Ridley Scott's "Prometheus"

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sygyzy

Lifer
Oct 21, 2000
14,001
4
76
Ok some questions to start this off.

1. Which one is considered the
weapon of mass destruction
Is it the
black ooze that turns you into a zombie but ends up killing you?
Or is it the
spider/snake thing that goes into your mouth and kills you from within?
. I assume it's the first one and the second organism is an entirely unrelated species? Maybe one that was already on the planet to begin with?

2. Why didn't the Space Jockeys go
directly to Earth to destroy it?
Why did they make a stop at LV-223?

I''ll add more later maybe.
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
In this series, androids always get ripped-apart in a horrific manner.

Always.
 
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Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
2. Why didn't the Space Jockeys go directly to Earth to destroy it? Why did they make a stop at LV-223?
Not sure what you mean. LV-223 is the planet in Prometheus and LV-426 is the planet in Alien. LV-223 is not the Engineer homeworld. It's where they chose to develop / produce their biological super-weapon. Presumably, it wasn't engineered specifically for use on Earth. They probably meant to use it on lots of other seeded planets.
 

randomrogue

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2011
5,449
0
0
Saw it. Liked it. Recommend it. Was very surprised at how few people were at the 2:30PM showing and the 12 PM showing.
 

Number1

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2006
7,881
549
126
Saw it. Liked it. Recommend it. Was very surprised at how few people were at the 2:30PM showing and the 12 PM showing.

There were very few people at the IMax3D 3PM showing today but most people are working at this time of day.
 

sygyzy

Lifer
Oct 21, 2000
14,001
4
76
In this series, androids always get ripped-apart in a horrific manner.

Was this directed towards me? I don't get it.

Always.

Not sure what you mean. LV-223 is the planet in Prometheus and LV-426 is the planet in Alien. LV-223 is not the Engineer homeworld. It's where they chose to develop / produce their biological super-weapon. Presumably, it wasn't engineered specifically for use on Earth. They probably meant to use it on lots of other seeded planets.

I see.
I guess I thought they would create the weapon on their home planet and go straight to Earth.
I was asking why they made a pit stop at LV-223. I remember now that the movie said they were smart enough to
not create the weapon at home in case it got out.
Ok makes sense.
 

randomrogue

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2011
5,449
0
0
Do you work in a theater? ...or did you watch it twice?

No I showed up early to get my ticket and saw those people coming out. I'd like to see it twice but odds are I'll not watch it again until there's a director's cut. This movie really requires a director's cut.

I'd probably score it an 8/10. One point off because I got slightly bored for a brief moment and another because I have like a billion questions that I'm not sure are a continuity problem or an editing problem. I know he said it's not a prequel but clearly this is set in the same world and there's a lot of stuff that doesn't add up. Then of course there's
the fact that the character development was kinda shitty. Guy gets burned outside the ship and the next second it's forgotten, David tries to harvest her alien baby and then it's forgotten, Alien is locked in the pod and then it's forgotten, etc.
 
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ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
14,946
1,077
126
Apparently there was a discussion between the writers and Ridley about what answers to throw in your face and what to pull back on and let the audience interpret it how they wanted and Ridley prefers people to argue about the answers rather than just give it to them.

That alone answers alot of questions and "plot holes". After watching it I completely understand the "not an Alien prequel" mindset. While it essentially is, it does not need to rely on it for the basis for the movie. They could have completely made it a different alien that had no link to the prior universe and it would have stood on it's own. I do think it's cooler that they did link it though. It gives it a familiarity and a further glimpse into a world (many of us) are fans of.

I agree about the "forgetting". That was kind of annoying, especially the part about David and her being pregnant. They kind of hinted that she was upset at the end but forced to save him to get off the planet, but still, she apologized for putting him in the bag. I would have kicked him out the door instead of carrying him down the rope and been like..woops.

There are alot of things that I think were specifically related to Mr. Weyland that never are clear or actually spoken to (in terms of David's programming). I have a feeling there's a 3 hours directors cut that might explain alot more.

As I stated in the other thread, the ooze seemed to be a DNA changer, the Alien(xeno) was not new to this movie. The mural in the cave very plainly showed a carving of an Alien. They were clearly breeding them, but I'm still not sure if they used them to clear worlds (by implanting) or if the worm transformation was an accident. They clearly had an accident prior.

Now that I think about it, another thing that bugged me the entire movie was the giant carved skull at the top of the pyramid that NOONE in the crew said anything about. I mean..HELLO BIG HINT.
 
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randomrogue

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2011
5,449
0
0
Regarding the
WMD

It seems to me rather obvious that they created life on Earth, visited us on a regular basis, and then were not happy with our progress so they chose to destroy us. Clearly that was not in the cards and neither was us coming to visit them which is why the Engineer raged.

Odds are they have created many worlds of life since there were multiple terraformers, weapon depots, and ships. This could also explain the discontinuity between the ship we see in Alien and the ship we see in this movie.
 

randomrogue

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2011
5,449
0
0
As I stated in the other thread, the ooze seemed to be a DNA changer, the Alien(xeno) was not new to this movie. The mural in the cave very plainly showed a carving of an Alien. They were clearly breeding them, but I'm still not sure if they used them to clear worlds (by implanting) or if the worm transformation was an accident. They clearly had an accident prior.

Now that I think about it, another thing that bugged me the entire movie was the giant carved skull at the top of the pyramid that NOONE in the crew said anything about. I mean..HELLO BIG HINT.

I completely forgot about
the skull on the top of the terraformer! Good point.

As far as the WMD is this how it went?

1. Stored in jars
2. Black ooze in jars
3. No idea why it comes out. Did David turn something on?
4. Regular worms in the ground that are shown are uninfected
5. Black ooze infects them and turns them into violent worms that are much larger and looking for a host.
6. Worms find host with the two guys stuck there overnight

I don't even remember what happened with those two. One ends up outside the ship and goes apeshit until they finally burn him up but what happened with the other again?

7. David tests the black ooze on the guy by making him drink it. It infects him and he gets burned up at his own request.
8. He infects Shaw through intercourse and this spawn is just a random squid that is looking for a host.
9. Movie ends when that squid finds a host in the Engineer.
10. Poof, we get our Queen from Alien. Maybe.

Am I close?
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
They kind of hinted that she was upset at the end but forced to save him to get off the planet, but still, she apologized for putting him in the bag. I would have kicked him out the door instead of carrying him down the rope and been like..woops.
It wasn't David's fault that his father made him do those things.
 

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
14,946
1,077
126
The other guy they found in the cave and the big worm had hidden in his mouth. It jumps out, scares them but at that point they freak about the other Dr being sick so just leave him.

Not really sure if that is the queen, but it's a good thought. Assuming there wasn't one before, and it suddenly had the capability to breed by itself (due to the unique facehugger), the engineers may have come back to the planet later and found it, and took the eggs etc.
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
"Don't all children want to kill their parents"

He was referring to Charlize because she was Weyland's daughter. Maybe specifically talking about children that stand to inherit power / authority. I believe the question was based on his observations of human media while the Prometheus was traveling and everyone else was in-stasis.
 

GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
8,323
9,703
136
Thoughts on why we were created, and kinda the point of the movie:

All this about Engineers seeding life on earth, guiding ancient cultures then disappearing clearly suggests that humans aren't some kind of experiment. Why wait for us to fly to them when they could have rounded up a couple tribes, dropped them into cryo sleep then done the experimentation in a nice sterile environment?

The question the movie is asking is why are we here. I think the movie is saying we were created for worship, to worship the engineers as gods. We cast them down, sought to usurp their power and make it our own and therefor we had to be destroyed. Hence Prometheus: the man that stole fire from the gods, only to be punished in a really shit way for all eternity.

The dead engineer who's head exploded was carbon dated to 2000 years, the birth of Jesus, the "end" of the pagan gods. So when Jesus was born, this weapons facility was in the process of deploying a WMD to Earth when the Engineers themselves were caught playing with fire (there may be more here: We created David, We were created by the engineers... who were they created by and was their own demise a "Prometheus" story?) and got burned, their WMD got loose and killed them. Perhaps the black oil substance was their own fire, stolen from their gods.

As far as I see it that fits with the vague assertions of the writer/director and has enough pseudo-philosophical oomph to be considered "deep" and "thought provoking".

Of course I could be wrong.

[edit] Missed some of the talk of "killing the parents" if you will, think it only reinforces the above point. David, in the early part of the film, is seen doing "human stuff": Watching movies, shooting hoops. He's obviously not human, he's not doing those human activities right. He *has* to be human and he resents us for it, for making him the way he is. He feels cheated that he is obviously superior to his creators and yet bound by their wants and needs (has to wear the helmet to keep up appearances, follow the directives of his father despite not agreeing with them). He attempts his own coup from his literal and figurative creator, and gets his head torn off for all his trouble. At the end of the film, both he and Dr. Shaw demonstrate a kind of mutual respect for one another, both having been "humbled" trying to steal fire from the gods.

Now I'm starting in on the pseudo-intellectual bullcrap...
 
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randomrogue

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2011
5,449
0
0
Thoughts on why we were created, and kinda the point of the movie:

All this about Engineers seeding life on earth, guiding ancient cultures then disappearing clearly suggests that humans aren't some kind of experiment. Why wait for us to fly to them when they could have rounded up a couple tribes, dropped them into cryo sleep then done the experimentation in a nice sterile environment?

The question the movie is asking is why are we here. I think the movie is saying we were created for worship, to worship the engineers as gods. We cast them down, sought to usurp their power and make it our own and therefor we had to be destroyed. Hence Prometheus: the man that stole fire from the gods, only to be punished in a really shit way for all eternity.

The dead engineer who's head exploded was carbon dated to 2000 years, the birth of Jesus, the "end" of the pagan gods. So when Jesus was born, this weapons facility was in the process of deploying a WMD to Earth when the Engineers themselves were caught playing with fire (there may be more here: We created David, We were created by the engineers... who were they created by and was their own demise a "Prometheus" story?) and got burned, their WMD got loose and killed them. Perhaps the black oil substance was their own fire, stolen from their gods.

As far as I see it that fits with the vague assertions of the writer/director and has enough pseudo-philosophical oomph to be considered "deep" and "thought provoking".

Of course I could be wrong.

Not sure if you saw the same movie that I did.

Jesus was dead for a long time by the time that thing died. Jesus died in 29-33AD and was born in 4-2BC. They reach that planet in 2093 I think.

Pretty sure you're trolling though.
 

GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
8,323
9,703
136
Not sure if you saw the same movie that I did.

Jesus was dead for a long time by the time that thing died. Jesus died in 29-33AD and was born in 4-2BC. They reach that planet in 2093 I think.

Pretty sure you're trolling though.

-You're being pedantic. Carbon dating gives you an approximate time stamp, not a time-stamp to-the-year.
The "this head is approximately 2000 years old" is done for our benefit, the viewer, as a bread-crumb.
 

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
14,946
1,077
126
-You're being pedantic. Carbon dating gives you an approximate time stamp, not a time-stamp to-the-year.
The "this head is approximately 2000 years old" is done for our benefit, the viewer, as a bread-crumb.

I agree.
My opinion is that the engineers were going to destroy humanity because they no longer worshiped them. All of the dates are estimates
 

randomrogue

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2011
5,449
0
0
Hey maybe you're right. I was just dismissing it outright since
that's a generation off. I also wasn't under the impression that they mentioned any worship or anything. Cave drawings, from my experience in real life, tend to tell real life stories and struggles and not so much worship. I could be wrong though in the bigger picture of things.
 

GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
8,323
9,703
136
Hey maybe you're right. I was just dismissing it outright since
that's a generation off. I also wasn't under the impression that they mentioned any worship or anything. Cave drawings, from my experience in real life, tend to tell real life stories and struggles and not so much worship. I could be wrong though in the bigger picture of things.

-Fair enough, I didn't mean to be a dick in my reply.

It was more than just cave drawings though, there were some stone tablets and other stuff thrown in as well during the "hologram presentation".