P R O M E T H E U S |OT| Ridley Scott goes back to Building Better Worlds

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JB1981 said:
rationalist attack on human agency and human guilt? what does that even mean
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I've read some nice essays on Alien dealing with feminism issues, class warfare, all that. I've even owned a book that was only Alien essays from different points of view, including all the usual stuff like vagina dentata... and I still don't have any idea what he's trying to say.
 
brandonh83 said:
Fair enough. my favorite moments in a horror movie is literally when "nothing" is happening because for me it establishes a sense of anything being able to happen at any given moment. It comes as no surprise that my favorite films in the genre are made up of Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, Halloween, etc. For me horror works best when it is quiet, eerie, and suggestive rather than up front and forced.
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Blair Witch is another of the few horror movies I liked. Especially the ending, which was just deeply unsettling for me. I don't like thinking about it. :lol
 
Blader5489 said:
Blair Witch is another of the few horror movies I liked. Especially the ending, which was just deeply unsettling for me. I don't like thinking about it. :lol
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When I actually watched the movie I wasn't terribly swayed... until I tried to sleep that night. It did not happen easy.
 
Just came back from it.

It is AMAZING, my expectations were through the roof, and they have been met with sheer brutality and awesomeness.

Let me say first that I love Alien, Aliens and hate the other two, as it should be.
I had seen every featurette, tv spot, trailer possible and it didnt spoil much, plenty surprises, especially the third act, that comes out of nowhere.

The 3D is amazing, plenty immersive, really beautiful, you feel like you're there, masterful. Visually, it is stunning, grandpa Scott shows what kind of a master he is. The prologue will leave your mouth agape, truly beautiful.

The single weakness of the movie for me is the lack of dvpt of the characters, save for Shaw and David, maybe Ridley cut (and he did i f I remember correctly) some 15 minutes, that would make it even better.

The movie is so rich by its themes, the questions it arises, it's bold, brutal. The script is very strong, it feels and doesnt feel like an Alien prequel, which I loved. There's the Lindelof touch, in the mystery surrounding many stuffs, so many questions, fascinating, and the ending is such a tease, begging for a sequel, which I hope Ridley will do ASAP after the Counselor.

The last scene is unexpected and a great wink, not saying what it is, but it's incredible.
The movie is not scary to me (not impressed by most horror movies) but it surprised me by the brutality of quite a few scenes, and it is INTENSE as hell. The action is great, VFX outstanding, the Engineers look fantastic. There is a nasty, fucked up atmosphere, notably in a few scenes.

Acting is great, Fassbender has such swag, Rapace is brilliant, Elba too, but as I said, the rest of the characters are not very fleshed out, not a great problem though.

The score which I love works beautifully well in the context of the movie.

I was so pumped at the ending and it promises an insane sequel, I tell you so!

9/10
 
Carcetti said:
I've read some nice essays on Alien dealing with feminism issues, class warfare, all that. I've even owned a book that was only Alien essays from different points of view, including all the usual stuff like vagina dentata... and I still don't have any idea what he's trying to say.
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Feminism analysis on Alien make me laugh because changing the lead from male to female was decided on a whim just because a female lead "would be cool".

Actually, all these excess in analysis on Alien is almost laughable, and I say that as someone who loves that movie. I think it deals with some deep subjects, but class warfare essays? lol.
 
THE-Pink-Dagger said:
Just came back from it.

It is AMAZING, my expectations were through the roof, and they have been met with sheer brutality and awesomeness.

Let me say first that I love Alien, Aliens and hate the other two, as it should be.
I had seen every featurette, tv spot, trailer possible and it didnt spoil much, plenty surprises, especially the third act, that comes out of nowhere.

The 3D is amazing, plenty immersive, really beautiful, you feel like you're there, masterful. Visually, it is stunning, grandpa Scott shows what kind of a master he is. The prologue will leave your mouth agape, truly beautiful.

The single weakness of the movie for me is the lack of dvpt of the characters, save for Shaw and David, maybe Ridley cut (and he did i f I remember correctly) some 15 minutes, that would make it even better.

The movie is so rich by its themes, the questions it arises, it's bold, brutal. The script is very strong, it feels and doesnt feel like an Alien prequel, which I loved. There's the Lindelof touch, in the mystery surrounding many stuffs, so many questions, fascinating, and the ending is such a tease, begging for a sequel, which I hope Ridley will do ASAP after the Counselor.

The last scene is unexpected and a great wink, not saying what it is, but it's incredible.
The movie is not scary to me (not impressed by most horror movies) but it surprised me by the brutality of quite a few scenes, and it is INTENSE as hell. The action is great, VFX outstanding, the Engineers look fantastic. There is a nasty, fucked up atmosphere, notably in a few scenes.

Acting is great, Fassbender has such swag, Rapace is brilliant, Elba too, but as I said, the rest of the characters are not very fleshed out, not a great problem though.

The score which I love works beautifully well in the context of the movie.

I was so pumped at the ending and it promises an insane sequel, I tell you so!

9/10
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yes! this post made my day :)
 
mantidor said:
Feminism analysis on Alien make me laugh because changing the lead from male to female was decided on a whim just because a female lead "would be cool".

Actually, all these excess in analysis on Alien is almost laughable, and I say that as someone who loves that movie. I think it deals with some deep subjects, but class warfare essays? lol.
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Well, it's one of those things that, once it is in the movie, it is in the movie. Maybe unintentionally, maybe intentionally, the meaning and content shifts.
 
THE-Pink-Dagger said:
Just came back from it.

It is AMAZING, my expectations were through the roof, and they have been met with sheer brutality and awesomeness.

Let me say first that I love Alien, Aliens and hate the other two, as it should be.
I had seen every featurette, tv spot, trailer possible and it didnt spoil much, plenty surprises, especially the third act, that comes out of nowhere.

The 3D is amazing, plenty immersive, really beautiful, you feel like you're there, masterful. Visually, it is stunning, grandpa Scott shows what kind of a master he is. The prologue will leave your mouth agape, truly beautiful.

The single weakness of the movie for me is the lack of dvpt of the characters, save for Shaw and David, maybe Ridley cut (and he did i f I remember correctly) some 15 minutes, that would make it even better.

The movie is so rich by its themes, the questions it arises, it's bold, brutal. The script is very strong, it feels and doesnt feel like an Alien prequel, which I loved. There's the Lindelof touch, in the mystery surrounding many stuffs, so many questions, fascinating, and the ending is such a tease, begging for a sequel, which I hope Ridley will do ASAP after the Counselor.

The last scene is unexpected and a great wink, not saying what it is, but it's incredible.
The movie is not scary to me (not impressed by most horror movies) but it surprised me by the brutality of quite a few scenes, and it is INTENSE as hell. The action is great, VFX outstanding, the Engineers look fantastic. There is a nasty, fucked up atmosphere, notably in a few scenes.

Acting is great, Fassbender has such swag, Rapace is brilliant, Elba too, but as I said, the rest of the characters are not very fleshed out, not a great problem though.

The score which I love works beautifully well in the context of the movie.

I was so pumped at the ending and it promises an insane sequel, I tell you so!

9/10
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welp... that's all I need.

I'm out, fellow space jockeys. Look forward to talking about this on June 9th. :}
 
Busty said:
Aren't you the guy that said John Carter was amazing?
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Haha, John Carter was a very mediocre movie but his impressions of Prometheus seem spot on.
I also noticed how many characters weren't fleshed out, this in comparison to how relative small the cast is. My guess is that this was done because Ridley opted to focus more on mythology and the big questions.
 
My expectations for this film are, and always have been, rock bottom that way I (surely) can't be disappointed.

I feel that this is the best frame of mind to have for films like this but I'm sure that GAF will wildly overact either way.

Wilbury said:
i'll blow a load over your face if you don't shut up
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Alright..., go walk it off sailor.

Man alive.

duckroll said:
Sculli's alt?!
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I just assume that Sculli is around us at all times..., like a cloud of highly opinionated gas.
 
Lafiel said:
Honestly despite how much I'm looking forward to the film. I'm not surprised that it's getting some negative reception at this stage - I mean it was written partly by Damon Lindelof!
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brandonh83 said:
No I'm pretty sure it's Lindelof's fault that this has been getting bad reception. Some of our GAF film scholars have already pointed this out. It has nothing to do with different people having different tastes and expectations. If only Scott had kept to Jon Spaihts' script we wouldn't be seeing such sour reactions.
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Movie comes out and is good: Give credit to the people we like. "RIDLEY SCOTT IS A GENIUS!"

Movie comes out and sucks: Blame the people we don't like. "MAN FUCK THAT LINDELOF GUY FOR RUINING EVERYTHING!"
 
So is Ridley Scott Ridleying us yet again?

God dammit, Ridley!

Well, there's no way this is as disappointing as Public Enemies.
 
Empire give it 3/5:

Buffeted by a lack of suspense, threadbare characters, and a very poor script, the stunning visuals, gloopy madness, and sterling Fassbenderiness can’t prevent Prometheus feeling like Alien’s poor relation.
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Still, as much as I enjoy reading reviews, hearing other people's views on it, can't say I'd ever let myself be affected by a review. Alien, Blade Runner and Citizen Kane all got lukewarm reviews I suppose.
 
I'm still taking everything with a grain of salt. There's a lot of eye-rolling in Aliens. Not so much in terms of logic, but dialogue. Rewatched it last night with some friends who had never seen it and I felt embarassed at some points.
 
Just got back from the movie theater.

It was good. Not mind-blowing, but good. Some really great scenes and eye-candy.

I'll respond to this quote for my impressions:

THE-Pink-Dagger said:
Just came back from it.
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Me too!

It is AMAZING, my expectations were through the roof, and they have been met with sheer brutality and awesomeness.
Click to expand...
Expectations were met, but not more than that, and they weren't terribly high.

Let me say first that I love Alien, Aliens and hate the other two, as it should be.
Click to expand...
Alien³ is decent.

I had seen every featurette, tv spot, trailer possible and it didnt spoil much, plenty surprises, especially the third act, that comes out of nowhere.
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Yep, did not really expect some of the twists and turns later in the film.

The 3D is amazing, plenty immersive, really beautiful, you feel like you're there, masterful. Visually, it is stunning, grandpa Scott shows what kind of a master he is. The prologue will leave your mouth agape, truly beautiful.
Click to expand...
Great visuals, but the 3D did nothing for me. Not just for this one though, I dislike 3D in general.

The single weakness of the movie for me is the lack of dvpt of the characters, save for Shaw and David, maybe Ridley cut (and he did i f I remember correctly) some 15 minutes, that would make it even better.
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Meredith Vickers (Theron) was pretty good too.

The movie is so rich by its themes, the questions it arises, it's bold, brutal. The script is very strong, it feels and doesnt feel like an Alien prequel, which I loved. There's the Lindelof touch, in the mystery surrounding many stuffs, so many questions, fascinating, and the ending is such a tease, begging for a sequel, which I hope Ridley will do ASAP after the Counselor.
Click to expand...
Thematically interesting, yet I felt it was cut short. It touched upon a lot of themes without really exploring them thoroughly.

The last scene is unexpected and a great wink, not saying what it is, but it's incredible.
Click to expand...
It's also ruined because of plothole!

The movie is not scary to me (not impressed by most horror movies) but it surprised me by the brutality of quite a few scenes, and it is INTENSE as hell. The action is great, VFX outstanding, the Engineers look fantastic. There is a nasty, fucked up atmosphere, notably in a few scenes.
Click to expand...
Mhmm. Not scary, but very brutal at times.

Acting is great, Fassbender has such swag, Rapace is brilliant, Elba too, but as I said, the rest of the characters are not very fleshed out, not a great problem though.
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Michael Bossbender and Idris Elboss represent.

The score which I love works beautifully well in the context of the movie.
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Agreed.

I was so pumped at the ending and it promises an insane sequel, I tell you so!
Click to expand...
Definitely sets up for an interesting sequel.

9/10
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7.5/10
 
Anton Sugar said:
I'm still taking everything with a grain of salt. There's a lot of eye-rolling in Aliens. Not so much in terms of logic, but dialogue. Rewatched it last night with some friends who had never seen it and I felt embarassed at some points.
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I can live with bad dialog. From the reviews, I'm getting a Matrix vs. Reloaded/Revolutions vibe where Alien is The Matrix and Prometheus is lacking.
 
Anton Sugar said:
I'm still taking everything with a grain of salt. There's a lot of eye-rolling in Aliens. Not so much in terms of logic, but dialogue. Rewatched it last night with some friends who had never seen it and I felt embarassed at some points.
Click to expand...


Yeah completely agree with that. Aliens is a well directed action movie with some fantastic sequences but the script is overladen with cliche and irritating characters.

I think with Prometheus the real critic's response will be when it comes out on DVD and people hold it on its own merits and not expecting it to be Alien.
 
I don't think Aliens has annoying characters. They're cookie-cutter Hollywood (not anything like the more realistic Nostromo crew or the baggage-filled Fiona prisoners), but Aliens is fun as hell to watch with an audience that's never seen it before. They're just so lovable. They're relatively shallow like the Resurrection cast, but actually done well.

Anyways, read the Prometheus plot synopsis and spoiled myself. Very similar to some leaked scripts I had perused in the last few months. I'm pretty excited.
 
I like David Poland's review [contains minor spoilers]. He recognises that this isn't thematically an Alien movie, but unlike other reviewers (I'm looking at Empire), doesn't hold that against it.

The thing about Prometheus is that it is the first true Science Fiction movie from a major studio in years. i know that a lot of movies are positioned as sci-fi. But watching Prometheus, I felt like science and fiction were pushing me, as an audience member, to think about the ideas being presented in a fairly complex way. This was not, as Alien itself was, a genre film of a different sort with sci-fi elements superimposed on top of it (brilliantly, in that case). This film is about ideas. This film is about whether there is a greater meaning in the tradition of the first Planet of the Apes, early Trek, Soylent Green, Serling, Matheson, Bradbury, and others.

Is this the best film of that tradition that I’ve ever seen? No. Scott & Co. were doing other things as well and, no doubt, the epic scale and visual intensity got in the way of some of that exploration. As Serling and the rest showed us, you don’t need a big budget or great special effects to discuss ideas. On the other hand, I think – and I’ve only seen the film once – there is a lot in the unvoiced parts of this film that can be and will be mined for depth… not spoon-fed so that you walk out of the theater with The Answer.

I felt Prometheus. It’s not another version of Alien or Aliens or Alien 3. I guess this is why Scott was so serious about this not being positioned as a prequel. In many ways, this is closer spiritually, in Scott’s filmmography, to 1492 or Gladiator or the director’s cut of Kingdom of Heaven than to Alien. Seemingly earned arrogance is broken down, the hero gains insight into how their world was prioritized, they struggle on. Many different perspectives are represented on that ship without the crew sitting around a table arguing their views. And personally, I prefer that.

Are there the scares of Alien? Not too many. It’s an action movie this time, not a slasher movie. No cats making the audience scream.

Is there a new creature as exciting as The Alien in this film?
No, not really. It’s not about that. (Though there are new, cool alien forms.)

And by the way… any talk of this being PG-13 was just publicity working overtime. There is no f-ing way this movie was ever going out as anything less than an R.

I found Prometheus to be a fresh, new, and visceral movie experience. Every bit of goo was fun. Every stupid move made by characters – which we know is stupid from knowing the previous films – was fun. I enjoyed seeing what every character with a name was going through and how the sequences manifested themselves. And there is still that bit of Hitchcockian anticipation in the film, as small seeds are inevitably going to lead somewhere familiar. But as my dad used to say, it’s not the situation, but how you react to it. And here, we have a group of new characters whose choices are not predictable.

I expect some critics to be very hard on the film. They seem to expect the Second Coming. But while they may have found The Avengers or whatever easier to swallow, there are things in Prometheus that will sustain audiences, not just offer that sugar high. (Hulk SMASH!) And when the questions about what isn’t in Prometheus are given voice, I will ask the question without irony, “Are you sure that what you think you want would satisfy you or make for a better movie?” I can’t say that I know the true answer to that question. But I am pretty sure that no one else will really know that answer about this film in the first hours after walking out of the theater.

Not only is Prometheus the best film of the summer so far, but I don’t anticipate anything but The Dark Knight Rises being able to challenge it for quality before the end of this summer. I’m really looking forward to the sheer joys of Brave and The Amazing Spider-Man and Ted, and others. But amongst movies that work for thrill-seekers and people who want to think and audiences that just want to be entertained, Prometheus hits to all fields. If you love movies, Prometheus has to be a part of your vocabulary this summer and for years to come.
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Sub_Level said:
I don't think Aliens has annoying characters. They're cookie-cutter Hollywood (not anything like the more realistic Nostromo crew or the baggage-filled Fiona prisoners), but Aliens is fun as hell to watch with an audience that's never seen it before. They're just so lovable. They're relatively shallow like the Resurrection cast, but actually done well.

Anyways, read the Prometheus plot synopsis and spoiled myself. Very similar to some leaked scripts I had perused in the last few months. I'm pretty excited.
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Hudson and Vasquez were almost unbearable for me, but it's a fun movie for sure.

I'm sure I'll very much like Prometheus; a lot of the reviews, specifically the Empire one, seem to be unfavourably comparing it to Alien. I don't think it's being judged entirely on it's own merits.

If the script is bad, fine. If the music is bad, so be it. But a lot of them are just mentioning Alien over and over again.

EDIT: Post above sums up my thinking behind it.
 
Just Got back from it as well.

I'd lean on a 7/10.

Major gripes : characters, mostly hollow corpses and that's very sad, because the few characters they paid attention on (David & Shaw mostly) are truely fascinating, the rest is just...ugh, Vickers and the captain are barely average and the rest is just sad and dry.

Minor gripes : pretty poor quality balance in the scenario...awesome ideas that bring a lot more in the Alien universe but a lot of inconsistency in the turns of events and motivations of the characters

The production is stellar though, the photography and the SFX's are top-class, the score is really spot-on.

The action does not disapoint.

Acting is quite good when they take the time to use it (specifically Fassbender, I'm not really a fan of the guy, but he fits his role extremely well).

The background information they provide for the Alien universe is very promising for future potential (certain?) sequels.

Entertaining? YES

Well-realised? YES

Fitting for Alien Fans? YES (but I would understand a few disapointments)

Becoming a new Sci-Fi Action/Horror reference? NO (the first Alien is still way ahead)

Feeling "complete"? NO (damn, I don't want to spoil anything, but they have left a lot of holes to fill here).


And I still don't understand the first scene... :(
 
Are the criticisms really about it not being an Alien movie? specially after Scott repeating over an over this is not an Alien movie? We've known this since the movie was announced.
 
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