PROMETHEUS Speculation/Discussion (Potential Spoilers)

While I don't think we will get to actually see any Giger aliens on-screen in Prometheus, I certainly think we'll see a facehugger or two, or at least the eggs themselves.

Over in the Daily Spoilers on io9 the other day, they quoted Scott as saying that he was interested in potentially making a sequel to Prometheus. For that reason he wanted to avoid having Prometheus ending exactly where Alien starts. I'd be fine if there were facehuggers, because that would add consistency between the movies, but I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see any. I'm half expecting for the protagonists to stumble upon one or many other weapons room/lockers and find other . . . things. And I tend to agree with your assessment that it's unlikely we'll see any fully-formed Xenomorphs.

the Space Jockey is . . . either Charlize Therone's character, who we see little of in the trailer, or David, the android played by Michael Fassbender.

This would make me so sad. My interest is piqued at the idea of getting information about where the Xenomorph come from--I'm really hoping the Jockey is a full-on alien and it has back-story and we get some of that. But now that you bring this up, it actually sounds more in line with the themes and tones of the Alien franchise. It's space horror--not space opera.

Talk in the trailer implies that the sticky green goo invited humankind to LV-223

I've sorta-kinda been trying to avoid spoilers, so I've only seen the trailer once. I remember the implication being that humans were invited to LV-233, but I don't remember anything that would specifically point to green goo over say, the Jockey.

I imagine Fassbender serving as the similar Ash character

Yes, definitely. It's been a while since I've watched Alien, but to me Ash came off as malfunctional. (That could just be the impression I got from Bishop in the second movie commenting on how the older models were unstable.) I expect that since David is an even earlier model that he is going to break down at some point in very much the same way Ash did.

Aw, man. If you haven't seen Alien in a while (like I hadn't until last week), do yourself a favor and go rent the DVD or Blu-ray. Holy cow, it hasn't aged a day -- and there are so many things to make you giddy about Prometheus, not to mention fall in love all over again with the original film itself.

Yeah, Ash *totally* malfunctions. Like HAL-9000, he's torn between the law, ethics, programming, etc. and his direct instructions, which turn out to be pretty appalling. There are some great inflections in that performance as the android struggles with his programming and the tension of the crew. He may be the unappreciated star of the film, despite how phenomenal Weaver is throughout. Ash has a great closing line, too: "I can't lie to you about your chances, but . . . you have my sympathies."

Aw, man. If you haven't seen Alien in a while (like I hadn't until last week), do yourself a favor and go rent the DVD or Blu-ray.

They're on my shelf . . . I guess I should dust them off. I expect there to be a marathon before Prometheus comes out.

I'm actually more excited about Prometheus than The Dark Knight Rises. Every single shot of the trailer, every viral advertisement has me feeling like this will be the most completely satisfying movie for me since The Prestige -I came out of the theater with the feeling that I wanted to go right back in and watch it again.

I haven't dug into the lore as deeply as you have, but what I was wondering was if the ship that breaks apart in the trailer is the same one that they find in the original Alien. I'll have to dust off my copy and watch it again to see if I can find any clues. It seems as though the crew of the Prometheus won't survive the experience -sacrificing themselves to stop the Space Jockey race from shipping their virus/species/vicious pets to Earth and causing almost as much damage as the AvP movies.

On another note, I'd hate to see David snap and get all unstable, although that may be a foregone conclusion. He's already my favorite character in the film. I bet Microsoft has something to do with those programming errors...

Well, has anyone watched the movie yet? I just watched it tonight and I'm still not sure if I iked it very much. I certainly imagined I'd like it a lot more than I did. It had some great scenes but it failed to, you know, move me.
I'm not saying anything more in case people here haven't seen it yet.

Well, has anyone watched the movie yet? I just watched it tonight and I'm still not sure if I iked it very much. I certainly imagined I'd like it a lot more than I did. It had some great scenes but it failed to, you know, move me.
I'm not saying anything more in case people here haven't seen it yet.

Haven't seen it and I don't do the horror thing very well... So you won't spoil anything for me.

It's space opera horror. Personally, if they skipped the horror and just kept the space opera, I'd have liked it much more.

It's space opera horror. Personally, if they skipped the horror and just kept the space opera, I'd have liked it much more.

Agreed. He could have kept some of it, but I would have made it to the point where a lot of the gore and that happened off-screen. Sometimes, that's even creepier.

Is it any more gory than Aliens?

That's probably as "horror" as I get... lol

Is it any more gory than Aliens?

That's probably as "horror" as I get... lol

Not in terms of what's going on, but . . . let's just say that it's a lot more realistic.

You "feel" this one.

Oh, and by the way, I think it was maybe the best SF film I've ever seen. Ridley Scott reinvented a genre when he made Alien in '79, but with Prometheus he's perfected it. And Noomi Rapace is mesmerizing.

Saw it yesterday. I'll give it four out of five stars. One of my biggest complaints is that they put too much of the movie into the trailer. I was hoping Mr. Scott was trying to fool us, but alas, the trailer showed us most of the movie's key scenes and gives you the outline of the plot. Which really isn't the movie's fault, but the marketing teams. Still, it was a great movie and I enjoyed it (except for the face-hugger dreams I had last night, yuck!)

Is it any more gory than Aliens?

That's probably as "horror" as I get... lol

Not in terms of what's going on, but . . . let's just say that it's a lot more realistic.

You "feel" this one.

Oh, and by the way, I think it was maybe the best SF film I've ever seen. Ridley Scott reinvented a genre when he made Alien in '79, but with Prometheus he's perfected it. And Noomi Rapace is mesmerizing.

My brother said Prometheus feels more sci-fi and less horror than the original Aliens. I think he's trying to talk me into seeing it... =)

I would agree it's more sci-fi than horror, however, there are three or four scenes that are definitely horror. I would put the overall mix around 80/20. Maybe a similar movie could be Pitch Black in the level of that mix?

I would agree it's more sci-fi than horror, however, there are three or four scenes that are definitely horror. I would put the overall mix around 80/20. Maybe a similar movie could be Pitch Black in the level of that mix?

I think I'll have to stick to rental. I've seen all the Alien movies, and Pitch Black, but I just can't handle the gore any more. If someone could tell me "this scene will be gory", then I could just hide my eyes during those 4 or 5 scenes, but not knowing...I'd miss most of the movie. And my husband can't handle suspense like that (though he's fine with gore). We'll look forward to seeing it in the comfort of our own home, with the remote handy. =)

There's only one truly "gory" part, and you'll know for sure when it's coming. It involves a medical procedure.

There's only one truly "gory" part, and you'll know for sure when it's coming. It involves a medical procedure.

Jeezy Creezy that scene was intense! Yikes!

I liked it. I think a lot of people who saw Alien in theaters when it came out and have been waiting on Scott to do a follow up for 30 years are going to suffer a bit from Prequel Syndrome (where your decades long expectations makes it impossible for you to see the value of a new addition to the franchise regardless of the objective value of the addition).

Having said that, I've been an Alien(s) fan most of my life, and for me, this movie really delivers.

Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Guy Peirce--these are superior actors and in this movie they are all at their best.

I think this one is actually a little less scary than Alien was, because you go in with some experience in the universe--but Scott added a lot of new mystery that doesn't feel forced and is terrifying.

Having said that, I've been an Alien(s) fan most of my life, and for me, this movie really delivers.

Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Guy Peirce--these are superior actors and in this movie they are all at their best.

I think this one is actually a little less scary than Alien was, because you go in with some experience in the universe--but Scott added a lot of new mystery that doesn't feel forced and is terrifying.

Yes, yes, and yes.

One quibble: Why did they have to get a 44-year-old actor to play a man in his nineties? That bugged me more than anything, even though he did a phenomenal job. My second complaint is that the epilogue doesn't add anything to the film at all, other than to squeeze in some crowd-pleasing prequel flay-vah, and the scene that preceded it was a much better ending.

Other than that, yeah, killer film. I think Scott delivered. It's worth noting that people hated Blade Runner upon its release, and that it was basically a box-office flop. Today, it's considered a brilliant classic of science fiction cinema.

One quibble: Why did they have to get a 44-year-old actor to play a man in his nineties?

I don't know. But, I'm pretty sure that character was older than 90.

My second complaint is that the epilogue doesn't add anything to the film at all, other than to squeeze in some crowd-pleasing prequel flay-vah, and the scene that preceded it was a much better ending.

That epilogue actually pisses me off because it doesn't communicate information that we can use in any meaningful way. It's a puzzle without an answer. You're not supposed to do that! It's lousy story-telling, imo. Anything further will be spoilery, so I'll stop there. But yes, they could have just started where the story started and left off the epilogue entirely. But then, I have a dislike of epilogues so

There's only one truly "gory" part, and you'll know for sure when it's coming. It involves a medical procedure.

Hm. Maybe I'll drill my brother on the gore and what to expect. Then maybe I could see it, but without my husband (since I doubt I could convince him that the movie isn't that suspenseful). haha

Thanks!

I'm still mulling it over. Saw it last night. I agree that the previews basically surmise the entire film. The only thing left was sifting out the murky storyline. I enjoyed Alien as a horror movie in space, and Aliens as an action movie in space. Prometheus leaned toward the horror angle, but never committed because it really wanted to be a thoughtful odyssey type of film. The result makes it a bit uneven. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Excellent directing and even better cast. Michael Fassbender stands out as superb as David. He stole the show in my opinion.

Michael Fassbender stands out as superb as David. He stole the show in my opinion.

Completely agree. He was so convincing I kept forgetting that he's an actor playing a robot rather than an actual robot actor. Amazing subtlety throughout.

OK, my nephew and his friends just asked me a simple question that probably has a complicated answer: is this film a prequel to "Alien"? Or an unofficial prequel? Or...?

My take on seeing the film yesterday:
Visually - stunning. The first film that I have regretted selecting the 2-D presentation.
Conceptually -daring. You can see a desires to deal with big ideas.
Execution - crap. The writing sucked, the script varied from boring to insulting. Can we get at least 1 screen character who does not run directryl away from an approaching threat but rather goes off the side, just freaking once, please?

OK, my nephew and his friends just asked me a simple question that probably has a complicated answer: is this film a prequel to "Alien"? Or an unofficial prequel? Or...?

It is a standalone, self-contained film set in the same universe as the Alien films (but which didn't need to be), with a tacked-on, unnecessary epilogue that tries to force Prometheus into the Alien-prequel box, even though it doesn't belong there. Like, at all.

All in all, I'd say it's second only to the original Ridley Scott ALIEN. Better than Cameron's '86 sequel, I dare say. But of course my opinion is just that: an opinion.

OK, my nephew and his friends just asked me a simple question that probably has a complicated answer: is this film a prequel to "Alien"? Or an unofficial prequel? Or...?

It is a standalone, self-contained film set in the same universe as the Alien films (but which didn't need to be), with a tacked-on, unnecessary epilogue that tries to force Prometheus into the Alien-prequel box, even though it doesn't belong there. Like, at all.

All in all, I'd say it's second only to the original Ridley Scott ALIEN. Better than Cameron's '86 sequel, I dare say. But of course my opinion is just that: an opinion.

What Alex said.

And also: Yes, it's a prequel.

All in all, I'd say it's second only to the original Ridley Scott ALIEN. Better than Cameron's '86 sequel, I dare say. But of course my opinion is just that: an opinion.

Allow me to polietly disagree with this sentiment. While I understand there are many people unhappy with Cameron's Aliens I feel it is a far better story then Scott's Prometheus.
I wanted to scream the moment the biologist characters says, yeah he'd rather walk back to the ship that invesitgate the alien biology laying right there at his feet. There are too many instance of PV (Profession Victim) actions and incomprehensible objectives for this story to work for me, and frankly the writers have never had their appendix out, or they would have never had Shaw running the way she did.

Oh good, bob, guess I wasn't the only one. There were just waaaaay too many inconsistencies, in my opinion. And nonsensical back-story. And strangely unrelated sequences (er, we just burned her boyfriend for appearing quite normal, if sick--but we're going to completely ignore the sucker in the operation tank? Not to mention the fact that she just assaulted crewmates? And that her guts should be falling out? Uh...)

And yeah, I know the franchise is primarily horror, but you’d think they’d attempt to use some science/scientific behavior.

On the whole I did like it--all of the on screen action was quite nice. It's just when I got to thinking about it that I went, wait, that movie made no sense...

Or, actually, it makes a lot of sense, but only when I extrapolate using details that weren't even offered in the film.

But let me reiterate: I did like it. And I'm not a big horror-consumer, so anyone who normally shies away from that kind of thing should be fine. Definitely more on the alien-planet-action side.

Don't get me wrong, I like Cameron's Aliens a ton--in fact, it's probably the best film of his career, except for maybe Titanic. (Avatar and Terminator, entertaining as they are, are basically plagiarized cheesy-action popcorn fluff in an expensive, shiny package. I love The Abyss, too, but that film has waaaaay more problems than Prometheus.)

I just thought Prometheus was incredibly bold, suspenseful, and an audiovisual marvel. It also tried to be smart and original, which is more than I can say for *anything* Cameron's ever done, as much as I enjoy his films from a purely eye-candy perspective.

To put my thoughts in perspective, here's a comment I posted on Facebook recently, in response to John Shirley's assessment of the film, which is more or less the same as my own:

Part of me can't help but wonder whether we're over-dissecting this thing right at birth. I mean, the original and the '86 sequel are classics beyond criticism at this point . . . but if we really bothered to look, they've probably got just as many inconsistencies and science-goofs, or maybe more. Cameron's Aliens is just a mindless military SF flick with awesome special effects and almost unbearable suspense, and we know that, so we don't care that Ripley and Bishop get exposed to the vacuum of space without getting turned to pulp. With Prometheus, we're crucifying a film for being ambitious and playing with smart ideas.

Don't get me wrong, I like Cameron's Aliens a ton--in fact, it's probably the best film of his career, except for maybe Titanic. (Avatar and Terminator, entertaining as they are, are basically plagiarized cheesy-action popcorn fluff in an expensive, shiny package.

I thinks Cameron's best films at The Terminator (the original not the big shiny expensive one that was the just the first film done sillier) and True Lies. Titanic, well it was visually impressive and he succeeded at doing what no other filmmaker had done, keeping the POV on the ship right up until the fantail goes under, but god that dialog! Full of Wisconsin cheese product. Avatar? again visually fantastic, the man knows how to put shit on screen, but the story was predictable and the characters very stock.
Scott is very much the same sort of thing. He's a master visually, but he has no clue what makes a good script.