For months cinephiles and die-hard Alien fans have been trying to work out the connections between Prometheus and Ridley Scott’s original Alien film. Meanwhile, the filmmakers have spent just as long attempting to put distance between the movie and the notion that it’s nothing more than an Alien prequel, so as not to limit Prometheus‘ potential appeal. Given the state of the Alien franchise (after the underwhelming Alien vs. Predator installments, as well as Alien: Resurrection), it’s no wonder that 20th Century Fox is interested in attracting both the casual moviegoer as well as the die-hard xenomorph faithful.
Unsurprisingly, the movie does offer plenty of tie-ins to the 1979 franchise starter – but does Prometheus find the right balance between loving nods to Alien while also working as an intelligent and captivating standalone sci-fi drama?
Fortunately, the answer is yes – most of the time. While Prometheus delivers a sci-fi experience and story that is nearly unmatched in a modern movie theater experience, its connection to the Alien films is, from time to time, a bit heavy-handed or awkwardly handled – and worst of all, far less compelling than the new storyline unfolding in this film. As a result, Prometheus is going to offer a different experience depending on who is watching it. Both casual audiences and Alien fans should enjoy the core narrative (and breathtaking visuals); however regular moviegoers will likely be confused by some of the time spent addressing Alien universe mythos, and conversely, hardcore fans may be at times equally befuddled by some of the answers provided.
Ignoring any pre-conceived notions about xenomorphs, the Prometheus story follows a pair of archaeologists, Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and her partner Dr. Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), who discover a series of ancient cave drawings (from different cultures, separated by thousands of years) that point to a single location in space: a distant moon, LV-223. Shaw and Holloway believe that LV-223 is home to an ancient truth about humanity’s origins – a belief that is also championed by billionaire Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce), CEO of the Weyland Corporation. After hearing their findings, Weyland agrees to send the pair – along with a fifteen-person crew – to LV-223 aboard the spacecraft Prometheus. However, when the team arrives on LV-223, it quickly becomes clear that Shaw and Holloway underestimated the implications of their expedition, as age-old questions are answered and new horrors are brought to light – horrors with Earth-shattering consequences for humanity.
The 'Prometheus' Space Map
Moviegoers who have been underwhelmed by Ridley Scott’s non-sci-fi efforts (most recently Robin Hood, Body of Lies, and A Good Year) will be glad to know that the director slips effortlessly back into the genre that he helped define over thirty years ago. Not only does Prometheus feature one of the most captivating and carefully-paced opening acts in recent memory, it also offers a masterful visual aesthetic that easily raises the bar for onscreen sci-fi imagery in modern cinema. In a time when sci-fi/action films snag astronomical box office money (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), it’s easy for studios to rely on a recognizable brand, or visual spectacle, over core filmmaking components – such as competent world building (not just “cool” CGI characters) as well as intelligent scene composition (in favor of non-stop explosions). No doubt some moviegoers don’t want to think about the actual process of filmmaking, but for those who do care, Prometheus should serve as a breath of fresh air (and a welcome reminder) that inspired directing can make a real difference in the onscreen experience.
Similarly, co-writer Damon Lindelof (along with Jon Spaihts) succeeds at delivering a prequel movie that isn’t undermined by later installments and, instead, tells an all-new sci-fi story that (as mentioned before) is much larger and significantly more interesting than its core “source” material. Prometheus provides answers that many Alien fans will certainly appreciate, but at the same time raises much larger (and significantly more relatable) questions about the wonders – and horrors – of creation, and humanity’s place in the cosmos. As a result, the actual connections to the Alien universe are unnecessary to the success of the new story – and could, for less-interested moviegoers, come across as tacked-on.
All of the major players (Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green) deliver enjoyable, or at the very least believable, performances. However, despite solid work from everyone involved, both Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender offer especially memorable turns as Dr. Shaw and David, respectively. Fassbender’s David is easily one of the most fascinating (and disturbing) characters of 2012 – and Rapace holds nothing back in a number of especially challenging scenes (not to mention one especially brutal one). As an ensemble fueled by heavy-hitting talent, there is a definite purpose for each of the characters’ screen time, and few of the players are wasted. That said, a couple of them are short-changed by the end – which doesn’t detract from the overall success of the film, but in a few cases can be somewhat underwhelming in the moment.
Charlize Theron and Idris Elba in 'Prometheus'
Prometheus was shot entirely using 3D cameras, and much like Avatar and Hugo before it, the film once again proves that in the hands of a smart filmmaker, the format can enhance the moviegoing experience. Plenty of detractors will surely assert that seeing any movie in 3D is a waste of money – and plays into the hands of greedy studio executives. However, Prometheus is well-worth the upgraded ticket. The format isn’t distracting and successfully highlights details in the alien landscape as well as internal (yet massive) environments – not “pop out of the screen” jump scares. Scott’s use of the added dimension throws fuel on the argument that instead of decrying every 3D film, we should be sending studios a message about what type of 3D experiences we’ll support, boycotting tacked-on 3D (Men in Black 3) and poorly implemented post-conversions (Clash of the Titans). To make the experience even more potent, go the full distance with a 3D IMAX viewing.
Regardless of the connections to the Alien universe, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus is a welcome return to form for the director – delivering a fascinating sci-fi storyline, gorgeous 3D visuals, and competent filmmaking choices that – especially for summer blockbuster fare – are sorely missing at the box office these days. While less-informed moviegoers might be a little confused about some of the Alien tie-ins, Prometheus finds a healthy fan-service balance that doesn’t detract from Lindelof’s rich (and horrifying) new franchise storyline. In space no one can hear you scream, but 20th Century Fox is going to have no trouble finding moviegoers who, after seeing Prometheus, are eager to scream for more Scott-helmed projects in the Alien universe.
If you’ve seen the movie and want to discuss details about the film without worrying about spoiling it for those who haven’t seen it, please head over to our Prometheus Spoilers Discussion!
Still wondering about how – exactly – Prometheus connects to Alien? Read our ‘Prometheus – Alien Connection Explained’ Article.
For an in-depth discussion of the film by the Screen Rant team check out our Prometheus episode of the SR Underground podcast.
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Let us know what you thought of the film in the comment section below.
Follow me on Twitter @benkendrick for future reviews, as well as movie, TV, and gaming news.
Prometheus is Rated R for sci-fi violence including some intense images, and brief language. Now playing in theaters.
Our Rating:
4.5 out of 5
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When the vast space-ship falls down on-top of the last surviving female but does not crush her to bits all because she hides under a bit of rock….it began to look silly & far fetched non-sense – I get the feeling old Ridley is having a good old chuckle to himself at everyone taking this film oh so serious,…It is not one patch on thje original Alien which should have been left alone !
Makes me feel like seeing Spider-Man 3 when they re-wrote Uncle Bens death – it spoiled the classic story in the 1st movie !
Really? THAT’S the moment when it got far fetched?
Im 18. I’ll admit I did come in with high hopes but I have never seen any Alien movies including AVP 1&2.
I just didnt like the movie, I got the story completely and was never lost but I found myself bored. The Shaw character did wonderful in the movie. Her boyfriend not so much. Theron was a unbelievable but believable b****. Ben was justacting on a whim for most of the movie and then when it is explained your like, “Really?”. Idris Elba served his purpose…. Everbody else was very blah.
I gave the movie a 3 mostly because of visuals which were scarce but when present were grand. You will either really love this movie or be bored. I found myself in between.
There’s brilliance in this film and yet it feels like the scope of the film could have been much larger and as if the film was heavily edited for its 2 hour screening time. My only disappointment is that some of the characters served only as background fillers and didn’t have as much of a big role in the film as some of the bigger key characters. There weren’t that many horror scenes to be had either but what is present holds up admirably on screen. I did acknowledge the alien tie INS but admittedly feel as though they were tacked on for the sake to appease the fans. What the film does well is weave a new story of powerful corporations and their pursuit of immortality; as well as, humanities tenacity to break new frontiers no matter what the cost. I may be one of the few who embraces the richness of the new story being told by Riddley and prefer the focus of the next film to shift away from the already exhausted alien material. Hopefully Sir Riddley follows it up with a sequel that will showcase new horrors and not be forced to make another generic Aliens movie. Aside from the fact that there weren’t that many scares in this film and the underdevelopment of some one dimensional characters, I would have to rate this movie a 3.5 out of 5 stars. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch the film but to some it may come as an acquired taste.
The effects are brilliant – but there are a few shots that are unconvincing – like when the ‘worms’ attack & go down throats – the CGI looked naff !
I wanted to like this film but I would not go watch it again & I guess that’s what a classic makes you want to do.
I just saw the 12:01a.m. premier and the film yet again in less than 24 hours, both times in IMAX 3D. I was 19 when the first ‘Alien’ film came out and it was, and still is, the definititive Sci-Fi horror film.’Prometheus’ is an R-rated Sci-Fi drama, which is a genre of it’s own. If you want xenomorphs, you may as well stick to the trilogy and the dreaded fourth film,’Alien Resurrection’, though these aliens are by far more realistic looking,though perhaps not as ferocius.’Prometheus’ is going to disappoint Smart Phone addicts who need yet another app or fast mode of communication. This is a film that is created not to satiate desire for blood-lust images, but to create a kind of psychological warfare. The storyline questions faith with mythological DNA for anyone who does their homework on the mythical Greek Titan and creator of mankind. It also caters to questions of faith, God and humanity, which is not everyone’s cup of tea. I’ve personally never seen a film this beautiful and inspiring–not in any cinematic genre. I was sceptical, but enthusiastic, and never did I think I would be this defensive of the storyline which is left open to discussion for a reason. It forces one to dig deeper and question that which is not in the trilogy. To my amazement, the audience left the theatre without cell phones in hand, but actually TALKING to one another which, in my opinion, means the film has succeeded in what it set out to achieve.
“creator of mankind”
He only fashioned the likeness of man out of clay, Athena brought them to life! Probably an ancients way of understanding domestication by inter-breeding between two species of similar-looking hominids, giants and cro magnon and neanderthal. In which case only the female giants could bring the offspring to term and human females could not carry the child. You are right though, the animation in this film is amazing.
Finally , I have seen Prometheus , Yes it is clearly an epic sci-fi movie , screen rant’s rating of 4.5/5 is absolutely correct, to clear confusion and potholes in the series it requires some assumption and some might be answered in sequel(which is highly necessary) but this movie requires multiple viewings, so neglect the critics,its really awesome movie , remember alien and blade runner were similarly criticized back then but now considered as true classic sci-fi movies.
I saw this movie and left very disappointed. Maybe, Scott has been away from the franchise too long. here’s a list of things i hated about the movie;
What was the first scene about, the Jockey drinking the poison killing humself, totally pointless
they travel millions of light years to search for an alien race and bring only shotguns and flamethrowers
We never see what the guy that david poisoned was turning into; only that Shaw pregnant and what was growing inside here was a big ass face hugger of some sort
And its method of face hugging was the most garbage Ive seen
It puts a snake in your mouth and why didnt a full grown whatever you want to call it pop out of the humans belly like it did the space jockey and that was a poor excuse of the first development ofxenos
Last, the space jockey doesnt speak or scream when being attacked by something way larger than itself
and oh, all the space jockey’s look alike.
So the space jockey wakes up cranky bashes eveyones head in and launches its ship to earth with no explanation, Shaw takes david head and body to its other ship and flys to its home planet for what again, and the snake in the mouth still doesnt explain why it had those effects on the human or was it the guy whose mask melted, i’m not sure but this movie was a total disappointment and i give it 2 out of 5 stars. I should have went to see pirahna 3dd.
I would agree. YOU should have seen Piranha 3DD.
What was the first scene about, the Jockey drinking the poison killing humself, totally pointless…
You guys have to look at the bigger picture! The Aliens created us and we have the same DNA therefore when he fell in the water thats how we (human) been created. Thats the opening scene. The movie it self is amazing and great!
That was a joke, but at least it would have made more sense than this movie
Just wait and see how many ideas are ‘ripped off’ from this movie in the near future. This was a masterful movie. Most of your complaints are because you’re too used to watching crap like star wars where everything is spelled out so a 10 year old can understand it. lol….Pirahna 3DD?
“space jockey doesnt speak or scream when being attacked by something way larger than itself”
I believe it is called bravery or more aptly ego, they are the dominate animal in the universe in their minds.
“all the space jockey’s look alike”
All Titans were twins so they probably all looked alike or very nearly the same.
“space jockey wakes up cranky”
What I saw was a creature of high intelligence who reacted instantly to perceived threats…with David being able to decipher his language while hearing the other humans consulting David I instantly understood that David was the power behind the men and represented the only real threat to a guy wearing space body armor. David had to be killed because he could teach the others how to use the engineer’s technology. I mean, to someone with a brain as large as these space travelers I would expect nothing less than brutal responses to threats.
They should have cut the first scene out it was stupid and unnecessary.
Bravery?!?! i can go with your reasoning behind him waking uo cranky and beating down everyone. another thing that I dont understand is during rhe hologram with the jockeys running, they all had their masks on, yet this one when his shipped crashed made it from the ship to the escape pod with no mask and that was a hump. one scientist said that the humans wouldnt last 2 minutes without their masks
@Braveheart and @Beserker: You guys do realize that this isn’t the spoiler discussion right?
You’re kinda ruining the movie for those who haven’t seen it yet.
Sorry, but is this blog called the review?
No disrespect to anyone, but i feel like i just watched a 2nd rate alien movie like the one they made in the early 80s called “Creature” and Ridley Scott put no energy in this movie except for the ships special effects
Ditto…exactly! I only have to wonder if the big time movie reviewers who gave this movie such glowing reviews were paid by the studio and/or money backers? Because their A+ reviews make NO SENSE to me!!
Interesting notion because as we speak I am engaged in a project writing a screenplay about a normal movie buff named Vic who starts a negative blog about movies and suddenly changes into a propaganda mouth piece for Hollywood after he is infected with a black slime he receives from Scully in a Fed Ex package by mistake making the possibility of alien invasion of Earth, the X Files AND internet blogging part of a grand conspiracy a reality…
After seeing it I wonder what Cameron would have did with the material?
He would have turned the aliens blue.
…used real sets, animatronics, on-location shooting and traditional special effects with the CGI.
I fully agree with Berzerker above. The opening scene was never truly adressed, and what was the giant UFO he was looking at?
Why did David steal the bio-shell/vase? Why Did he slip a mickey into the Doctors drink? He seemed to almost know that he would have intercourse and create something. Weyland seemed to have no input into these actions so why would he take these actions? Prehaps another agenda programmed in by the Yutami corp, or other heads of Weyland? Theres always an underlying theme that the Weyland Corp knows exactly whats out there, and just looking for guinea pigs to bring something back, but like most of the films it’s hardly adressed, and here you can only assume because were given no clue.
What exactly is the connection to the Aliens? In the Space Jockeys ship in Alien there were the facehugger eggs kept in a statis field so one would assume based on this film that the Space Jockeys woulve used them as a weapon. But no eggs are found only some bio ooze cannon shells that seem to turn humans into mostrous giants. How would that destroy Earth? Lets make the human race more montrous, and strong that will surely them easier to defeat. The if they have sex the give birth to face huggers?
The snake like creatures that develope from the ooze which one could assume mutated the worms we see a couple shots of have acid for blood like the aliens, so we can assume again theres a connection to the aliens, but again nothing here is really explained and we dont ever really know what these cannon shells do.
To add to confusion this isnt the same planet from alien, it’s LV-220 or something close to that so we never really are given any explanation as to how that ship got there. So at the end we see some weird human/space jockey/Alien hybrid burdt out of the Jokeys chest (an no its not the same jockey from Alien)So we still never get to see what came out of him. This thing has no tail, and the inner mouth seems connected by gumms, and cant extend out proper. Again no explanation as to what the hell it is, or how it could possibly burst out from a seemingly different creation.
One could assume that the Space Jockeys developed bio weapons from the Aliens (which is what Weyland Yutami always wanted to do too) And that the Alien like creature that appears at the end kinda confirms this, but thats pure conjecture.
Not that I expect Aliens in this movie, but I did expect a little more clear answers, at least to why the Space Jockeys had Alien Eggs, and what they were doing with them. This movie just seemed to add more confusion into an already open ended mystery.
In fairness it was a beautiful looking, the 80′s looking sci fi, and dos systems writing was awesome, and I loved the HR Giger sets. I didnt go into this trying to be a snob, and expecting Aliens, I knew this was it’s own movie. I just did not expect it to be as evasive, and anti climatic as it was. I guess if there is a sequal some of these issues can be addressed but I wont hold my breath.
Prehaps some of it could if someone were to do a prequel to Aliens about the terraformers that were overrun by the Aliens, but this is Hollywood so I wont hold my breath.
Overall I give it a 3 for acting and set design.
“Why Did he slip a mickey into the Doctors drink?”
Weyland ordered him too as he was hoping to find a form of forced evolution that could make him immortal and all powerful like the Gods!
SPOILER ALERTS
this is why I’m upset. No questions answered!!! only more questions asked.
1. they woke this guy up and he did what anyone else would do when rudely awaken. He was extremely cranky. He answered no questions and just slapped everyone around. Apparently he knew his mission when he woke up because he went straight to it. Now this guy had no dialogue and didnt answer any questions or gave any reasoning as to who what where why or how. By the way I give him some credit because he appeared to be holding his own before that squid, big a$$ face hugger or body hugger shot snake in his mouth which really didnt make any sense to me.
2. the ending where the THING poked its way out of the jockey back of its head first appeared to be a cop out to me. Like they just got tired or didnt want it to look like a Xeno all the way but teased with remanants of a Xeno.
3. Did the Space Jockey have a 10-pack in the beginning and muscles on top of the muscles on top of the muscles on his shoulders? Someone said that the guy in the beginning sacrificed himself so that their DNA was on earth and became our DNA. I dont buy that. Why didnt he just cut his own throat or blead out, why drink something that would corrode or dissolve the body and it appeared as if it was destroying the DNA.
4. so Shaw get pregnant by a poisoned by DAvid boyfriend and tries to abort a squid face hugger. That dont make sense and the Boyfriend is killed before we can see what he would turn into?
5. Which one of the 2 lost dudes returned to the ship. I thought the one whose face shiled melted died and the one with the snake onhis arm was going to turn into something else, but they messed that up too.
Other than the equipment and special effects about the ship, it is my opinion that this movie failed. Did the Huge facehugger die after it shot the snake in the jockeys mouth. That didnt look right it was so. and would the xeno or what ever you call it with gummy teeth, what will that tutn into on LV223? And uh, if the Jockeys were trying to destroy, why would Shaw think that going to her planet with David’s head get her some answers? they just might kill her at the sight of her. This is Star Wars Phantom Menace all over again
Beserker wrote
“this is why I’m upset. No questions answered!!! only more questions asked.”
I couldn’t agree more,and this is almost verbatim what I was thinking when I drove home.
I love the look,the tone,the concept,but tbqh,the story itself is piss poor for the exact reasons mentioned.
I guess this is what you get when one of the writers from Lost is writing a hard sci-fi epic,and just like Lost,more questions are asked than answered by the end of it.
I’m about to watch the original Alien just to see if it gives me a shred of understanding of what was going on it this movie.
While I find Linelof to be overrated like most of the guys working right now, at the end this is just a move and sometimes things don’t get answered. Even with some of the usual trappings of the genre in this movie the one thing I came away with was that it was a lot of people making wild assumptions about things, and they ended up being dead wrong. The whole notion that the Engineers left some invitation for humans to come find them and wanted to have some deep conversation was all in the mind of the two doctors. On the other hand Weiland thinking these things would just grant him immortality because he was a cool dude was just crazy-ass wishful thinking. Hubris all around for those looking to find some higher power that may not want to have anything to do with them.
Bibgo!!!
I agree!
Who the heck said they wanted to talk with us and
show us the way to comsmic enlightenment? No one thats who!
I find it amusing that theres this ET view of benevolence which permeates the science /fiction community. The view says, races with higher intelligence and development than us will look kindly upon us unenlightened humans and help us to climb up the ladder to where they sit!
Unfortunately,
Theres nothing to remotely suggest that higher levels of inteligence lead to thoughts of;
good will,beneolence,kindness,Altruisim or any other well intentioned feelings! The opposite arguement could made that the
human race has wasted the resources of it’s world ,mismanaged the population growth and as a result has endangered its survival so
is not fit to manage the planet so someone else should step in!
Adults step in to manage children’s activities so as to encourage
the best result so scale it up a bit with regards to our own civilliaztion and the way we are handling things and you can imagine a higher civilliaztion deciding to “Help” us manage our affairs all for the right reasons of course!(wink, wink)
But,for all we no we are nothing but a long range experiment to test any number of things including the most efective way to destroy a living organisim! Human beings make many positive assumptions about higher intelligences but if the comparison makes us the ant and them the giant then there is always the possability of being stepped on!
The humans in this film make one hell of a cold call based on a lead left behind a long time ago. They then go and knock on the door to see whose home based on withful assumptions and greed for life and knowledge!
Good Luck with that and keep 911 handy!
Another angle is that those things are not “Engineers” at all and they found that stuff and didn’t know what it was either. What happened to the first guy could have just been an accident/experiment, not unlike how they found penicillin and later LSD in mold. They may not have been any more gods or geniuses than the humans in the movie who went wandering around sticking their faces in things they shouldn’t have. Hell, whatever the Engineers were doing on that planet clearly got away from them and most of them died running for their lives.
this film should have stood on its own merit.hoolywood is about mony.thats why the alien tie in,you all ready have ticket sales.they didnt go to lv-426.if they had,we could have had one hellavu movie.this could have been the crew that left the(disstres signial really awarning)for the nostromo.what this film needed was a directer with the vision of both ridly & cameron.and maybe some in put from fans of the alien movie.where is stanly kubric when you need him.
Just saw it. Worth seeing, some cool moments, decent complexity, and overall really great characters, except for the mohawk guy, who was a pathetic caricature. You might as well have put a sign on the dude’s forehead that said “I’m going to get killed first.” Very ham-handed by the director.
Going into it I had no idea it was an Alien prequel. That’s how out-of-touch with modern pop culture I am! You guys even asked me about Alien last night, and I still didn’t pick up about the connection. Anyway, I would have preferred it not to be a prequel. I don’t have a ton of respect for the Alien franchise–don’t hate it but would be perfectly happy if it had never existed. So it struck me as pretty disrespectful that they stole… er, “borrowed” so much from 2001 A Space Odyssey’s Hal for the David storyline. That’s like the Friday the 13th series trying to give Jason some credibility by stealing Hannibal Lechter’s backstory.
On the other hand, realizing that it’s part of the Alien franchise allowed me to get over some of the nagging problems with the story, since I now know that I don’t have to take the movie so seriously. Now it makes sense that interstellar-travel technology from the extreme distant future will magically be available when our current gradeschoolers are enjoying retirement. Now it makes sense that the towering geniuses who created and staffed this mission somehow chose not to take a single precaution in carrying it out. To me, this is pure laziness by a director–when all the bad things happen as a direct result of totally implausible risk-taking. I just don’t get it. You can have bad things happen, despite totally plausible efforts to avoid risk! Why be lazy and risk insulting the viewer’s intelligence?
That sounds awfully negative, but I really didn’t hate this movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride the entire time, despite lots and lots of other little nagging problems. I just thought there was sooo much potential here to be something so much better and loftier than the Alien franchise. Being connected with Alien simply drags it down a notch. I can’t help feeling like, if Scott had just decided to sever the two stories from the outset, he might have taken the project more seriously, and the nagging things that bothered me never would have been written, and instead of just “enjoying the ride,” I might have loved it.
Note to others: my apologies, but I copied this over from an email I wrote to some people who encouraged me to see Prometheus. That’s why there’s a sentence that refers to “you.” Hahaha, forgot to edit before posting. : )
“the mohawk guy”
Really? I loved that guy(Sean Harris) he was the only one in the supporting cast I liked because his reaction was believable…well Elba too. Noomi was fantastic!
Interesting take, but I couldn’t disagree more! Hehe. I thought it was beyond unbelievable that whoever staffed the mission would have selected this guy, who is an instant problematic jerk for absolutely no reason. It can only jeopardize a trillion-dollar mission to include people who can’t coexist with others on a minimally acceptable level. I kept waiting for him to have some outlandish expertise that necessitated his inclusion on the trip. Instead, his only expertise was to launch the mapping devices, which any moron could have done (another little gem of technology we won’t even be sniffing at less than 100 years in the future). Of course, that exact same logic works against having Vickers as the project manager (or whatever she was), since genius Weyland wouldn’t jeopardize his mission by including a daughter who hates him. I’ll just repeat what I wrote above–now that I know it’s just part of the Alien franchise, I can accept any and all errors. I’m a hard sci-fi fan and Alien is squishy soft.
This is the worst movie I have seen the whole year. Its sad because as a massive Alien fan I was really looking forward to this.
But what a let down… Terrible plot full of holes, horribly flat characters – not a single one stood out. To the point where I was like :Oh god please can they all not just die already”
Utter crap…
I want my money back.
Carl said: “horribly flat characters”
“I disagree with “flat” characters. I think Nooma’s acting was great. Why she didn’t get TOP BILLING amazes me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie starring Theron (that’s how out of touch with pop culture *I* am), and am totally pissed that she gets top billing for her 3 minutes of screen time.
On the other hand, the Captain of the ship gets only a few minutes of screen time also (Oh yeah, and however many ‘behind the behind’ scene minutes with the corporate queen.
sorry–my “plot full of holes” comment and probably all of them should have SPOILER ALERTs.
Carl said: ” Terrible plot full of holes”
Some holes, some ambiguities. I don’t believe in the notion that every single question needs to be answered. But…correct me if I’m wrong, but on what basis did the Captain base his (absolutely rings true) theory that the Engineers had biological WEAPONS on board? It might have been something that added up for that theory, but I missed it. And why is a guy with like 3 minutes of screen time coming up with THE CORE EXPLANATION TO AN ENTIRE FRANCHISE?
Ask for mine at the same time, please.
Love the film. Only one unrealistic point. When visiting a new planet with life you would never expose the enviroment/ indiginous life by removing your helmets!!!!! Not to mension exposing themselves to unknowns!!!!
I was so excited to see this film, as a sci fi and space/ET fan. But, I must admit I was a bit disappointed about half way through the film and afterwards. It was a good movie, don’t get me wrong…but it wasn’t spectacular like I was really, really hoping for!!! It could of been more…much, much more!
I thought most of the characters, except Elizabeth and the A.I., were just mediocre…their characters were hugely undeveloped given the scope of the mission and the enormous impact their team’s findings had for humanity! I mean, most of the characters lacked (exceptions above) any measurable anxiety…which sadly made me remember that I was watching a movie instead of getting caught up into it, and totally forgetting I was sitting in a movie theatre! These characters should have been feeling and expressing huge emotions…of awe, shock, distress, fear, etc…it was very ironic to me that one of the few charactersthat did do an amazing job at expressing themselves in any sort of believable way… was ghe robot (Fassbender) the A.I.!
Please, please I hope for a sequel with a different screenwriter…and Director. It could be soooooo much more!
B is my rating
If Alien is about the fear of pregnancy, Prometheus is about the fear of sex / intimacy http://www.cheezmiss.com/2012/06/prometheus-questions-and-spoilers.html
I saw this movie last night and still I am not out of the horror….. what a pathetic movie, i thought it will match up or exceed the Avatar but I should have watched Tom & Jerry instead. Oh god please reverse just one day of my life or let those MIB guys flash their memory vanishing light to my eyes so that I can forget what movie I saw….. I WANT MY MONEY BACK
We watched it yesterday in glorious DFX 3D (Biggest screen in Las Vegas) and the experience was breathtaking. I myself am not a big fan of the Alien franchise, so I could be considered the casual movie goer. I have to say I enjoyed the film very much, as Ridley Scott went back to his roots and told a well carved out story. Visual effects are stunning and the 3D was not in your face at any time but very effective throughout the movie.
The ending screams for a follow up and I can’t wait to see it.
Highly recommened.
Awesome movie. Great time at the theater. Effects awesome. (Imax)Beautiful imagery. Answers?…a few. Questions?…..sure, it’s Ridley Scott. Two hours to escape REAL life concerns. 5 stars!
I think this movie deserves a perfect 10 even with some of the obvious flaws.. the other viewers have expressed. I mean.. havent we watched so many perfect 10 movies with so few loopholes atleast????
I loved the film.. and then.. questions about Ridley erring a bit here and there.. like..
1. So many superficial characters.. loosen the plot.. unlike the Alien, 1979 where each characters gave a menacing shape to the story..
2. Its so hi-tech.. and every crew was greatly connected both visually and audio.. and yet.. when someone was fooling around.. no other guy back on the ship is paying attention.. and even when David brings in the container and examining it.. come on Ridley.. you should have atleast a little sense in making this known to atleast the grand father.. Weyland.. aka Guy Pearce..:-)
3. The story is multi layered..and fails to create tension (which was there for original Alien right from start to end….) and some scenes involving with Captain and also the Doctor Holloway.. are so flimsy.. and idiotic and boring..
Now coming to my perfect 10… I love the way the director, producers and writers have consciously (cautiosly??)taken another story and entirely made it like the original.. and put in the capability of spinning another trilogy or quadrilogy like MI-1 to 4..
The production design, sets.., the visuals, the 3d effects, story (although sometimes vague and confusing and stupid..), the star cast..(Noomi, Charlize and Michael)…are magnificent…
I would say.. Alien + Avatar ====> most of Prometheus 1… and may be 2,3 and 4.
Alien reference killed it for me at the end. The movie was predictable and underwhelming. We’ve all seen these before in different flavors. Nothing new answered, not thing new asked like i seen in a post above and couldn’t agree more….could have been a much better movie. The hype was way over played. Not a horrible movie but rental at best (like ‘Contact’ with Jodi Foster).
if i went with an open mind without comparing it to the previous flicks in the franchise would it be watchable
SRS the answer is YES!
I’m heading out to see this in the next hour! Seeing it on the largest IMAX screen in the United States!
@dave thanx
The beginning scene is confusing. After much thought and reflection, I do not think that the planet is earth. In fact, I am thinking that the planet is based on the predator’s planet or the injection of the predator dna. So are we seeing the origin of the predator rather than man. After all the predators have been on earth for a long time. Also, the tentacles of the monster at the end resembles the predators hair and mouth. Also, the humanoid creature uses a face plate like the predator. I am sure that even though Ridley Scott wanted to direct a story about the Alien prequel, he was stuck with the predator(s) and alien(s) storyline. So, the whole storyline and movie is an experiment in itself. Furthermore, we do not know what the robot/android told the humanoid creature. It is obvious that the android/robot liked to observe dreams. Who know what he found out about them (he is not saying). He does tell the heroine that many ships are available and am assuming which are safe before they blast off. I think that the ships in the beginning are different. I will have to look at the movie again. There are a lot of details and spinoffs that can the lead the viewer to a plausible reasoning.
I still cant get over the concept that the big squidy thing came from shaw and her boyfriend having sex after david poisoned him. Not to mention how big it became.
the Space jockey never made a sound or changed its facial expression while it was strugglin with the squid thing, and it did way more than hug his face, it hugged his 10 foot body.
And last, if that is what came out the space jockey at the end when the snake went into its mouth, then why didnt something come out of the human when the snake went into his mouth. So man inconsistencies with this movie, Ridley scott should be embarrassed.
This is just like not telling us what the Xeno was changing Dallas a d the first guy killed in Alien into
And of course what would a hollywood movie be without a token black guy plowing a white woman?