Re: Prometheus - Spoiler thread!
Finally saw this last night in spectacular 3D. Wow. The wife and I loved it. Seeing a new Ridley Scott "Alien" movie for the first time in 30 years was a bit surreal and I'm still digesting everything. I am reminded of how IrishJedi felt right after seeing KOTCS for the first time.
But this was no KOTCS, it was a great film.
Not perfect, in fact I do have some slight initial issues with it.
1. I wish it was more of a direct prequel to Alien, instead Prometheus almost felt like a reboot/remake. Why go to the trouble of having everything happen on an "LV" planet with a space jockey derelict and NOT have it be LV-426 and THE derelict? Why go to the trouble of orchestrating events so that Shaw can leave a distress signal if it isn't THE beacon that one day contacts the Nostromo? These things didn't hurt the compartmentalized story in the events of "Prometheus" but I would have been more impressed as a fan of the series if they'd cleverly tied it all together a little better. Maybe Scott was afraid of hurting his original film and wanted people to still have they mystery of what caused THAT derelict to go bad and that beacon to go out? Perhaps, and not necessary a poor decision I suppose, I just got excited that this movie would have connected itself a little more neatly.
2. Idris Elba's line about the planet being a military munitions depot seemed a little premature and contrived and catered to the lowest common denominator in the audience, IMO.
3. Didn't Alien vs. Predator already try the "Weylan himself tags along with the mission" gag? I get that Prometheus rightly ignores any "canon" of AVP but adopting one of its principle ideas seems likely a risky move if they're trying to distance themselves from that drek as much as possible.
and lastly
4. They showed too much in the trailers! "Its going to earth," "If we don't stop it there won't be an earth to return to," and then two ships crashing together. Come on guys! You think we can't piece together that they crash the Prometheus into the engineer ship to stop it from departing?
Otherwise the movie was sublime, and felt almost Kubrickian in its return to 60's/70's style sci-fi pacing, production design and cinematography.
Noomi's Elizabeth Shaw was pitch perfect and on par with the legendary Ellen Ripley. Some great takes on old themes, the movie really kept me on my toes (other than the aforementioned ship collision) and I can't wait to soak it in further.
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