-its a visual marvel. set design, vfx, grading, cinematography etc brilliant.
-its got strands of Alien DNA which was good enough for me, i wasn't looking for
a direct link/prequel rather just hints/nods at the original 1979 film
-HR Giger. HP lovecraft. i need not say more. .
-the nods and sometimes subtle references to mythology and religion behind it all -
-i went in looking to be entertained and scared a bit and thats exactly what i got out of it. what ever happened to pure bloody entertainment?! the cerebral bits and pieces only came post-viewing for me
-as i am a huge fan of the alien series esp the first one, the image of the space jockey and that scene in particular has always stuck in my mind and haunted me till this day and after seeing the engineer man that seat i got quite emotional, its a hell of a thing. when i watched alien for the first time and saw that it was probably my first WTF moment.
one of the best ways i can describe my fascination with this movie to people is that i enjoy
movies/series that portray humans as self-involved ungrateful creatures of habit, regardless of their mental capacity or intellectual ability seeing as this was a multibillion dollar mission with what was supposed to be the world's best scientists and the like but alas things went belly up.
or actually the world's worst scientists but scientists nonetheless - who are willing to risk their lives and embark on a secret mission just for the cash.
i think the prometheus crew is a great reflection of humans and how they treat delicate subjects.
They are men of science, still when confronted with greatness and the unexpected they react like children. Their biggest flaw is that they are human. The biologist is marveled by a new biological being, the geologist is scared of everything that moves, the old man wants to live forever, the believer wants answers and in the end the creation always defies the creator. the movie did a good job of showing what happens and what the outcomes are when facing an unknowable unknown.
the geologist who gets lost is the one who brought the mapping device and early on acted all hardcore, the biologist petting the alien snake which both highlight another human trait, that of personality fabrication to impress others.
the other thing is how when first landing on the planet and discovering all this cool stuff holloway wasn't phased as the main reason they came there was to "meet" their maker and to get answers from them which again highlights how humans are with regards to faith and God. They seek reason and answers and until provided with that they're never happy or grateful. The main reason for the mission was for the laanie mr weyland to meet these engineers so he could ask them how he could escape death. typical, valuing themselves so much thinking they're worthy of immortality and this was a multi-billion dollar mission but he didn't care how much he spent which parallels folk such as the geologist who made it known that he was there just to make money which goes to show human greed and and how'd they'd venture into the unknown if it means a bigger pay out or a longer life span.
there's a great part where the geologist gets exposed to the black goo they found (believed to be some sort of bio-mechanical weapon) and he starts bashing people acting like an ape which suggest that this substance seems to have induced a process of de-evolution which is a great and interesting way to destroy humans rather than picking them off one by one but by the method of that which some believe is how we came to be.
david the android understands the human psyche to a certain degree and at one point when the one scientist says to him "they're making you pretty close" he replies "not too close i hope" showing that he's happy not to have the flaws, traits, and mostly the burden of emotion like humans making him the only rational being of the crew albeit having no soul.
i think a lot of folk also hated this film because they subconsciously felt offended by the portrayal of the humans in this situation even moreso the fact that they were scientists which suggest that even the best of you can be the worst of you. I don't hate people that much but i do consider myself a semi-cynic. i think one needs a tad of this in order to make it in this world esp in the creative industry considering the types of people we come across everyday. the ego, frivolity, ignorance etc is enough to make one wys of what the world is actually about. it's nice to have a movie that is suggestive of the current status quo rather than some fabrication of happiness and good times like pretty much every single commercial on local television esp during summer. spoon fed catharsis allowing audiences to not have to think for themselves. i also liked how this movie was pretty much a template design, it had all the basic elements, intro, setup, reveal, finale etc. in fact quite a few things happened just to stick to this formula which is great, creativity and pushing the envelope is sometimes overrated...
Critics and audiences alike have also been hating on the soundtrack saying its too light/hopeful and almost too much like superman, star trek etc and not enough like jerry goldsmith's alien ost. gobbledigook. the main theme is beautiful and relays a sense of discovery and almost (false) hope
in places laced with an underlying danger (sub-bass drone) which pretty much sums the movie up nicely. this movie has more in common with 2001 than it does with alien as its about discovery, adventure, evolution etc whereas alien was straight up horror sci-fi. although there were scenes that i felt didn't need music.
ultimately i can appreciate this cos its a bloody MOVIE made by MEN WITH JOBS! there's something respectable about men who can hold a steady job regardless if what they churn out is drivel to some there will be a bunch who love it. not everyone likes wizards of waverly
place. not everyone likes a prius, but men and women with jobs made that and has made some folk extremely happy! watch the making of doccie and you'll see how hard these ouens worked.
ultimately, each to his own.
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