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

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TrumanBurbank said:
People who have seen it, can you rate it compared to the other 4? Leaving out the AVP filth of course. Please no one tell me they found it worse than those...
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Alien > Aliens >>>> Alien 3 / Prometheus

I don't consider 4 worth rating amongst them.

Prometheus is a difficult film to really form a complete opinion on. But I'd put it about the same level as 3 for the problems that bring it down, and the same feeling of not being satisfied it gives you. Prometheus is of course stunning visually, but the problems with the writing make it a worse film than 3 really. So it sort of balances out.

How you view Prometheus is really down to how much leeway you give it, and how much you are prepared to fill in the blanks yourself and assume the film was trying to support them.
 
daviyoung said:
How many times have you seen it Deckard?
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Only once so far, but yes I will evaluate it more on further viewings like any other film.

But I'm not sure even a Director's Cut could deal with all the problems, the direction they decided to go in made things unnecessarily muddied even as a stand-alone film. Exploring ideas that needed to be presented and supported far better than they were. Add in the Alien connection on top of it and you had the recipe for a mess.
 
I think a second viewing will either support your opinion or change it. Everyone's initial reaction to it is 'what the fuck did I just watch?' Then, after thinking about it for a while people boil down into camps: the 'I just watched something special' and the 'I just watched something stupid'.

Another go at it should clear things up (in your head, not in the plot) a little. We're still within blast radius, it's hard to judge the film at the moment.
 
Scott said on the 5 Live review show that there would be 2 more Prometheus movies before we get to the events of Alien. He also hinted that there may be additional scenes in the home release version.
 
I know he's jokingly said there should be sequels to answer all of Prometheus questions, but I didn't think he'd confirm a trilogy on a whim like that.
 
daviyoung said:
I think a second viewing will either support your opinion or change it. Everyone's initial reaction to it is 'what the fuck did I just watch?' Then, after thinking about it for a while people boil down into camps: the 'I just watched something special' and the 'I just watched something stupid'.

Another go at it should clear things up (in your head, not in the plot) a little. We're still within blast radius, it's hard to judge the film at the moment.
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My reaction wasn't WTF did I just watch. I really liked it and I knew It was something good whilst watching it.

Maybe I've not let the hype get to me. It was only 3 weeks ago that I learnt it was prequel to the Alien films. So I've not had all the hype that some people have had weighing down on them.
 
daviyoung said:
I think a second viewing will either support your opinion or change it. Everyone's initial reaction to it is 'what the fuck did I just watch?' Then, after thinking about it for a while people boil down into camps: the 'I just watched something special' and the 'I just watched something stupid'.

Another go at it should clear things up (in your head, not in the plot) a little. We're still within blast radius, it's hard to judge the film at the moment.
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I think I'm going to come down as it being a middling film actually, which is even more frustrating!

I think the scope was there but they made a classic mistake in how they addressed the themes, which was trying to be too literal and too clever.

The origin of man is where all the problems open up, similar to BSG it was unneccessary and just requires so many leaps of logic to sustain the 'plan'.

They could still have explored God vs. his creation issues by keeping us and the Engineers separate. We created David, the Engineers have the ability to create new life, by rapid mutations and are fascinated by different species. Space biologists, researching and collecting species, and they could have kept their form exactly the same as Alien.

The xenomorph was the result of them finding us long ago and taking some of us for the collection, which would explain the cave paintings. Unleashing a species which was more powerful than its creator and ultimately ends with their destruction.

We then go looking for what we once saw as a God and unknowingly make it all happen again.
 
It I had to rate all 5 (in order).

Alien 5/5
Aliens 4.5/5
Prometheus 4/5
Alien3 2.5/5
Alien R 1/5

Sure Prometheus has problems (which multiple people have listed already and the bottom line is its not as good as Alien and probably isn't quite as good as Aliens either... But who cares!
It well paced, never boring, thought provoking at times and soaked in some of the most amazing visuals I've ever seen.
If you really can't look past the flaws in the script and the hokey acting in parts then I feel really sorry for you because watching 90% of films must be awful for you.
Most films ARE shit. This one is not.
Granted its not a masterpiece, but few films are and its your own damn fault for hyping something in your head so much that you then demand that it be unblemished.

I went in expecting a film that I could enjoy.
I got that and I'll likely see it again.
I really hope it gets a sequel because not many films are made like this anymore and this is Scott's best film since Kingdom of Heaven (dc).
 
Battersea Power Station said:
Why does everyone want to love this so much? Yes, I want it to be good, too, but I'd like to think I'm objective enough to admit it's pedestrian if it actually is. I haven't seen it yet; I'm just referring to all the tip-toeing "Well, maybe...," and "But if..." comments that are trying to find some way to prop up the quality of the movie.
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Yeah I've noticed that too.
 
symphonask said:
Scott said on the 5 Live review show that there would be 2 more Prometheus movies before we get to the events of Alien. He also hinted that there may be additional scenes in the home release version.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18298709

You can hear him say it there around 2:20, with Prometheus already doing well it seems pretty likely we'll be seeing those 2 other movies. In a weird way that gives me relief knowing that if it doesn't live up to my expectations, there's still going to be 2 more movies, so I won't feel as disappointed.

Epimetheus and Atlas would be cool titles.
 
Spiffy_1st said:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18298709

You can hear him say it there around 2:20, with Prometheus already doing well it seems pretty likely we'll be seeing those 2 other movies. In a weird way that gives me relief knowing that if it doesn't live up to my expectations, there's still going to be 2 more movies, so I won't feel as disappointed.

Epimetheus and Atlas would be cool titles.
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The guy is 74 years old. Don't know how he has the energy to make these movies at the speed he does...
 
Jason Raize '75 - '04 said:
Yeah I've noticed that too.
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Because virtually nothing's explained, but don't be so quick to dismiss it as crap because of that. Things just happen in the movie and it's the 'maybes' and 'what ifs' that make it worth watching. It's not about trying to convince yourself its good, its about trying to understand the themes beyond initial viewing. There's a lot going on in the movie, with very little exposition. It's very good for discussion, enjoy it, not many movies can produce this kind of reaction. Can't think of another big sci-fi film that left so much open since The Matrix.
 
Spiffy_1st said:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18298709

You can hear him say it there around 2:20, with Prometheus already doing well it seems pretty likely we'll be seeing those 2 other movies. In a weird way that gives me relief knowing that if it doesn't live up to my expectations, there's still going to be 2 more movies, so I won't feel as disappointed.

Epimetheus and Atlas would be cool titles.
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Atlas would be nice.
Epimetheus would be easier for the marketing.
But it would be even easier if they called it ''Prometheus II''. Which they probably will. :(
 
daviyoung said:
Because virtually nothing's explained, but don't be so quick to dismiss it as crap because of that. Things just happen in the movie and it's the 'maybes' and 'what ifs' that make it worth watching. It's not about trying to convince yourself its good, its about trying to understand the themes beyond initial viewing. There's a lot going on in the movie, with very little exposition. It's very good for discussion, enjoy it, not many movies can produce this kind of reaction. Can't think of another big sci-fi film that left so much open since The Matrix.
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The themes aren't hard to understand, it's the most literal take on them you could do. Yes it promotes discussion but mainly not for the right reasons.

I think the lack of exposition covers how hard it is to make the themes work both within the context of the film itself and in the wider scope of the Alien films. It really could have been done a lot, lot better. Which is a shame considering the utterly beautiful world they realised.
 
DECK'ARD said:
The themes aren't hard to understand, it's the most literal take on them you could do. Yes it promotes discussion but mainly not for the right reasons.
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It's definitely not the most literal at all. It's not even the most literal take on the legend of Prometheus. The script is definitely flawed, and things are rushed, but obviously that's one for the Director's Extended Final Cut moneyspinner to sort out.
 
Kind of surprised this movie is getting middling reviews here. I have little doubt of this being considered a classic down the line.

A lot of the complaints are coming from the character interactions which I think is a bit odd considering this isn't a 'crew' movie like the first Alien movie. It's not really an ensemble movie and it's very clearly driven by particular narratives and plots and it executes those so damn well.
 
daviyoung said:
It's definitely not the most literal at all. It's not even the most literal take on the legend of Prometheus. The script is definitely flawed, and things are rushed, but obviously that's one for the Director's Extended Final Cut moneyspinner to sort out.
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I don't have much confidence that is going to sort much out there because of the corners they have painted themselves into. The lack of exposition is to hide it, and is also the reason for the threadbare characters and missing motives, the core of the story just isn't strong enough to build on and has inherent contradictions.

They muddied it all unnecessarily unfortunately.
 
It would be interesting to see what reception it will receive when it comes out on home release.

And the movie isn't out in North America yet. I wonder if the American critical reception will be better.
 
daviyoung said:
All I know is we're going to need a bigger OT when it hits the US. GAF is going to explode.
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I feel like the NA market is going to love it. Like I wrote in the other Prometheus thread, this movie is unconventionally bold for a summer block buster by conventional Hollywood standards. I imagine it's going to go down well for that reason.
 
I'll be seeing it on Friday. I'll admit, the movie having a wide range of different reactions has got me even more intrigued to finally see it.
 
Saw this yesterday and man such a shame about some elements of the story and characters

First the good.

I'd say if you're not seeing this in 3D then you'll miss one hell of an experience. This is 3D done 'right'. Thought about and then used accordingly. I saw it in IMAX 3D and was blown away at how good it looked even in the darkest scenes the image was good.

Almost on Par with Avatar but that had more wow moments overall. But it's good that directors with some experience Scott and Scorsese with 'Hugo' and I'll add Spielberg in as 'TinTin' was pretty good are showing these other guys doing shit 3D and unconverted junk how a good eye and planning can reap rewards on the screen.

The bad

The story starts off so well and everything is in place production design is amazing and the first hour of the film is good, then it all take a serious nosedive into nonsense seriously you'll come out the cinema going eh? It's one part characters suddenly becoming idiots it's another things happening to move the story on in a lazy way.

This film has also also made me wary of viewing any trailers before a film is out. I was on total media blackout for this movie and went in yesterday having only seen 30 secs of the first trailer before turning it off.

I watched the launch trailer went I got home and boy oh boy you may as well say you've seen the entire film if you've watched that.
 
Having seen this last night I've been reading through some of the threads here and I'm glad a lot of people have the same feelings as me i.e. great visuals and set up but poor writing, characters and execution. I wanted to love it but they just wasted such a great opportunity with elements of the movie I can only describe as bizarre. The main issue I had was that for a trillion dollar expedition they seem to have went out of their way to bring along the dumbest group of people on earth.

Salvor.Hardin said:
Kind of surprised this movie is getting middling reviews here. I have little doubt of this being considered a classic down the line.
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I'm not trying to bash your opinion but this line really made me wonder just what movie you watched.
 
Saw it yesterday, absolutly loved it, 3D was done right and it just looked so damn beautiful.
Story was decent, not incredible, but i certainly didn't think it was flawed.
If i had to rate it right now i would say.

Alien>Prometheus>Aliens>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Alien3>>Alien R
 
Roders5 said:
I'm not trying to bash your opinion but this line really made me wonder just what movie you watched.
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For me it was a gorgeous movie that mixed a perfect blend of contemporary scifi with unconventional 60s pulp moments - a movie that I think will stand the test of time extremely well. I thought it was extremely watchable, and the way it introduces its scifi elements is rather wonderful. While it's obviously a beautiful movie, I thought it was just also a really fun ride throughout.

Perhaps the movie could have done with a few 80s 'badass' moments where a character breaks out of their contemporary molds and throws a one-liner followed by some killer blow. But at the same time it's just not that kind of movie.
 
There is no way right now anyone can say whether it will be a classic or not. Only time decides that. Calling Alien a classic at the time of its release would've made a great many critics laugh at you. You can just see in those bad reviews how unfavorably they compared it to Howard Hawk's The Thing.
 
TrumanBurbank said:
People who have seen it, can you rate it compared to the other 4? Leaving out the AVP filth of course. Please no one tell me they found it worse than those...
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Second best, right after the first movie. Prometheus and Alien are the only movies in the series that have that creepy mystery vibe going on.

maquiladora said:
Did anyone else really love the music?

Loved this eerie part : http://youtu.be/S607qkPfwrc

And the main signature theme : http://youtu.be/rzI3AdpA9e4
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Yeah the theme was fucking fantastic. In the engineer hologram build up scene it worked so goddamn well.

VistraNorrez said:
There is no way right now anyone can say whether it will be a classic or not. Only time decides that. Calling Alien a classic at the time of its release would've made a great many critics laugh at you. You can just see in those bad reviews how unfavorably they compared it to Howard Hawk's The Thing.
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I have zero doubt that this movie will stand the test of time beautifully. The visuals are impeccable, the detail is there and it has so much going on underneath the presentation. The creatures completely lack that weightless cgi feel and it has some great iconic scenes.
 
TrumanBurbank said:
People who have seen it, can you rate it compared to the other 4? Leaving out the AVP filth of course. Please no one tell me they found it worse than those...
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Prometheus = Alien = Aliens >>>>>>>>>>>>> Alien 3 >>>>> Alien 4

Definitely gotta see Prometheus again though, which I'm planning on doing on Monday and maybe Tuesday.

To me it's an instant classic in the sci-fi genre. No doubt.
 
zoukka said:
The only alien movies ever made :)
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78248947_nodding_gif.gif
 
TrumanBurbank said:
People who have seen it, can you rate it compared to the other 4? Leaving out the AVP filth of course. Please no one tell me they found it worse than those...
Click to expand...

Prometheus>Aliens>Alien
I'm more interested in mythology/philosophy. Aliens is second for me because it made the xenomorphs a much bigger threat and the best portrayal of Ripley.
 
Well, I saw it. Wasn't crazy about all the plot points but wow, what an amazing looking movie. It's right up there with Blade Runner and Alien lookswise and the art design beats Avatar easily IMHO. Also it was the first 3D movie I've seen where I didn't hate the 3D.

The weakest point was probably music. Too in-your-face.

It had a real scifi feel too, the feel was more like reading a scifi novel than seeing a scifi movie. It's hard to explain.
 
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