The biggest mindf**k for me (SPOILERS!!!!!)

[Hive Tyrant]

Well, here it is. I'm just going to say it: Prometheus turns the whole Alien franchise into a spinoff, retrospectively. Everything that happened in all those movies is just what happens when the Engineers f**k up and leave their shit lying around. The REAL storyline here is their desire to kill us, the unknown motivations for that and their also unknown motivations for creating us. And their still mysterious origins. The Engineers are the overarching plot device here and they're still a huge mystery. The xenomorphs? All the events in the Alien franchise? Just accidental byproducts of the Engineer's attempts to create or harness very dangerous organisms as weaponry and then fail. Inconsequential when compared to the scale Prometheus injects into the franchise.

In one sentence, the Alien franchise is what happens when people find the rebellious and discarded weapons of their makers. That's what I think, anyway. And it blew my goddamn mind. And I love it.

[OpenMaw]

In one sentence, the Alien franchise is what happens when people find the rebellious and discarded weapons of their makers. That's what I think, anyway. And it blew my goddamn mind. And I love it.

But, when you think about it. That's always been basically the wisdom behind the Alien movies anyway. Either the engineers had made bioweapons, found bioweapons, or found an alien life form that they tried to control and failed to do so. It was an underlying theme that ran through the films, either intentional or not, that if we weren't careful we'd end up just like that Jockey in the first film.

I mean, anybody(except Ripley) who tried to contain the aliens failed miserably, so... 

[Aceburster]

  Perhaps that would explain some of the frustration by some of the hardcore fans who have seen Prometheus. No grand scheme to our beloved Alien? Just sort of an accident/byproduct of a larger story?

  This is starting to feel like what happened with Resident Evil when they decided to expand the T-Virus into the generic "Its just different biohazards" theme.

  Im not gonna sweat it, but I can understand why some fans might flip over it.
 
   

 

[Deuterium]

Well, here it is. I'm just going to say it: Prometheus turns the whole Alien franchise into a spinoff, retrospectively. Everything that happened in all those movies is just what happens when the Engineers f**k up and leave their shit lying around. The REAL storyline here is their desire to kill us, the unknown motivations for that and their also unknown motivations for creating us. And their still mysterious origins. The Engineers are the overarching plot device here and they're still a huge mystery. The xenomorphs? All the events in the Alien franchise? Just accidental byproducts of the Engineer's attempts to create or harness very dangerous organisms as weaponry and then fail. Inconsequential when compared to the scale Prometheus injects into the franchise.

In one sentence, the Alien franchise is what happens when people find the rebellious and discarded weapons of their makers. That's what I think, anyway. And it blew my goddamn mind. And I love it.

Hive Tyrant,

First, let me state I am very happy that you enjoyed.  I am happy that it "blew your mind".

However, IMHO, I for one am extremely dissapointed that (in your own words), we are provided absolutely no answers, no motivations for:

A)  Why did they create us in the first place?
B)  Why did they decide to wipe us out?
C)  What are their ultimate origins, in the first place.

The very fact that Lindelof and Scott did not feel it necessary to answer even ONE of these fundamental "big" questions...tells me that they either didn't give a flying f**k, or didn't have any answers in the first place (or a combination of the two).

[Hive Tyrant]

I'm not disappointed by that at all. Prometheus lifts a small tip of the veil surrounding the Engineers but a whole lot more about the Alien creature, funnily enough. It expands dramatically on their life cycle and makes them, in my opinion, infinitely more "alien" than before.

The fact that none of those questions are answered is what's so great about Prometheus in my opinion. It gives us the Engineers and expands massively on the universe... but, yet, tells us absolutely nothing. It raises more questions than it answers, but it raises much bigger questions than before. The questions used to be "what are the space jockeys?" and "did they make the aliens?". Now the questions are "why did the Engineers make us?" and "what did we do to deserve their wrath?"... along with "what the hell are the Aliens really?", which is the greatest possible thing it could have done.

Prometheus also leaves plenty of wiggle room for a sequel. In fact, it splits the story into two branches: one has already been explored and deals with the bio-weapons they created: the Aliens. But when you look at the other one that is yet to be explored and developed (the origins of the Engineers, their motivations and their true nature) it seems subservient. Less consequential. The franchise we cherished and loved all these years is just a part of a larger, overarching epic about humanity's creation and our unfathomable makers.

In fact, I'd love to see a sequel to this. Prometheus sets the stage and raises the questions... questions so big they deserve their own movie, in my opinion.

[Wobblyboddle77]

Well, here it is. I'm just going to say it: Prometheus turns the whole Alien franchise into a spinoff, retrospectively. Everything that happened in all those movies is just what happens when the Engineers f**k up and leave their shit lying around. The REAL storyline here is their desire to kill us, the unknown motivations for that and their also unknown motivations for creating us. And their still mysterious origins. The Engineers are the overarching plot device here and they're still a huge mystery. The xenomorphs? All the events in the Alien franchise? Just accidental byproducts of the Engineer's attempts to create or harness very dangerous organisms as weaponry and then fail. Inconsequential when compared to the scale Prometheus injects into the franchise.

In one sentence, the Alien franchise is what happens when people find the rebellious and discarded weapons of their makers. That's what I think, anyway. And it blew my goddamn mind. And I love it.

Well said buddy, i really appreciate the mindset you have which understands Scotts vision of a 'Grand mythology' and that the xenos are a by-product of something much more mysterious and dangerous. Beyond good,beyond evil, beyond our wildest imaginations. It's refreshing to read someone who understands the concept of prometheus, and what scott is saying to the viewer, and not the dross some ass clowns on these forums post without considering the 'bigger picture'. Thankyou for that great post.

[OpenMaw]

The very fact that Lindelof and Scott did not feel it necessary to answer even ONE of these fundamental "big" questions...tells me that they either didn't give a flying f**k, or didn't have any answers in the first place (or a combination of the two).

I gotta agree. It's like I was saying about the science bits of the movie. It doesn't make the movie smart to simply ask questions and not even entertain a few theories about SOME of those questions. Just asking them is not enough. The audience already had questions coming in. The movie should answer at least some of them. At least ONE of the big ones. Especially if it's such an important theme in the movie.

Someone should have asked the engineers why. Even if the engineer had nothing to say, some kind of a reaction we could interpret would be nice.

In fact, I'd love to see a sequel to this. Prometheus sets the stage and raises the questions... questions so big they deserve their own movie, in my opinion.

Just so we can have even more lubricious questions raised which we will never get answers to. 

[Hive Tyrant]

Someone should have asked the engineers why. Even if the engineer had nothing to say, some kind of a reaction we could interpret would be nice.

But... that happened! Elizabeth Shaw asked the Engineer all sorts of questions (and David asked it something in what might be its own language, reverse-engineered from Earth's proto-languages) -- it responded by killing every human within reach.

[OpenMaw]

it responded by killing every human within reach.

That's not much of an answer, though. Flicking on a hologram and showing somebody, even if it were only vaguely, what humans were made for, would have been nice. As it stands it really comes to "Eh... Just die."

[Deuterium]

I'm not disappointed by that at all. Prometheus lifts a small tip of the veil surrounding the Engineers but a whole lot more about the Alien creature, funnily enough. It expands dramatically on their life cycle and makes them, in my opinion, infinitely more "alien" than before.

The fact that none of those questions are answered is what's so great about Prometheus in my opinion. It gives us the Engineers and expands massively on the universe... but, yet, tells us absolutely nothing. It raises more questions than it answers, but it raises much bigger questions than before. The questions used to be "what are the space jockeys?" and "did they make the aliens?". Now the questions are "why did the Engineers make us?" and "what did we do to deserve their wrath?"... along with "what the hell are the Aliens really?", which is the greatest possible thing it could have done.

Prometheus also leaves plenty of wiggle room for a sequel. In fact, it splits the story into two branches: one has already been explored and deals with the bio-weapons they created: the Aliens. But when you look at the other one that is yet to be explored and developed (the origins of the Engineers, their motivations and their true nature) it seems subservient. Less consequential. The franchise we cherished and loved all these years is just a part of a larger, overarching epic about humanity's creation and our unfathomable makers.

In fact, I'd love to see a sequel to this. Prometheus sets the stage and raises the questions... questions so big they deserve their own movie, in my opinion.

So the very premise of this film is to raise fundamental questions that cannot be answered (at all) within the scope of the film...but only in some potential, hopeful sequel?  Is that what constitutes clever storytelling, these days?

[Parker]

I'm not disappointed by that at all. Prometheus lifts a small tip of the veil surrounding the Engineers but a whole lot more about the Alien creature, funnily enough. It expands dramatically on their life cycle and makes them, in my opinion, infinitely more "alien" than before.

The fact that none of those questions are answered is what's so great about Prometheus in my opinion. It gives us the Engineers and expands massively on the universe... but, yet, tells us absolutely nothing. It raises more questions than it answers, but it raises much bigger questions than before. The questions used to be "what are the space jockeys?" and "did they make the aliens?". Now the questions are "why did the Engineers make us?" and "what did we do to deserve their wrath?"... along with "what the hell are the Aliens really?", which is the greatest possible thing it could have done.

Prometheus also leaves plenty of wiggle room for a sequel. In fact, it splits the story into two branches: one has already been explored and deals with the bio-weapons they created: the Aliens. But when you look at the other one that is yet to be explored and developed (the origins of the Engineers, their motivations and their true nature) it seems subservient. Less consequential. The franchise we cherished and loved all these years is just a part of a larger, overarching epic about humanity's creation and our unfathomable makers.

In fact, I'd love to see a sequel to this. Prometheus sets the stage and raises the questions... questions so big they deserve their own movie, in my opinion.

So the very premise of this film is to raise fundamental questions that cannot be answered (at all) within the scope of the film...but only in some potential, hopeful sequel?  Is that what constitutes clever storytelling, these days?

Yes.

Unfortunately.

[orchidal]

Seem they're trying to grow a new generation up with Engineers, rather than Xenos...From the sounds of things the introduction to the Engineers is as enigmatic as it could have been...but hopefully their expanded upon in a sequel. And hopefully they stay in their suits next time

[Hive Tyrant]

I'm not disappointed by that at all. Prometheus lifts a small tip of the veil surrounding the Engineers but a whole lot more about the Alien creature, funnily enough. It expands dramatically on their life cycle and makes them, in my opinion, infinitely more "alien" than before.

The fact that none of those questions are answered is what's so great about Prometheus in my opinion. It gives us the Engineers and expands massively on the universe... but, yet, tells us absolutely nothing. It raises more questions than it answers, but it raises much bigger questions than before. The questions used to be "what are the space jockeys?" and "did they make the aliens?". Now the questions are "why did the Engineers make us?" and "what did we do to deserve their wrath?"... along with "what the hell are the Aliens really?", which is the greatest possible thing it could have done.

Prometheus also leaves plenty of wiggle room for a sequel. In fact, it splits the story into two branches: one has already been explored and deals with the bio-weapons they created: the Aliens. But when you look at the other one that is yet to be explored and developed (the origins of the Engineers, their motivations and their true nature) it seems subservient. Less consequential. The franchise we cherished and loved all these years is just a part of a larger, overarching epic about humanity's creation and our unfathomable makers.

In fact, I'd love to see a sequel to this. Prometheus sets the stage and raises the questions... questions so big they deserve their own movie, in my opinion.

So the very premise of this film is to raise fundamental questions that cannot be answered (at all) within the scope of the film...but only in some potential, hopeful sequel?  Is that what constitutes clever storytelling, these days?

I wouldn't call that the premise of the film, no. It's what I thought after I had processed everything that happened. While I was watching the film I was just engrossed in kickass sci-fi set pieces and body horror. At no point while watching the film did I feel like the answers were missing. I was completely content watching everything unfold as it happened and by the time the credits rolled I was just delighted at the (in my opinion) great film I'd seen.

And now I want to see a sequel. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and now I want more. Surely that is the hallmark of a good film?

[Le Celticant]

I'm not disappointed by that at all. Prometheus lifts a small tip of the veil surrounding the Engineers but a whole lot more about the Alien creature, funnily enough. It expands dramatically on their life cycle and makes them, in my opinion, infinitely more "alien" than before.

The fact that none of those questions are answered is what's so great about Prometheus in my opinion. It gives us the Engineers and expands massively on the universe... but, yet, tells us absolutely nothing. It raises more questions than it answers, but it raises much bigger questions than before. The questions used to be "what are the space jockeys?" and "did they make the aliens?". Now the questions are "why did the Engineers make us?" and "what did we do to deserve their wrath?"... along with "what the hell are the Aliens really?", which is the greatest possible thing it could have done.

Prometheus also leaves plenty of wiggle room for a sequel. In fact, it splits the story into two branches: one has already been explored and deals with the bio-weapons they created: the Aliens. But when you look at the other one that is yet to be explored and developed (the origins of the Engineers, their motivations and their true nature) it seems subservient. Less consequential. The franchise we cherished and loved all these years is just a part of a larger, overarching epic about humanity's creation and our unfathomable makers.

In fact, I'd love to see a sequel to this. Prometheus sets the stage and raises the questions... questions so big they deserve their own movie, in my opinion.

So the very premise of this film is to raise fundamental questions that cannot be answered (at all) within the scope of the film...but only in some potential, hopeful sequel?  Is that what constitutes clever storytelling, these days?

I wouldn't call that the premise of the film, no. It's what I thought after I had processed everything that happened. While I was watching the film I was just engrossed in kickass sci-fi set pieces and body horror. At no point while watching the film did I feel like the answers were missing. I was completely content watching everything unfold as it happened and by the time the credits rolled I was just delighted at the (in my opinion) great film I'd seen.

And now I want to see a sequel. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and now I want more. Surely that is the hallmark of a good film?

Never wanted more when I saw 2001 A Space Odyssey or Blade Runner personally.
Those movies just pleased me sooooooo much that no sequels were needed.
And time have been very kind to both. 

[Parker]

Hive Tyrant, after seeing it and being generally excited and positive do you believe there will eventually be some kind of extended/directors cut?  did you notice any of the choppy scenes and whatnot that others  have been describing?