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[Zeliard]

Thats how I felt. He was ribbing her after a violent c-cection... I think most people were still dumbfounded by how well she took the whole thing, and missed it.

What felt off in the film to me was less the scripting than it was the editing, or at least that's what it seems like on the surface. I'd like to read the script and see what's in there that didn't make the final cut.

There are some strange lapses in character reactions and event sequencing especially in the second half that seem to come down mostly to how the film was stitched together than anything else.

The script has its share of problems but I wonder how many of the issues people have brought up boil down mostly to the editing. A lot of people are leveling certain criticisms at the script when some of those could very well be due to cuts that were made.

 

[Nappuccino]

A lot of these impressions are silly.

What felt off in the film to me was less the scripting than it was the editing, or at least that's what it seems like on the surface. I'd like to read the script and see what's in there that didn't make the final cut.

There are some strange lapses in character reactions and event sequencing especially in the second half that seem to come down mostly to how the film was stitched together than anything else.

The script has its share of problems but I wonder how many of the issues people have brought up boil down mostly to the editing. A lot of people are leveling certain criticisms at the script when some of those could very well be due to cuts that were made.

You, sir, seem to have my brain.

 

[TUROK]

This has probably been mentioned dozens of times by now, but the black goo in the beginning when the Engineer is seeding a planet is probably different from the black goo they find in the pyramid, which is a biological weapon - they say as much in the artbook. I don't know but the goo seems pretty consistent to me, in that it mutates and changes the genetic structure of creatures that come into contact with it. Holloway was having a much slower reaction than Fifield because Fifield fell face first into a pool of the stuff, while Holloway only had a drop of it.

I don't know for certain whether the goos are the same or not, but if they aren't, it's really stupid having two goos that look the same yet do different things.

 

[Karsticles]

So in Aliens, are other alien creatures kinda normal? I mean, they call it a "bug hunt".

Not just "bug hunt", but "another bug hunt", so I think the answer must be yes. The words are said with a kind of disdain though, as though "bug hunt" is literally the role of a glorified exterminator. Thus they're not really expecting anything dangerous, it's supposed to be a joke job. That's why Ripley gets pissed at them during the debriefing.

What felt off in the film to me was less the scripting than it was the editing, or at least that's what it seems like on the surface. I'd like to read the script and see what's in there that didn't make the final cut.

There are some strange lapses in character reactions and event sequencing especially in the second half that seem to come down mostly to how the film was stitched together than anything else.

The script has its share of problems but I wonder how many of the issues people have brought up boil down mostly to the editing. A lot of people are leveling certain criticisms at the script when some of those could very well be due to cuts that were made.

This is my thought as well. A modern day mutilation of a film in the name of "pacing". Films need to embrace slow, even boring, moments. They are time for the audience to digest information and miss details which are later noticed upon a second watch.

 

[BuddyJoeHooker]

Fortunately it was only the first installment of a series and it doesn't require 20+ hourse to see the end.
The level of crap in the script is comparable of mass effect 3.

I WANT TO see the differeces with the original script.


Mission to Mars, Sphere and Lost in Space, just to compare 3 crappy movies have better scripts.

This post had some information if you haven't seen it.

 

[commedieu]

If that's their entire "character arc" then..... yes?

Look, I don't want to troll you and keep bringing up Jar Jar Binks, but he was pretty memorable right? He wen't from a shameful outcast of his people to a hero on the battlefield! Quite a character arc.
Anyways I'll leave it at that.
I've made my point.

You have no point, as no character in Prometheus had an arc. Theres no character to compare to Jar Jar, or even Hudson.

No points awarded.

 

[symphonask]

What felt off in the film to me was less the scripting than it was the editing, or at least that's what it seems like on the surface. I'd like to read the script and see what's in there that didn't make the final cut.

There are some strange lapses in character reactions and event sequencing especially in the second half that seem to come down mostly to how the film was stitched together than anything else.

The script has its share of problems but I wonder how many of the issues people have brought up boil down mostly to the editing. A lot of people are leveling certain criticisms at the script when some of those could very well be due to cuts that were made.

I agree and I wouldn't be surprised if Ridley cut a lot of material to keep the movie around the 2 hour mark.

 

[SilentProtagonist]

This has probably been mentioned dozens of times by now, but the black goo in the beginning when the Engineer is seeding a planet is probably different from the black goo they find in the pyramid, which is a biological weapon - they say as much in the artbook.

Oh is that what was going on in the beginning? I actually totally forgot about the opening scene with the Engineer. Was that supposed to be Earth?

 

[noah111]

Oh is that what was going on in the beginning? I actually totally forgot about the opening scene with the Engineer. Was that supposed to be Earth?

I'm guessing it was either seeding life on earth or seeding that black goo on the current planet. And that UFO looking ship was the 'main' fleet or something, leaving the 'soldiers' there to develop xenos.

Or of course, it's just earth.

 

[SilentProtagonist]

You have no point, as no character in Prometheus had an arc. Theres no character to compare to Jar Jar, or even Hudson.

No points awarded.

My point is that Alien and (mostly) Aliens isn't as well written or developed as people make it out to be. I never claimed Prometheus had... anything actually. You... seem to have misunderstood me.

Though if you wanna play this game and say that Hudson had character development and an arc...

Yo, that science chick was all confident and optimistic at the start then she saw some shit and got all scared and shit.

Yo, that robot was all sinister, but then he got his head ripped off and he said he was sorry and helped that science chick.


Also, what character development was there in Alien (the original)?

 

[commedieu]

My point is that Alien and (mostly) Aliens isn't as well written or developed as people make it out to be. I never claimed Prometheus had... anything actually. You... seem to have misunderstood me.

Though if you wanna play this game and say that Hudson had character development and an arc...

Yo, that science chick was all confident and optimistic at the start then she saw some shit and got all scared and shit.

Yo, that robot was all sinister, but then he got his head ripped off and he said he was sorry and helped that science chick.


Also, what character development was there in Alien (the original)?

No one is making Alien and Alien out to be well written, that its any bar, or standard. They were written with well enough characters that acted in a believable way, that participated in the story they were in, and had events that happened in the story have some detriment to their character.

I think you're misunderstanding everything. Prometheus had shallow characters, that were a lot more shallow than the preceding films.

Do you think that the preceding films had equal depth of characters? Y/N.

 

[Nappuccino]

Alien has naturalist characters and dialog.

Aliens is incredibly superficial and cheesy most of the way through.

Sure, Alien doesn't have incredible story arcs (Ripley being the possible exception) but it doesn't need them. The focal point is that there is an alien on the ship that is killing them all.

I think Prometheus had serviceable characters given the number they decided to put into the film and what most of the characters were tasked with doing in the movie. Really, only the last 5 min of the movie really rubbed me the wrong way.

 

[maharg]

I'll say that Alien was well written. It's sparse and focused and driven. It's not a character study, but that doesn't make it poorly written.

 

[Ashhong]

There were many things alluding to Weyland being on board, one of them was the life boat was originally meant for him, another was Vickers asking if any one has died on the trip. She was probably asking specifically did her father make it.

Huh? That's not what I was talking about. Someone said that Vicker's quarters were actually Weyland's quarters, and that the pod was in his room. This wouldn't make sense, since Shaw had to run around to go from the pod to finding Weyland, whereas earlier we see the pod is connected to Vicker's room.

 

[kaching]

The issue with Prometheus character development isn't that it's sparse or shallow per se, but that it's unconvincing in most cases. Hudson's character development may be superficial but it totally makes sense and follows logically from the events that transpire.

 

[commedieu]

Huh? That's not what I was talking about. Someone said that Vicker's quarters were actually Weyland's quarters, and that the pod was in his room. This wouldn't make sense, since Shaw had to run around to go from the pod to finding Weyland, whereas earlier we see the pod is connected to Vicker's room.

Vickers quarters = The Life Pod... or whatever. Remember the explanation about how it was independent of the ship, or something.

 

[Good Job Bob]

Red Letter Media forget the question "Is Vickers an android?"

 

[Zoe]

Huh? That's not what I was talking about. Someone said that Vicker's quarters were actually Weyland's quarters, and that the pod was in his room. This wouldn't make sense, since Shaw had to run around to go from the pod to finding Weyland, whereas earlier we see the pod is connected to Vicker's room.

The medpod was in his room, the lifeboat. His stasis pod was somewhere else, hidden.

 

[MadOdorMachine]

I just got back from the theaters and saw it in 3D. I thought it was a good film and will go in my BluRay collection right next to Alien and Aliens when it comes out. I thought the film was great and left me wanting a sequel, yet it also tied into the Alien series well. Like Avatar, Ridley has done a great job at creating something new. Visually the movie was also top notch.

 

[JB1981]

There were many things alluding to Weyland being on board, one of them was the life boat was originally meant for him, another was Vickers asking if any one has died on the trip. She was probably asking specifically did her father make it.

That's right I forgot about that.

 

[Ashhong]

The medpod was in his room, the lifeboat. His stasis pod was somewhere else, hidden.

Eh?? The medpod was in Vicker's room. Shaw and her bf saw it. Why are we to assume that was actually his room?

Vickers quarters = The Life Pod... or whatever. Remember the explanation about how it was independent of the ship, or something.

Yes, this is what I was saying. By pod I meant medpod, not the lifeboat thing, although those are both Vicker's quarters. Some are saying that is Weyland's quarters.

 

[Zoe]

Eh?? The medpod was in Vicker's room. Shaw and her bf saw it. Why are we to assume that was actually his room?

He was surprised she was even there. The medpod was calibrated for him (to perform cardiac bypass).

 

[commedieu]

Eh?? The medpod was in Vicker's room. Shaw and her bf saw it. Why are we to assume that was actually his room?

Everything was his, technically. But, he was the frail old man with only a few days to live with a male-only super medical machine.

edit;

Oh.. Yeah Not sure. Think it was probably hers until he woke up?

 

[Ashhong]

He was surprised she was even there. The medpod was calibrated for him (to perform cardiac bypass).

What? None of this confirms that that was his room. We never see him in those quarters.

Everything was his, technically. But, he was the frail old man with only a few days to live with a male-only super medical machine.

Technically, as in he built and paid for it, sure. But to refer to the medpod room/lifeboat as "his" when we never see him in that room, and after Vicker's calls it her own and gives them a small tour, just seems wrong.

 

[Zoe]

What? None of this confirms that that was his room. We never see him in those quarters.



Technically, as in he built and paid for it, sure. But to refer to the medpod room/lifeboat as "his" when we never see him in that room, and after Vicker's calls it her own and gives them a small tour, just seems wrong.

Where were his quarters?

 

[maharg]

What? None of this confirms that that was his room. We never see him in those quarters.



Technically, as in he built and paid for it, sure. But to refer to the medpod room/lifeboat as "his" when we never see him in that room, and after Vicker's calls it her own and gives them a small tour, just seems wrong.

Keep in mind she wasn't supposed to be on the trip. Weyland was surprised/annoyed to find her there.

 

[BuddyJoeHooker]

What? None of this confirms that that was his room. We never see him in those quarters.



Technically, as in he built and paid for it, sure. But to refer to the medpod room/lifeboat as "his" when we never see him in that room, and after Vicker's calls it her own and gives them a small tour, just seems wrong.

It's assumptions, although I think they alluded to it also.

Or you can believe that Charlize Theron was born a male, which is ridiculous.

Edit: it was also a male dominated crew.

 

[JB1981]

What I don't get is this, when David is communicating with Weyland he is wearing the same "mask" he used to read Shaw's dreams. If Weyland was in stasis how was he communicating with David?

 

[Zoe]

What I don't get is this, when David is communicating with Weyland he is wearing the same "mask" he used to read Shaw's dreams. If Weyland was in stasis how was he communicating with David?

Inception

 

[Nappuccino]

It's assumptions, although I think they alluded to it also.

Or you can believe that Charlize Theron was born a male, which is ridiculous.

That is an asinine conclusion.

The medical bay was likely for Weyland (considering his age, he was the most likely one to need it), but that doesn't make that room his.

 

[we.are.the.armada]

Eh?? The medpod was in Vicker's room. Shaw and her bf saw it. Why are we to assume that was actually his room?

How did Shaw, after knocking out bowlcut lady and toughguy, manage to go unnoticed and somehow get into Vickers' room? Did Vickers leave it unlocked/open so that anybody could go in her private quarters?

I don't know much about c-sections but that machine is pretty badass if it healed Shaw's uterus and abs enough to the point she could run around and jump across the pod bay door for spacejock's ship. Maybe the stuff it sprays is such strong medicine that it also gives you superhuman strength - this is probably why Vickers had it in her room, so she could use it on herself and get stronger and do more pushups

Silliness aside, that c-section scene was the best in the film. Damn, that was intense!

 

[Ashhong]

Keep in mind she wasn't supposed to be on the trip. Weyland was surprised/annoyed to find her there.

Hmmm...I did forget about that. That changes everything. Why put a full bar in his quarters though? lol

Where were his quarters?

Somewhere else maybe? Or the room that we find him in? I don't know. But remembering that Vicker's wasn't even supposed to be there does change everything for me.

How did Shaw, after knocking out bowlcut lady and toughguy, manage to go unnoticed and somehow get into Vickers' room? Did Vickers leave it unlocked/open so that anybody could go in her private quarters?

I don't know much about c-sections but that machine is pretty badass if it healed Shaw's uterus and abs enough to the point she could run around and jump across the pod bay door for spacejock's ship. Maybe the stuff it sprays it such strong medicine that it also gives you superhuman strength - this is probably why Vickers had it in her room, so she could use it on herself and get stronger and do more pushups

Silliness aside, that c-section scene was the best in the film. Damn, that was intense!

Yes, probably left it unlocked. But that point doesn't have anything to do with the whole Vickers/Weyland room thing.

Shaw was constantly using drugs to get past the pain. Constantly. Then when she put on her suit you can see her physically in pain from it, which to me shows that it was extremely tight, putting pressure on the wound for temporary relief.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Just occurred to me..... how does one make an Alien movie without Sigourney Weaver?

That shit ain't right.

It was a terrible idea to bring her back for Resurrection anyway (among a list of bad ideas). While I liked the idea that she had some kind of cosmic fate intertwined with the Xenomorphs (but could arguably just be really bad luck) I don't want too much "small universe" crap getting into the Alien mythology. They sure as shit better not make Shaw Ripley's great-grandmother or something.

 

[Zoe]

Hmmm...I did forget about that. That changes everything. Why put a full bar in his quarters though? lol



Somewhere else maybe? Or the room that we find him in? I don't know. But remembering that Vicker's wasn't even supposed to be there does change everything for me.

The room the audience found him in was the medical bay. That's why the other two who were knocked out are already there attending to him.

 

[BuddyJoeHooker]

It was a terrible idea to bring her back for Resurrection anyway (among a list of bad ideas). While I liked the idea that she had some kind of cosmic fate intertwined with the Xenomorphs (but could arguably just be really bad luck) I don't want too much "small universe" crap getting into the Alien mythology. They sure as shit better not make Shaw Ripley's great-grandmother or something.

She can't have human offspring.

 

[Ashhong]

The room the audience found him in was the medical bay. That's why the other two who were knocked out are already there attending to him.

Say what? I don't remember the 2 helping him being the knocked out people. You mean that woman with the bowl haircut? So you are saying Shaw went from the med bay, to the medpod, BACK to the med bay? Iduno...didn't look like the same room. Will need repeat viewings.

 

[maharg]

She can't have human offspring.

Obviously the xenomorphish that spawned at the end is Ripley's father.

 

[Spectral Glider]

The issue with Prometheus character development isn't that it's sparse or shallow per se, but that it's unconvincing in most cases. Hudson's character development may be superficial but it totally makes sense and follows logically from the events that transpire.

Exactly. Everybody knows or will know a Hudson at some point in their lives.....but very few people run into the "scientific" air heads of Prometheus. I never even ran into high school science teachers that sound as vapid as these guys.

 

[we.are.the.armada]

The room the audience found him in was the medical bay. That's why the other two who were knocked out are already there attending to him.

I'm really surprised that these two didn't start pointing fingers.

"Hey, that's Shaw - we tried to put her and her possibly pestiferous alien baby in cryostasis! Shit, looks like she used the medpod to remove it! Quick, somebody stun her and somebody capture the squid baby in the medpod! They are both property of Weyland Corp. now."

 

[TheJollyCorner]

They sure as shit better not make Shaw Ripley's great-grandmother or something.

since there's only about a 50 year difference in the timeline between Prometheus and ALIEN, that would be a hard sell.

Then again: Lindelof!

 

[symphonask]

What I don't get is this, when David is communicating with Weyland he is wearing the same "mask" he used to read Shaw's dreams. If Weyland was in stasis how was he communicating with David?

I think in Lindelof's draft, David shows up in Weyland's dream and talks to him on a yacht, and Weyland is surrounded by beautiful women. So yeah, inception.

 

[Ashhong]

I think in Lindelof's draft, David shows up in Weyland's dream and talks to him on a yacht, and Weyland is surrounded by beautiful women. So yeah, inception.

Or Weyland was awake by then.

 

[kaching]

What I don't get is this, when David is communicating with Weyland he is wearing the same "mask" he used to read Shaw's dreams. If Weyland was in stasis how was he communicating with David?

*shrugs* Just because he only spied on Shaw with it doesn't mean the helmet is limited to one-way communication. Either that or perhaps Weyland was being kept in a shallower state of stasis where he was still conscious.

 

[The Technomancer]

The way I figured it they were able to "wake" Weylend up to a shallower form of stasis whenever David needed to talk to him. Just ten or fifteen minutes at a time.

 

[we.are.the.armada]

Is David stupid/malfunctioning? Why, of all of the ways he could have "tried harder", did he put a droplet of mystery goo in the alcohol and infect Holloway?

Seems pretty careless and doesn't follow the logic of any scientific implementation plan for experiment that I know of.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

since there's only about a 50 year difference in the timeline between Prometheus and ALIEN, that would be a hard sell.

Then again: Lindelof!

I was way off, for some reason I thought there was about 70 years but that's closer to the gap between this and ALIENS. Actually, it looks like Prometheus takes place right around when Ripley was born.

 

[TUROK]

Say what? I don't remember the 2 helping him being the knocked out people. You mean that woman with the bowl haircut? So you are saying Shaw went from the med bay, to the medpod, BACK to the med bay? Iduno...didn't look like the same room. Will need repeat viewings.

Actually, now that I think about it, I thought the Scottish chick was one of the ones that got knocked out.

Anyone care to confirm or deny?

 

[commedieu]

Actually, now that I think about it, I thought the Scottish chick was one of the ones that got knocked out.

Anyone care to confirm or deny?

I'll agree with that. I thought she was the one trying to knock her out, then she was in weylands room and gave a stink eye.

lol @ bowlcut... jesus. Haven't heard that in a while.

 

[symphonask]

Is David stupid/malfunctioning? Why, of all of the ways he could have "tried harder", did he put a droplet of mystery goo in the alcohol and infect Holloway?

Seems pretty careless and doesn't follow the logic of any scientific implementation plan for experiment that I know of.

How else could he have tried harder? He's boss is close to death, they believe all the Engineers are dead, and all he has at hand is this mysterious substance. Seems logical that he would want to test its effects as soon as possible.

 

[we.are.the.armada]

Actually, now that I think about it, I thought the Scottish chick was one of the ones that got knocked out.

Anyone care to confirm or deny?

Yes, she was one of the two people trying to put Shaw and her alien baby into cryostasis for Weyland Corp.

Also, anybody have reasoning to why this didn't happen? Thanks guys!