Alien: Earth and Alien: Romulus sequel news

Achilles Heal?

dsjohnson84

MemberOvomorphMay 30, 20121163 Views21 Replies
***MAJOR SPOILERS, BE WARNED*** Prometheus is a movie which contains a plot that is contingent upon the idea of it being continued within a subsequent film. It does not stand on it's own like many classic sci-fi/action/thrillers do. Films such as: The Matrix, Inception and Alien. Like Prometheus, all of these movies created their own universe/set of rules. They opened up very interesting discussions (Alien, the least out of them). Unlike Prometheus, they all contained plot/thematic resolution. All of these movies screenplays had an intensity to them and this intensity, after it peaked, all simmered down to a resolute final scene. In The Matrix, Neo becomes the one, and informs the machines that he will inform all of their captors of a world without boundaries. His threat ends with putting the next move in their hands. In Inception, Cobb finds a way out of the depths of the mind and is reunited with his family. He tests his reality but is distracted and never sees the result. The audience is left to wonder... Finally in Alien, Ripley escapes the Nostromo but has one more surprise encounter with the alien. She manages to survive and goes into cryo in the lifeboat with the "hopes" of being picked up along the way. All of these films ended. They resolved their major themes yet left enough room for expansion. These films were never dependent on the notion of a sequel. The option was there because there were still things that COULD be explored. What challenges does Neo face in his future against the machine race? Is Cobb in reality or the mind? Do others perform these mental games? Does Ripley get rescued? Does anyone find the derelict ship? Where did it come from? Prometheus aimed to open a discussion about a race of beings which create various forms of biology, and apparently humankind is possibly one of them. By the end of the movie there is no resolution AT ALL. There is no sense of decompression for the audience. The intensity, the questions, the anxiety is all but still rolling through the very last frame. A movie which ends like that, with the main protagonist leaving for an alien world for answers to all of the films major themes, is dependent upon a sequel. This is NOT ambiguous, it's outrageously open ended through a "to be continued" cinematic move. The film could have had a million different endings. None of which needed to be connected to Alien whatsoever. But IN MY OPINION, the film needed to END, and by end I mean with some solid resolution. A well crafted ending, resolves a few of the major themes to an understandable level, while also not answering EVERYTHING as to allow the possibility for further exploration. I understand that RS has mentioned the idea of a sequel for years now, and even recently has expressed that he wants to do one... but I think the film would have been STRONGER if it COULD stand on its own as well. I am not necessarily upset with the ending, however I feel it is simply cliche, commercial and not intellectually stimulating. I feel that the ending is Prometheus' achilles heal. Thoughts?
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ShinobiX9X
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That's about how i feel about it. exactly like efron writes it
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dsjohnson84
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@Shilliam Watner Great name btw ;) I agree. Trying to stick to a 2-hour run time forced an ending that is abrupt and ultimately empty. Why this couldn't have been 2.5-3 hours is beyond me? Ridley is a director, a visionary, that could have easily kept people captivated for that amount of time... especially with the powerful and provocative themes plus insanely beautiful visuals weaved with moments of tension and horror. Avatar was 162 minutes, almost 3 hours, and it destroyed box office records. It's frustrating to say the least. It just feels so incomplete and I just ask "why!?"
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Shilliam Watner
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The film could have had a complete ending if it was allotted a time frame like Peter Jackson's 'King Kong'. It's inevitable that there will be a sequel but Ridley will be up in age a little more as a director.
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Svanya
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Thank you for posting this! :)

Wat

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Deckard_B26354
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I'll get back to you early next Friday morning, Texas time.
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dsjohnson84
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I have just been thinking about why the ending has been sitting ill with me. I finally had to think about similar movies (with equally transfixing ideas and powerful themes) which succeeded in resolving themselves yet providing PLENTY of avenues for creative exploration through subsequent film-making/storytelling. I realized that with the ending which is provided, the movie MUST continue. There is no sense of silence for the movie, it ends while still riding the peak of it's adrenaline. That energy within the audience does not get a chance to end up somewhere, only in anticipation and hope for a sequel. I think Prometheus could have done much better than that. I had hoped Ridley would have done MUCH better than that.
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moviefan12
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Agree with the original post. No offense to "Alien" fans but it looks like "Prometheus" may suffer from the same mistakes that "Star Wars" made with its prequels. A prequel needs to be well thought out. Not just thrown together. It has to have some real logic and explanation - but at the same time be original and entertaining. IMO i think Ridley Scott could've done better then a snake-like alien, a giant squid, etc for the prequel to a great film like "Alien". I was hoping for more then "Leviathan" in space. I hope they learned from the mistakes Lucas made with the SW prequels and came up with a solid backstory. But reading the spoilers it doesn't look like it.
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abordoli
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[size=5]This was always meant to be a "two-parter". Enjoy part 1! ; )[/size]
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Ripley McPreviouscharacter
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lol @ Shiliam Watner You hit the nail on the head there. Thing is, though, this is just one more movie in a franchise, more than that, a whole fictional universe that includes more than just the Alien movies (and Prometheus may or may not count as an alien movie, depending on what exactly the proto-alien is). If counted as an alien movie, this will be the [b]seventh[/b] one. If you go into this movie NOT expecting a sequel hook, I think you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Think of it like being upset that GMK ends with a post-credits scene of Godzilla's still beating heart. Come on now, you KNOW they're just going to make another one next year, adding a sequel hook is well within allowable at this point, 33 years later. As for standing on it's own and telling a complete story: it doesn't. I, at least, am going to see this because of Alien. The space jockey is the backbone here, so it's already standing on the shoulders of something else. On their own, an obvious sequel hook and a story that aren't resolved on it's own terms are really damning, just as you say, but I think in this case, given the circumstances, it's pretty forgivable.
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Roberta
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The ethical value of a life (any life) is certain only after that person is dead. Because, with the death, any life will become a destiny. A story. A movie, a novel or an art-work without the END, is without a certain value, just like the life is. I just read the wiki movie plot and I don’t like the idea that Prometheus is just one episode. One of… how many? Great ideas are ALSO simple ideas. You don’t need “Prometheus 1,2,3,4,5,6” to tell the story of a great idea. One movie is enough… If you have enough to say… (I apologies for my English)
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dsjohnson84
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Guys, these are great comments. I hope for more! I'm off to bed!
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Ripley McPreviouscharacter
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...yikes... To be fair, the story was never the strong point. The plot involves 100% human "aliens" that "created life" in what wikipedia says is the Cambrian period (which if someone says this in the movie I won't be able to stifle my laughter), and looking for the origins of mankind anywhere other than Africa, which, as someone who didn't flunk history class, I can tell you is a really silly mistake and a waste of time and money. So, it's a dumb b-movie plot from the 1950's. The difference is, I'm betting, the cinematography, mood, and thematic content. It can be overt "humans came from Mars and built Atlantis" goofiness or it can be some sort of statement about how insatiable human curiosity is even when we already have the answers, about us trying to reconcile objective knowledge of pointlessness with a desperate need to feel special, searching for some fabled "god" but finding fallible, spiteful creatures that breed monsters instead, that sort of thing. And, we already know it's the later, Ridley seems very hung up on the meraphors and themes. So even though the story is corny and pure fantasy, it's the way it's told that's more important than the plot itself. And I still think it's sort of weird to be upset about the seventh film having a sequel hook. BUT I know Ridley has said that this film should stand apart from Alien as its own entity, so it's a perfectly valid concern, of course. I guess it just doesn't bother as much as some of you other folks, is all.
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Predatordreads
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Ok like Abordoli said this had always been intended to be a two part project. You know what I don't get is why will people not refer to Prometheus as a spin off from Alien? I mean Deep Space Nine is a spin off from TNG we can even say that TNG and DSN are spin offs from classic Star Trek. Doctor Who has Torchwood even Cheers had Frasier. Why is Prometheus not called a spin off?! I mean not to be a pain in the @$$ but its not that complicated! I think if 20th century fox allowed Ridley and Damon to just say "Prometheus is going to be a spin off prequel that will go in its own direction" and then Ridley would the also say " and I am not going 'old school' I hate that term so EFF Off!" Like he did that girl on Facebook! Just remember that this movie was all along supposed to be a 2 part endeavor. Here is the link posted in 2010 even before the movie was going to be called "Paradise". http://enewsi.com/news.php?catid=190&itemid=17294
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Ripley McPreviouscharacter
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I had been using the term "indirect prequel," but spin-off sounds a lot more apt.
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Mark Cawley
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But then......there were 3 matrix movies yes? Prometheus is just Matrix 1 if you like. Perhaps in 2 we will see the Space Jockeys home world.
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efron
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I think there is a clear end... Indeed the lady and the robot head (we have seen that before in an Alien Movie) are on the move to unknown destinations... (cool) that we might or might not know about.... but on the other hand we clearly see the connection between the engineers and the Alien. it is not the same ship that we saw in the first Alien movie as that one was still standing and had the Engineer in it's seat. This ship fell and the engineer was eaten in the Survival ship. The rest is (like with modern art paintings) up to our own imagination.. and I like that. The story is not completely told.... it is how you want to see it. and that leaves room for thoughts.... which for me.. is cool.. it tickles fantasy
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Svanya
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@Mark, I think what he is saying is there is no closure to Prometheus like there was in The Matrix. Had there been only one Matrix it could have stood on it's own whereas Prometheus cannot.

Wat

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Frantz
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i think the movie looks complete and have a concrete ending too...yes there are questions left open but that happen in every movie ( bladerunner , Alien , The thing ) ....the ending is made to allow a sequel and is about a final choice of Shaw ..i think that final choice is made too to not ruin the other Alien movies
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ShinobiX9X
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If there is no sequel to it, i'm still satisfied. i want to explain my feelings about the movie, but that would spoil to much maybe. What i can say now is, as i'm not used to it. credits and subtitles in a 3d movie are weird. I'd rather had them switched off:p (probably just need to get used to it)
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dsjohnson84
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What does the Alien at the very end have to do with anything in the plot? It is simply only there to be a hidden surprise for Alien fans... it's pointless. It is as cheap and cliche as the pred-alien being born at the end of AvP. It's irrelevant and only meant as a cheap fan-flavored treat. There was ENOUGH understanding throughout the plot that the Engineer's had the power to create the Alien species we all know and love... they didn't need to SHOW us it. It was already understood through IMPLICATION or AMBIGUITY. Then we are set up to believe that Shaw and David's head have confiscated and now are piloting an ANCIENT Alien space ship (mind you she is an archaeologist and he is just a head) and headed off to the SJ homeworld to what? Sit them down for a Barbara Walter's interview on "why are you going to kill us?" The movie was about going to meet our makers... the sequel is about... going to meet our makers again, this time with one cast member? Also the final act kills 8 characters in an extremely short period of time, quickly leaving Shaw alone. That's a waste and unnecessary. So, back to the end, we are left with an illogical journey to an alien homeworld and the birth of an alien creature... I would say that is pretty explicit. Nothing implied, no room for imagination. It's been filled in for you. Imagine for one moment if Shaw died (or survives but is trapped on the planet, but sends a warning message to Earth) and the engineer left in the other available Space Craft, and then the movie ended... now that's an entirely IMPLIED ending. Does he head for Earth? Does he go back to his home planet? Does he emergency land on LV-426? Now that at least still activates your imagination without being cheesey AND it's an "adrenaline" filled ending that could force the hand of a sequel, much like it is now. There are much better ways to have ended this film without having to be so cliche. The route they chose surprises me.

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