Prometheus Movie Blurb by Shale June 8, 2012 When I first saw the trailers for this movie I noticed the alien ship and unique designs of the Swiss graphic artist H. R. Giger that were used in the 1979 movie Alien. Then Ridley Scott was billed as Producer/Director so I knew there was a tie-in. This movie is a prequel to Alien, but not a part of that franchise. It has taken a whole different direction (and is set up for a sequel if it makes money). This movie, like 2001: A Space Odyssey opens on a primordial earth where a humanoid alien is dropped off to seed the planet with his DNA. (As a nudist, I notice when an alien culture that didn't go thru our puritan religious induced body shame wears a loincloth in an R-Rated movie. They coulda shot that from the butt side, woulda been more believable) And leap forward to the late 21st Century, when archeologist couple Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) and Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) find a number of sites around the world, millennia apart in age with the same cave drawings pointing to a group of planets. These are located in a star system like our own and a planet that could sustain life is determined. So off goes the starship Prometheus with a crew of 17 in stasis for the 2-year trip being watched over by the android David (Michael Fassbender). They have hopes that they will discover the source of humans - the Engineers who made us. Prometheus Upon arrival and awakening, they are greeted by severe, no-nonsense, mission director Vickers (Charlize Theron), whom Captain Janek (Idris Elba) eventually asks her a question that was on my mind, "are you a robot." Vickers & Capt Janek on Bridge So, Prometheus lands on the planet and our archeologists and other members of the crew (they had names, but why learn 'em - you know they are 'dead redshirts') are off exploring. Charlie, Elizabeth & David on Alien Planet They find a cave with a huge humanoid sculptured head and mysterious amphora being stored as if it were a warehouse. By now you know there has to be some alien monsters around or some DNA altering thing going on and the pace picks up to a sometimes confusing set of occurrences that don't follow any one monster theme. And, what about that android David? Can we trust him? David Discovering Destinations for Mysterious Cargo Surprisingly, 75% of aggregate critics on Rottentomatoes like this movie as do 87% of audiences. However, they all seem to find fault with it as do I. I liked the movie; it has good special effects and visuals and the sets were great - I love Giger's vision. But, with all this money and work on a really good sci-fi movie, it almost turns into a B-movie with idiot plots. Such as there were few contamination protocols being followed as if microorganisms light years away from home might be different? And, ppl seemed to have no idea that an alien creature never encountered could be deadly (Like a person who'd never seen or heard of a snake going to India and petting a Cobra). It gets to the point that you write it off as Darwinism - thinning the herd.
On another board, one of the posters said after reading my blurb; "I'll admit that I'm probably just going to watch it for Guy Pearce." Here's a heads up then. I couldn't figure out who this character was so I went searching. Here is the Guy Pearce you think you will be seeing I didn't recall seeing him. So, I searched his name and came up with this: Ridley Scott Reveals Guy Pearce's Prometheus Role “When the first ‘Alien’ movie and ‘Blade Runner’ were made, I thought that in the near future the world will be owned by large companies. This is why we have the Tyrell Corporation in ‘Blade Runner’, and Weyland-Yutani in ‘Alien’. They sent the Nostromo spaceship. The Prometheus is owned by an entrepreneur called Peter Weyland, and is played by Guy Pearce. That’s the connection between the two films, and nothing more. Prometheus is a new film, a new world, and is full of new ideas. And of course new monsters as well.“ Pearce himself has said he won't be in the film very long, so while he's playing a suit type, it doesn't seem to be as extensive as, say, the Carter Burke role that Paul Reiser played in Aliens. And truly, the name of the corporation that runs the ship isn't even a spoiler, considering that it was present in Alien. But Scott's insisting that the name "Weyland" is the only connection between Alien and Prometheus feels a little "lady doth protest too much," given all the chatter about space jockeys and "similar DNA" we've been hearing for the last year. ... http://www.gofobo.com/news/ridley_scott_reveals_guy_pearces_prometheus_role No wonder I didn't recognize him - he is under a hundred years of makeup, playing an ancient, super rich industrialist who sent the Prometheus off to find god. So, unless you got a thing for wrinkled old guys (in which case PM me) you will be disappointed in seeing Guy Pearce in this movie. I could not find any production pics of his character - guess they didn't want to disillusion ppl who are going to see the movie because of his billing.
hmmm... i think i still want to see this though. from what little i understand from the promotional materials, the story seems to have some philosophical underpinnings which you don't get in a lot of modern science fiction. i think i'll want to see this even more if that's even halfway true. can any of you guys confirm that?
yeah, i suppose there are a few philosophical underpinnings (or pseudo-philosophical) Arthur C. Clarke sort of stuff. based around Raëlianism (the theory that life was created by extraterrestrials and that prophets sent to earth were part of this alien species- although this second part is only hinted at using Christian imagery) so i suppose its about the human desire to meet ones maker. its fairly similar to Contact, if you ever saw that. The more interesting questions it raises, though (and, ironically, the less problematic ones) are about what it means to be human/conscious versus a machine, a dichotomy evoked by Fassbender's character, the android David. essentially, its the same sort of thing as blade runner. the film's problematic, patchy, inconsistent and the plots all over the place (i say its like the film had three scriptwriters all told to write "prometheus" and they never thought to meet up and compare notes) and some of the acting is a little over the top. but i'd still reccomend it. if only because its really, really fun to pick apart and criticise, and because it looks really very nice indeed. can't wait for the next two
Well what can one say the first films worked so well because they did not take themselves so seriously.
Can anyone explain to me the opening shot of the film? That is the only part i didn't get. When the dude turned to dust and the ship took off. That ship that took off didn't look like any of the others we saw later in the film. He was also next to a water fall which we never saw again. I don't understand that part of the film!
He was seeding our primordial planet with the basic DNA that started our evolution. That was why he desintegrated to a cellular level and went into the water.
thanks for this. honestly, that all sounds quite interesting, so i'll definitely be checking this out when it releases on dvd. it's a shame i missed it at the cinema really.
I saw this tonight, I enjoyed it. I kind of had heard some of the chatter about it being kind of confusing in some aspects and so initially I was watching it to hope and attempt to figure out all the different loop holes and then of course the Alien connection had me on the lookout for hints of that. As the movie progressed however, I found it had enough action and provoked enough interesting ideas that I didn't really care to heavily dissect it. I feel a lot of the movie was fairly straightforward and some of the parts which may have had some ambiguity to them, I felt were supplied with enough information for the viewer to come to his or her own conclusions. (If there is a sequel, it may even elaborate somewhat.) *Spoiler Alert* If I had one complaint, it would be how recycled many of the concepts are from Alien. The mischievous android, the greedy corporation with the deceptive agenda, The readily sacrificial crew members. I understand retaining some qualities to give it continuity but some of the interactions seemed formulaic from Alien. I found the Engineer creature(s) interesting though and hope a sequel is made with more of a background on them.
