Re: Prometheus (2011)

[Darth Geek]

Still a bit miffed Scott went with all pretty shiny new tech. I hope his sequel to this explains how it devolved from iPads and holograms to punch cards and one monochrome monitor....

Yeah, that was distractingly annoying. And the ship didnt have that lived in look the the Nostromo had. I know it wasnt a mining ship, but presumably the Prometheus wasn't built new just for this mission.

[Relaxing Dragon]

Still a bit miffed Scott went with all pretty shiny new tech. I hope his sequel to this explains how it devolved from iPads and holograms to punch cards and one monochrome monitor....

Yeah, that was distractingly annoying. And the ship didnt have that lived in look the the Nostromo had. I know it wasnt a mining ship, but presumably the Prometheus wasn't built new just for this mission.

Actually, considering they sunk $1 trillion into the mission, it very well might've been.

[Tyrant]

Tyrant?

(and I say possible because we still have no clue how a xenomorph egg got on board the Sulaco in Aliens to cause all the trouble it does in Alien 3 and Bishop is the primary suspect)

The queen was onboard the Sulaco and the dropship. I'd just assume that she laid another egg and no one caught sight of it. Newt, Bishop and Ripley were a bit preoccupied at the time. Bishop need not be involved at all. (Yeah, there was the giant egg-laying apparatus that she had in the nest, but that may have been to mass produce egg-laying rather than to lay a single one. Being completely immobile to reproduce doesn't seem to be the xenomorphs' style.

And did they ever deduce why River was made of chocolate?

Eh, I'll go ahead and spoiler this just in case:

The Queen carrying it on board has been the biggest assumption. Although most people state it's never seen on her body during the whole chase through the atmosphere processor and such before she supposedly laid it somewhere on the drop ship, presumably she could have had it up in her sweet spot where she detached from the egg sack the whole time. Bishop's involvement makes slightly more sense just based on visuals. He lies about how much time they have before the processor goes kablooey. He supposedly takes off because the platform is "too unstable" for the drop ship (Hicks is already out so he wouldn't know). He sets it down somewhere and, being a droid, safely descends into the bowels of the processor without getting attacked if he stays out of the xenomorphs' way, grabs an egg, high tails it back to the drop ship while Ripley is having her showdown with the queen, attaches the egg to the ship, and counts on Ripley having too much on her mind to notice the thing on the side of the hull. Ergo, Bishop has fullfilled his Weyland/Yutani programming.

The problem with either assumption is that the eggs are supposedly triggered by movement close by. Who would be moving around when everyone is in stasis when the egg is shown to have (freshly) hatched in Alien 3? Moreover, where the egg is seen is not the cargo hold where the drop ship would have been, but by the looks of things all the way up in the stasis chamber nearer to human prey. Moreover, in a really obvious space on the wall that couldn't possibly be missed.

In reality, here's what probably really happened: There was no way to get the alien on board the Sulaco logically so everyone at the studio threw their hands up in the air and said,"Hell with it. Let's throw one in there anyway! We have to make a sequel!" and they did assuming we, the fans, would spend the next decade and some change trying to figure out how it got on board and do all the work for them.

Also I forgot to mention that my experience with Prometheus was greatly enhanced by the fact that, possibly due to either noise or how I was sitting (or both), I got a unique and free 4-D treatment as the baby wouldn't stop moving the entire movie. Moving/rumbling seats, my ass.

How'd that make you feel during - that - scene?

I felt as though I had transcended reality itself into the world of fictional horror. Actually, I just squirmed a bit in my chair and relaxed when it was over. It didn't help that he was kicking me straight in the kidney, however, which rather hurts. Specifically during that scene. Like he knew somehow. Little bugger.

[goflyblind]

Spoiler

[lassieface]

HELLO! I'M DAVID! I TOUCH EVERYTHING DESPITE NOT KNOWING WHAT IT IS OR HOW DANGEROUS IS MIGHT BE!

Still my favorite character. 

[Relaxing Dragon]

Spoiler

The most human out of any of them, when you think about it.

[Darth Geek]

Spoiler

The most human out of any of them, when you think about it.

Great, they made an android version of DeeDee from Dexter's Lab.

[lassieface]

Spoiler

The most human out of any of them, when you think about it.

Great, they made an android version of DeeDee from Dexter's Lab.

Is she not David's sister?

[Space version 2.0]

Spoiler

I haven't laughed this hard in a long time.


Oh, and so the black goop is basically the slime from Ghostbusters 2 mixed with liquid Monolith? Is that spoilery?

[Variety of Cells]

I loved it!  It's not the best movie ever, and I think all the negative press brought my expectations down to a reasonable level for me to be surprised.  Especially the review that claimed that Avatar's plot was better.  It's not a masterpiece, but it does a few things well enough for me to really enjoy it.  And those are:

1. Atmosphere and visuals:  As people have said, it looks great.  Feels great.  The cgi was very well done and organic.  Loved the art design.  Great all around.

2. The script didn't explain everything, or over explain things:  This is what I was most worried about, that it was going to hit you over the head like Avatar with its metaphorical meaning.  But it did a good job of showing instead of telling. Like when David sees the space jockeys planning to go to earth.  Instead of a conversation with a space jockey saying "Hey, are we all set to go to earth guys?"  Of course they don't always succeed on this front Charlize Theron rather exaggeratedly saying "FATHER", as if it was a big surprise.

3: The metaphorical meaning of the film:  Which I'm surprised no one in this thread has mentioned yet.  Obviously it's up for debate, which is awesome.  I love it when a film lets you figure out its meaning for yourself, but here's my interpretation: Humans go on a journey looking for god.  Humans find god.  Some accept him and ask him to live forever (to go to heaven, this part played by Weyland) but some just want to know why.  Why did you create us?  And why are you trying to kill us?  Why all this death? (this part played of course by Elizabeth).  And what is god's response?  He strokes your head and then rips it off, and continues to try and kill humanity.  Humanity has no choice but to try and live.  And then what happens?  We still want to know the answer.  We still want to know why it seems like god is trying to kill us, and why he has created death (death being the xenomorphs) and sent it upon us.  So Elizabeth goes in search of more answers.

I see some of the information that is withheld less as a cliff hanger for a sequel, and more as a metaphor for our spiritual existence on earth.  We will always search for the answer to why god created us (if you believe in god), and why, if there is a god, he created death.  The point of the ending is not to tease, in my opinion, but to mirror the never ending search for those answers.

4:  Most of the acting was decent:  Yes a lot of characters were flat, and yes some of the acting and a little of the dialogue was bad, but most of it was decent to pretty good.  And I actually quite liked David.  Very mysterious and that British sort of dry evil that will smile at you while secretly plotting your death That turns out not to be true, he is just a robot programed to do certain things.  In the end I see little malice in his actions.  Just doing some experiments to try and bring back this life form, as he was created to do.  And at the end, he does seem fine with being done with that task and to be put on a new task

All of these things combined to make a movie I enjoyed.  I especially love the metaphor dealing with human religious existence, that I think is quite beautifully told.  Told in a way that doesn't hit you over the head with it. 

I walked away very satisfied.  It's not a horror film, it's not a big action film, and it's not for everyone.  But I very much enjoyed it.

[Compound]

Spoiler

Okay, I will agree with that part, despite my overall like of the film.

[mattwnelson]

Spoiler

Okay, I will agree with that part, despite my overall like of the film.

I had a lot of fun at the film too, but in my brain that exact thought was screaming itself hoarse during that scene.

[Russell]

You know how they can really make the sequel worth it? Give us Space Marines with The T-800 as the leader, give us a weird time paradox(to explain the anachronistic technology) and Elisabeth Shaw is still alive and kicking long after Ripley's time.... Nah just kiddin'....

[lassieface]

No, no, no. You make it a wacky buddy road comedy starring Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender's head. They're on each other's nerves. You can do a lot of great head-based comedy (it falling in her lap awkwardly, she sticks it in a box, etc.). So they go to the Engineer's home world and it becomes a crazy heist film. They team up with a couple outcast Xenomorphs to steal the life creating technology from the engineers (like Prometheus stealing fire from the Gods!). The third act becomes a very somber drama as Shaw and David realize that despite their differences they make a great team. Then they fly off into the void of space!

[Russell]

No, no, no. You make it a wacky buddy road comedy starring Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender's head. They're on each other's nerves. You can do a lot of great head-based comedy (it falling in her lap awkwardly, she sticks it in a box, etc.). So they go to the Engineer's home world and it becomes a crazy heist film. They team up with a couple outcast Xenomorphs to steal the life creating technology from the engineers (like Prometheus stealing fire from the Gods!). The third act becomes a very somber drama as Shaw and David realize that despite their differences they make a great team. Then they fly off into the void of space!

.... That is brilliant.