Newbie Thoughts

I’m so glad that I found this board and its posters’ intelligent discussions of the film. When Ridley Scott’s Alien was first released in theaters, I was too young to go see it, but I read Alan Dean Foster’s novelization and I read every issue of Starlog, in which conjecture appeared re: the Alien’s physiology, evolution, etc. And I saw James Cameron’s Aliens in the theater with friends and was very excited at the time with the expansion of the Alien mythology. I was eager to see Prometheus this summer and did my best to avoid all spoilers so that I would be able to form my own impressions and conclusions. So, I had zero expectations re: the story except for the expectation that it would be a well-made film with an interesting, coherent story. I love stories that are thought-provoking, intricate, intelligent, etc. but I have less and less patience with creators who don’t seem to know where there their clever creations are ultimately headed. Perhaps the X-Files and LOST have left some scars. Some creators seem to equate an absence of information with a mystery. I am thinking of Mr. Lindelof. So, anyway, on to my observations and questions, some of which are basic, and some of which are likely dumb: 1. Not sure whether Mr. Scott was attempting some postmodern filmmaking, expecting that other media (viral videos, interviews, internet discussion, etc.) would be used to fill in plot holes. It’s interesting if he was, because media is so different now, and it would add a dimension of interactivity, of a sort, to the film. We see for example how some ongoing TV series are influenced by discussion boards (not that it always turns out very well *cough*LOST*cough*). It would be interesting as a sort of performance art, but not as a film which is expected to be a rewarding experiencing when viewed under greatly differing circumstances and for many years after its initial showing. Ultimately, the film needs to make sense in and of itself, without relying on any non-film input, and it doesn’t seem to me that Prometheus does. 2. Silly question number one: wasn’t the Space Jockey in Alien much larger than the Engineers in Prometheus? I may be misremembering, but I thought the original SJ was enormous. 3. If we realize today that the exhalations of tourists are causing damage to treasures such as the Sistine Chapel, etc., wouldn’t future scientists be concerned about possibly damaging a previously-sealed alien chamber with their exhalations? And what about possible alien pathogens? The idiocy of the scientists working on a billion-dollar, history-making expedition is really impossible to overlook. They don’t even seem to have had any scientific plans for what they would do if they found anything. Did they even take any photos while in the “Temple”? 4. The only reason for the script to make Holloway such an unlikeable prick was to not make us hate David too much when he experiments on Holloway. Otherwise, his anti-David snark serves absolutely no purpose, especially since we’re supposed to believe that Shaw loves him truly, madly, and deeply. 5. I have seen numerous people declare that David had no emotions. This is absurd. I laughed out loud at some of the early exchanges between David and Holloway. Heck, even Shaw laughed at their jousting. It seems clear to me that David was motivated, at least in part, by vindictiveness when he intentionally caused Holloway to ingest the goo. Remember, Bishop tells us that synthetic persons after Ash’s generation are bound by the Laws of Robotics. We have no evidence that David was bound by them; therefore I don’t believe that Holloway’s drunken pseudo-consent was required for David’s experiment. 6. And, speaking of David’s “experiment” on Holloway – what a ridiculous experiment with the potential to be nothing but bad! No way to isolate and observe “the subject” without contaminating the rest of the crew if things go bad (which of course they did). 7. Silly question number two: why do folks call the new Prometheus creature the “Deacon”? 8. Ridley Scott and everyone else involved in making the film was undoubtedly hyper-aware of the fact that every detail in the film would be dissected with far greater thoroughness than any exhibited by the scientists aboard the Prometheus. So, everything about the mural was intentional. Period. 9. Poor choice casting Guy Pearce as the ancient Peter Weyland. The old-age makeup is nothing but distracting. Just cast a different actor as the old man. It would have been just as effective to put Noomi Rapace in “young age makeup” for her childhood scene as it is to use distracting “old age makeup” under which not even as accomplished an actor as Guy Pearce can perform. 10. I suspect that there may be a great film on the cutting room floor, but Prometheus was a mess on such a basic level. It’s a beautiful film (not least because it features the gorgeous Noomi Rapace), but a hollow one. I invite input and corrections from everyone...