Quote from: predxeno on Mar 20, 2016, 07:42:43 PM
The argument would go that since Prometheus breaks continuity with the AVP films then it registers itself as not canon to the original universe, therefore it creates and sets up its own parallel timeline.
But what would be the reason for deliberately doing this other than to demonstrate AVP means nothing? Clearly Prometheus was written to eventually tie into the first Alien film, it was not devised to set up its own parallel timeline. By that logic it would also mean Alien Covenant would not be canon, then its two sequels after that, then Alien itself, leaving us with nothing but AVP and AVPR, which ironically is what people are saying in the first place; they exist on their own in a alternate universe.
Quote from: predxeno on Mar 20, 2016, 07:42:43 PM
Prometheus demonstrates that "The Company" has tons of advanced futuristic techology such as holo-maps, etc. however those same technologies are not present in any of the later films in the series. In Aliens, Ripley and co. gather around a projector table when deciding how to barricade their base; if Prometheus is supposed to exist in the same timeline as Aliens then considering that Aliens takes place 85 years after Prometheus, there is no reason why the terraforming plant shouldn't have the same holographic technology that Prometheus had considering how old the technology must be by then and how terraforming is W-Y's #1 moneyfunding project ("Building Better Worlds"). Furthermore, in A: Rez, which takes place 285 years after Prometheus, the Auriga likewise doesn't have any of the technology that Prometheus had and that presents a continuity error between the titles.
For all the "discrepancies" that fans claim the AVP movies provide, they sure are lenient when it comes to judging Prometheus's own problems.
Yes but you clearly know why those differences exist - that is just nitpicking to the extreme. You cannot expect a film made in 1979 to compete aesthetically with a 2012 sequel/prequel. Had the technology existed back then to create holo-maps and suchlike, they would have done it. Hell, Ridley Scott even says as much in his original Alien commentary - but there was simply no way to implement it back then, and the same in 1986. Likewise you can't expect a 2012 big-budget movie to have 1979 special effects and ZX Spectrum computers all over the bridge.
Besides, those differences also have absolutely nothing to so with the narrative, which is what we're discussing here. Canon has nothing to do with aesthetics and other superficial details. That just comes down to design choice, budget and the technological limitations of the time. Besides, it is somewhat explained that the Prometheus is the flagship of the company, outfitted with state of the art, modern tech. The Nostromo is just an old tugboat made on the cheap, likewise the Auriga centuries later.
I'm not saying Prometheus is not without its problems, but canon and continuity is not one of them. The production design of the film compared to a film made 33 years earlier is irrelevant. And let's face it should Alien or Aliens ever get remade (god-forbid), both the Nostromo and the colony would look vastly different than their original counterparts and much more in line with Prometheus, and that has nothing to do with narrative, only that technology has moved on.
I still watch the AVP films occasionally, and I'll defend Requiem more than most, but they are not part of the primary universe. It's as simple as that.