Forum Topic

fader
MemberOvomorphJul-08-2012 5:11 PMWhenever I watch a good movie, I like to reflect back on the few heroic events/scene that takes place in the movie, then ask myself, would I have done that?
For starters, the Prometheus has 2 lifeboats, I had mentioned this an earlier post a few weeks back. The composite drawing of the Prometheus shows where the Medical Bay, Nuclear Powered Ion Plasma Engines, Multiple Cargo Bay, Fireproof Windscreen and Eject-able Lifeboat Module are located. If you look closely there 2 Lifeboat Modules
The captain, Janek and his crew, Chance & Ravel, performed a selfless act to save earth and mankind... Ramming/colliding the Prometheus into the Engineers juggernaut to prevent the destruction of earth. I think it is one of the better scenes in the movie myself...
What keeps bugging me is with all this technology this ship has, traveling at the speed of light across over 1/4 distance in our galaxy, yet lacks an auto pilot function? Well lets assume it does and here is how that scene should have played out....
Janek- Miss Vickers I’m going to eject your Life Support Module to that surface, that’s 2 years of life, do you want it...? or do you want to stay with me..? You got 40 seconds to get to the escape pod... Vickers runs off stating “ your crazy “
Janek- Gentleman, I can handle this myself, feel free to join Ms. Vickers
Ravel responds- all due respect captain, but you’re a shit pilot and your going to need all the help you can get
As the captain starts lift-off, lining up the Prometheus towards the juggernaut when
Chance looks over to Ravel and says, if you think this means the bets off, your wrong! Ravel chuckles and states, why don’t you pay me on the other side.....
just then Janek hits the auto-pilot button and say’s I is outta of here and darts off to the 2nd lifeboat, Chance and Ravel running right behind the captain. As the 2nd lifeboat starts to leave LV 223, Chance grabs the lifeboat’s mic and yells, “ Hey Vickers, you skanker, we is outta here, have a great day “, right before the juggernaut rolls over her, she flips Chance the bird, then you hear a fading scream..... you guys know the rest of the story
How would you play it out?
I should reach the frontier in about 6 weeks. With a little luck, the network will pick me up. This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo....
15 Replies

David 1
MemberOvomorphJul-08-2012 5:25 PMyes, one of the sub-narratives is the dualism of sacrifice and life.
in this case:
Engineer sacrifice - Janek sacrifice
[b]Ask nothing from no one. Demand nothing from no one. Expect nothing from no one.[/b]

Red Wolf
MemberOvomorphJul-08-2012 5:49 PMThey make a vague comment in the movie that the Prometheus is not a war ship or something like that (talk about spoon-feeding), so as to make it a little more plausible that all three men give their life for all of "us."
I could have done without the shit-eaten grins both co-pilots had on their face when they nodded to each other that they were in for a penney; in for a pound (as a cop, I know all about gallows humor, but that was the most pathetic example of it, if that's what the grins were supposed to represent).
And therein lies my biggest problem with Pro'. There are like 200 littler problems all throughout this movie. Taken individually, not the end of the world (pun intended); but in the totality of their circumstances, devastating (at least IMO).
I cannot believe that test audiences didn't bear this out. Assuming they did, both RS and Lindy musta looked at each other and in unison said, "F*uck 'em!"

David 1
MemberOvomorphJul-08-2012 5:57 PMRed:
I believe things will be corrected in the DVD/BR with the extra 20 minutes of footage.
[b]Ask nothing from no one. Demand nothing from no one. Expect nothing from no one.[/b]

Svanya
AdminPraetorianJul-08-2012 6:19 PMA lot of people laugh at the crew for being so gung-ho about kamikaze-ing into the SJ ship, but I thought it was kinda deep they were willing to do that.

allinamberclad
MemberOvomorphJul-08-2012 6:32 PMGood shout.
In a normal film, played out properly, this would, no doubt, have been one of my favourite scenes.
This one and The Hollaway Sacrifice, in particular.
These should have played out as real emotional gut-punch, "human dignity", turning-point, scenes....
I mean, good God. I still grind my teeth over it.
Anyway, I like your rewrite, it's perfect.

jenskarlsson
MemberOvomorphJul-08-2012 8:32 PMi love the flight crew and i wish they had a little bit more of a role in the film. i actually thought this was a good scene personally.
i know a lot of people take issue with the behavior of most of the characters in the film not quite being "normal" etc but i see these characters as being sort of outsiders to the film... almost like the concept of guardian beings rather than just members of the expedition. they remind me vaguely as though they are a reference to some classical archetype that i cant quite remember... i think there is a lot of symbolism like this in prometheus which makes a lot of the events and especially actions of the characters a little "off" or difficult to relate to, but is meant to be representative of something rather than just the actions of ordinary people.
i could be wrong but i get this feeling and it is particularly distinct in those three characters (the captain and the two co pilots). every time i have seen the film something about this has clicked in the back of my mind but i just cant quite connect it to whatever it is i think it is yet. personally i just get a generally good feeling from these guys when they are on camera. as though they are basically untouched by the horror that is going on around them and its their responsibility to keep it from reaching too far at all costs. maybe this is all silly but this is my take anyway.

Diplomat
MemberOvomorphJul-08-2012 7:44 PMdon't know how i'd respond, but i have to say those three guys were pretty badass.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/gpC37.jpg[/IMG]
...when your marshmallows are WAY over there.

Diplomat
MemberOvomorphJul-08-2012 8:42 PMthose guys were almost the comic relief. in the end they chose to actually take something seriously... more duality if you will
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/gpC37.jpg[/IMG]
...when your marshmallows are WAY over there.

brego
MemberOvomorphJul-08-2012 9:41 PMSorry, but the comic relief are the two idiotic morons who must have been posing as scientists to get on Prometheus in the first place. Cant even remember their names, the ones who end up trapped in the Engineers Silo and run around like frightened fools and then talk to the previously unheard of Alien creatures like pets......
aircraftfixer
MemberOvomorphJul-09-2012 1:31 AMIt is unlikely that a sophisticated starship; even one with a self destruct protocol, (like the Nostromo) could or would be outfitted with an auto-pilot function that tracks another object and commits to a collision.
That is guided missile technology.
Remote control from one of the lifeboats would be more plausible- kinda like Bishop did in Aliens with the second drop ship.
This; however, would have removed the three flightcrew members from their heroic fate. It would also have left three more people to fight the last engineer and/or deal with cuddles. Three more people (who don't know squat about it) to occupy the engineer spacecraft.

Caffeinated Anonymous
MemberOvomorphJul-09-2012 4:50 AMNo, no, no. D:
This was my favourite scene in the movie. We came from the Engineers, and evolved into different races, it just makes perfect sense, imo. 3 guys, all from different races willing to sacrifice their lives to save Earth. It's just brilliant the way it is.

Inquisitor Tremayne
MemberOvomorphJul-09-2012 7:39 PMLet me assist you Caffinated one! Prometheus is not brilliant; especially the scene where two nit wits with Janek do not question Shaw 's request in any shape or form! I know, I know that several of you will rationalize this because "it is part of Scott's intuited brilliance", but most of us truly realize it is a hodge podge scene at best that was edited to make room for other silly aspects of the story!

Indy John
MemberOvomorphJul-10-2012 8:08 AM"...where two nit wits with Janek do not question Shaw 's request in any shape or form! .."
Yes in many movies this is a dramatic and pivitol point in the plotline..so it surprising that it was not given more screen time.
There should have been some discussion of alternate ways to take down the Engineers' ship..even just a few lines..Surely this crew has faced some similar situations...
Perhaps they seensed the hoplisness all around them..and resigned to the fact that it is time to check out..
But Vickers didn't...
If Shaw was on the Prometheus,,would she have gone down with the ship so to speak?
Be choicelessly aware as you move through life

fader
MemberOvomorphJul-10-2012 12:04 PMThanks for the input and comments.
On the Project Prometheus site, Weyland Industries products includes these specifications:
THE LIFEBOAT
Exclusively designed for FTL crafts of a suitable size, this emergency sustaining pod is an embedded safety module comprised of 7 luxury-appointed rooms, complete with independent navigation and piloting controls. Reclaiming decontamination system allows one occupant 50 years of breathable air with or without hyper-sleep.
2 lifeboats would have enough space for the entire crew, or nearly enough if they had to evacuate the Prometheus.
Why did Captain Janek tell Vickers she has 2 years of life on board the lifeboat, yet the specification states 50 years of breathable air for 1 person?
Also w/2 lifeboats, surely Vickers stayed in one and Weyland stayed in the other, what do you think?
WEYLAND STORM RIFLE
Fabricated from heat-resistant micro-perforated titanium, the Storm weighs 1.3kgs (empty of ammunition). With unrivaled technology like satellite-guided target detection, the Storm can track and assess a threat at over 300 miles away. At close range, it fires 5.56 mm uranium carbide spin-stabilized rounds, through auto-adjusting cross-hairs.
I find this odd to be taking such a low caliber weapon as weapon of choice to LV 223. In the scene when the awoken engineer gets shot, does not faze him what so ever. The caliber is a 5.56 mm, or equal to a 223 round, something one would use for small animal hunting, i.e. ground squirrels... Throwing the weapon at the engineer would have more damage imo. I would use at least a 50 caliber rifle at least
I should reach the frontier in about 6 weeks. With a little luck, the network will pick me up. This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo....
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