceless. Not everything needs an answer, or a face. Peter Weyland, I was happy to hear of the character's inclusion and while his age makes sense, I wasn't expecting an old fart with a cane, prosthetic makeup and all. That was the point where I stopped having any hopes of being blown away by the film, it was clearly motivated by other things. Stuff like that goes into dangerous territory, in terms of tone. We've seen plenty of stories with the exceedingly wealthy spending an insane amount of money just to make themselves feel better. Money has always been the main plot device in the Alien saga, space truckers, the marines and so on, getting ♥♥♥♥ed over by the corporate agenda. Here it's in the foreground (as well as in Avatar), in the vein of Jurassic Park or Citizen Kane, though held off for a while. I suppose I shouldn't find it surprising after the Elizabeth Shaw viral video, but I was trying to shut myself off from the media campaign as much as possible, so I put it at the back of my mind. Rich people spend big bucks, we get it. It's been done, it's self-indulgent and boring and most people can't relate to it. Weyland and Vickers are the more uninteresting characters, the former in the context of this film, while the android, David, is at the center of the action and character development. Don't get me wrong, Theron is a great actress, but Vickers is a +1 character, resulting in her boring arc. Her character traits could've easily been fitted into someone else, as was the case in Alien. That would've required a substantial rewrite though, which is why I'd be interested to see the main differences between Spaihts's spec script and what Scott/Lindelof turned it into, in terms of characters and their respective archetypes.

Noomi Rapace, I simply love her, this film being another major platform for her career (as the Millenium trilogy) and I'm excited to see where she'll go from here. That said, one sequence and you know the sequence I'm referring to, stepped into some pretty ridiculous territory, which again, ♥♥♥♥s with the tone and personally, left me torn. A pregnant fumbling archaeologist performs an improvised surgery and staples her abdomen shut. Ripley was a strong female protagonist, in fact, she's one of the most iconic female characters in cinema history, but she was rooted in reality, she was more relatable and that one sequence was very close to destroying that completely. That stuff was an act of desperation times 10. Overwhelming odds is expected, but this approach can go either way with the audience. It's like they had to have a chestburster (a birth) scene.

Michael Fassbender is appearing in a lot of great films as of late and deservedly so. He pulled off a great android and the character was properly fleshed out, basically saving the film from a potential train wreck, if either the casting or the character wouldn't have been right. The dynamic and chemistry of the new Ripley/Ash isn't as balanced as in Alien, Fassbender basically outperforming Rapace and being more in command, unopposed or unchallenged. Shaw is in for a ride, while Ripley was more of a dominating force, a worthy adversary to Ash and vice versa. To be fair, the character loses her love interest during all of what goes on. David was free to finger any surface with very little objection from Shaw. A conflict didn't really materialize between the two, both were doing their own thing, acting independently. So Weyland basically undermines a very important dynamic in the film. Her expression of mistrust in David (if I did see that) wasn't paid off. An old fart, a one-dimensional "bad guy" with a superb henchman, was running the show, he saw what he wanted and that was that. Curiosity kills the cat, is that the moral? Another boring character arc.

The backstory was more fertile for a prequel than in most cases. Usually prequels have very little reason to exist. But let's face it, a lot of us have secretly longed for a canon response to the question that Alien raised. "Meet your maker" is a solid concept, an interesting premise, potentially bringing several themes together, especially with androids existing in the franchise's universe. Unfortunately, that is not the case here. The execution of it is what left me torn, there are too many similarities with Alien, too much money involved, not enough risks taken and just a general lack of focus. It makes an effort to distance itself from Alien, in terms of new characters and different themes, but it's an indirect prequel, being set in the same universe, the PR line they kept feeding us to build anticipation. Going by what Scott/Lindelof said, I wouldn't agree with this being an original tale in its own right that happens to be set in the same universe, because of those similarities with Alien and the general plot outline being more or less the same, therefore predictable. All in all it's a monster movie with ambition; contemplating too much on Darwinism, religion, the meaning of life is a bit too much for a summer blockbuster to pay off and seamlessly bring together at the end. In that sense, it was set up to fail. I think it did a good enough job despite that, but it's still a mess, sadly. I'm not familiar with Spaith's/Lindelof's writing (aside from their respective involvement in The Darkest Hour and Cowboys & Aliens, both more or less ♥♥♥♥), but whenever I see Lindelof mentioned, he's either regarded as a genius or an idiot for doing Lost. So, go figure. The script is supposedly a blend of themes picked from Spaith's prequel script, expanded upon by Scott/Lindelof and the general direction moved away from Alien. Needless to say, the plot and the resulting conclusion, is a bit of a ♥♥♥♥ move and there isn't much to distinguish it from Alien. That said, the dialogue is great, I liked the stereotypical geologist, the humor and most notably, David.

I was nailed to my seat most of the time, it is, in the end, an intense experience, partly due to the constrictive 3D glasses and sitting between people (though friends) with not enough room for my bad knee, but that's my personal issue. It has great moments scattered throughout, moments that are awesome, funny, unnerving, suspenseful. I loved it as a visual spectacle, as a sci-fi epic, the design (that said, I hoped for a Giger-fest) and cinematography was great. The engineer race was intriguing, they didn't go overboard with that (make them speak) and in terms of design and concept, far more of a success than the catpeople of Pandora. I wasn't too fond of the creature design, I've seen enough of tentacles and worms. The Space Jockey and the humanoid within, have character, as does the facehugger and Xenomorph, but those other two were generic and forgettable. The ♥♥♥♥er at the end was just weird. Reminded me of a fish attached to a skinny man covered in oil. The whole movie was weird. I don't really trust my opinion on it to be honest, since I've been tricked with first viewings before, unsure of what I saw, so I'd like to see it again and in 2D. Definitely an anticipated DVD release.

Rating: 7/10



ORIGINAL POST:

QUIET EYE TRANSMISSION
INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH TRAILER (SPOILERS)
DAVID 8 COMMERCIAL
INTERNATIONAL TRAILER
FULL TRAILER
IMAX TEASER
WEYLAND "OUR FAMILY IS GROWING"
WEYLAND TED 2023 (TED Blog)
TRAILER (CLEAN)
TRAILER

Video Q&A with Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof

http://www.prometheus-movie.com/
https://www.weylandindustries.com/
http://www.projectprometheus.com/

INFO:

Release Date: June 8, 2012 (USA)
Rating: R
Director: Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator)
Writers: Damon Lindelof (Lost), Jon Spaihts (wrote the prequel draft)
Cast:

Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Sherlock Holmes 2)
Michael Fassbender (300, Hunger, Inglourious Basterds)
Charlize Theron (Monster, Hancock, The Road)
Idris Elba (The Wire, RocknRolla, Thor)
Sean Harris (24 Hour Party People, Harry Brown, Brighton Rock)
Kate Dickie (Red Road, Somers Town, The Pillars of the Earth)
Logan Marshall-Green (The O.C., Brooklyn's Finest, Devil)
Rafe Spall (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz)
Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential, Memento, The Proposition)
Patrick Wilson (Hard Candy, Watchmen, Insidious)


It's official baby. The title, release date and it's no longer a prequel, but an original tale set in the Alien universe.

Today 20th Century Fox has officially announced Prometheus, which will star Noomi Rapace as Elizabeth Shaw, and open on March 9, 2012.

http://www.slashfilm.com/ridley-scot...-noomi-rapace/

Ridley Scott: While Alien was indeed the jumping off point for this project, out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place. The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien’s DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative. I couldn’t be more pleased to have found the singular tale I’d been searching for, and finally return to this genre that’s so close to my heart.

From the writer who rewrote Jon Spaihts's draft...

Damon Lindelof: In a world flooded with prequels, sequels and reboots, I was incredibly struck by just how original Ridley’s vision was for this movie. It’s daring, visceral and hopefully, the last thing anyone expects.

This is Ridley Scott's return to sci-fi after Blade Runner, which came out over 28 years ago. Let's hope Scott will have more balls than James Cameron with Avatar. This thread will serve as the central hub for any further developments; hopefully we'll hear more confirmation about other cast members soon.

[velvetmeds]

Cool.

[prd3d132]

I almost cried in joy.

[marie pavie]

Thanks, this looks great so far! (Damn, I still havent seen the Dragon tatoo films)

Supernaut; once again saving us from 'What if I had velcro shoes?' threads.

[supernaut]

Originally Posted by prd3d132

I almost cried in joy.

I'm excited. It's hard not to be.

Originally Posted by marie pavie

(Damn, I still havent seen the Dragon tatoo films)

The first one is the best, as with most trilogies, but I enjoyed all of them. I'm so happy for Rapace's success, I loved her performance. She's different, at least when it comes to her appearance and I'm excited to see how she'll tackle her first English role in Sherlock Holmes 2. Ridley picking her for this feels like Sigourney Weaver all over again.

Originally Posted by marie pavie

Supernaut; once again saving us from 'What if I had velcro shoes?' threads.

Thanks.

[MrChris]

so its not an alien film anymore? or am I misunderstanding?

either way it sounds ♥♥♥♥ing great

[Dirtman73]

Let's hope Ridley gets his ♥♥♥♥ together for this movie. His last few attempts have been horrible.

[franjrp92]

I'm disappointed by the fact it's not an Alien movie anymore but it sounds promising.

[marie pavie]

It's still an Alien movie, but it looks like he's stepping out of the cookie cutter prequel idea. Somebody in film making getting inspired? Go figure.

[supernaut]

Originally Posted by MrChris

so its not an alien film anymore? or am I misunderstanding?

I assume it's still set in the same universe, since he said we'll "recognize strands of Alien’s DNA".

Either way, I hope he calls H.R. Giger.

Originally Posted by franjrp92

I'm disappointed by the fact it's not an Alien movie anymore but it sounds promising.

Lets face it, prequels are risky business. And most of the are ♥♥♥♥. Too much restrictions set by lore and past (well, future) events. I'm sure fans will still be able to recognize this as an Alien movie, even though it doesn't bare the title and is a "singular tale", whatever the hell he meant by that.

[franjrp92]

Originally Posted by marie pavie

It's still an Alien movie, but it looks like he's stepping out of the cookie cutter prequel idea. Somebody in film making getting inspired? Go figure.

I won't recognize it as a movie set in the same universe until Weyland Yutani or something from the franchise shows up in it.

[marie pavie]

Originally Posted by franjrp92

I won't recognize it as a movie set in the same universe until Weyland Yutani or something from the franchise shows up in it.

I can see wanting The Company as sort of a touchstone theme thing, but I've had it with 'franchise' & 'cannon'. Reboot too.

[MrChris]

I think we will recognise it as an aliens movie when bricks are being shat over xenomorphs lol

[Goggalor]

awesome!

[Atlantis1982]

Originally Posted by supernaut

Either way, I hope he calls H.R. Giger.

I believe they are bringing in Giger for this.
http://www.avpgalaxy.net/2010/12/18/...alien-prequel/