Prometheus Fan Reviews

[Vickers]

This is a bit of a difficult film for me to review.  After having seen it, I was left with a strange feeling.  I didn't hate it but it didn't live up to the hype - not even a little - and I wasn't particularly jumping for joy.  I guess that's the danger of releasing amazing trailers and having Ridley throw around the word "epic" and saying things like, "What I want to do is scare the living shit out of you."  The constant is it or is it not a prequel was a result of being led to believe that it's not a prequel and then being told that there are many wonderful gems for fans of Alien and that the last 8 minutes tie into the film.  To be quite honest, this film would have been better off dropping any possible link to Alien and existing as a film separate to the Alien franchise.  On the other hand, I'm all for a sequel to Prometheus if some major issues are addressed and if the new prequels progress into more of an Alien feel.

Where to begin?

The score was actually quite solid, even if mostly forgettable.  There were certain scenes that could have served better without any score though.

The visuals were incredible.  However, a big disappointment for me was the fact that it didn't feel like I had any time to appreciate the visuals.  If we saw a shot for more than 2 seconds, we were lucky.  The editing was a nightmare.  This is far from being anything like Alien in terms of pacing.  Alien maintained an elegant and chilling pace, creating a rather sinister atmosphere.  We were given the opportunity to appreciate the beautiful production design and all the incredible special effects.  And when things got intense, the pace increased to perfection - never being too slow but never going by too fast.  We always knew what was happening on screen.  Sadly, with Prometheus, everything felt like it was cut to fit into a 2 hour frame.  In fact, there were a couple of shots that lasted longer in the trailers.  So forget about being drawn into an incredible atmosphere.  Another issue was how the film jumped from one scene to the next.  There were times where it felt right but a lot of the time I just felt myself cringing, knowing that there were fans who could do a better job.  I would even say that some of the scenes felt re-ordered for the theatrical cut (which is apparently Ridley's true vision).

As for characters, there were no real surprises for me.  David, Shaw and Vickers were the most interesting to watch.  Fifield and Milburn were a wasted opportunity.  Ford didn't need to be there.  Janek was a case of a great actor being fed horrible writing.  Holloway was the annoying douche I found him to be in all the footage released.  Honestly, I think Prometheus could have done without Holloway.  I didn't feel that interesting science vs. religion vibe between Shaw and Holloway.  With the rest of the crew being there, it really wasn't necessary to have Holloway around.  They represent the science and Shaw has these conflicting scientific and religious aspects to her, although largely religious for most of the film.  But even with David, Shaw and Vickers being the most developed, I still don't think they were developed enough.

Character deaths didn't carry across much intensity.  Milburn and Fifield's torture could have been extended a little more.  I can't even recall the rest of the deaths - that's how "scary" and "intense" they were.  Vickers being crushed by the Derelict was a huge letdown - first and foremost I would have liked to see her survive along with Shaw but if she really did have to get killed off, they could have had her die in a far more intense way or even in an act of heroism.  They didn't delve into her vulnerable and caring side as much as they could have.  Oddly enough, Holloway's death was the one that had the most impact and brought out wonderful performances from the rest of the cast.

Just a few other aspects I'm going to tack on:

- I didn't care for the way the engineers looked - they weren't scary at all and I hated that they looked so human.  I feel that having humans connected to another species too closely kills the mystery.  So I guess it's safe to assume that the Space Jockey from Alien is in fact a guy in a suit who happened to be chilling on his chair when out pops a poorly designed Proto-Xenomorph.

- There was no real heart to this film.  Character interaction could have been far better.

- The trailers did give much of the film away.  I don't know what they were thinking.  We knew of character deaths, we saw some rather spoilerific glimpses at scenes that take place in the final act and we could piece together much of the film.

- That ending... :/

I honestly don't have the energy to get into everything on too deep of a level.  I didn't hate Prometheus but I wasn't feeling very satisfied either.  I do think something like a 3 hour cut would do this film good - especially with all its big ideas.  Getting rid of a character or two would be helpful in using that time to focus on more interesting characters.  Lingering on certain shots a lot longer could really help in establishing a fantastic atmosphere - I felt like I was watching a 2 hour long preview of the actual film.

Was it a decent sci-fi film?  Yes.  Was it a decent prequel?  Not so much.

Here's hoping that extended cut fixes some of these issues.

6/10

[mastermoon]

I've notice at first people were not happy about Prometheus, now everyone is loving it.

Well I guess watching a a few times changes the opinions to enjoy the movie .

[St_Eddie]

It's taken me a while to put this (3 part) YouTube review together but I'm finally finished!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNoDzlYUuJU#ws

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCz2-tMIkrI#ws

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQFJ8WmQAw0#ws

Let me know what you all think.

Thanks.

[DaddyYautja]

I think you're missing the point Daddy... And for someone who appears so picky re. Prometheus, I find it interesting that you seem so resistant to acknowledging/accepting logic gaps in other movies (in this case Alien) that you don't agree with... Hmmm...

I am not resistant in acknowledging logic gaps in other movies. You have to yet shown me one example that is an actual logic gap. Your idea that a 2d display means 2d function is your idea. There is nothing in the film that shows that the device works only in 2d and the character know this flaw.

I'm quite up to date with technology Daddy, and I'd really like to see that app you have that can show you entry points/exits within a building. I think you've been playing Batman: Arkam Asylum too much...

Here's my pup.
Here's my pup.
A quick example.
AAAAHOOOOOOO!!!

Their reaction/action may not reflect the reality... but it doesn't necessarily make it unexplainable – and that's where I'm coming from. Yes – if it were a crack team of explorers/military types, I'd expect every single member of the team to be accounted for at any given time. However, this team seems to consist of individuals who have been brought together for a specific mission, rather than a group that have experience of working together within a highly functioning team. I think that's explainable, and I think it's highlighted in the movie that this is a bunch of disparate people brought together by a surreptitious plan. Throw in there some chaos/confusion re. the storm... and voila.

When one mentions some one being an archeologist, biologist, geologist, one doesnt think of people right out of Uni that have little experience and treat a trip to an alien planet like is a casual field trip. Im not saying accidents cant happened but basic things being ignored really stretches the characters a bit. But, yes, how the movie eventually played out it does look none of these people are actually that competent. And that just brings up the idea of why would Weyland take such chances if he is that desperate to live?

I don't think it's ridiculous at all. There was no reason for Dallas to go into the air vents alone... other than it was convenient excuse to make it more dramatic – which is fine for the drama of the movie, but doesn't negate the fact that it would have been more logical for Dallas to have his back covered by another (given that we know the tracker is pretty much useless and that there are multiple vents that interchange/overlap etc.)

You cant use information after gained after the fact to say something was a logic gap. If the characters knew before the fact then you got a point but not after. The tracker was shown to work when they picked up the cat. They crew has no idea that this will end up not working properly for the alien. The plan was 2 at the bay, two at the hatch, and one making a path to the hatch. That's the best these space truckers could do with what they had. There arent different levels of backups to cover this like we have in the Prom example.

I don't think that's correct. FiField's device can track the 'pup's', but unless the pups are by the exit (which they are not), then there is no point following them. Again, there is nothing in the movie that indicates that FiField has the same/or similar holographic image that Janek has back in the Prometheus – otherwise they would have got the 'ping' that  Janek picked up yes??? And clearly they ask Janek where the 'ping' is coming from. Ergo, they don't have that capability on their persons.

This answer just shows how much of a clusterfunk this thing is.
You start by saying that he can track his pups but then say he cant. The ping was coming from one of those devices, right? So how can he be tracking the device (as your answer suggest) while at the same time not being able to tell what one of his devices is telling him?

Sorry but the idea that he has a map is there in the dialogue. He says, "If there is anything here worth looking at my pups will find them." Then he leads the team.  The devices just map what they scan, there is no reason for Fif to follow the devices unless the devices work by stopping at possible places of interest. And they dont stand there after they find something they just keep going. Meaning that he HAS to have information of a certain place in a certain spot because the pups DONT show him by leading him somewhere. They are randomly mapping the place going where ever they can reach. Plus Milburn gives out grid coordinates.

[Mohawksinspace]

Don't get all the hate for Holloway on this site.
IMO he was the only character who showed excitement and dissapointment in the outcome of their search.
Hell when he was falling apart from infection he was still more interested in what was occurring to him than
self preservation.

Sorry the dude is attractive and prob reminded folks of that dude
You hated in highschool who took your lunch money.

Holloway>Vickers

*zips up flame suit*

[ThisBethesdaSea]

Where are all the regulars these days? Cvalda, Eva, NGR1, and the rest of the cream of the AvP crop?

[souNdwAve89]

Don't get all the hate for Holloway on this site.
IMO he was the only character who showed excitement and dissapointment in the outcome of their search.
Hell when he was falling apart from infection he was still more interested in what was occurring to him than
self preservation.

Sorry the dude is attractive and prob reminded folks of that dude
You hated in highschool who took your lunch money.

Holloway>Vickers

*zips up flame suit*

Yeah, I didn't hate Holloway either. I'm not saying he was a great character, but the things he did fits his role of a thrill seeker. That is what Logan Marshall-Green described him in those behind the scenes videos.

[ThisBethesdaSea]

I hope the blu ray has a formal documentary and some shitty featurette as seen everywhere else. Are there specs for it available anywhere?

[SpeedyMaxx]

Where are all the regulars these days? Cvalda, Eva, NGR1, and the rest of the cream of the AvP crop?

I got the distinct impression a few people bugged out due to the heartbreak of variety of opinion.

[First Blood]

That's a pretty fair assesment Vickers. And I am inclinded to agree with it.

[ThisBethesdaSea]

Where are all the regulars these days? Cvalda, Eva, NGR1, and the rest of the cream of the AvP crop?

I got the distinct impression a few people bugged out due to the heartbreak of variety of opinion.

Lolz...true that.

[RagingDragon]

"At oh-eight-thirty, the fanboys started beating back our hail of logic.  They fell and fell, clmibing like mad ants over the bodies of their own dead, and finally spilled over the top of the walls.  We realized how futile it had become when our most powerful weapon, the appeal-to-reason-after-watching-the-film cannon, let loose a most pointless blast of raw intelligence that would've humbled even the staunchest fanboy.

They simply stood there in the slowly rising smoke, unscathed, holding their signed copies of the first season of Lost before them like shields.

It was at that moment we realized there was no hope."

[SpeedyMaxx]

Yes, it sounds very pretty, Bishop, but what exactly are we looking at?

And for the thirtieth time, I hated Lost.

[ThisBethesdaSea]

Elitists have to put down what they believe are the lower opinions so as to fuel their own sense of absolutism.

[Gren_86]

Well can't help the way I feel about it, but like I said, it is a good movie, just not so much for a fan (unless you are into tentacles)
Edit: I read your review and I guess we are on the same page, I didn't feel quite as bad but definitely the last bit felt wrong somehow.

*Spoiler alert ! I agree with you guys. I too wasn't that hyped (mentally restraining myself) before seeing the film due the risk of total disappointment and afterwards was pretty glad I did cause I had mixed feelings about it. It's a very good move but not a great one, like most of us would have wanted it to be.
I will point out the few things that didn't work out for me at all. I will start with the design direction of both proto alien and facehugger. As a huge long time H.R. Giger fan I wasn't that disappointed when I clearly saw that he had no involvement in the creature design cause he isn't the only talented artist on the planet and I also thought that it would be refreshing to see something new and different but this is not what I had in mind. I forgot to mention that I'm also a huge fan of Carlos Huante, like Giger he is an incredible artist especially in the field of macabre and twisted art but for whatever reason he didn't deliver this time. I dig that Ridley obviously didn't wish to make a copy of his first alien movie which is a good thing but in Prometheus there were no xeno lurking, chasing, killing people scenes so in my opinion he had the liberty to give the audience (especially us, the alien fans) a really f**ked up image of the proto alien and facehugger which would haunt us in our nightmares for years to come. I for one like the idea of the engineer being human and the whole origin plot but the lack of tension and the goofy creature design really distinguishes this movie in a diminishing way from the other alien movies.
My verdict is that it's a very good movie and it would have been great if it wasn't for the intentional subtle approach (creature design, lack of tension) not to mention the spoiler trailers.

My thoughts:

Prometheus is without doubt a Ridley Scott film, sharing a lot of it's DNA with Alien. Visuals, aestethics, editing, conceptual designs, lighting and so on – pure Alien territory. It looks and sounds fantastic, perhaps with one exception I'll talk about later. The first act establishes the (main) characters, the worlds, the larger thematic undercurrents at play. Humanitys origins. Our place in the Universe. Our purpouse.

Story- and pacewise, you can draw a loose comparison to the first part of Alien, fused with the last part of Aliens. From character building, pieces of exposition etc. into a rollercoaster final where the momentum just builds. Just not as good as those two movies when measured directly. Prometheus does not  give itself time to dwell in dark Nostromo-like corridors and otherwise, just attempt to generate mood from very little happening on screen. It's not Alien in that regard. The pace is faster and there's a lot more dialogue between characters. The finale has some problems with stitching some scenes together to make the flow and edit seem as 'natural' or effortless as Aliens.

Gotta mention the opening 10 or so minutes – absolutely breathtaking and spectacular. The best  segment Ridley has made since Gladiator. From the early Earth sequence to the crew awakening and getting up to speed with current events, this is stellar. The 3D works really well – easily the best use of the technology I've seen since Avatar +2 years ago. It's all about depth and scale when it's utilized. Often you don't actually notice it – dialogue scenes etc – just as it should be.

Michael Fassbenders David really shines – it's mostly through him and his almost childlike but razorsharp curiosity, the most profound discussions are channeled. Easily my favorite character of the film next to Shaw. It's not really an Ash or a Bishop infused performance – if anything, it's more akin to Roy Batty, speaking with the voice of Peter O'Toole. Think a bit of Ian Holms cold portrayel when it comes to interacting with the humans, fused with a bit of Bishops essentially benign servant nature and then wrap it around with Battys intensity, playful, constantly emitting some degree of inner doubt with small gestures and facial tics. A quite restrained performance.

The 3 mains – Fassbender, Rapace and Theron are pretty strong overall (although Vickers fate comes seemingly out of nowhere and to little effect), so much so that you could argue, that the other performances suffer somewhat from it. Should a directors cut arrive on home video, I would expect some of the added scenes to flesh out some of the supporting characters more – I'd welcome that very much. Janek and his flight crew could benefit from some more interaction, although Janek gets to have some pretty good scenes with the main actors. There are some bodyguard-type characters that are never given any attention whatsoever and that's fine. They are just around to be part of the background. You could get rid of half of them scriptwise and no one would notice.

Cvalda was right all along about LMG  – he's a douchebag, portraying a douchebag in a douchebaggy performance. I don't really care who's to blame in the end. Basically the character just doesn't work as intended as it is.

Personally, I'd have liked the film to dive just that extra layer into the themes it puts up there, but it does indeed seem like Lindlof, Spaihts and Scott came through with their Q&A statement about not offering definitive answers to some of the plot points, background etc. On one side, I agree with the notion that it's essentially the questions and what asking those questions does to us, that's at the core of a well told story and perhaps not the answers themselves, however alluring it is 'to know'. On the other hand, I can understand how the ambiguity will cause some critisism and I'll agree that the story pretty much abandons this strand when the action kicks in and right up until the end. One scene depicts a couple of the main players questioning the engineer, but they don't see eye to eye on what they should ask him. It's a great scene as it is, but would have had more resonnance, if the themes had been brought up more to the forefront of the film up until that point. We understand what this place essentially is about (massproduction of death – you noticed that skull on top of the temple?), what this group of engineers were up to and why the last one cannot be allowed to go to Earth. But nothing more. It's up to you to speculate further down that road.

The one thing that didn't quite work for me design-wise, would be some of the creatures. I don't mind the engineer design and execution. Neither do I mind the choice to promote the mechanical designstrand as opposed to the bio/sexual designstrand (Alien) in the alien/engineer designs. But some of the underling creatures, including the starbeast, just doesn't quite work for me in the context of the film I'm watching. Especially the lighting and edit of the starbeast facehugging a certain individual.

Another thing that seems like it should have been completely reworked was the ending reel. It should have been adjusted storywise, dialogue and the edit. Right now, the ending seems somewhat 'unfinished' or rushed, which was the biggest surprise of the film to me, considering the talent involved.

I'll stop here for now – it's 1:30am and I have other stuff to do here before I turn in

Overall I think it's a good film, but not great. Visually and with regards to sound, it's second to none. This needs to be watched on the big screen – the bass sounds when the juggernaut is activated and 37 other scenes (at least) is just unbelivable. My seat was literally shaking. My main problems are with the ending, a couple of character interactions don't quite deliver and the thematic ideas could have been scrutinized deeper to a greater effect.

Characterwise, I'd give it a solid 7 of 10 

Outstanding review, I can't contribute anything which comes to mind that you haven't mentioned yet, I really enjoyed reading this carefully and at some point it became kind of creepy cause I felt like someone else was "robbing" me of my personal thoughts about this feature