Prometheus Film - For Those Who Have Seen It. -So SPOILERS!!!

Thought it might be a good idea to have a thread where those who have seen it can discuss and at the same time dissuade those from reading who have yet to see it and who want to avoid spoilers...

Consensus on film as an Alien prequel??

I definiteley thought so - even without the xenomorphish creature at the end.

Did anyone else think that the mutated Fyfield when he was mutating appeared very alien like in his movements when he killed several crew members. There was something in the way he was crouched down and then rose that was very reminiscent of the attack on Lambert in Alien - plus his head appeared to be elongating? I wondered if left longer he would have mutated into a xenomorph? Is that something that the black liquid would do? Are the xenomorphs possibly mutated humans?

Another question, what were the (hologram) jockeys running from??
Seeing as they were all found with exploded bodies, could it have been facehuggers or was it another squid creature ala Shaw's "baby"?

Ive seen another question raised;the space jockey in Alien is a hell of a lot bigger than the engineer in Prometheus. We know they are 2 different planets/beings/ships but is there any genuine reason for this or is it just a production oversight?

And was that a Queen that exploded from the engineer? Or was it more likely a cousin of the Alien we know?

Some of the reviews I've read say that, according to Ridley Scott, the end is two films away from the beginning of Alien. So I think there's a lot more to be revealed. I do hope we get to find out.

I havent seen the movie yet but i dont see how it can be a prequal to the alien movies without ruining the movie alien vs predator because they explained the origins of aliens in that movie

I think they're probably going to ignore aliens vs predator so I wouldn't worry about it.

They didn't explain the origin of the aliens at all. They simply told a (bad) story about the creatures being used as game on Earth - nothing was revealed about their creation.

"And was that a Queen that exploded from the engineer? Or was it more likely a cousin of the Alien we know?"

I'm guessing that it's a precursor to the original Alien, as someone previously mentioned, there are 2 more films (hopefully) for it to become the Alien. And because the Engineers have the same DNA as us, that's why it looked so similar.

However I also read somewhere that Ridley mentioned the sequels to Prometheus would move further away from 'Alien' and that side of story. Is this still the case ? Shaw and Daniel left on another ship to find the Space Jockeys but I guess the origins of the Alien could still be brought into it.

I think I have an idea : why not let there be Prometheus 2.1 and 2.2? 2.1 would deal with answering questions regarding the Engineers and 2.2 with questions involving the Alien. Then there could be a Prometheus 3 which would bring together elements from 2.1 and 2.2 and would be the real prequel to Alien.

[Deleted by the author on 9 Jun 2012 10:26:09 BDT]

Not really a prequel for me, but it does have direct links, though what did surprise me was the planet change (LV-223 as opposed to LV246, which later Hadley's Hope is on and the planet is terraformed)

But the thing is, why have a prequel to Alien which has pretty much some of the same events, but then set it on a different planet... What if, Weylund want back and moved the ship (with or without the Xenomorph) to LV-246 and deliberately sent the Nostromo to retrieve their artifacts?

Aswell as I don't understand how a couple of characters are told that theirs a lifeform near them, but then are told it's a glitch. But when they are scared of said creature and when they come across it they treat it like a kitten...

Though when were Facehuggers fifty feet worm monsters?

On Fyfield though, I would have liked to see more of him (and much of the crew) but he got *spoilers* flamethrowered.

Though this is a Ridley Scott film. A directors cut will be out at some point.

AVP were good fun films but they were never official sequels to the Alien and the Predator films- this means that not only will things said in the AVP films probably not be true to the original Alien/Predator Universe, and so Ridley Scott is unlikely to follow their ideas. Having seen Prometheus, I can say he has followed his ideas not AVP's. Hope this helped.

I don't think it's a direct prequel. The space jockey in Alien is huge because, I suspect, Giger never thought of him as human, hence the scaling down of the Engineers for Prometheus and the clever trick of making the weird elephantine head seen in Alien only a space helmet.

The variety of creatures is also a bit puzzling - gone is the brutal simplicity of the original alien's life-cycle.

The black goo used by the Engineers to create life at the start of the film has inexplicably variable effects later on. First it seeds the planet with life (through the sacrifice of an Engineer). Shaw's boyfriend disintegrates in a similar fashion when exposed to it. Yet when Fyfield and the earthworms (i presume this is what the snake-like things in the room with the giant head were) are infected with it they become vicious killers. Why such a difference? It's the same material. Is Ridley Scott pondering perhaps why nature on earth is so red in tooth and claw? And why, to live, we must kill and destroy?

BTW I was a little disappointed with the film: It's a glossy B movie. But then so was Alien, at least as initially conceived. However, it transcended its schlocky origins to become something great - I don't believe for a second Prometheus will endure in a similar fashion.

I rewatched my Blu-ray of AvP again last night and there's not really anything in there that contradicts Prometheus. Indeed there are a lot of parallels with the huge pyramid, the heiroglyphics and general artwork on the structure and even the mcguffin of an old, sickly Weyland coming along for the ride.

As for a consensus regarding how successful Prometheus was, if you read my 4-star review, you'll see I enjoyed it quite a lot, but with one or two reservations.

If I had to put all of the Alien-related movies in order of greatness, my ranking would be as follows;

1st: Alien 10/10
2nd: Aliens 10/10
3rd: Alien 3 8/10
4th: Prometheus 7/10
5th: Alien v Predator 6.5/10
6th: Alien 4 Resurrection 5/10
7th: A v P Requiem 4/10

I'm really not sure how you could rate Alien 3 higher than Alien 4... But then again, I do agree that Alien 4 (original cut) was bad, where as the directors cut is a huge improvement.

But on Prometheus. It is a Ridley Scott film, so they're will be a directors cut.

I liked the largely British cast of Alien 3 and felt that film probably had the most human interest of any in the series. I disliked Jeunet's whimsical direction of Alien 4. At times he seems to be playing it for laughs and it descended into little more than Carry on Alien. Oh and whingey, whiney Winona Ryder was dreadful and the least convincing artificial person ever. Ron Perlman was good though.

Hey, guys. I saw the film yesterday and, although it's been a long while since I saw Alien, it reminded me immediately. The opening was more Avatar like, with the recruits and the sleeping, but it's often used. Haven't seen Alien 3 and 4. Only the very old original versions.

What I found rather idiotic was that the child spoke perfect English and as an adult had an accent. (Shaw) And how the heck was she able to run around like that after that surgery?

Nevertheless a watchable film, but nothing I'd gush about to be honest.

Big let down!! I want a film to get me involved with the characters, wrapped up in the story, lost in what ever world it creates.
Prometheus did none of that.
I've posted stuff on the other discussion but would like to point out here some of the evidence of a lazy script.
The Prometheus dives into the atmosphere of the planet and in no time at all they fly through a few canyons, turn left and lo there are the alien buildings, lucky or what. Just how small is this planet?
The crew suit up, DRIVE ALONG A NICE SMOOTH ROAD then climb out onto the surface like it was an everyday thing. NO sence of wonder at all!!
After finding a dead, headless alien, two of them get the willies and WANDER OFF just for the purpose of getting lost!
When the sand/BIG rocks storm hits SHAW gets slammed against one of the ships legs and she, Holloway and David get pounded by the storm but emerge with no broken bones, no tears in their spacesuits nor even a crack in their helmets. (snigger, snigger)
The Biologist responds to an unknown, alien life form with," come on baby, no she's a good girl, aren't you?" DUHHH!!!!!!!!!
Shaw runs about in the last half of the film like a mad thing AFTER HAVING JUST HAD ABDOMINAL SURGERY AND BEING HELD TOGETHER WITH STAPLES!
STAPLES, PEOPLE!
And what was all that Weyland stuff about? He wakes up, goes into the alien ship and WHAM! Gets killed. Waste of time having that whole plot device.
There's more but you all know that. And I'll say it again, NOOMI RAPACEs' gormless, moon face was getting on my wick!

[Deleted by the author on 16 Jun 2012 17:48:23 BDT]

But, apart from that, you liked it Gary?

The Engineers were very cool. I don't know what David said to him but man did it p*ss him off!
Also David could operate an alien ship AND speak their language, OH COME ON !!!

@ Miss Nadia Ijadi-maghsoodi

Alien vs Predators movies aren't proper movie sequels/prequels, they were just an excuse to have aliens fight predators to see who would win, like Jason vs Freddy. They are purely fan service movies and should not be taken seriously. Just think of them as set in a parallel universe.

@ Original post

I thought the film could have been better. It left a few unanswered questions, like why were the enginneers running scared in the hologram?

Also, they should have made Charlize Theron character the main character, found her more interesting than the boring scientist, plus she shares Ripley attitude to letting contagion into the ship. As, for the alien that burst from the engineer, it had a very human body, which I thought was very strange. I figure that the alien can change depending on the host it gestates in. Like the alien in Alien 3, which gestate in a dog and came out different.

I liked prometheus, but it could have been better.

seen it, its obviously a prequel to alien. theres no is it or isnt it. it just is. its set before alien , the engineers ship is the same, the space jockey chair is the same, so is the design of the space jockey suit, originally thought to be the being itself. then the giant facehugger at the end is exactley that. and then out pops an alien ...... which looks remarkbly like ...an alien. it is proposed, as a film, to be humans first contact with the alien(s) therfore its a prequel particually if you look at it in the wider sense and see the ripley storyline as part of the films not the focus. its also very slow in places and i nearly fell asleep twice! good effects though, and full of holes and unexplained events, like why was the fleeing/ dieing engineers escape attempt recored for full 3d playback at the touch of a convienent button?? a good movie all in all , but probably only for a single watch.

Of course it's a prequel, but whether it's a direct one is the question. It's not a direct one, unless the missing steps in future films are going to fill in the blanks. The space jockey in alien was in the pilot seat with a hole in it's chest, to indicate an alien burst out from it. That does not happen in prometheus.

I think the ship that is in alien and in prometheus, are two different ship. Even Ridley Scott said it's not a direct prequel but that it's just set in the same universe.

I agree. And I could add to that list. For one, this is a science vessel, yet there isn't a great deal of scientific discussion and protocols seem poorly thought out - you don't land on an alien world and then jump into the cars for a start within a minute of arriving. And despite the surgery being the best scene, why wasn't she chased in there? Why is the Captain so clueless and seemingly not in control or up to date on developments? I think Elba should have fought more for his character. And we didn't see him get busy with Vickers? The plot brings up the prospect but we don't see it happen. Ad infinitum...

Your post: 17 Jun 2012 10:23:07 BDT
Gary O'Brien says:
I'm starting to think that Scott doesnt regard the aliens in ALIEN (?) as the interesting element in the whole story. He seems to be saying that the Engineers and their relationship to us is the story he wants to tell. If so, that's great and should give us lots to look forward to.
I, and prob most fans, have always assumed that the alien xenomorphs (thats the word!) in ALIEN were the main protagonists but it comes across in PROMETHEUS that they are maybe no more than a biological weapon created by the Engineers.
What I got from PROMETHEUS was the Engineers created life on our planet, occasionally visited ancient peoples, left the star map details, then, when we proved that we had evolved enough to reach them ( and therefore were advanced enough to pose a threat to them) that was the sign to destroy us with their biological weapons in the flasks. Or maybe that's just me!
Now if I'm wrong then that's Scotts fault for not giving me a clearer story.