Prometheus (Post-release)

[Kit Rae]

So why doesn't the DNA match every other Earth species DNA in the computer?

If you look closely in the film, there was green all over the primordial Earth in several shots, prior to the Engineer "seeding" himself. It could have been grass, or algae, but one could safely assume that plant life, and possibly simple animal life, already existed. The Engineers just threw their own DNA building blocks into the mix. One could also assume that they came back repeatedly to add other things to the mix throughout the history of early Earth up to modern mankind as part of their "engineering".

 

[Art Andrews]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but Conor O'Sullivan just posted some amazing behind the scenes photos of the creation of the Engineer costume on his Facebook page. Check them out!


https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150887057811376.419643.551306375&type=1

 

[Kit Rae]

Good grief, would someone who saw this in the past 24 hours confirm that in the overhead shot, just before they disembark from their vehicles to enter the temple/pyramid, that the face is there and not the skull? I feel like I am in crazy town...

I saw it again in RealD 3D yesterday, and looked specifically for this. I counted 5 closeup shots of the head. The only closeup I saw prior to the storm was that overhead shot, and it does indeed look more facelike, but I think this is because of the angle and lighting. Evey shot after this appears to be the exact same skull-like face.

Of course if you prefer the symbolism of it getting more skull like after the storm, that works too, and it may have been the intent.

I also noticed, as someone just mentioned, that the tornado shot proceeding the full-on storm was immediately after Shaw said they had changed the atmosphere in the temple/ampule room by opening the door. There is no doubt in my mind that the one caused the other.

 

[AxiomUltra]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but Conor O'Sullivan just posted some amazing behind the scenes photos of the creation of the Engineer costume on his Facebook page. Check them out!


https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150887057811376.419643.551306375&type=1

So from those pics it looks like there actually two Engineers on that "Any planet that doesn't have to be Earth." and one of them looks very sickly with all of the nasty veins we see in the awakened engineer.

I still think they messed up and did something to themselves and humanity was supposed to be their salvation

 

[crabra comander]

I think that's a very likely reason. Maybe one of them went rogue and wanted us to know what the Engineers were up to.

 

[Kit Rae]

I really liked the film the first time I saw it, and decided immediately after my forst viewing that I was definitely going to see it again, which I did yesterday.

After reading all of the posts by the 50% who thought it was OK or who simply hated it, and the complaints of the films many story flaws and plot holes, and dumb character actions, I was a bit surprised because I thought everything was explained quite clearly the first time I saw it. I paid very close attention to all of the dialogue and details when I watched it again yesterday.

90% of the supposed plot holes and story flaws are clearly explained and justified in the film, and you really don't have even pay that close attention to get this. This is not stuff that was buried in vague subtext either, like 'why did the Engineers want to destroy us after making us'. I'm talking about the 'why did the crew seem disinterested in the most important discovery in human history? - Why did the guy who mapped the caves get lost? How did David learn the Engineers language?- Where did the atv disappear to? - how could the head have been perfectly preserved where there were worms living in the dirt floor" type of stuff. I suggest everyone who had issues watch the film again and PAY ATTENTION this time to dialogue and character actions.

This is not a slam against the complainers either, because I know many went in with an expectation of something, and in the general excitement of the event, probably missed a lot. I did not think the film was perfect, but even with the very few plot issues that I thought were weak mistakes, it turned out that I was the one who was mistaken on the second viewing. Pay special attention to all of the dialogue in the first 15 minutes after the crew awakens. It is critical. I'm not going to make a list of all this stuff, since it is more fun discovering for yourself if you missed it the first time.

By the way, I liked the film even more the second time around. And I still hate that tacked on xenomorph scene at the end. That is literally the only issue I have with an otherwise excellent film.

 

[third3ye]

Saw it last night, came out disappointed I am somewhat a fan of the first two Alien movies and came out of the theater with more questions than answers like so many other people, so much that I had to look on the web to see other people's interpretations to get a better feel of what the heck Ridley Scott was trying to go for. I wasn't expecting to be spoon fed all the answers but the combination of weak narrative and poor character development was just too much for me to look past. I know the intent was not to be an Alien prequel, but I didn't even think they did a good job explaining the background of the Engineers and their intent for both the human race and the xenomorphs. And making the Engineers basically look like giant albino human beings was such a buzzkill, fail on that character design.

The good? It's an incredibly pretty looking film. The set designs both natural and synthetic are artistic down to the detail. Michael Fassbender continues to knock it out of the park with his performance. Unfortunately those two are the only praise I can lay on it.

 

[crabra comander]

Pay special attention to all of the dialogue in the first 15 minutes after the crew awakens. It is critical. I'm not going to make a list of all this stuff, since it is more fun discovering for yourself if you missed it the first time.

By the way, I liked the film even more the second time around. And I still hate that tacked on xenomorph scene at the end. That is literally the only issue I have with an otherwise excellent film.

No, you SHOULD list it, some people can watch a movie dozens of times and still MISS some things! And how will you get the critics to back off if you don't list them?

You are saying people "missed" something?

I thought most of it was meant to be unexplained.

 

[cyberpred]

I do not think that the Engineer wanted to destroy the people that woke him up.

He was just in a bad mood being woken up. I know when I have been asleep for a millenium when I am woken up I can be a real Alien until I have my cup of black goo or coffee for you laymans.


Cary:lol

 

[crabra comander]

Yeah I normally don't kill my dog after waking up from cryo sleeping...

But, hey, different strokes for different aliens.

 

[Kit Rae]

No, you SHOULD list it, some people can watch a movie dozens of times and still MISS some things! And how will you get the critics to back off if you don't list them?

You are saying people "missed" something?

I thought most of it was meant to be unexplained.

No way I am going to type all of that out, and I think most people would catch things easily on a second viewing if they missed them the first time around. And as I said, I am not talking about the intentional unanswered question, just the flaw and plot hole complaints abound in this thread, justifying why the movie is badly and stupidly written.

Exmple - How did David learn to speak the Engineers language literally overnight? That's just stupid!

Answer - David studied and learned all of the native languages throughout history from each of the archeological sites where the supposed "invitations" were found. He had several years to do this during his time on Prometheus. He is shown doing this in the film.

Since they knew the Engineers visited mankind at each of those places and times throughout history, they likely spoke the languages from those periods. This is how they had planned to communicate with them when they reached LV-223. Other lines of dialogue throughout the film indicate David is a studied spoken and written language expert. In the pilot room scene David watched a hologram of several Engineers plotting a course to Earth. These Engineers were all talking to each other, and David was intently listening to what they were saying. The language he speaks to the Engineer later does not sound like this language however. It sounds like the one he recited when he was watching the training video early in the film. One would assume that if the Engineers did not understand that language, he would have tried the next ancient language, then the next. Had he got the chance, that is...

 

[crabra comander]

That definitely wasn't a plot hole, IMO...Sometimes you got to do what I call suspending your disbelief.

Yes getting pregnant is way more painful than what Shaw went thru. And maybe she shouldn't have been running around afterward. And maybe those mealworms shouldn't have been there. But then, we have no movie. Most of these are forgivable, for an otherwise stunning film IMO. I was quite immersed in the story and MOST of the characters were relatable and their dynamics felt real.

 

[ghostryder]

More concept art:

Prometheus - 20 Cool Concept Art

http://www.krop.com/ivanmanzella/

 

[DrkMatter]

I liked it! Solid Sci-Fi from Ridley Scott.
But, if you were expecting a full blown Alien prequel, you'll be disappointed.

 

[Kit Rae]

And maybe she shouldn't have been running around afterward.

Don't take this as an attack on you, but these are other perfect examples. Shaw was shown injecting herself four times, both before and after surgery, as well as taking another shot and a hand full of pills before suiting up to run around. There is also a shot just prior to her suit-up where the incision almost appears completely healed. Not to mention at least six times where she doubles over in intense pain. Ridley and Co went out of their way there to make it clear, that even with all of that, this still was not easy for her. As a writer, I would assume they respected that the audience for a sci-fi film is smarter than average and understands the advances in medicine, local anesthesia, disenfectant and healing that we would have by the time this film takes place. It seems a lot of people (and I don't mean you) would have preferred it dumbed down...or maybe a Harrison Ford voice over saying "see that 2 over there, and that 2 over here? They equal 4".

And maybe those mealworms shouldn't have been there.

The room and its contents were sealed in some type of stasis before they opened the door, and apparently had been for 2000 years. Shaw indicated this with her dialogue, and that conclusion can also be drawn by the fact that the head was nearly perfectly preserved, and nothing changed in the room, until David opened it.

This will come off as belittling to some, but some of the complaints show that the Ridley, Spaiths, and Lindeloff may have overestimated the intelligence of many in their audience, not the other way around. I'm surprised I have not seen complaints about the huge omission that no toilets were shown on the Prometheus, so the characters had no place pee! In space, no one can hear you flush

 

[ghostryder]

I know this is stupid, but exactly what the hell was Shaw going to EAT on her journey with David onboard the Engineer ship...?

These are things that keep me up at night.

 

[Yarko]

I suppose Engineers need to eat too. They must have some food storage or even Star Trek-like replicators. Or maybe Dave knows how to use those hypersleep chambers and she will be asleep the whole journey, not needing food then.

But then it would be weird if she finally arrives to the planet of the Engineers, meets "the creator" and her first question is... may I have a sandwich?

 

[Noeland]

She seemed to be raiding the supplies on the lifeboat when the engineer came knocking. I don't remember if she had that bag with her when she went to go get David though.

 

[Kit Rae]

I know this is stupid, but exactly what the hell was Shaw going to EAT on her journey with David onboard the Engineer ship...?

These are things that keep me up at night.

I agree, assuming she trusts David, she would have him tell her how to operate hypersleep chambers. There were also supplies on the lifeboat for 2 years, according to the captain of the Prometheus. Also, since the Engineers are more or less human, one would assume they had compatible food supplies on the Juggernaut. Of course, they would be around 2000 years old.

 

[NAZGÛL]

But then it would be weird if she finally arrives to the planet of the Engineers, meets "the creator" and her first question is... may I have a sandwich?

For all we know that may be the very question David asked the Jockey. :lol