Prometheus

The beginning scene had me confused for a little while but I think I understand what is happening. The engineer sacrifices himself to create life on earth and is doing so at the isle of skye in scotland, this is called seeding. Probably already read that. Well everyone says that it's the black liquid used later on that he drinks, when i first saw it that's what i thought, but the second time i saw it the drink didn't look like the liquid. So maybe he didn't drink the black liquid and if i am mistaken then that doesn't mean that it is the black liquid because look at the functional contrast. Shaw describes the black liquid on the leaving ship as only "death", and since this new drink helped bring about life on earth maybe this is "life". Though the drink isn't technically life it just helps in breaking down the dna and then rebuilding it. The reason is that why would the engineer sacrifice himself if he only needed dna to start life? Holloway says that all you need is "a piece of dna and half a brain" to create life, which shaw replies she can't. (I view shaw as being a representation of humanity, which coincides with our inability to create life). Maybe Holloway is wrong, I think so, maybe life is more mysterious than this and only life can be created from life. Would explain why the engineer had to sacrifice himself. That leaves the question then, what is life? Also I wanted to say that the beginning scene is probably the most beautiful scene I have seen in cinematic history. I loved it. The black liquid I believe is an evolutionary accelerant that does so by mutating the organism in contact. It certainly does cause rapid growth as we see with the engineers head, while he is dead some of the cells were kept alive from stasis so once it was taken out and tried to be revived it caused rapid cell growth, they even say news cells were forming on the head prior, which eventually caused the head to explode. Also the fact that when david touched the liquid it didn't have any effect on him or his suit, both nonbiological. However fifield gets sprayed with blood by the hammerpede, now I believe that the blood like that of alien is not solely composed of acid alone but filled with extremely potent and versatile enzymes and works like the stomach which a high acidic pH is used to activate the enzymes. So when fifield is sprayed with this and he lands in the black liquid, the liquid increases the enzymatic activity which then is able to melt his mask. Fifield is not dead when this happens he only has his helmet melt on to his face, we assume he's dead. Maybe he was alive long enough for the black liquid to mutate him into the rampaging beast. The black liquid did mutate the worms in the beginning into the hammerpedes. This is another reason that the black liquid only works on biological beings and that the liquid mutates them till they reach their highest evolutionary state. Ash described the xenomorph as the "perfect organism", well maybe the xenomorph isn't so much a species but rather a role in which the black liquid is the catalyst for creating the process of it. Though it still remains what exactly is this black liquid? I know people have asked why the engineers appear so different from us though we have the same dna. Well they aren't really that different. But I would say the reason is development. Just because you have dna doesn't mean every part of it is expressed, if it were then you wouldn't have any different parts to your body and would just appear as a massive cell. Environment could play a role too. And the trilobite people wondered why it was able to get so massive, well it too was going under development that lead to body changes though not enough to get that big. But maybe it was able to ingest something in the room or maybe it was even able to incorporate things from the air into its body to achieve its mass. Just cause it's alive doesn't mean it has to follow the same way organisms on earth does. I think David had his agenda the entire movie. I believe that he was looking to gain a soul or to be alive, whatever you want to call it. I think this was a huge concept of the movie, what it means to be alive and what is life? What happens to us when we die? Throughout the movie David is riticuled for not having a soul and just being a robot, and he can't understand what it means to be human because he can't feel. While he doesn't feel, he certainly understands. And there is not much worse than knowing you can't feel, even though its what you want but just can't. Look at his expression when someone mocks him, it's of annoyance. Alot will say he's an android and can't have desires or what not, well David is more human than any previous android. He even says doesn't everyone want their parents dead, so he could be free. Which makes me to believe that he wasn't really there for Weyland, who sought to be given more life. Well surely if they could give life to Weyland they could do the same for david. This all leads me to understand why David poisoned Holloway, now maybe Weyland did tell him to do it but I don't believe so. I believe that David thought this black liquid could bring about life and wanted to test it, so he could use it later. But he isn't positive about taking a persons life, as you see if he was he would have put his index finger in the glass immediately instead of grabbing it with his middle finger. But he talks with Holloway who mocks him yet again, making david refocus on his agenda. He says to Holloway why the created him, with Holloway replying cause we could. David says imagine how dissappointing that'd be to hear from your creator. That's a good question, how would you feel if God told you that? So David asks what would Holloway do to get what he wanted, he replies anything and everything. Just what David needed to know to have him follow through, he says "I think that's worth drinking too" which he then places his finger and poison in the drink. Something that has bothered me is that people believe the engineer woke up and just started bashing skulls. No, he was awakened from cryo and he stumbles a little then goes about his business but he realizes people are here talking. As Weyland asks him a question he looks in confusion as he can't understand what they are saying. Shaw begins starts asking her questions in such distress and grief. The engineer isn't sure what she's saying but he has a look of empathy, while he doesn't know why she's upset but he clearly knows something is terribly wrong. It's not until David speaks to the engineer in his tongue that he snaps his head towards david. While I believe it may have been what david said, seeing how Weyland wanted him to ask about immortality and to give him more life, it could also just be the fact that he is speaking his tongue or that he's an artificial being. Sidenote-- In the Bible God says that they must keep humans from eating from the tree of immortality and becoming like them, just after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, so us trying to achieve immortality would remind the engineer of his mission and that people have not changed. The engineer then places his hand on David's head as if satisfied and proud in him, then he tears his head off and beats people to death. But the movie does leave us with some questions, not regarding the ones I already stated, but what does it mean to be human? This relation is to how we behave and david does. David thinks it doesn't matter why the engineers turned on humans, but to shaw (represents what it means to be human) it is important, and david could only understand if he was human. What makes us who we are or what determines our nature? If we are created by another being who created them? Would there be an unending source of others creating others or would there be a definitive beginning? Does it really matter the technicalities to religion, is not what I choose to believe the important part? Are not the values and beliefs the valuable part of religion not the creator? There are many more but I'm sure you'll have your own. Overall I loved the movie, I felt like it was bladerunner met alien in modern times. I loved the characters and their development and how they relate to one another. The questions it raised were great. And I'm glad they brought more Giger artwork into the film. The music was phenomenal. It was just a great movie that I don’t think will be appreciated for some time, like bladerunner.