tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post84477895788694174..comments2024-02-18T08:45:16.295-08:00Comments on The Film Connoisseur: Prometheus (2012)Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-46449184880043863902012-06-24T20:40:59.988-07:002012-06-24T20:40:59.988-07:00And don't worry, theres a whole other slew of ...And don't worry, theres a whole other slew of alien creatures on this one, strange and different! Hope you enjoy it man.Franco Macabrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-23895134872732624722012-06-24T20:39:05.898-07:002012-06-24T20:39:05.898-07:00After having seen the film and pondered and though...After having seen the film and pondered and thought and regurgitated it in my mind...I realized another thing that made it a bit different then ALIEN. While in ALIEN everything is deadly serious every single second of film, characters on this one are always joking around, and there's even some levity in certain scenes, something that NEVER happened on ALIEN. <br /><br />Hey man, hope you have tons of fun with it, I know I did. I'm actually looking forward to seeing it again.Franco Macabrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-54159294703387984022012-06-24T20:10:39.865-07:002012-06-24T20:10:39.865-07:00I haven't seen it yet, but Scott says in Art o...I haven't seen it yet, but Scott says in Art of Prometheus book that initially this was supposed to have been an ALIEN prequel, but he felt he couldn't make such a creature scary anymore so decided to go this route with it. Hopefully I will get to the theater before it's gone.venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-5917539194868914142012-06-19T23:16:48.779-07:002012-06-19T23:16:48.779-07:00@Dan O: Well, it's a prequel after all, it had...@Dan O: Well, it's a prequel after all, it had to be like Alien, but ultimately, I didnt think it was that much like Alien, while it did share some similarities Prometheus is a film with more depth to it. It isn't just a monster movie, the way Alien is, Prometheus is a film that asks bigger questions. <br /><br />The scene I found most similar was the one where they had to have this whole discussion about letting a contaminated person enter the spaceship...though the results in Prometheus where extremely unexpected! I liked that twist there. <br /><br />@RVChris: I hear ya, I too saw it as a cop out, giant walking skeletons would have been cool, but I guess Ridley needed to connect with the human angle, where we come from and all that, there had to be something more human about them. <br /><br />True about the mixed reactions, I guess those that dont like philosophy might find it boring or too weird, though to be honest I found it entertaining, even though its a thematically heavy film, I loved all the creatures and the ships and the suits...and for the record, I love Temple of Doom, I don't get why people hate it so much. <br /><br />Yeah, I too immediately picked up on the parallels between Tyrell and his androids in Blade Runner requesting more life from their creator, and Weyland and the Engineers on Prometheus. Death is a very important theme to Ridley Scott, both films make it their main theme! Why must we die? Life is so good, why does it have to end? <br /><br />I also enjoyed Prometheus's explorations on the possibility of an "afterlife", characters are constantly referring to it on the film.Franco Macabrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-46628689131010927472012-06-19T22:27:57.299-07:002012-06-19T22:27:57.299-07:00I really liked Prometheus (though not quite much a...I really liked Prometheus (though not quite much as you did) and am a bit surprised about how divide the reception has been. It seems that either people love it or really hate it. I felt that the characterizations and writing could have been better but everything else was done very well. I didn't like the retcon of the Space Jockeys being in suits (Humungous Elphantine creatures seemingly growing out of chairs are much cooler than 8 foot tall pale humans!) but it didn't really bother me as its a prequel but telling its own story at the same time. Prometheus is probably the best prequel movie I have ever seen right there with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (another one that a lot of people don't like) if you count that as a technical prequel. <br /><br />I feel that while Prometheus is a prequel in that it takes place in the same universe as Alien (and perhaps Aliens since Ridley Scott used James Cameron's Weyland-Yutani name) it also stands alone on its own. You can see Prometheus without having seen Alien but the two certainly compliment each other in terms of themes and plot.<br /><br /> I also was reminded of Blade Runner while watching Prometheus, because of David and Weyland reminded me a bit of Tyrell, especially the father aspect.<br /><br />I am looking forward to the extended Blu-Ray cut of Prometheus and even the possible sequel!RVChrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10475379868308526845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-52389171765420251032012-06-19T14:29:34.278-07:002012-06-19T14:29:34.278-07:00Nice review. I was entertained, to say the least, ...Nice review. I was entertained, to say the least, but I think I was expecting something so much better after all of the promotion for this flick. Maybe it was too much like Alien.Dan O.http://www.dtmmr.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-70831613102732312702012-06-18T06:39:15.810-07:002012-06-18T06:39:15.810-07:00SFF: To me Blade Runner has always been about deat...SFF: To me Blade Runner has always been about death, and accepting it as part of life...it's about lamenting about how everything you've lived will fade away once you die. It's about wanting more, and being sorry that this simply wont happen. Prometheus dealt with the same issues in many ways. <br /><br />Vladimir: I don't know if there are other versions of Prometheus being released around the world, but I do look forward to seeing a directors cut of the film once its released on dvd, that should make for a more complete film, no doubts! I loved that open ending...it makes you wonder where Elizabeth Shaw is heading and what a wonderful film it would make. Let's hope it gets made someday. <br /><br />J.D. I pretty much enjoyed the whole film, didnt really find anything wrong with it, I'm also looking forward to that DVD, I'm sure it will include a directors cut, now THATS going to be exciting because I did feel at times that the film was going fast from one thing to the next, where in ALIEN Scott really took his time with scenes. Looking forward to that dvd release! <br /><br />Thanks for commenting!Franco Macabrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-5324160542450076222012-06-18T05:56:45.420-07:002012-06-18T05:56:45.420-07:00Nice review! We are in agreement with many things ...Nice review! We are in agreement with many things about this film. I did feel the script was weak but this is more than made up for with the stunning visuals and strong performances from the cast.<br /><br />This will definitely be a must-have when it comes out on Blu-Ray, esp. now that Scott has said there will be a longer cut of the film!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164105442273577128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-84199605617217298662012-06-17T00:46:36.377-07:002012-06-17T00:46:36.377-07:00I am sure that I will watch this film several time...I am sure that I will watch this film several times from a DVD in the future. And the ending seemed promising for a sequel. <br /><br />Also, I wonder if they had shown same versions of Prometheus in Europe and in the States. Any ideas?Vladimirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04194499922055415291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-70256356860742583212012-06-16T06:01:50.417-07:002012-06-16T06:01:50.417-07:00Another fine review here Franco.
It is a stunning...Another fine review here Franco.<br /><br />It is a stunning film on a visual level.<br /><br />I liked how you mentioned Blade Runner which this film seems to tap really well on a philosophical level. That film just seems to endure because so much of it is left to interpretation. There is indeed a great aspect of that here. I'm glad you noted that.<br /><br />But I enjoyed your assessment of the film against the Alien and Blade Runner classics. It's hard to deny the connection to these worlds.<br /><br />But like you the Prometheus and Alien films for me were naturally connected and it was fun to look at how they worked with one another, but also remain very different.<br /><br />Prometheus does walk that balance and that tight rope of keeping one foot in the franchise and one foot in refreshing new territory rather expertly. <br /><br />The film will no doubt endure over time like those original classics you weaved into your assessement here. Great stuff as always. sffSFFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04256589316922398158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-27041423942662649162012-06-16T05:31:22.805-07:002012-06-16T05:31:22.805-07:00Hey Fritz, I agree with you about the film being d...Hey Fritz, I agree with you about the film being different, because it is, it has so many elements that we'd never seen before, but I disagree about it not being a true prequel, because I felt that it was one. I mean, we are seeing the birth of the Xenomorph after all, the very first one, this connects us directly to Alien. We do see who the spacejockey was, we do see how that ship crash landed....it does directly connect to Alien, but at the same time, as I mentioned on my review its a totally different tale. <br /><br />The real differences between both films is that Alien is a rather simple (yet effective) film with lots of style. While Prometheus is the deeper more philosophical one. To me, Prometheus had lots of connectivity to Alien, if people don't see that then they are blind, many things connect it to alien, yet it retains it uniqueness, thats a great feat in my book. <br /><br />I try to avoid spoilers as much as possible, but as you said, its hard doing that with Prometheus without spoiling it. <br /><br />I've heard some reviewers complaining about the ending...I personally had no problem with it, I thought it was awesome, the creatures...the effects and the final revelation in that bunker that Shaw enters...cool stuff in my book. I loved the engineers, cool alien beings. Bening? Or Evil? I liked how they mentioned something about them possibly being military in nature...it certainly felt that way. The ideas presented about the creatures being a biological weapon? Cool stuff...so many ideas. Totally agree with you, I need to see this one again, which I will be doing at some point during this weekend. <br /><br />Thanks for your comment Fritz!Franco Macabrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-18163104283913397982012-06-15T22:34:49.130-07:002012-06-15T22:34:49.130-07:00You summed up what made Prometheus such an amazing...You summed up what made Prometheus such an amazing science fiction film well, Francisco.<br /><br />I agree that while Prometheus is tentatively connected to Alien, it is not a true prequel in the sense of the word that it tells a story that prefigures the events or characters in the film Alien. What it does do is follow similar plot conventions as Alien and also uses antecedent alien beings and technology from Alien. Like you, I enjoyed Prometheus as a science fiction film that told its own unique story, independent of Alien, which focused on intellectual questions and minimized the visceral elements.<br /><br />I don’t understand why people are so angry that Prometheus isn’t a straight-up prequel to Alien. The Thing (2011) was a direct prequel to The Thing (1982) and it was so slavish to the film it was foreshadowing that there was no suspense to it because you knew precisely where the film was headed to from frame one. I honestly believe that if Scott made a similar film with Prometheus, the same fans now complaining about Prometheus’ lack of connectivity to Alien, would be complaining that the direct prequel was just a tired, unoriginal rehash of Alien. Fortunately, Scott did not succumb to fan (and I’m sure studio) pressure and made Prometheus about themes and ideas that he was interested in, only using the Alien universe as a foundation for those ideas.<br /><br />I graded Prometheus very close to your score on my blog post, but had a very difficult time explaining why I liked the film so much, because so many of the elements that make Prometheus so thought provoking are impossible to describe without spoiling the film for people who haven’t seen it. I try very hard not to spoil films in my reviews – particularly theatrical releases – but following this self-imposed restriction can make explaining one’s opinions difficult. You did a good job skirting plot-specific points in your review, while still explaining why you thought Prometheus was such an “amazing, thrilling…top notch” film.<br /><br />I agree that Prometheus does cover some of the same life/death concepts as Blade Runner, as well as the creator/creation questions. These are obviously ideas that Ridley Scott still thinks are fundamentally important issues thirty years later. Prometheus is far from perfect in its story construction and pacing. The final third of the film almost feels like a concession to Alien franchise fans and as a result the weakest act of the film. Still, there are some interesting ideas that Scott manages cram into all the mayhem happening at the end of the film.<br /><br />I for one am looking forward to re-watching Prometheus on Blu-ray and looking for more of the visual clues that I’m sure will add to my better understanding of the film.Fritz "Doc" Freakensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13209589620766485745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-46393662765816860552012-06-15T11:49:57.345-07:002012-06-15T11:49:57.345-07:00I am right there with you on this. I really liked ...I am right there with you on this. I really liked this movie. However, I am in a minority. <br /><br />I did have an issue with the last two minutes of the movie since it felt tacked on and not necessary. However, it did take anything away from the rest of the movie.<br /><br />A shame since soooooooo many people are ripping it apart since; it left too many questions, didn't spoon feed answers to viewers, or end with Ripley and her buddies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com