This has become a flaws thread which I've written about several times when I was on the old IMDb forums.
As for the video essay, my time is short & I've written many of my own essays about the Alien franchise, again on the old IMDb.
Quote from: PsyKore on Aug 30, 2019, 10:47:50 AM
Only time I really rolled my eyes was when he tried to touch the snake.
This is imo the only serious flaw in "Prometheus".
My test for a flaw is;
* Are there clues in the move which could explain what happened? (The SF films "Forbidden Planet" & "Blade Runner" as well as episodes of "The Expanse" & "Star Trek", are examples where more subtle clues can help explain what is happening in a story.)
- "Prometheus" doesn't provided needed clues with Milburn and the snake.
* Since this movie is part of a film franchise, is there franchise information which could explain what Milburn did?
Not specifically.
* Is there behavior in our non fiction world which could explain what Milburn is doing with the snake?
- There is (with snake experts getting killed handling snakes) but the movie doesn't have action/dialogue/visuals which connect to that unusual real world behavior by experts (trying to touch or capture a snake) to MIlburn.
* I try to give science fiction movies which I care about a chance. I'll change my mind later if I missed something in the film but with Milburn & the snake, I still see it as a flaw.
* Now, Ridley and the writers have explanations which they mention in their Blu-ray comments.
1. They state that Milburn's specialty was with less complex or lower level life forms.
But that's not in the film.
2. There is a deleted scene where Milburn goes after a worm on the ground, picks it up & puts it in a specimen container.
Useful but again, not in the movie.
3. Jon Spaihts (script writer) said the crew were confident that their suits provided protection.
All of that is useful but something about it needed to be in the film such as;
Milburn saying a few words of dialogue like;
Quote Milburn: "I know how to handle dangerous snakes and this suit should protect me.
(There are other flaws in "Prometheus" but they are nitpicks. There is one major flaw in "Covenant" but I'll skip that for now.)
Quote from: PsyKore on Aug 30, 2019, 10:47:50 AM
Oh, and the whole map guy getting lost.
* I never had a problem with Fifield getting lost.
People in movies can get lost when they are stressed.
- Think of "Jurassic Park" and the expert computer engineer, Nedry, who got lost on an island he should be completely familiar with. (There are maps of Isla Nubar on the web & a map is shown in the film.)
Nedry should be in a vehicle which can deal with rain (in a rain forest). The access road splits in two; left to the dock and right to the helicopter pad.
- Because Nedry was so stressed he forgot all of that, and didn't remember to take a left turn.
* Also, in our non fiction world airline pilots with full instrumentation, good weather and in a completely familiar area can get lost when they are stressed. I can document that.
- Also in our world there is a thing called, death by GPS. Easy to look up. It can happen.
* In the film Fifield was lost for about 15 minutes before the storm.
- All that needs to be shown in the movie is that before Fifield got lost, he was very stressed.
- He was stressed when he entered the tunnels giving an exhale.
- When he saw the dead Engineer, he furiously yelled at Shaw. (He leaves very stressed out and got lost in the 15 minutes before the storm.)
- Completely plausible imo.
Quote from: PsyKore on Aug 30, 2019, 10:47:50 AM
There's no accounting for what anyone would or wouldn't do despite us thinking we know better.
Very good point. What the audience knows does not = what the characters know.
It is clear from Vickers' attitude / beliefs (she completely dismissed Shaw's/Holloways' theories) and the crew that Vickers picked & hired which reflected her beliefs, that the mission was completely unprepared for the chemical weapons they found on LV-223.
- On top of that Weyland while in stasis had David sabotage the mission to look for a cure for death.
Quote from: Fiendishly Inventive on Aug 29, 2019, 10:40:24 PM
A interesting hypothetical, but I prefer a character or set of them I can respect the intelligence of.
* In the Alien franchise there are multiple backstories & characters who do things which are not wise or completely foolish.
- With "Alien" there is the Dan O'Brannon version/view and the David Giler/Walter Hill version/view.
- I go along with the Giler/Hill version which is used in the novelization for "Alien" because it explains why the Nostromo is at LV-426 & partly explains why Ash behaves the way he does.
* "Alien";
In the backstory the company from the "Alien" novel;
1. The company knew bringing a dangerous alien life form to human settled planets and earth is strictly prohibited.
(This idea would be used later by Cameron for "Aliens".)
2. This is why the Nostromo was chosen to deal with the creature so it would look like the Xenomorph was brought back to earth by accident.
Smart idea? No.
* (Kane & Brett do dumb things but I'll leave that for another time. I do not accept the theory that all the Nostromo crew were dumb because they operated a space tug. Any space ship which goes on multi year voyages where the crew does repairs and where course changes are directed by the crew needs trained/competent people.)
* "Aliens";
Burke had the dumb idea of sending the colonists on LV-426 to the Xenomorph hive thinking he could control the situation & smuggle out some specimens.
He knew the dangers that Ripley told him but ignored it.
Foolish.
- And the Marine leader is incompetent.
* "Alien 3"
- Lock the Xenomorph up. Have a character open the door.
Not smart.
- Ripley doesn't trust the company because she believes they would ignore the danger & she kills herself.
* "Alien 4"
- One scientist does a ridiculous experiment with 3 Xenomorphs in the same room. They have razor sharp teeth. Once cut, the acid blood would melt the floor letting the creatures loose.
- In the franchise this is the dumbest thing that a science character does by far. Mainly because the scientists in "Alien 4" have complete knowledge of what the xenomorphs could do.
** Bottom line; the backstory/underlying theme for Alien franchise is that trained people, usually competent people; through arrogance, greed, over confidence and unnecessary risk taking, will make very poor decisions.
