Prometheus Fan Reviews

[DaddyYautja]

That's my assumption based on the location of the the 'ping' i.e. off the the cargo hold/map room. Ridley may have another explanation... 

But it does make sort of sense. The only thing i would have problem with is the device detecting the Jock when is blocked off and it's rooms away.

Because that's what the movie seemed to be depicting i.e. it couldn't tell you if the signal was above you or beneath you...

That's just the tracker having trouble detecting the alien, and the tracker having trouble detecting the alien is one of those moments that's supposed to build the tension as the safety net of the character is pulled out from under him. It has nothing to do with the device being 2d.

This scene is mimicked in Aliens when the Marines first encounter the aliens, Hudson knows there is something around but cant pinpoint the location and they all get ambushed.

The aliens apparently has some sort of Biostealth abilities that counters the trackers and can throws off the results a bit.

As above... I think it's fairly obvious that the tracker can't tell you if the object is above, beneath or behind. Dallas going alone doesn't make sense given that they know the alien can take a man down - You could excuse it if the vents were only big enough for one person. However, the film establishes that the vents are certainly big enough for 2 (although a squeeze).

Like i said above, the tracker wasnt working as expected. It was expected to help Dallas thoroughly but it didnt.
And when do you mean the vents were big enough for two do you mean side by side? Because they werent big enough to take in two side by side.

I believe it's the same video feed footage used for the the approach to the derelict. But if the intent was to indeed show the signal failing on the tracker - why? Did the xeno interfere with electrical devices a la the derelict?

To me is just the tracker loosing the signal.

So I'm obviously being overly picky in my examples... but I'm just trying to demonstrate that it's more than easy to pick holes... even in the better movies. It's just a question of wether some of the contradictions/gaps in logic/conveniences are enough to spoil the movie, or wether one is willing to overlook them because the rest of the ride is worth it.

You have tried to show some nitpicky examples which i dont think you were very successful with but that's not point. The logic gap we are discussing isnt simply "Why didnt this character do this?" The logic gap here has people asking why didnt this a character use this 1 why werent they doing this as well 2 why wasnt these other characters looking at this 3. There are several levels that need to be ignored for this one event to happen. None of your examples has people blasting through different levels to make the scenes make sense.

Truly nitpicking Prom would be asking why was there a road leading to the structure? No one has been on that planet for 2k years..... wouldn't the winds and storms have covered that road completely by now? This is a valid question but we all ignore it. Why? Cause this is a movie! We all know this a movie and you have to tolerate some things but the amount of stuff you needed to tolerate in this film was a bit much for some folks.

[Darth Vile]

That's just the tracker having trouble detecting the alien, and the tracker having trouble detecting the alien is one of those moments that's supposed to build the tension as the safety net of the character is pulled out from under him. It has nothing to do with the device being 2d.

Oh yes it builds the tension alright, but that doesn't negate the fact that it's lacking in internal logic. If the tracker only shows what's in front of it, if it can't indicate wether the signal is below or above... what's the point (unless you can explain how it's possibly supposed to work and why it would be of benefit to a man being tracked in a multi level environment?).

Like i said above, the tracker wasnt working as expected. It was expected to help Dallas thoroughly but it didnt.
And when do you mean the vents were big enough for two do you mean side by side? Because they werent big enough to take in two side by side.

Like I said, it's not that the tracker isn't working... it's that what it provides is useless data. It's why Dallas dies i.e. they assume the alien is rushing towards him, but really it's on another level completely. Why didn't Dallas say "is it on the same level as me?". Re. the vents. Not side by side... 1 moving  forward, 1 protecting the rear.

To me is just the tracker loosing the signal.

I'm pretty sure the same distorted video footage is used for both... and why is the tracker loosing its signal at that particular point?

You have tried to show some nitpicky examples which i dont think you were very successful with but that's not point.

But that was my point... I don't think you were successful with yours (well not the one's I don't agree with)... hence why I was challenging them.

Truly nitpicking Prom would be asking why was there a road leading to the structure? No one has been on that planet for 2k years..... wouldn't the winds and storms have covered that road completely by now? This is a valid question but we all ignore it. Why? Cause this is a movie! We all know this a movie and you have to tolerate some things but the amount of stuff you needed to tolerate in this film was a bit much for some folks.

You are aware that something like the Nazca lines are about circa 1,500 years old, and are quite viewable/prominent (as are many Roman roads throughout Europe)? So you might nitpick with your example of the road, but I'd point out that you are mistaken with your assumption that it would have been hidden. 

[Ooze on First]

After my first viewing, I probably would've given it 4/5 in this poll.
But it was much better the 2nd time around, and thus earns a 5/5.

Some movies get worse or remain the same upon further viewings, but Prometheus was probably the best '2nd-time movie' I've ever seen.
It almost seemed like a different film and I noticed a crapload of things I missed the first time through.

[DaddyYautja]

Oh yes it builds the tension alright, but that doesn't negate the fact that it's lacking in internal logic. If the tracker only shows what's in front of it, if it can't indicate wether the signal is below or above... what's the point (unless you can explain how it's possibly supposed to work and why it would be of benefit to a man being tracked in a multi level environment?).

There is nothing in the movie that shows that the tracker works only 2D and since you ignored my Aliens example it's pretty evident that there is nothing here at all.

Like I said, it's not that the tracker isn't working... it's that what it provides is useless data. It's why Dallas dies i.e. they assume the alien is rushing towards him, but really it's on another level completely. Why didn't Dallas say "is it on the same level as me?". Re. the vents. Not side by side... 1 moving  forward, 1 protecting the rear.

Yes, the device which was thought to be usable in tracking the alien creature didnt work as intended. That's the point of the scene. That's what builds the tension. Their solid plan turned out to be not so solid. Nothing in that scene creates even one level of a plot gap.

I'm pretty sure the same distorted video footage is used for both... and why is the tracker loosing its signal at that particular point?

Because she turn it off out of frustration the device doesnt work properly?
I ask again, how does this one second shot create a plot gap?
Even by calling it a random shot all it is, is a random shot and nothing revolves around it.

But that was my point... I don't think you were successful with yours (well not the one's I don't agree with)... hence why I was challenging them.

There are 3 different levels of mistakes in this movie in the Fif and Milburn example that no one has successfully explained away. Have you done it? How these people did not communicate back to base? How their wrist devices are ignored? How no one in the Prom cares about them? Outside of simply ignoring these 3 levels there is no way anyone can successfully explain all this away using info from the movie.

Again, this isnt just one level, this is 3 levels.

You are aware that something like the Nazca lines are about circa 1,500 years old, and are quite viewable/prominent (as are many Roman roads throughout Europe)? So you might nitpick with your example of the road, but I'd point out that you are mistaken with your assumption that it would have been hidden. 

I hope you know you sort of fell into a trap.
Roman roads are made of stones and all sort of other materials which make them last and this didnt look to have ANY at all, It looked like a dirt road. And the Nazca lines are in a place where the environment hardly changes, which from what we saw in the movie is not so. But if it has some unique properties like the Nazca lines that keep the lines undamaged...... why did no one on the ship pointed this out? "Oh look a road.... it would be cool if we had a geologist to look at this rock formation."....Oh wait.

But who cares, the movie is about the alien structure and not every little thing around it, its not a documentary, right?
And since it never gets brought up as being part of the story you can ignore it. But other stuff that DOES get brought up or conflicts with other information does create a problem within the world of the movie.

[duckman5150]

Just got back from seeing an IMAX 3D showing. I thought the visuals were amazing an dI think the film will hold up over time. My only real complaint is the music. As others have said....it belongs in a Next Generation film, bad to the point of being distracting. Overall I had a great time and that's what I paid for.

[mastermoon]

To be honest people I really liked this hammerpede.



For the three times I've watched this movie this remains one of my favorite Aliens.

[ThisBethesdaSea]

Yes, the design is brilliant. Proto-Xeno design aside, everything else was brilliant, yes, even squiddy.

[Virgil]

Yes, the design is brilliant. Proto-Xeno design aside, everything else was brilliant, yes, even squiddy.

Ridley now refers to it as 'Big Boy'. 

[MrSpaceJockey]

I was afraid he wasn't going to review it! Thank God.

Anyone catch his Alien Rez review recently? 

[Yona]

After my first viewing, I probably would've given it 4/5 in this poll.
But it was much better the 2nd time around, and thus earns a 5/5.

Some movies get worse or remain the same upon further viewings, but Prometheus was probably the best '2nd-time movie' I've ever seen.
It almost seemed like a different film and I noticed a crapload of things I missed the first time through.

Completely agree!

[zuzuki]

I'm not hating on the fact Milburn and Fifield got lost. When they started to chase the holograms they could have gotten deeper into the temple and lost their point of reference. It would have been enough to take a wrong turn on the way back so it was pretty easy to get back. And in all the madness with the storm, and let's hurry back with the head cause Vickers will close the hatch in 15 mins, it was easy to forget about them.

I had a really big problem with Shaw and her c-section. Not the fact that she was running around afterwards cause she was acting like she was in pain and can't walk. But the fact that she goes back in the temple with Ford. The same Ford who got knocked the f**k out when she tried to take Shaw to the hypersleep pod. The discussion between them, no nothing,everything was fine. Also while Shaw ws suiting up after the surgery she talks to Janek and doesn't tell him anything like: ''hey dude there's an alien thingy in the med bay that i cut out of me. check it out''.

I'm hating on the soundtrack, in the beginning it felt like a Star Trek movie, and the same theme was played when they enter the head room, totally ruined the moment

So these are my problems. As for the other things people complain:
-The worms were already in the head room, we get to see them cause they get uneartherd when the team start walking around.
-Janek and his pilots reacted exactly as they should in the crash situation. Janed had the conversation with Shaw and we got there his motivation: he already taked about the consequences of that weapon going back to earth so when the moment came it was easy to make a decision. The other 2 pilots had a nice dialogue between them, didn't feel akward that they accept dying too easy
-In the temple when they explore it and David triggers the hologram, he finds some thick slime, ''xenos were here'' sign basically
-There were no holes in the Engineers cryopods. They were empty, so no engineers remains, no xenos to burst out of them, no holes
-The xeno at the end bursting out of the engineer was necessary, not as fan service, but for people who don't know about alien. It explains what came out of the chestbursted engineers that Fifield and Milburn find and wonder what exploded from the inside. Therefore explaining what were the engineers in the holograms running from.

As a wrap-up in dissapointed in the editing of the movie. Stuff from the trailers that we didn't get to see, whole scenes cut, dialogue cut. You must be careful not to blink in some scenes cause BAM, another thing happens. I felt this was when Shaw and Holloway are talking to Vickers then BAM, Shaw and Holloway are with David at the holo-table.Also in the beginning after the Engineer drinks the goo. He starts desintigrating, we get a shot from the front his chest is starting to get affected, but his head is fine, then Bam a shot from the back, his head already is messed up and his looking at his hand.
I liked that the engineers had normal bodies a few billion years ago, a different ship, and now after all this time, they modified their bodies to better interract with their tehnology and ships. There's a lot of attention to detail. And together with the stuff from the art book it seems there was alot of epic material,scenes,designs, but got cut. Either they filmed it and cut it to have a shorter runtime and save money on post-production cgi and 3d, considering the rating. Either they didn't filmed it at all, even though the script had it all and pre-production was working on it.
I firmly believe the scene with the old and the young engineer cot filmed, but got cut in the editing room.Just like they cut a lot of dialogue between the characters and some crew introductions.

And why the hell did they change that scene with Holloway and the bowl at the xeno altar. You could deduce from that that the whole point in the engineers drinking that was to give life to a cycle that would eventually lead to that xeno. Instead we got that weird crystal. Ah headaches

[Plokoon111]

I really enjoyed this movie! (Warning spoilers may appear.)

It did feel like there is more to be seen, but obviously they cut a lot of scenes. I don't know what people are talking about how there is no character development on the secondary/third characters. I actually felt emotion when Holloway died, actually liked Milburn and his friend, I felt they had enough lines, and detail added to them to make them a bit memorable. The Janek had a lot of scenes, and acted them well. Even the damn captain crew members had some detail, and the security guy. I liked that, it didn't feel like AVP where a guy had 2 lines and dies fast. Now obviously, David was the star here. Then I would say that Elizabeth shaw would be the next one, Noomi acted very well. And Theron, well man those pushups = awesome shots. 
I understood the plot well, with the worms, to the squid alien, to the giant facehugger, and to the first xeno. It was clear enough, and not really confusing. Now the designs of the ship and the SJ ship were well done obviously. The engineers were creepy looking, very menacing, unpredictable. I enjoyed their suits, and holograms. It made them mysterious. The squid alien, well it was average, it looked like Monday's catch in the Pacific. When it got bigger, I thought it looked decent, it was fleshy, and not bony but I enjoyed the details on it. It was pretty nasty looking, the thing even had a ****. I felt bad for that engineer. And lastly the last xenoburster was interesting looking. Kind of like a Disney version of an alien. It isn't that special, but it has promise.

So in conclussion the movie rocked. Its not like Alien, or Aliens. But I would say its better then the rest. The music was average, but the picture and landscapes awesome. There is suspense, and build up. A few jump scares, a few laughs. It does feel a little bit in complete. But thats what the directors cut is for!

4/5

[stephen]

Warning SPOILERS

My review is simply my humble opinion so if you disagree with me - that's ok.

Ultimately Prometheus is a let down.  In a big way.  It looks good sure but I think this is proof that a film that looks good is not necessarily a good film.  I get that Ridley was taking the movie somewhere where Alien wasn't.  That's cool.  But the problems in the film are all of it's own making.  The questions that this film asks, (let alone the questions from the original Alien) go unanswered.  It's not enough to say that you're making a "thinking man's movie" with "deep complex themes".  You've actually got to do it.  Simply having one of the characters ask the question "why are we here" and then not explore that in the film is not enough.

This movie fails on it's own merits.

1. What exactly was the deal with the engineer at the start?  He drank that thing and then disintegrated and we're supposed to assume that they're "seeding" a planet - possibly ours?  Ok - that's fine if you want to explore that (though it's been done countless times before) but the problem is that the movie never tells us why.

2. If the dna of the engineer EXACTLY matches our dna, thus making us them and them us - why then are they twice our size? Perhaps this shows my lack of DNA knowledge but it stands to reason that if that is the case - they didn't make us at all.  We're just simply them.

3. Given 2, why then did they supposedly give different cultures the star map, and then leave us alone?

4. Given 2. and 3. why then did they want to kill us?  Why then did the engineer the second he was woken kill everybody he saw.

5. What the hell did the ping actually pick up?

6. How did those guys get lost?

7. Why did David infect (can't remember his name was it holloway?) with the goo?  what was the purpose of that?

8.  How come the goo affected holloway? differently to the other guy that came in and attacked the crew in the hanger?

9. What exactly was up with the impregnation of Shaw and the subesquent surgical procedure that seemed just a bit too far fetched?

10.  What was up with those worm like creatures having acid for blood?

11.  The creature that came out of Shaw was a "facehugger? the size of a giant goddamn octopus???

12. THe creature that burst from the engineer??

13. Why the need to have that crappy Vickers/weyland connection?  "father"?

14. Shaw's ending decision to go after the engineers and not Earth???

15. And after all of the above - the connection with Alien - We are left to assume that the goo in this one was one experiment and the alien in Alien was another experiement - ok I can accept that - the Derelict and the engineer in Alien really have no direct connection to Prometheus - ok I can accept that.  But the company knew about it.  The Nostromo was rerouted and Ash put on board.  The Derelict was sending out a warning beacon.  I assumed that just about everyone in prometheus was going to die, and somehow the company was going to get some information surrounding the Alien so that the nostromo's orders could be issued.  I expected perhaps something surrounding the warning beacon was going take place.  I never expected the Alien to be in it, except perhaps maybe at the end - and that would be perhaps the big reveal of this movie.

Ultimately - This movie fails on two counts - it's own merits and the merits of being a connecting film to Alien.  The film doesn't answer it's own questions, the questions itself poses and fails to really answer those few questions from Alien.  The big question of who/what exactly the Space Jockey is is only half answered in Prometheus and not in a satisfying way.

Also - did anyone get a "Superman" theme feel from the music?

[RidgeTop]

Prometheus was just an epic mess. An absurd plot filled with poorly rehashed sci-fi elements (Asking your creator for immortality at a Pyramid. Blade Runner, anyone?) and horrendous writing. Lindelof clearly has a thing for throwing huge mystery after mystery at the audience while even he probably doesn't have a logical explanation for any of them. "Maybe it's this? Or maybe it's this!" Really...?

I've been hearing some say pretentious bullshit like "If you didn't like the film, perhaps it was just too complex and cerebral for you." There's nothing intelligent about countless nonsensical things in the movie JUST to create a sense of mystery. Why must a member of this super advanced race sacrifice himself to seed a planet? What was the purpose of the engineers teaching ancient cultures the location of a bio-weapons installation that would be used to wipe them out?  Why must an ANDROID spend two years learning ancient languages? He couldn't just download that? Why was the Engineer atmosphere processor built out of stone? Why did David infect Holloway? What was happening to Holloway? What was the purpose of the 'Hammerpede' entering the mouth of that Biologist other than to just be a nod to Kane's demise? What was happening to Fifield? Why did no one seemingly notice after Shaw gave birth to the creature? Why did Weyland need to hide his presence? I could go on for a while here... You could ask question after question about the countless illogical occurrences in the movie, but they'd all just boil down to endless speculation of events that were simply meant to move the terrible plot forward.

I cringed at all the religious (and seemingly Christian) undertones, exactly what Lindelof used to ruin Lost in many's eyes. Shaw as an intelligent scientist clinging to her cross representing the teachings of the bible being disproven before her eyes was hardly believable. And all the lines such as: "They died about 2000 years ago." "After all this you still believe don't you?" "And who created them?" "You can pay me on the other side." It was all immensely ridiculous. You mean to tell me the idea of pyramid-building Predators is far-fetched but maybe Jesus was an Engineer?

Almost none of the characters were likable or interesting, and most of the dialogue was average at best. The cast was bloated with too many characters just there to be fodder.

The thing that bothered me the most though... if you're going to make a movie in the Alien franchise, then make an Alien movie (or an AVP one ). This should have distanced itself more from Alien if they wanted to go the route that they did. I was actually kinda surprised how much in common this film had with AVP; a team of scientists with the head of Weyland Industries go to an ancient pyramid created by the "gods" that our ancient cultures worshiped, which turns out to be a death trap. Even the ending was EXACTLY the same! I find it amusing how Lindelof is all "Mr. Scott didn't take the AVP movies into account, he hasn't seen them." when the basic plot is very much the same with additional sub-plots (that go nowhere) thrown in.

Say what you will about the AVP movies, but they knew exactly what they were trying to be. Prometheus had no idea what it was trying to be, there was no focus to any of it.

I'm curious as to what John Spathis' draft of a more direct prequel was before Lindelof came in and vomited his nonsense ideas all over it, but considering Spaihts' only previous work was the poorly reviewed "The Darkest Hour" perhaps it wouldn't have been much better anyway.

On a slightly positive note here, the visuals were jaw-droppingly good. Probably the best looking movie with that bad of a script I've ever seen. The 3D, visual effects, and the sets were very well done. The creatures, while somewhat interesting, were nowhere near the level of the designs found in the Alien films.

Terrible disappointment. 5/10 for the visuals and production design only.

Movie got me butthurt. It was insulting to me as an Alien fan in the same way that Star Trek (2009) was insulting to many Trek fans. I wanted an Alien prequel... I don't even know what I got.

[Darth Vile]

Here you go...

There is nothing in the movie that shows that the tracker works only 2D and since you ignored my Aliens example it's pretty evident that there is nothing here at all.

Yes there is... the feckin graphic is in 2d. If you think it works in 3d... you are making an assumption based on nothing on screen.. Mt assumption is based on what the movie shows i.e. a device that is a good as useless. Worse than that, it seems designed to get one killed. The one in Aliens is basically the same... but we're talking Alien here.

Yes, the device which was thought to be usable in tracking the alien creature didnt work as intended. That's the point of the scene. That's what builds the tension. Their solid plan turned out to be not so solid. Nothing in that scene creates even one level of a plot gap.

You're just making excuses to overlook flawed logic in a film you prefer. When Ash gives the demonstration, why does no one say "what happens if it's behind you?", or "What happens if it's stood still?". Why doesn't someone just say "well this is a pile of useless sh*t... but what the hell". It's flawed, because someone would have asked the question... You can't have it both ways. And I've already highlighted the flawed logic in sending one person in to flush the alien out. Having just Dallas in the vents is a convenience. 2 people in the vents wouldn't have been as scary... so they just send one in with no explanation as to why they'd do that.

Because she turn it off out of frustration the device doesnt work properly?
I ask again, how does this one second shot create a plot gap?
Even by calling it a random shot all it is, is a random shot and nothing revolves around it.

So now she's "turning it off in frustration"? Well that scene must have passed me by... or is that you're just trying to make it work for you? The distorted screen shot doesn't make a plot gap, it's just an example of where what's on screen doesn't quite fit the reality of the situation.

There are 3 different levels of mistakes in this movie in the Fif and Milburn example that no one has successfully explained away. Have you done it? How these people did not communicate back to base? How their wrist devices are ignored? How no one in the Prom cares about them? Outside of simply ignoring these 3 levels there is no way anyone can successfully explain all this away using info from the movie.

Again, this isnt just one level, this is 3 levels.

It's not that it hasn't been explained, it's that you choose not to agree with the explanation. FiField and Milburn are on their way out... there is a mad dash back to the ship by the others. Fifield and Milburn are left behind. I've seen the movie 3 times now and there is nothing to show that FiField and Milburn have coordinates/mapping information that should lead them back to the entrance (other than memory). Sure, it's a convenience... but it's not a plot/logic gap.

I hope you know you sort of fell into a trap.
Roman roads are made of stones and all sort of other materials which make them last and this didnt look to have ANY at all, It looked like a dirt road. And the Nazca lines are in a place where the environment hardly changes, which from what we saw in the movie is not so. But if it has some unique properties like the Nazca lines that keep the lines undamaged...... why did no one on the ship pointed this out? "Oh look a road.... it would be cool if we had a geologist to look at this rock formation."....Oh wait.

I'm sorry, but you're just not correct. Why wouldn't the road to the temple be "made out of stones and other materials"? I've been on numerous Roman roads in and around Britain, where all that remains is a straight pathway (of debris) through the surrounding terrain. How do we know that the road to the temple wasn't once a huge motorway type structure, and all that's left is basically the debris, which indicates a straight line. It's pretty obvious to me.