Recently saw trailer in theater and...

mogy79

MemberOvomorphMarch 14, 20122629 Views48 Replies

So, against my better judgement, I recently went to see John Carter. I think the anticipation of Prometheus has given me a renewed appetite for SciFi... so I indulged this whim. My opinion is that the movie was intolerably reductive.... a grey, putty like mash-up of Star Wars, Star Gate, Avatar, and Disney's Pocahontas. And please don't mention the special effects as a redeeming quality... they were standard at best. If you are like me you have been craving a smart, epic, creatively expansive science fiction genre movie for some time. I think the last one I saw and really liked was Moon, but I wouldn't call it epic.... or very original. Also, if you are like me, you too may have wanted to turn your back on the genre all together after horrendous Star Wars Trilogy prequels. So my point of this post to share my experience of seeing (unexpectedly) the Prometheus trailer play to a fully packed theater of (I presume) scifi fans. I felt so excited when it began... I saw Ridley's crow logo appear and got goosebumps as I prepared to share the moment with a group rather than alone on YouTube. It brought back the memory of going to see Aliens with my Dad in the 80's... I was probably too young to see it, but I begged him incessantly to take me for weeks... all because the commercials I had been seeing on TV had infected me with fascination and curiosity... do you remember them? Well the audience reaction seemed lukewarm at best... actually more like oblivous. It was really ant-climatic for me personally. Are today's audiences going to be smart enough to appreciate this. I know I'm going to sound like a snob here, but don't you agree that the majority of pop culture consumers today are morons. I'm not convinced, that even if this movie is a masterpiece that the masses have the capacity to digest it... and by masses I mean the ones who watch Jersey Shore, the Kardashians, and Dancing with the Stars... and the one's to my bewilderment (after showing no reaction to the Prometheus trailer) proceeded to cheer on John Carter in one the worst scifi films I've ever seen. I "they" now outnumber "us" I'm afraid... and that probably doesn't bode well for Prometheus.

Cypher
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March 14, 2012

Was it the full 2 and a half minute Theatrical Trailer mogy79?

[url=http://www.robocopmovie.net/][img]http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/snorkelbottom/NewRoboBanner.jpg[/img][/url] "Is it dead this time?" "I dunno, poke it with this stick and see."

mogy79
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March 14, 2012

Don't think so... the first one that has been out for a while now.

shardy
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March 14, 2012

yeah, i have to agree with you mogy79 in this age of the fickle minded, sometimes even the best crafted films tend to go unnoticed whilst some of the more moronic films tend to become "box office hits" sorry that "John Carter" sucked, it looked like a child's sci-fi flick, hence my not really paying it any mind. other than Taylor Kitsch, i would have not cared to see the trailer i'm am keeping hope alive about PROMETHEUS fingers croxxed....

royal-jelly
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March 14, 2012

i think you're right mogy79, a lot movies and tv these days are nothing but garbage. transformers 3 is a prime of hollywood rushing to make to make a quick buck. i grew in the 80's and 90's back when movies were still very well written, acted, directed and compelled the audience to think. whatever happened to movies like T2, the Abyss, the fly, matrix(the first one), gattaca, robocop and many others. i miss those days. i myself have been spreading the word about prometheus from my nephews to friends and to friends at work hoping they'd understand what a great sci fi movie should look like.

craigamore
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March 14, 2012

I'm not defending 'John Carter' per se, I haven't seen it, but I don't think you can call it unoriginal or "a grey, putty like mash-up of Star Wars, Star Gate, Avatar, and Disney's Pocahontas., because 'John Carter' was a sci-fi classic by Edgar Rice Burroughs long before any of those references. It's actually believed to have influenced 'Star Wars'. [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Princess_of_Mars_large.jpg/200px-Princess_of_Mars_large.jpg[/img] [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Big_Little_Book_-nn_John_Carter_of_Mars_%28Dell%2C_1940%29.jpg[/img]

Cypher
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March 14, 2012

Have to agree, my brother recently saw John Carter and said even I would hate it. That's a bold statement. They need to stop with the same old tired ideas, reboots, remakes, prequels etc. The only reason I'm hyped for Prometheus is we'll finally get to see what the deal is with that dead guy in his chair looking "like he exploded from the inside" :-D

[url=http://www.robocopmovie.net/][img]http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/snorkelbottom/NewRoboBanner.jpg[/img][/url] "Is it dead this time?" "I dunno, poke it with this stick and see."

craigamore
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March 14, 2012

[img]https://sites.google.com/site/erburroughsuk1steditions/_/rsrc/1288886327263/the-team/carter.jpg[/img]

craigamore
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March 14, 2012

Sorry to hear it wasn't good. I always hate to see that with sci-fi.

mogy79
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March 14, 2012

Thanks for the fun retro book covers and insightful information. Of course it doesn't change my mind about the quality of John Carter... but it actually does make it a lot more interesting! So this mean John Carter is a derivative of itself!!!... which is fascinating. Agree with me or not, I'm glad to learn a few new things as a result of these posts.... it's fun. So, "Staff"... the name John Carter... was that ripped off for the Terminator character?

latinhypercube
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March 14, 2012

Agreed John Carter looks awful (opposite of Awesome). Looks like something from the 50s. BTW. OF COURSE most people will NOT 'get' Prometheus. Just like Blade Runner and Alien !!! Feel good knowing that you are one of the few who DO get it, a decade before others will !

craigamore
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March 14, 2012

What's wrong with something from the 50's?

mogy79
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March 14, 2012

Well I don't think anything is "wrong" with the 50s... I love all things retro. The movie was just completely unoriginal... it was like a bunch of hollywood execs sat around a table and thought of the easiest was to make a "hit" for the masses. I guess they succeeded as the movie is doing quite well.

Cooper7108
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March 14, 2012

My Mother and Grandmother recently went to see a movie, I forget what one, but they saw the Prometheus trailer. As soon as it was over, I guess my Grandmother leaned over to my Mom and said, "that looks horrible". I guess neither of them will be coming with me to see it haha

Xenotron
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March 14, 2012

Most people don't even know what Prometheus is (and by "most people" I mean probably 80-90 percent). Fox has not done enough marketing to put this movie on the must-see list for your average movie-goer. I think part of this is due to secrecy on the project and the other part is that there's an attempt to keep the Alien "look" but eschew the branding by actually calling the movie "Alien: Whatever" and we're not really sure why Fox has decided to step away from the Alien franchise with this. Disney had the same problem with John Carter; nobody knows what that movie is about and that's why people don't care to see it. A title like "John Carter" doesn't tell people anything about the story or setting. Prometheus doesn't tell people that it's in the Alien universe, so why should they get excited? When you start seeing advertising outside of the internet and the movie theater--when you start seeing ads on television, bus stops, and billboards, then people will be more aware about it, but Fox will pretty much have to say "This movie is in the Alien universe" for the unaware to see it. But for now, a trailer that shows a few quick scenes of spaceships, Kuato jumping around, and some generic sci-fi wiz-bang, nobody is going to know or care.

craigamore
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March 14, 2012

I'm not disagreeing with you @mogy79, it probably does suck, yeesh...such attitude....but anyway, ou'll havwe to ask Cameron 'bout that one.

mogy79
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March 14, 2012

makes sense Xenotron... I guess we are the exception to the rule then. I was instantly and insatiable fascinated from the moment I just heard the rumor that the film was happening... I just forget not everyone sees what I/we see.

Cinefan
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March 14, 2012

Has anyone here seen a movie called Sunshine by Danny Boyle? I thought it had a pretty good story and I did like that it wasn't your typical "Hollywood" movie. There was some elements I didn't care for, but overall was pretty good. If some of you haven't seen it may want to check it out.

mogy79
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March 14, 2012

huh?... are you responding to something I posted... I'm just interested in conversing about the film...

Cypher
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March 14, 2012

Am I missing the Kuato joke or something?...........

[url=http://www.robocopmovie.net/][img]http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/snorkelbottom/NewRoboBanner.jpg[/img][/url] "Is it dead this time?" "I dunno, poke it with this stick and see."

mogy79
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March 14, 2012

I haven't seen Sunshine, but have heard good things.... about it... I'll look for it. Recently I heard some buzz about a movie called The Divide (or The Divided).... post apocalyptic film... looks dark and fun.