Quote from: HuDaFuK on Oct 27, 2016, 08:45:26 PM
Quote from: System Apollo on Oct 27, 2016, 08:43:48 PMAnd what is with this "Fifield and Milburn are not realistic scientists" nonsense that is always considered one of the most critical aspects of the film?
Because they're supposed to be expert scientists. That's literally the only reason they are brought along. So having them act like morons is ridiculous.
I always felt if you add in the deleted scenes they work better as characters since they provide at least a touch of justification for their actions. They still work shit as scientists, but for me I am not sure that matters as I am firmly on the "don't let science get in the way of telling a good story" side of the argument. Not that Prometheus is a great story, still..
Prometheus's main fault was really really shitty editing and them moving around scenes late in the day. It feels like a most constructed mostly in post. There is actually a really good movie in there, you can see traces of it when you re-watch it. I need to sit down with the fan edits sometime. I also don't know how much control Scott had of the editing stage. The way most of the action sequences looked to play out, it was gonna be first half mood, second half action beats like the original Alien. Does Fox think a movie with that kinda budget would sell in 2012 or did they move scenes around the have something exciting happen every 10 minutes to "keep the audiences attention" (as we all know studios really get off on talking down to their audience in 201X. I also understand that maybe these cues play better to certain international markets)
The script writer should have been consulting with an expert on what they would do on an alien planet. What they would point out. This is why you hired science consultants. Just, no one cared. They are fodder to move the story forward, and I am typically ok with that is you set up and justify their insane actions at least a touch.
The other factor is writing scientists as scientist doesn't put asses in the seats. In the end the market that cares about that is an insanely small fraction of the movie going populous. I often wonder if writers are actively told to avoid these sorts of things. Like if it is on a list of producers notes they have during re-write time. We often forget that when a re-write comes it carries a set of demands from various people involved with the production with it. Often these ideas are completely insane egomaniac pieces so people can feel like the have actively given to the film.
You can also make a convincing argument that Prometheus had way too many characters with screen time, and a lot of those could have been severely downplayed to make more room for plot. Easily half the scientist could have become grunts and no one would have noticed, sadly in my opinion the captain couple and the entire crew could fall into the remove pile (to me, other i know will disagree). More time could have been spent with the core group of characters and getting to know them, and just use the rest as goo bait and monster fodder.
I am still looking forward to the new designs and new ideas. Honestly, it can't be worse than Alien: Resurrection, or either of the AVP movies. I have passing faith in the film being at least a fun sci-fi horror romp, and really that is all i want out of it. I don't expect to see another "Alien" being produced by a major studio in my lifetime. Maybe something indie will catch that vibe sometimes. Just, Hollywood doesn't make those movies, and hasn't in a very long time. If the reported 150-200 million dollar budget is true, than zero risks will be taken. Still, I am keen on seeing the new designs in motion (I'm trying to bring this back to the subject the thread is on as we are all gloriously off topic)