those who saw it...be honest
Prometheus Forum Topic
the coming
MemberOvomorphMay 30, 20122338 Views34 RepliesWas it honestly satisfying? Please no sympathy scores...be brutal..'It was OK' is not good enough.....Was this film honestly atmospheric, scary and intellectually stimulating? The movie we are all imagining
Because I am sure as hell getting the impression from these negative and fan sympathy reviews that it is a little bland, a missed opportunity, and the trailers pretty much have the best bits...
I remember this level of buildup before Matrix Reloaded and that turned out to be dogshit....infact some of the fan fake scripts sounded way better than what we actually got....so nothing will surprise me
One thing I will not do is lie to myself..I will even give it a settling period (i.e. hated Fight Club the first time, then loved it like 2 months later)
Other discussions started by the coming
Replies to those who saw it...be honest

mikydiscoMay 31, 2012
Just watched it at London BFI IMAX.
Beautiful cinematography
Poor Acting
Atrocious Plot
Ridiculous pacing
Irritatingly poor soundtrack
I was gearing up to write a comprehensive review but if
I'm honest, it's just not worth it.
I am now having a beer with my fellow viewers and we are all coming to the same conclusions.
Sorry to be so honest but I'm dissapointed beyond comprehension.

Gimm-eMay 30, 2012
I know sorry, perhaps i'm ranting on, but i'm pretty upset now.
You don\\\'t see them fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage!
artyohMay 30, 2012
With all due respect.......at this point, it simply isn't credible for any individual to claim that this movie will or won't revive the franchise.

Gimm-eMay 30, 2012
I'm just giving my honest opinion, i love the alien series and this should have been the movie to revive the franchise, but it doesn't... shame really, considering how it looks.
You don\\\'t see them fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage!


John D.May 30, 2012
Not sure which reviews you're thinking about, but I'm seeing more and more of them pop up all over the web and a lot of them are VERY positive.
the comingMay 30, 2012
yeah now the positive ones seem to be coming in, but there was definitely a batch of bad ones for a while...and the thing that scares me most are words like 'less interesting' and 'bland'....
Alexa431May 30, 2012
John, that's incorrect and you know it. Many people are left confused with so many questions unanswered. I also heard that the movie felt rushed at times. A lot of the reviewers mentioned that prometheus would have been better as a standalone sci-fi film, and not to consider it in the Alien universe.( mentality) All in all from I read, its not scary, its just not up to par with the original Alien. And in my opinion I will conclude mainly because Dan O' Bannon passed away and couldn't write the script, that would have been the true prequel, as Dan O' Bannon and Ronald Shusett were the one that came up with the original screenplay that Scott was not involved in, just my 2 cents.

iapetusMay 30, 2012
hmm not sure 'fan sympathy reviews' is the right way to put it.
If I take my review, I have just tried to achieve 2 goals:
- give a level headed thorough review with as many infos and hints but no spoils
- give my personal feeling when it is suited but keep anough distance and provide enough background on my opinion so as to let others be able to make their own take on what they will like or not
Another aspect is I think you do not come out from seeing a movie for the first time saying whether or not it will turn into a cult item or if it is a masterpiece. Not even '2001' because even then, you have too much to digest to make such a bold assumption with enough confidence and reliability. The 2 kinds of Doofuses who will come straight claiming it's "plain shit" or that it's "a new milestone in the history of man"... well are Doofuses.
I personally think that the questioning is only partly done 'up front' with straightforward questions being thrown, partly by either subtle or more evident hints, or finally by just giving you the material to do it and letting you putting the questions in yourself.
Now, if you want a more personal and daring take on the film about that... I think it is good but demanding and most people will not actually look deep enough past the first layer to reach such matters. However, the addicts online here are not everyday people, and how many people around you can really discourse about the philosophical reach of Blade Runner and its place among other dystopian fiction works?
Maybe Prometheus will not be the next Metropolis or Blade Runner. I know I am nowhere near able to tell for sure so soon, but what I can say is I love the world and atmosphere it offers and will no doubt remain interested in discussing some questions it yields for years to come.

John D.May 30, 2012
Alexa431,
It's not incorrect. Which reviews are [b]you[/b][i][/i] reading?
I'm reading ones from professional critics as well as some sci-fi fanboy blogger types. I [i]have[/i] heard 1) it's not a horror film like Alien, more straight-ahead science fiction and 2) It's not going to be a classic like Alien or Aliens, and 3) it leaves many questions unanswered.
Yet with one or two exceptions, they have high praise for the rest of the film on its own merits. So I'm not sure what you're getting at?
Are you saying if it's not a classic like Alien and it's not a horror film per se, then it's not a good movie? That seems like an odd conclusion to draw.

David 1May 30, 2012
what Iapetus said up there
[b]Ask nothing from no one. Demand nothing from no one. Expect nothing from no one.[/b]
abordoliMay 30, 2012
It is quite evident that Ridley Scott made this movie for die-hard Alien fans. Now, I'm not saying that if you walk out of the theatre puzzled, dissapointed and confused, you're not a die-hard Alien fan, it just means that it may take some time to be properly digested. Perhaps a second viewing. From what I am hearing, we've got a bonafide "onion" of a movie containing several layers. It may take months before we reach the inner core and realize what has actually transpired in Prometheus and its link to the next movie which has mostly likely already been filmed. Just my opinion....
JPMay 30, 2012
"which has mostly likely already been filmed" - hahahaha and I was nodding my head in sage agreement until that point
come on...you dont honestly believe that do you?
Alexa431May 30, 2012
John, Im not saying that its not a good movie in fact its consider a great sci fi film, but its not a horror film. You agree with me in the fact that its not a classic film, further making my point. I did not expect any xeno's or anything similar so that wasn't the case. All I wanted was the tension filled atmosphere that Alien had, regardless of the creature, which unfortunately this movie doesn't have.
JPMay 30, 2012
@ the coming
my question is why does it matter what everyone thinks....youll be able to make your own mind up soon enough. less is more...you must have one critic that seems to get it on the money for you - so if youre that desperate to get a guage, go to who you trust
Kermode is the only critic that works for me, everything else is just inconsistent noise with shit track records when it comes to scoring films how "I" see them
JPMay 30, 2012
but Alexa431...you must be wrong...cos RS said he wants to 'scare the shit out of you' ...youre not saying that RS was resorting to marketing soundbites to sell a film are you? :)[b][/b]
KarstenphdMay 30, 2012
As long as it is not
1. Transformers
2. Battle Los Angeles
3. Twilight
4. Alien Requim.
5. Alien Versus Predator.
6. Etc.
Hopefully more mature. I love movies as varied as Blade Runner, Clockwork orange, The Fifth Element, Dark City, and will totally not like the second or third Matrix, just because I know what I like, and I know what I don't like. Everyone has the right to interpret, see, react, love, hate, dismiss, fall asleep on, watch every few months, whichever movie they like. Different strokes for different folks, get in where you fit in, what someone thinks of my opinion on a movie is none of my business, it's what I think. Filmgoers expectations are all based on their reality and belief systems, expectations, not mine.
Alexa431May 30, 2012
JP, Watch the film and tell me if it scared the shit out of you lol Either he did or as he aged he tend to get scared at sci fi films haha maybe it was all the new tech 3D was very stimulating :)
.May 30, 2012
From just the trailers, I find the depth of the film to be possibly "over the head of most movie audiences - too much to comprehend in one sitting" and that the underlying story(s) and the implications it drives at are lost. Sometimes certain movies need to be watch a number of times for each layer of the writers/directors story to fully impart their message to the viewer.
abordoliMay 30, 2012
[i]hahahaha and I was nodding my head in sage agreement until that point come on...you dont honestly believe that do you?[/i]
Not all, not most, but some.....


iapetusMay 30, 2012
Thx for that David 1, I think we are far from the only ones feeling that way.
I also can't agree more with abordoli's post, which in some way connects with mine. I think movies like that have a life of their own, or even several ones, before they find their place. Only just that makes me think some potential is there to be mined for, for a while.
Also, one last thing I think is crucial to understand the incoherent feelings we receive from the reviews is I think purely symptomatic of the expectations of the average audience nowadays.
I actually cannot make sense of reviews saying 'It sucks, almost no definite answer is given'... What made Alien such a success in the first place is the total lack of any answer, purpose and all around background. The importance of a meta-level and how much of it is (or is not) revealed makes for a large part of why certain stories turn into a 'cult' popular phenomenon. Because people remain hooked and make theirs that mysterious meta-world. Think Tolkien's various elven/orkish languages, geological maps, Silmarillion mythology etc. for the most authoritative example.
The problem with the spoiled-brat people are irreversibly turning into is that now, the audience is convinced a film is a fail if it does not spoon-feed them evrything there is to know. That resulted in things like the Star Wars pre-logy and the whole 'sequel' trend.
Alien wouldn't be Alien and we wouldn't be there talkin if Jar-Jar had been there in 1979 telling us how 'issa Space Jockey, issa tall tall bastard, issa live not far, youssa want me call them?'. So, not everyone is happy with Prometheus? sounds like very good news to me.

FrantzMay 30, 2012
Ridley Scott said some wrong things for marketing purposes ...
"to scare the shit out of you " ..really is not ..dont know if its because we already know everything but is not a very scary movie "
" things that look insignificant will be enormous at the end " huh ? ive missed something ?
BTw is still a good good movie

BloodMay 30, 2012
It's a good movie, very good probably. It's an excellent sci-fi. Not a horror movie like Alien, but a few scary scenes full of tension. And of course that fantastic special scene with Noomi that will make history imo. Fassbender and Noomi character archs are very interesting.

DrakeequationMay 30, 2012
Ian Nathan at Empire.com writes:
"There is no accumulation of dread, none of Alien’s haunted silences and primordial drones that slid beneath your bones. The film is too busy, too talky, too noisy by half. Awe, wonderment and terror need atmosphere to flourish. For all the CGI grandiosity, there is a flatness to the mood. Prometheus is strangely impatient, irritable, rushing its set-ups and squandering drama. Characters perish, but without any great wit or design, and in fits and starts. The film can’t fix on where it wants the action to occur, dragging the cast back and forth between the Apple-elegant fixtures of the good ship Prometheus and the grey-green bio-horror chambers of the ‘temple’. Motive is sorely lacking.
And the stand-ins are no great shakes — somewhere in Switzerland Giger is snorting into his schnapps. Early on we glimpse beneath the exoskeleton — sorry, spacesuit — and the Space Jockey, sorry Engineer, turns out to be a overly-pumped bald bloke with dead-eyes who has no dialogue and punches people across the room. So basically they’ve spent two years in cryo to discover that God is Jason Statham."
HighNDry88May 30, 2012
The concensus I get is that the people who went into it wanting "another Alien movie" are the ones slapping it with negativity. While the ones who saw it and respected it as a standalone sci-fi film are the ones praising it. What I don't get is when a reviewer says things like "Prometheus would have been better as a standalone sci-fi film." That makes no sense, because Fox, Scott, and Lindleloff have beeing claiming for months that this IS a standalone film, and though it does have tidbits of Alien themes and some nods to the other films, it is NOT an Alien film. So, in essence, this tells me that the movie is good, because it IS a standalone sci-fi film.

ShinobiX9XMay 30, 2012
i think i can understand Prometheus is as different from Alien is from Aliens (i really don't like that one)
it's not a scary movie, but maybe, RS meant the concept is scary?
yes i'm left with questions, but it makes sence to the movie to me.

BloodMay 30, 2012
In that critic I agree with the fact that they go back and forth of the ruins, instead of staying in one place and developing the story from there. Also the movie feels rushed in some parts. Just a few seconds more here and there would have created more tension and a better rhythm.

Gimm-eMay 30, 2012
I'm pretty dissapointed actually. This wasn't really the movie I had been looking forward to all this time, sorry. Visually, it is brilliant, but story-wise... i really hope for a director's cut when the blu-ray is out, because if this is the final version heads should roll in my opinion.
You don\\\'t see them fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage!
artyohMay 30, 2012
From the Empire review:
"Early on we glimpse beneath the exoskeleton — sorry, spacesuit — and the Space Jockey, sorry Engineer, turns out to be a overly-pumped bald bloke with dead-eyes who has no dialogue...."
Thank God they have no dialog!......and that reviewer sounds like they could be one of the disgruntled fanbots on here: "oH noes, itz justa SUIT??!!!!"
Yeah dude, sorry that rocks your world in a bad way...........whatever.

craigamoreMay 30, 2012
Again...I'm hearing it over and over..."I was EXPECTING this...and I got THIS instead."....
crapaudMay 31, 2012
Hello everybody,
I have seen the movie yesterday evening. What i would like to say first of all is please, stop being "intellectual" about it, and don't take care of the critics: just go and see it because it is what YOU feel while watching that counts (yeah, we are always all alone...).
I have been thrilled by Alien and Aliens, and I am more than a "fan" in a sense that these movies (and other sci fi or not) have left a trace in me, and this is what cinema is all about: you get involved with the characters, the music, the atmosphere, an alchemy takes place in your hearth that arouse the primal feelings in you: you get inside the movie, you want them to survive ! and this feeling remain with you and follows you after you have left the theatre, and...all your life (sounds stupid but...this is true) .
I felt nothing like that with Prometheus.
(Tried to post something similar yesterday, didn't work....hope it will this time.)

Nicky.the.huttJune 07, 2012
Watched it.
Compared to a movie I've watched 50 times since I was born (Alien), it answered a shitload of questions. Dialogs are too short but better worded than any other Alien movie. David the android seemed to me like the most interesting android in the series in his psychology and relation with humans. Sometimes I saw CGI and had to try real hard to believe it was CGI.
Of course we are not a fan of Prometheus yet, it's been out for a week only and no one in their right mind had the time to process all of it.
Remember that the only explanation given about Alien was: "The perfect organism. I admire its purity. A survivor … unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality. " That's it, and then 2 hours of people being stupid, making mistakes and dying.
Now saying that Prometheus doesn't answer a whole bunch of questions and that Alien or its off-topic sequel by James Cameron are good enough to be classics in compare is hypocritical. What would you say about Blade Runner then? It doesn't serve any explanation on a silver or paper plate. The questions added by Prometheus are the origins of mankind, and people expect to see Dumbledore sit us down by a fireplace and break down to us the secret that can negate millenniums of theology, evolutionism and philosophy. Even Darwinism has "plot holes", and requires a little bit of faith and speculation.
Go see Prometheus with an open mind and you will not be disappointed.
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