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P R O M E T H E U S |OT| Ridley Scott goes back to Building Better Worlds
- Thread starter SCULLIBUNDO
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Neither. I wouldn't say it's on the same level as the other two thirds of Scott's 'sci-fi trilogy' but there's, uh, strands of DNA. The script and the editing are what I feel let it down, but I'd still recommend it.
RadioHeadAche
Member
I enjoyed it and I got a cool poster for seeing it at midnight in IMAX.
Just came back.
First thing:
I truly feel sorry for people still stuck in the cinematic ghetto. Saw this in Liemax 3D. Absolute pitch perfect brightness, perfectly calibrated for 3D. Wonderful experience.
And tying in to that, Red Epic + Native 3D = A match made in heaven. What an amazing looking movie. The capabilities of the Epic really shined in all the gorgeous landscape shots, and the 3D was wonderful. You can tell thought was put into each and every shot rather than some yes man sitting there and pushing the 3d slider to max throughout the film. Strikingly natural, I can't imagine the film in any other way.
Now the movie, this definitely is not Ridley making a movie using the original Alien as a blueprint. If anything I think this movie felt like a pretty total amalgamation of both Alien and Aliens. Stylistically I felt it touched on both films, as well as the cast, same with regards to the tension, suspense and horror, it reminded me of both. Without touching on either film narratively, I feel like Prometheus canonizes BOTH Alien and Aliens due to its design and presentation.
That being said, while I REALLY enjoyed Prometheus, it definitely sits comfortably underneath Alien and Aliens. In terms of tension and horror it does not match Alien, and in terms of its cast it does not match Aliens. I do think the film would have benefit from being a harder R and from maybe an extra 10 minutes of character focused scenes, things that could have been very possible to do going by Ridleys words and interviews with some of the cast.
The films genesis stemming from 2 originally planned prequels also shows. This is a movie that is essentially set up for a sequel as far as I can tell.
Other than that, I loved the visuals, the design elements, the 3D, I thought both Noomi Rapace and Micheal Fassbender were great, as was Idris Elba actually, and I loved that this was a modern R rated Sci-Fi movie with a huge scale. Prometheus isn't the modern Ridley Scott masterpiece that some people hoped for (assumed?) but its still damn good.
edit: oh yeah, you can totally tell that Damon Lindelof had his hand in the script. :lol
First thing:
I truly feel sorry for people still stuck in the cinematic ghetto. Saw this in Liemax 3D. Absolute pitch perfect brightness, perfectly calibrated for 3D. Wonderful experience.
And tying in to that, Red Epic + Native 3D = A match made in heaven. What an amazing looking movie. The capabilities of the Epic really shined in all the gorgeous landscape shots, and the 3D was wonderful. You can tell thought was put into each and every shot rather than some yes man sitting there and pushing the 3d slider to max throughout the film. Strikingly natural, I can't imagine the film in any other way.
Now the movie, this definitely is not Ridley making a movie using the original Alien as a blueprint. If anything I think this movie felt like a pretty total amalgamation of both Alien and Aliens. Stylistically I felt it touched on both films, as well as the cast, same with regards to the tension, suspense and horror, it reminded me of both. Without touching on either film narratively, I feel like Prometheus canonizes BOTH Alien and Aliens due to its design and presentation.
That being said, while I REALLY enjoyed Prometheus, it definitely sits comfortably underneath Alien and Aliens. In terms of tension and horror it does not match Alien, and in terms of its cast it does not match Aliens. I do think the film would have benefit from being a harder R and from maybe an extra 10 minutes of character focused scenes, things that could have been very possible to do going by Ridleys words and interviews with some of the cast.
The films genesis stemming from 2 originally planned prequels also shows. This is a movie that is essentially set up for a sequel as far as I can tell.
Other than that, I loved the visuals, the design elements, the 3D, I thought both Noomi Rapace and Micheal Fassbender were great, as was Idris Elba actually, and I loved that this was a modern R rated Sci-Fi movie with a huge scale. Prometheus isn't the modern Ridley Scott masterpiece that some people hoped for (assumed?) but its still damn good.
edit: oh yeah, you can totally tell that Damon Lindelof had his hand in the script. :lol
I saw it in a non-IMAX cinema and the 3D was better than average.
It does consume a lot of color though. I personally cannot wait for a proper 2D blu-ray.
Mr. Pointy
Member
Saw it a couple of days ago. I really like it, but I agree with people who say it has flaws and it isn't as good as Alien and Aliens.
Your theater just sucks, it shouldn't if presented right.
I know. Their glasses haven't been properly calibrated since Avatar.
bucsfan0210
Member
I think the problem with Prometheus is it is going to always be compared to Alien and is clearly not superior.
However this was an excellent movie. 3D was great. Images were jawdropping. The cast is strong.
I had a great time watching it.
Also Scott is just great at pacing films.
However this was an excellent movie. 3D was great. Images were jawdropping. The cast is strong.
I had a great time watching it.
Also Scott is just great at pacing films.
Lionel Mandrake
Member
Just watched. Mixed feelings.
Great aesthetics, mostly good performances, and some pretty neat moments.
That said, at the end, it felt like "
" And there were some odd choices overall. I don't get what the point of having
was. I mean, in the movie
Then Charlize Theron was just a weird character overall. Almost like she wasn't even supposed to be in the script until the last second.
And overall, I'm still not certain how I feel about the
I mean, it makes sense with
Great aesthetics, mostly good performances, and some pretty neat moments.
That said, at the end, it felt like "
Fuck it. Let's just leave it off for a sequel.
Guy Pearce play Weyland
you only see him when he's old. There's not one damn frame of young Guy Pearce. He's in some promotional material, but it seems like they could have easily hired a senior actor, then had a young no-name do all the promotional work. The old man look wasn't awful, but it certainly wasn't good. I mean, it's obvious that it's a young guy in makeup.
Then Charlize Theron was just a weird character overall. Almost like she wasn't even supposed to be in the script until the last second.
And overall, I'm still not certain how I feel about the
xenomorphs being biological weapons.
the acid blood and all, but.... I don't know. I'm curious to see how it effects my viewing of the first two movies now, with that added to the mythology. I kind of liked them just being freaky creatures from parts unknown.
RadioHeadAche
Member
Speedymanic
Banned
Loved the movie. Going to watch it again over the weekend and perhaps again during the week.
Some poor scenes, poor writing, characters weren't developed as much as I'd have liked, some pacing issues, but it was still a damn good sci-fi movie.
And dat
One thing that really annoyed me though, this movie didn't deserve an R rating. Bar some (well, two) gory scenes, there was nothing in the movie that warranted giving the movie an R.
Some poor scenes, poor writing, characters weren't developed as much as I'd have liked, some pacing issues, but it was still a damn good sci-fi movie.
And dat
ending. GODDAMN! :O :O :O
One thing that really annoyed me though, this movie didn't deserve an R rating. Bar some (well, two) gory scenes, there was nothing in the movie that warranted giving the movie an R.
lawl, Kane's scene is iconic for sure, but kids stuff compared to the Prometheus x scene.
Its definitely R, but its not a hard R at all.
Ridley said he cut the movie so that the UK certificate would be a 15 rather than an 18, which explains that.
Secks4Food
Member
Ugh, I wasn't even that hyped for this movie but it managed to fail my modest expectations. Rapace was good, Fassbender was really good, the graphical grandeur of it all was quite nice, but everything else fell flat. There were a lot of good moments,
but all strung together into an actual movie, it just didn't do it for me; for every answer there were ten more questions raised, the characters weren't fleshed out enough for me to care all that much, and it all came to a pretty meh 'wait for the sequel, folks!' conclusion. It had its moments of Alien/Aliens-ness, it was tense but never enough to compare to the original, and it had brain-dead action and a decent crew of characters but nothing near as enjoyable as Aliens (David being the exception, what a boss).
The captain hitting on Charlize Theron, the c-section, the very beginning, etc.
I was about to say I REALLY liked the Score and LOVED the main theme of the film (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgfDnflqMGA) and was totally surprised that it came from Marc Streitenfeld. Just googled it and lolz, the main theme was actually composed by Harry Gregson-Williams. That theme was such a foundational part for the score, they might as well have said the film was scored by Gregson-Williams, with assistance by Streitenfeld, rather than the other way around.
Saw it last night with some friends.
I feel that this is one of those movies when on paper sounded much grander and exciting then put on film.
The visuals were undeniably great, but I was dissapointed it had too much minority report - touchscreen craziness going, as compared to the more harder sci-fi aesthetic of the originals. Fuck real world developments, they should've completely stuck to the motherfucking buttons.
That small nitpick aside, it mostly looked very nice.
I honestly thought the action was underwhelmingly shot. Two scenes, I felt were badly edited and there was essentially only one great scene of tension - and those have seen it will know which. Music was forgettable.
It did have some interesting ideas, but nothing really had time to resonate. I didn't mind the shallow characters - they are fodder anyway. Besides Ripley, I really don't give a fuck about any characters in this universe so it didn't matter to me much. I just felt Charlize Theron's character was unnecessary to the movie.
I wont say much about the story, because all my concerns have been more or less addressed.
I'd also like to add my favourite scene in the movie (which had so much potential to be built upon) was when
. I felt that is when the movie was shaping its own personality, but never went anywhere with that...
7/10. I didn't watch a single trailer, so didn't spoil any of it. Think it was above average but quite underwhelming, coming from the Ol' Scott.
I feel that this is one of those movies when on paper sounded much grander and exciting then put on film.
The visuals were undeniably great, but I was dissapointed it had too much minority report - touchscreen craziness going, as compared to the more harder sci-fi aesthetic of the originals. Fuck real world developments, they should've completely stuck to the motherfucking buttons.
That small nitpick aside, it mostly looked very nice.
I honestly thought the action was underwhelmingly shot. Two scenes, I felt were badly edited and there was essentially only one great scene of tension - and those have seen it will know which. Music was forgettable.
It did have some interesting ideas, but nothing really had time to resonate. I didn't mind the shallow characters - they are fodder anyway. Besides Ripley, I really don't give a fuck about any characters in this universe so it didn't matter to me much. I just felt Charlize Theron's character was unnecessary to the movie.
I wont say much about the story, because all my concerns have been more or less addressed.
I'd also like to add my favourite scene in the movie (which had so much potential to be built upon) was when
David tries to imitate T.E.Lawrence's style.
7/10. I didn't watch a single trailer, so didn't spoil any of it. Think it was above average but quite underwhelming, coming from the Ol' Scott.
What? The ending was the worst part by far, cram as much stuff as you can in 10 minutes
AwesomeSauce
MagsMoonshine
Just got back from the midnight screening. Had a good turn out.
Awesome movie. Really enjoyed the visuals, as much as I dislike paying extra for IMAX and 3d, I think some scenes in this movie would've looked stunning in IMAX/3d and I might have paid the extra if I didn't just drop some money on unexpected things.
Oh yeah they also hooked up the regular viewers with the IMAX posters
Awesome movie. Really enjoyed the visuals, as much as I dislike paying extra for IMAX and 3d, I think some scenes in this movie would've looked stunning in IMAX/3d and I might have paid the extra if I didn't just drop some money on unexpected things.
Oh yeah they also hooked up the regular viewers with the IMAX posters
symphonask
Member
Seeing this in a couple hours. Going in with tempered expectations. Hope I like it.
Cypher
Member
Just got back from this.....and was engaging enough to be entertaining, yet by the end of it left with more questions.
Saw it in IMAX 3-D, and the visuals were grand and beautiful to look at. The 3-D effects weren't bad or exaggerated....they were subtle and just right that didn't detract from the experience.
And as many have said, the characters were one-note and not fleshed out....they were just "there" to add their dialogue and keep the narrative going. Aside from David (Michael Fassbender) and minorly Shaw (Noomi Rapace), everyone else wasn't memorable and pretty much
.
The overall story was disjointed, and characters' decisions and explanations leaped some logical bounds, and by the it's conclusion and ending I had questions marks above my head.
Maybe a second viewing is in order, but even with it's issues Prometheus is a watch as far as sci-fi films go.
Saw it in IMAX 3-D, and the visuals were grand and beautiful to look at. The 3-D effects weren't bad or exaggerated....they were subtle and just right that didn't detract from the experience.
And as many have said, the characters were one-note and not fleshed out....they were just "there" to add their dialogue and keep the narrative going. Aside from David (Michael Fassbender) and minorly Shaw (Noomi Rapace), everyone else wasn't memorable and pretty much
expendable....which by the end was what happened anyway
The overall story was disjointed, and characters' decisions and explanations leaped some logical bounds, and by the it's conclusion and ending I had questions marks above my head.
Maybe a second viewing is in order, but even with it's issues Prometheus is a watch as far as sci-fi films go.
Horse Detective
Why the long case?
Oh yeah they also hooked up the regular viewers with the IMAX posters
How do I get one!?
Oh, okay. I saw it in Liemax. That would explain it. Going to go see it again in Liemax this Saturday.
And Spielberg isn't making movies of the calibre of Jaws and Close Encounters or Raiders and ET back to back anymore.
You can't say Scorsese isn't what he omce was without saying the same for Spielberg.
Seeing it in 6 hours. Expectations even more tempered now after the influx of reviews all basically saying its nice to look at and there are a few good performances, but the writing lets it down. Sounds exactly like the other Charlize movie I saw this week (which I did enjoy, but it was not even close to the level I expected Prometheus to be at). If Prometheus is no better than Snow White.... welp.
lastplayed
Member
Saw it tonight. Had some great scenes, but overall pretty average. David was the only memorable character.
Discotheque
Banned
AI was the best film Spielberg made in years and he had some great stuff after that with Minority Report and Munich. Scorsese had some interesting stuff in the 90s and The Departed was good. Neither are what they once were but Spielberg is one of the most consistent directors out there at the moment. Even with one or two lame movies in the decade.
Scott's just been pretty mediocre since Gladiator.
The Librarian
Banned
Kingdom of Heaven.
Yes we do or atleast it's very heavily implied. They do multiple scenes
tracking the worms and this was done to establish our Alisnakes
The captain was amazing too though.
Discotheque
Banned
edit: never mind.
VistraNorrez
Member
It was really good. I had high expectations that I tried to keep in check and it met them. I also tried to stay as spoiler free as possible and didn't watch some of the trailers and tried to avoid TV spots. I did stumble on some spoilers but they didn't hurt my enjoyment of the film. If you are an Alien fan there is definitely a lot of nods to the first film, but being a Blade Runner fan it is also rewarding (thematically). It is sort of a cross between those 2 films. It is not really a horror film, though it has creepy and gory moments and follows some of the tropes of that genre. It's gorgeous looking and the 3D was really well done. I liked the characters a lot too. It had some good funny moments. I want to see it again.
I don't really get the criticisms this movie is getting especially from Alien fans. It has more well realized characters than Alien, but also has more under-realized characters. That just happens when you have a cast that is 3 or 4 times bigger. But Shaw, David, Janek, Vickers, Holloway, Fifield, Millburn and one character I will not name, are as realized as Ripley, Ash, Parker, Dallas, Kane, Lambert, and Brett. That is to say Shaw and David are the most developed characters and go through an actual arc, just like Ripley and Ash. The other characters, like those in Alien, you get a good grasp for but have no real arcs (and I imagine I will like those characters more as a rewatch the film). I'd argue both Janek and Vickers are more realized than those other characters in Alien and have something of a character arc. Janek is like a Parker/Dallas combo. Vickers is harder to compare but she has plenty of issues to deal with that make her interesting.
I also see people complaining about characters doing dumb things. Curiosity is the main killer in both Alien and Prometheus. There is one scene where a character does something a degree dumber than Kane sticking his head over the egg so it's probably as dumb as Brett going on his own to find the cat.
There is one questionable moment for me in the plot.
I had no lingering questions like many seemed to have. Nothing really needed to be answered. It's like blaming Alien for not exploring the Derelict more, that just wasn't important to what was going on. And honestly I admire how many interesting ideas they bring up and don't answer. It's always stunning when a film brings in lots of big moral ideas, that could be the focus of multiple films, and just kind of lets the viewer deal with them. It shows a greater respect for the audience's intelligence. I'm talking about the idea of creation and what it means to the parent and child. It's explore on many levels in this film. But also David has a ton of moral questions regarding his actions and purpose in existing. Him
is something that leaves a lot to talk about.
I'm definitely in for a sequel as I cannot way to see how they pull of what they hint at in the end.
There is a lot more to talk about too. I guess I should venture into that spoiler thread, but I will say Ridley Scott sure likes to use the word father as if it's a vulgarity. Blade Runner fans know what I'm talking about.
I don't really get the criticisms this movie is getting especially from Alien fans. It has more well realized characters than Alien, but also has more under-realized characters. That just happens when you have a cast that is 3 or 4 times bigger. But Shaw, David, Janek, Vickers, Holloway, Fifield, Millburn and one character I will not name, are as realized as Ripley, Ash, Parker, Dallas, Kane, Lambert, and Brett. That is to say Shaw and David are the most developed characters and go through an actual arc, just like Ripley and Ash. The other characters, like those in Alien, you get a good grasp for but have no real arcs (and I imagine I will like those characters more as a rewatch the film). I'd argue both Janek and Vickers are more realized than those other characters in Alien and have something of a character arc. Janek is like a Parker/Dallas combo. Vickers is harder to compare but she has plenty of issues to deal with that make her interesting.
I also see people complaining about characters doing dumb things. Curiosity is the main killer in both Alien and Prometheus. There is one scene where a character does something a degree dumber than Kane sticking his head over the egg so it's probably as dumb as Brett going on his own to find the cat.
There is one questionable moment for me in the plot.
Shaw knocking out (and killing?) Ford and her assistant as she escapes so she can cut her alien baby out of her body. Then leaving it there with no one really caring about what she did. Almost no one cares about what happened to Ford and her assistant nor how Shaw escaped from being put in cryo or what she did in the meantime. David acknowledges it but doesn't seem to care. It's strange.
I had no lingering questions like many seemed to have. Nothing really needed to be answered. It's like blaming Alien for not exploring the Derelict more, that just wasn't important to what was going on. And honestly I admire how many interesting ideas they bring up and don't answer. It's always stunning when a film brings in lots of big moral ideas, that could be the focus of multiple films, and just kind of lets the viewer deal with them. It shows a greater respect for the audience's intelligence. I'm talking about the idea of creation and what it means to the parent and child. It's explore on many levels in this film. But also David has a ton of moral questions regarding his actions and purpose in existing. Him
spying on people's dreams
I'm definitely in for a sequel as I cannot way to see how they pull of what they hint at in the end.
There is a lot more to talk about too. I guess I should venture into that spoiler thread, but I will say Ridley Scott sure likes to use the word father as if it's a vulgarity. Blade Runner fans know what I'm talking about.
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
A.I is better than Close Encounters. Munich is on par with any of them (though hard to compare since they're very different movies). My longer post of the decades above proves a much better measure of his great to good to bad ratio for each decade. He's been entirely consistent.
You seem sensible. What are you doing here?
brandonh83
Banned
I completely agree. I didn't leave the theater feeling like the movie didn't tell me enough and while it certainly didn't tell me everything, I'm OK with that as it makes me want to rewatch it. I haven't wanted to rewatch a movie in a while, especially this year. I will also say that the movie did also have the benefit of not being Cabin in the Woods, The Avengers, or The Hunger Games.
I still want a director's cut with about 10 more minutes of some down time and character discussion. Really my biggest issues there, and the big WTF moment that everyone is bringing up. I was frankly more disappointed in the fact that the trailers left absolutely nothing for me to discover on my own save for a couple of things at the end.
ToyMachine228
Member
I thought it was pretty decent. I'm not sure it was worth going to a midnight premiere for, but it was entertaining enough. I definitely have a few small gripes with it like the lack of any major actual connection to Alien, but it is what it is. It will be interesting to see if they do more films
.
Hypothetical; My friends kept saying they want to know more about
Any other thoughts or insight?
explaining the Engineers now
Hypothetical; My friends kept saying they want to know more about
the Engineers and why they created humans and then tried to destroy them. It seems plausible that maybe it was humans who actually created the "aliens" that we know from the movies? Seeing as how they apparently need Engineer bodies to come to life in that form, maybe it was a "created rebel against the creators" type of thing?
base shagohod
Member
Going to see it Sunday. Is the general consensus that 3D is whatever? My dad and I never really watch 3D movies anyway, but I figured since Scott actually filmed in 3D it'd be worth it.
How it was "meant to be seen" or something.
How it was "meant to be seen" or something.
As someone who hates 3D in films, I enjoyed it especially for the holograms. Does it add to the experience? I would say just about but much like all of 3D it's never necessary
base shagohod
Member
Cool. We'll go for it, then.
Expendable.
Member
Yum.
jossueinacoma
Member
We all got shirts at the theater we went to. Nothing special, just says Prometheous with the date on it. The sleeve has the Wayland Logo.
Anton Sugar
Member
Seen a lot of complaints on the writing (which I agree with), but can we talk about how disappointing the editing was?
It still seems, sadly, that Ridley has lost all sense of patience. So many beautiful and haunting shots, so many opportunities to build tension and atmosphere, completely RUINED by quick cuts. Nothing ever really "lingers"--when it does, I think those are some of the best moments, but it's just squandered for the most part.
Even when the dialogue WAS good, it never gets to "breathe"--cuts came almost immediately after delivery.
And my GOD, that fucking trumpet theme. Perfect for "set the space exploratory mood". Not so much for "holy shit, this is creepy/intense". Way overused.
It still seems, sadly, that Ridley has lost all sense of patience. So many beautiful and haunting shots, so many opportunities to build tension and atmosphere, completely RUINED by quick cuts. Nothing ever really "lingers"--when it does, I think those are some of the best moments, but it's just squandered for the most part.
Even when the dialogue WAS good, it never gets to "breathe"--cuts came almost immediately after delivery.
And my GOD, that fucking trumpet theme. Perfect for "set the space exploratory mood". Not so much for "holy shit, this is creepy/intense". Way overused.
heliosRAzi
Banned
I saw it last night and someone shouted "What the fuck?" at the end, not in a confused way, but I just wasted my money on that kind of way
The editing in the second half is extremely bad. The increases pacing also didn't help it at all. This probably needed to be a three hour movie in order to do it justice and you can really see that certain scenes are missing as there is a strong lack of consequence permeating throughout the movie.
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