Prometheus!
I so need discussion about this movie!
Okay, so. In the beginning, an 'Engineer' dude drinks from some stuff that he was given and it totally breaks down his DNA so that it combines with the elements of the planet he's on (presumably Earth), then his ship takes off, and he looks like he's been betrayed.
Human DNA is formed, and we advance the movie a billion years (exaggeration) and we've got people exploring caves and finding 'invitations' cue another passage of time (about five years) and Prometheus is loaded up with scientists and is exploring the universe. yadda yadda yadda they get where they're going and lots of bad shit ensues.
Captain of the ship figures out that the place they've been 'invited' to is actually a military installation and the 'Engineers' are making WMD. Which, of course, are biological. Hence the creation of the aliens. This biological weapon got away from them, out of control and turned on some of them. They managed to contain the 'outbreak' so to speak. the remaining 'Engineers' put themselves in Chryo (presumably to protect themselves from the outbreak?) until the Earthlings arrive and wake them up. Then the Engineer whose still alive is confronted by the humans, who demand 'answers' (excuse me?) and he gets all roidy and kills everyone, starts up his ship with its weapons of mass destruction (alien primordial goo) and heads out to destroy Earth. The Earthlings still on Prometheus (the ship's captain, pilot and helmsman) start up their ion pulse propulsion, crash into the Engineer's ship, effectively ending the trip.
Engineer dude is still alive, chases down our heroine - who was impregnated by her infected boyfriend with alien goo and performed emergency cesarean on herself and left the CREATURE that came out of her in the med lab - and is promptly eaten by said creature. heroine and quasi bad guy robot, David, head to the another Engineer ship with which our Heroine is going to go to where the ENgineers actually came from! again, in search of 'answers.' "They created us, then they tried to destroy us. Why?" Cue last two minutes, dead, alien creature eaten Engineer guy is coming apart at the seams, and what comes out of him, but that weird, flip tailed, two faced, round head, ALIEN we all know and love.
Now. there are some interesting character developments. David, the robot we all know is bad, has in interesting conversation with our heroine's archeologist/anthropologist boyfriend in which he asks, "Why do you think you made me?" Boyfriend (who is a real shithead, if you as me) responds quite flippantly, "Because we could." David is like a child, in that he genuinely wants to know the answer to his question. Because he has no moral compass, no soul, this bit of information from the boyfriend comes as, while not a shock, a revelation. "Ah. Imagine how disappointed you would be, Dr. Halloway (the boyfriend), should that be the answer you receive." David, of course, is interesting, and this is a hint and a half for the rest of the movie! (aside: why does sci-fi have this trope about seeking answers from the creator, then having the creator turn out malevolent?)
There's some other interesting stuff with Charlise Theron that, well, if you've been watching movies for the better part of the last thirty years, you see her issues coming about fifteen minutes into the film. No surprises there.
here's my beef.
Why were the Engineers killing themselves to start life on other planets? Why were they creating weapons of mass destruction on a planet that was not their own? Why did the first one who died look betrayed by the ship that left him to crumble to dust? Why did they put themselves in chryo when the alien goo went bad on them? Why did they stay? Why did they want to destroy the life they'd created?
Considering the absolute malevolence of the Aliens in the subsequent timeline, I'm going to have to say that the Engineers that our humans met on their expedition weren't actually trying to seed life, but were, in point of fact, engaged in a Civil War with their own people. The ones we meet in the film are not the same ones who were depicted on the cave walls. But then, that begs the question, why put those paintings on the wall at all? It was an invitation...to find them...maybe the 'evil Engineers' took over the installation and turned it into a factory for WMD? Ugh! I'm so confused!!!!!
I have more thinky thoughts, but need sounding boards! I'm not sure if I can call this a good movie or not! *cries* Mostly, because much of the 'action' was gratuitous without any real point, and much of the character development was so predictable as to be laughable. *sigh* But it raises interesting questions as to the mythos of the whole Alien franchise. In a round about way, if I'm reading the end of the movie correctly, in their attempt to protect Earth, it was actually HUMANS who created the Aliens.
*whoa*
Tell me your theories! If you've seen it.
Okay, so. In the beginning, an 'Engineer' dude drinks from some stuff that he was given and it totally breaks down his DNA so that it combines with the elements of the planet he's on (presumably Earth), then his ship takes off, and he looks like he's been betrayed.
Human DNA is formed, and we advance the movie a billion years (exaggeration) and we've got people exploring caves and finding 'invitations' cue another passage of time (about five years) and Prometheus is loaded up with scientists and is exploring the universe. yadda yadda yadda they get where they're going and lots of bad shit ensues.
Captain of the ship figures out that the place they've been 'invited' to is actually a military installation and the 'Engineers' are making WMD. Which, of course, are biological. Hence the creation of the aliens. This biological weapon got away from them, out of control and turned on some of them. They managed to contain the 'outbreak' so to speak. the remaining 'Engineers' put themselves in Chryo (presumably to protect themselves from the outbreak?) until the Earthlings arrive and wake them up. Then the Engineer whose still alive is confronted by the humans, who demand 'answers' (excuse me?) and he gets all roidy and kills everyone, starts up his ship with its weapons of mass destruction (alien primordial goo) and heads out to destroy Earth. The Earthlings still on Prometheus (the ship's captain, pilot and helmsman) start up their ion pulse propulsion, crash into the Engineer's ship, effectively ending the trip.
Engineer dude is still alive, chases down our heroine - who was impregnated by her infected boyfriend with alien goo and performed emergency cesarean on herself and left the CREATURE that came out of her in the med lab - and is promptly eaten by said creature. heroine and quasi bad guy robot, David, head to the another Engineer ship with which our Heroine is going to go to where the ENgineers actually came from! again, in search of 'answers.' "They created us, then they tried to destroy us. Why?" Cue last two minutes, dead, alien creature eaten Engineer guy is coming apart at the seams, and what comes out of him, but that weird, flip tailed, two faced, round head, ALIEN we all know and love.
Now. there are some interesting character developments. David, the robot we all know is bad, has in interesting conversation with our heroine's archeologist/anthropologist boyfriend in which he asks, "Why do you think you made me?" Boyfriend (who is a real shithead, if you as me) responds quite flippantly, "Because we could." David is like a child, in that he genuinely wants to know the answer to his question. Because he has no moral compass, no soul, this bit of information from the boyfriend comes as, while not a shock, a revelation. "Ah. Imagine how disappointed you would be, Dr. Halloway (the boyfriend), should that be the answer you receive." David, of course, is interesting, and this is a hint and a half for the rest of the movie! (aside: why does sci-fi have this trope about seeking answers from the creator, then having the creator turn out malevolent?)
There's some other interesting stuff with Charlise Theron that, well, if you've been watching movies for the better part of the last thirty years, you see her issues coming about fifteen minutes into the film. No surprises there.
here's my beef.
Why were the Engineers killing themselves to start life on other planets? Why were they creating weapons of mass destruction on a planet that was not their own? Why did the first one who died look betrayed by the ship that left him to crumble to dust? Why did they put themselves in chryo when the alien goo went bad on them? Why did they stay? Why did they want to destroy the life they'd created?
Considering the absolute malevolence of the Aliens in the subsequent timeline, I'm going to have to say that the Engineers that our humans met on their expedition weren't actually trying to seed life, but were, in point of fact, engaged in a Civil War with their own people. The ones we meet in the film are not the same ones who were depicted on the cave walls. But then, that begs the question, why put those paintings on the wall at all? It was an invitation...to find them...maybe the 'evil Engineers' took over the installation and turned it into a factory for WMD? Ugh! I'm so confused!!!!!
I have more thinky thoughts, but need sounding boards! I'm not sure if I can call this a good movie or not! *cries* Mostly, because much of the 'action' was gratuitous without any real point, and much of the character development was so predictable as to be laughable. *sigh* But it raises interesting questions as to the mythos of the whole Alien franchise. In a round about way, if I'm reading the end of the movie correctly, in their attempt to protect Earth, it was actually HUMANS who created the Aliens.
*whoa*
Tell me your theories! If you've seen it.