tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post519628869161414633..comments2024-03-28T02:30:08.913-04:00Comments on Not Just Movies: Prometheus (Ridley Scott, 2012)Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078001374402400232noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-60563922684144606842012-09-23T14:24:46.900-04:002012-09-23T14:24:46.900-04:00It's a POS.It's a POS.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-83637201043475888792012-06-25T10:05:47.372-04:002012-06-25T10:05:47.372-04:00Easily the best Prometheus review I've read.Easily the best Prometheus review I've read.The Movie Wafflerhttp://www.moviewaffle.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-39185280106979120142012-06-16T19:49:33.469-04:002012-06-16T19:49:33.469-04:00And what about Vickers being so prepared and yet h...And what about Vickers being so prepared and yet having a medical pod only configured for men? That's a plot hole, which is why I didn't bring it up in my review (it's easy to find holes like this), but the script is riddled with lazy convenience at every turn, which only further hobbles its half-baked, unoriginal philosophy. I'm actually worried this film will become a new Matrix, a hodgepodge collection of unformed ideas to make a cottage industry for lazy philosophy profs trying to connect to their bored students/get a book deal.Jake Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15532951308638768249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-29992485644934006082012-06-16T19:47:07.405-04:002012-06-16T19:47:07.405-04:00Thank you, Stephanie. I mainly brought up Lost bec...Thank you, Stephanie. I mainly brought up Lost because I think there are certain themes here that are clearly applicable to how that show unfolded and was received, and I think a lot of that show's failures are mirrored in the script here. And I don't necessarily mind philosophy over story (some of my fave filmmakers are Malick, Dreyer, Bresson and Tarkovsky), but when the film in question still fancies itself a brilliant yarn, it makes the disconnect all the more apparent, especially when the philosophy itself is poorly handled.Jake Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15532951308638768249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-53268961998813070892012-06-16T19:45:23.245-04:002012-06-16T19:45:23.245-04:00Justin, I'm glad you asked this. I thought abo...Justin, I'm glad you asked this. I thought about tagging a paragraph on that but I didn't want to box myself in on an opinion. I think I would give the other cut a chance, but I'm also not sure about calling it a director's cut. The two times Scott's films have been truly improved by an alternate cut were the times he openly expressed dissatisfaction with the version that hit theaters. He spent 25 years toying with Blade Runner until he got what he wanted, and he vastly preferred the DC for Kingdom of Heaven. With Prometheus, he only seems to have even conceded to a longer version out of dissatisfaction on some <i>viewers'</i> part, not his own. I'd still give it a chance, but I highly doubt a mess this big can be salvaged. It's trying too hard to be vague and to save stuff for a sequel anyway.Jake Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15532951308638768249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-73016052990760716192012-06-16T18:56:19.304-04:002012-06-16T18:56:19.304-04:00I never even watched 'Lost', but I shared ...I never even watched 'Lost', but I shared all of Jake's frustrations with 'Prometheus': the script's inability to follow through on its supposed big ideas (the fact that its concept of creationism relies on Von Daniken's 'Chariots of the Gods' is particularly cack-handed), the flatness of both cinematography and direction in numerous scenes, and the "Screenplay 101" approach to characterisation and motivation. A scene that had me face-palming (SPOILER ALERT) was Charlize Theron's exit from the escape pod right into the path of a ship the size of a shopping mall falling from the sky - this from a character who gives a speech about eliminating risk and immolates a fellow crew member because of a <i>suspected</i> infection. Comparisons with 'Alien' are an easy critical option, but unavoidable because, thanks to the repeated use of tropes from that movie, we're never allowed to forget that we're watching a prequel to 'Alien' - but Jake nails it in this review: the characters in 'Alien' felt like real, working class people doing a shitty job and just getting on with it; the characters in 'Prometheus' never act like anything else than characters in a movie.Neil Fulwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14686296295535235988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-92206120687584781242012-06-16T18:28:00.474-04:002012-06-16T18:28:00.474-04:00Everything that might frustrate me about Prometheu...Everything that might frustrate me about Prometheus I'll just pin on Lindelof as a testament to how much more I do not want to watch LOST. I agree with a lot of what you said, essentially that there's just too much Lindelof and so little room for nuance. My biggest beef, for example, was the lack of real drama/sense of irony over Elizabeth's infertility and subsequent "pregnancy". But I won't hold it against Ridley for not being able to make redeeming narrative out of the mess. With more length/steady pacing and a re-written ending Prometheus could have been as good as it wanted to be. I just have to wonder what decision pitted Lindelof with Scott in the first place.<br /><br />As unlikely as it looks that Prometheus were to have a director's cut, would you consider watching it? Or is it that far beyond saving in your opinion?Justin Shitanishihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12611004235445971490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-49023751467696726202012-06-15T17:57:20.188-04:002012-06-15T17:57:20.188-04:00Actually I thought the comparisons to Lost were in...Actually I thought the comparisons to Lost were interesting. I loved that series at first and found myself increasingly disappointed, partly because I thought that program, which was well cast with interesting characters and an intriguing premise, just tried to do too much. I felt hammered over the head over all the philosophical/mythical stuff they were trying to include. I haven't seen Prometheus, so the comparison helped me "get" why you didn't like the film. It sounds like they tried to do too much and couldn't pull it off. I wish more writers and movie makers would focus on excellent storytelling, trust the strength of the story, and allow philosophical themes to arise naturally from that story instead of forcing them into the plot.Stephaniehttp://eclecticbooksandmovies.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-3342744629164304842012-06-15T09:37:08.458-04:002012-06-15T09:37:08.458-04:00Miiiiiiiiiiiight be time to think about getting ov...Miiiiiiiiiiiight be time to think about getting over LOST. Just a thought. ;)Tederickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03869773078519379913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-38937564339713488612012-06-15T09:01:40.431-04:002012-06-15T09:01:40.431-04:00Thanks, SI!Thanks, SI!Jake Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15532951308638768249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-22463743002572087102012-06-15T09:01:31.856-04:002012-06-15T09:01:31.856-04:00On its own merits it is a sad mess. There are sudd...On its own merits it is a sad mess. There are sudden narrative leaps, unfocused themes and no courage of conviction. The movie wants to make a nihilistic statement but lacks the stones to actually convey that sense of despair, and there's not a shred of tension in this.<br /><br />But how can I forget those other properties when all this film is is a collection of other work? Prometheus has no identity of its own outside of its references, would be fine if it were made well. I'm not saying Prometheus is a POS because it's not as good as Alien or Blade Runner. I'm saying it is <i>actively trying to be these things</i> and it fails miserably. Lindelof has to spin some overly complicated yet thin story to add what he thinks is new subtext when it was there all along, and he tacks on material from other works without making it his own. This film reminds me a lot of Saving Private Ryan, which tried to mix a bunch of established ideas into something new and is instead a directionless shambles.Jake Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15532951308638768249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-23743888605622077142012-06-15T08:51:26.313-04:002012-06-15T08:51:26.313-04:00Favorite line: "Everyone on the Prometheus is...Favorite line: "Everyone on the Prometheus is a star, with the exception of some particularly red shirty fellows who might as well baste themselves in marinade for the benefit of whatever will inevitably consume them in 15 minutes."<br /><br />Also loved: "After a time, an uncomfortable, pathetically self-serving subtext emerges in the crew's search for the great answers of our existence. Charlie, who shares surnames with the actor who played Sawyer on LOST, in blatantly a stand-in for LOST fans irritated by that show's own inconclusiveness and false promise. The crew of the Prometheus makes mankind's most significant discovery, and all Charlie can do is pout that they only found alien bodies, not their living selves capable of definitively answering all his queries. Lindelof sets Charlie up to look like a fool for this, and soon he punishes the character for his stubbornness. I'm not the only person to pick up on this, but there's something particularly infuriating about Lindelof dragging down another franchise to get out lingering feelings over his main gig."SweetIronyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08603519219332569926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-30421168452605451162012-06-15T08:41:02.121-04:002012-06-15T08:41:02.121-04:00As you could probably guess, I disagree with your ...As you could probably guess, I disagree with your position...but reading this review does make me wonder about something:<br /><br />In almost every paragraph, you compare the film to something else (LOST, Alien, Blade Runner, 2001). <br /><br />How does this film play for you <i>on it's own</i>...forgetting for a few moments about all of those other properties?Ryan McNeilhttp://www.thematinee.canoreply@blogger.com