They're Remaking 'Alien' -- the 'Prometheus' thread

- it doesn't engage with big or deep questions lol. i mean you can say the actual words "who are we and where do we come from" but that doesn't make it deep
- or all that it purported to ask "why?" about everything nothing is ACTUALLY EXPLAINED EVER, half the characters' motivation may as well be completely random

LINDELOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOF!

I don't regret my time watching it, but it is mostly bobbins. A friend made the interesting point that a lot of the set up is very similar to Aliens vs Predators, which is odd not least because this was put on hold (while still a twinkle in HR Giger's eye) so AvP could be made.

Lex hugely OTM about nothing consequential or surprising happening. Also the dialogue went out of its way to ensure this (drinking at the space-billiard table probably the worst of this), and the last scene (might be after the credits, I don't remember) seems to have been hammered in to underline certain connections for the really dim.

But yeah - I would recommend people to go see it EG cheap at the Prince Charles in 2D.

it doesn't engage with big or deep questions lol. i mean you can say the actual words "who are we and where do we come from" but that doesn't make it deep

tempted to put this post above my writing/drawing desk in perpetuo

worst/dumbest scene/dialogue was pearce/theron imo, but there were several contenders- preamble to scientist sexy times was especially painful

Not deep you say!?

And I know it’s horribly obnoxious to say “You need to see the movie a couple of times in order to truly appreciate it”, but I do feel like it was designed that way and there are little things that seem like a throw-away on first viewing.

For example, when they do the carbon gating on the dead engineer and realise he has been dead for 2000 years then you wonder about when, 2000 years ago, the Engineers decided to wipe us out. What happened 2000 years ago? Is there any correlation with what happened on the earth 2000 years ago and this decision that was already in motion? Could a sequel start in that time period and contextualize what we did to piss these beings off?

I think it’s a very interesting question to leave dangling. Is it a loose end? Yeah, probably. But it’s probably what sends you to the pub after the movie and has you arguing with your friends as to what you think it might mean.

rmde

Alien 5: SPACE JESUS

questions also left open for the two sequels apparently in the pipeline

unless the appalling word of mouth on this scuppers those plans

in the past, that has stopped nothing!

WAS JESUS A PREDATOR

*mind explodes, quits job, changes user name*

tbh i'm resigned to this film being poo but i know i'm going to end up seeing it anyway if only to pull it to pieces

in Alien Russia, film pulls you to pieces!

^ already a better plot than this POS

we should totally write the jesus-predator-alien sequel, I'm sure we can pitch a better treatment than this Lindeloff guy

as someone who frequently leaves cinemas seething with rage at slapdash insulting blockbuster tripe, i agree with p much everyone's criticisms but i had a decent time anyway and don't particularly regret going.

(altho saying that, this was also my first 3d screening and it felt more like a ride than anything tbh, the sensory overload made it weirdly difficult to track narrative and characterization on the fly as you usually would)

almost feel like they couldve just about gotten away with something if they'd had even the slightest bit of interesting dialogue with awoken titan guy at the end, but no, hulk smash, rip fassbender head off zzzz

yeah rtc nailed it wide the ride analogy for 3D, seeing avatar was kind of like being on a pirates of the caribbean type ghost train

so the alien giant dude is like big angry frankenstein, jeez this keeps sounding worse and worse

walking home after v disorientating too, like here's a car coming right at me oh wait ok this will actually hit me won't it

in the past, that has stopped nothing!

― Porto for Pyros (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall),

this is bouncing around in my skull as an arnie taunt from terminator

man, not to be all yank-centric but could we at least go gentle on the spoilers until this thing is released in the US for like a day?

from what i can gather there aren't any spoilers unless you've somehow avoided all the trailers and promo gubbins

well there was the part where the alien ship rolls down the hill like a wagon wheel and noomi runs along the top of it like as the alien is chasing her

p. sure that the normal line in these situations is 'avoid the movie thread once the movie's released if you don't want spoilers'

but

SPOILER

the android did it

SPOILER

they fly at u face

SPOILER

this is shit

Another question: is this pretty much bad from the get-go, or does it only dawn upon you when the credits roll how terrible it has been? Thinking of "Lost" here, which for all its ups and downs could have gone either way until the last ep, which some folks (like me) felt invalidated and retro-shittified much of what came before it.

I'm hardly the Chief of Credibility Police w.r.t movies like this, but (REAL SPOILER ALERT if you care) those crunches Noomi has to do throughout the last quarter of the movie are kind of OTT considering her emergency C-section.

SPOILERZ

almost feel like they couldve just about gotten away with something if they'd had even the slightest bit of interesting dialogue with awoken titan guy at the end, but no, hulk smash, rip fassbender head off zzzz

ikr, so much mystique about Our Creators and it's just this giant monster. no ANSWERS even on the film's own terms.

also wtf @ saving Vickers and Shaw and then instead of that leading to, idk, some dialogue between two of the film's opposite poles...one of them just gets squashed.

the self-C-section scene was the most intense thing though.

the 3D bit i appreciated most was the shirtless-right-in-the-camera scene, quite glad they didn't have a full-on 3D sex scene though

Hah, I spent the whole movie wondering if I'd seen him in any other movies and, if not, why. Back curves in 3D were v nice.

Another question: is this pretty much bad from the get-go, or does it only dawn upon you when the credits roll how terrible it has been?

first 40 mins are pretty good, deserve a better what-seemed-like-300-mins

I would've absolutely hated it if they'd actually managed to get Into Serious Dialog with the titan. As far as it goes I thought he was perfectly reasonable - clearly none of you have ever seen me before my first coffee of the morning.

Also rmde at we have discovered that they have advanced holograms, which they seem to use mainly for exposition.

{David is awestruck. The wind picks up. In the air the huge image of the Space Jockey is forming from the clouds. He appears to be walking from the stars. The image is ghostly at first, but steadily gains color and coherence.}

Space Jockey: Humans ...
Michael Fassbender: Father?
Space Jockey: Humans, you have forgotten me.
Michael Fassbender: No. How could we?
Space Jockey: You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, human. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life.

HEY ROGER MEXICO STOP READING THIS THREAD NOW, MAYBE GO WALK IN THE PARK OR SOMETHING.

But yeah to go back to my first sentence, I did really enjoy watching it while I was watching it, it was very creepy in its own way (like all of the Alien films have been) - the revived head, the eye worms, the rippling fluids, the snake, the emergency operation - I might say it was very Cronenberg if I had, er, watched more Cronenberg.

It was really well *made* in general, and then there'll be something like a zombie for no reason.

Space Jockey - Hello, Noomi.

Noomi - Who are you?

Space Jockey - I am the Space Jockey. I created the matrix. I've been waiting for you. You have many questions, and although the process has altered your consciousness, you remain irrevocably human. Ergo, some of my answers you will understand, and some of them you will not. Concordantly, while your first question may be the most pertinent, you may or may not realize it is also the most irrelevant.

it's odd how Ridley's career seems to reflect Lucas's - early groundbreaking success, followed by string of utter shit, eventual acceptance of franchise legacy, churns out successful yet shitty "prequels" in the interest of resolving "unanswered questions" from originals, legacy secured.

i remain stoked for the silliness

Ah no, I'd have said that Lucas is more early success - franchise me up! - string of shit prequels. His legacy would have stood up a lot better if he'd stopped 20 years ago - whereas even now, Ridley Scott's still the guy who made Alien and Blade Runner. No-one's wondering "what if he made more films", because he's made more films already.

nah Lucas was really bitter about being saddled with the legacy of Star Wars for much of the 80s/90s and he produced/wrote plenty of stuff post-Jedi it's just that all of it was fucking terrible. It wasn't until the mid-90s when he was finally like "fine, I guess this is what I was put on this earth to do, make Star Wars movies!"

Whaa? His movie writing credentials* from 84-98 are the middle two Indy movies, Willow and Radioland Murders. That's not really either overpacked or shameful (NB I have never seen Radioland Murders. Or Willow). He's executive producer on a bunch of stuff, but I'm not sure how much credit I'd give him for, say, Powasqqatsi.

* okay, from Wikipedia

Willow is great

The Dualists!

Actually, were it not for Thelma and Louise and gladiator, I bet the lustre would have long faded.

Willow and Last Crusade are fucking horrible

and one of the reasons Lucas didn't make more stuff in that period (aside from being a talentless hack) was that he was paralyzed with fear about not being able to function as a filmmaker outside of the Star Wars universe. he definitely resented the shadow it cast over his career. success can be limiting.

I haven't seen Willow since i was kid. Last Crusade is perfectly enjoyable though

Nah, Shakey's right, Last Crusade is dull at best.