Prometheus: Worth Watching?

[Scorpio]

First impressions,they say, are the most important. My immediate feelings as the credits rolled were mostly positive: satisfaction at the thematic ambition, the awesome spectacle, and the seamless 3-D; but i was a little peeved at what i suspect was a slightly overwritten plot. The best example i can give of the scripts strenghths and weakness, without spoiling it to much, revolve around one of the main characters called ' David '. David is a superbly realised Android; but his sophistication makes him all to human:motivations from one scene to another are so inconsistent that he seems to suffering from schizophrenia,or MPD. Perhaps the screenwriters are smarter than me, but i suspect that the characters development was intermitent and subject to to many hands in his construction . Scotts belated return to the Alien is not as scary or atmospheric as the original, as its energies are expended while serving the needs of a much more convoluted plot; also, the majority of the seventeen crew members characters are paper thin and hard to empathise with. In fairness, i should point out that Scotts last sci fi outing was bedevilled by complexity issues, so he might have decided to keep this movie strictly for the pop corn munchers.
This movie is two hours long, but i spent every second of it watching the screen:Prometheus is not a classic; it is not even a minor classic; it is simply a first class piece of sci-fi. A-

[Scorpio]

So, has anyone else seen this movie yet?.
Leave comment or review.

[Jonathan H]

In a word: no!

Im sorry to say that, no, it is not worth seeing having myself endured the unendurable, and felt so yuk that I had to watch Cameron's masterwork, 'Aliens', for the hundredth time -- right away.

[Sally]

Yes

I saw it on Friday. I agree with you Scorpio that most of the crew are thin characters. Basically, they're wearing red uniforms (metaphorically - you know they're going to die from the outset) Other than that, it's a film that raises more questions than it answers - is this intentional, or the product of sloppy production?

That's it for me, I think - there's a lot to think about, but its hard to know how much is intentional in the film - for example, David is the most 'real' character; the one you believe in the most - and he's the artificial lifeform. I'm tempted to think that this is intentional, a part of the genesis theme running through the Alien franchise. As with the other films, this one explores the relationship between the creator and the created; parents and children.

I'm now quite confused as to the life-cycle of the alien, which seems to have become less certain - and what's the organic goo for; how does that fit in?

The edges don't all join together, so to speak - and some parts of the film appear to make no sense - but since we all know there will be a sequel, I guess we can afford to wait and see

[Errata]

Every single plot device, every twist and turn I saw coming a mile away, and could name the movie from which it was ripped off. Star Trek, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 2001, About three different Ray Bradbury stories, even Stargate which in fairness got quite a bit from Alien. And I got glares for bursting out laughing at various points, which makes me think that a lot of people don't appreciate the humor in the classic horror blunders. And in the end there were only two characters whose motives I could understand. The rest being nothing more than names with dialogue.

I kinda hated it.

[Scorpio]

Every single plot device, every twist and turn I saw coming a mile away, and could name the movie from which it was ripped off. Star Trek, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 2001, About three different Ray Bradbury stories, even Stargate which in fairness got quite a bit from Alien. And I got glares for bursting out laughing at various points, which makes me think that a lot of people don't appreciate the humor in the classic horror blunders. And in the end there were only two characters whose motives I could understand. The rest being nothing more than names with dialogue.

I kinda hated it.

Well, I thought the opening scene was quite original;
Elements of Alien and Bladerunner i foresaw and even appreciated.

[Scorpio]

I saw it on Friday. I agree with you Scorpio that most of the crew are thin characters. Basically, they're wearing red uniforms (metaphorically - you know they're going to die from the outset) Other than that, it's a film that raises more questions than it answers - is this intentional, or the product of sloppy production?

That's it for me, I think - there's a lot to think about, but its hard to know how much is intentional in the film - for example, David is the most 'real' character; the one you believe in the most - and he's the artificial lifeform. I'm tempted to think that this is intentional, a part of the genesis theme running through the Alien franchise. As with the other films, this one explores the relationship between the creator and the created; parents and children.

I'm now quite confused as to the life-cycle of the alien, which seems to have become less certain - and what's the organic goo for; how does that fit in?

The edges don't all join together, so to speak - and some parts of the film appear to make no sense - but since we all know there will be a sequel, I guess we can afford to wait and see

I was intrigued but confused about David and his motivations; but someone informed me that he only infected Charlie at the behest of Peter Weyland:a scenario which did not occur to me at the time. I am glad Weyland is dead so David can develop as a more rounded character; he is the best thing about this movie; i felt that the writers really engaged with him in a way that they did not with the others, including Shaw,as Spaights and Lindelof killed them all as soon as they conveniently could.
I believe that a sequel concerning Davids search for and interaction with the engineers will allow the script to become what it really wants to be, with the Zenomorph development as second string.

[Scorpio]

Im sorry to say that, no, it is not worth seeing having myself endured the unendurable, and felt so yuk that I had to watch Cameron's masterwork, 'Aliens', for the hundredth time -- right away.

I think Aliens is badly dated; it is a 80's action adventure flick; unexceptional in everyway.

[Jonathan H]

Scorpio

You have, of course, every right to your opinion.

It is just that due to that previous post a grand canyon-sized gap has opened up between us at our feet.

I would put "Aliens" in the top ten sci-fi movies ever made, along with "Quatermass and the Pit" (1967), "RoboCop" (1987), "Time After Time" (1979), "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956), "Planet of the Apes" (1968), "Twelve Monkeys" (1996), "The Terminator" (1984), "District 9" (2009) and "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951).

Scott's "Blade Runner" was a sluggish and pretentious bore back in 1982. Yes, I was part of the mass audience who felt ripped off and rejected it! "Prometheus" is much, much worse than that 'classic' for sure.

[TomTomKent]

As a sci fi films with an interesting message about Christian Mythology and some charm? Works OK.
As an Alien Prequel? Works OK.

I just wish it had chosen which of the two it had wanted to be, and done that well...

[ChainzCooper]

I still think Terminator 2:Judgment Day is the best science fiction film ever. How does this film compare to Aliens? I haven't been to movies in forever not since AVP 2 probably the worst film I have ever seen
Jordan