Scientists destroy Prometheus!

Wow.....I feel like we set off crates of dynamite here, Wiley E. Coyote style.

Look, this isn't about literal scientific reality. It is science fiction after all. But again, sci-fi works only when it's plausible within the confines of boundaries it sets for itself. This is true of any kind of storytelling and as to the character concerns we all seem sooo touchy about, there's a huge difference between 'stereotypical' behavior, as SIXXSHOT keeps going on about, and plausible behavior in the context of any given situation.

In a given situation, the context, the details, the visual, auditory and expositional information provided within the world as its storyteller creates it, all of which determine what is and isn't plausible within that world. This is augmented by an audience's experiential knowledge and understanding of what is plausible. And PLAUSIBILITY in storytelling is EVERYTHING, because if there is any question as to the plausibility of a situation, the plausibility of a character's behavior, the logistics of plot execution as determined by the rules its storyteller creates, then the audience WILL pick up on it.

Lapses in plausibility occur frequently, even in good or great movies, but Prometheus suffers from not one or even two or three, but dozens of these lapses and that's why someone like me, someone who still enjoys it, is as critical as I am. Prometheus is not a lost cause, but a film clearly lost in the post production process.

As I said, I enjoy this movie. I see great potential in it still. And from the deleted material, there is ample evidence to suggest that a far more competent edit was possible. That is what motivates me to be so critical. It's not as though this film was a pathetic waste that never had a chance. It's not as though this film was bad or even horrible. It wasn't bad. It was simply a film its makers failed...period. This movie had great potential and was lost in the cut.

That plausibility I keep referring to was routinely trampled here.

As SIXXSHOT spends so much time defending Milburn for his actions here, being the 'nerdy fanboy' as SIXXSHOT calls and for what reason other than his glasses maybe (I'm not sure), I wonder if he can defend the contradiction in that behavior. Milburn is a biologist on an expedition that discovers the 2000 year old biological remains of a sentient extraterrestrial humanoid organism, from which he flees in fear (seemingly uninterested) and yet he approaches and persists in antagonizing a 9 foot long snake like organism, that's alive, hissing (which is a hostile noise of earth as any biologist would know) and clearly pissed off. So, he flees with the heebeegeebees from history making biological evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence (that again is long dead and harmless and he then insists on approaching a hissing snake-like creature that even Fifield seems to have the sense to be wary of. For crying out loud, the scene would have worked better if they had just shortened the time between approach and attack, It's his persistence in antagonizing it that implausible, because, as a professional, HE KNOWS BETTER.

Now, I went on a rant again, but all I am trying to do here is make the considerable point that Prometheus is a true example of tremendous potential that was mucked up.

Look...people make mistakes, I get that. It's one thing for a character here or there to do something stupid, but when you write your characters to make those mistakes and you stack them one after another and in a scenario where they are the last people that should be making them...you make your characters so hard to follow, so inconsistent, so weighed down by there own illogical behavior, that you ultimately make your story impossible to follow with any semblance of plausibility.

I am so adamant about this, because I am not a hater of this film. With any story, its teller either give it the tools to work or fails it. And in this case, they failed Prometheus and that's what upsets me so.

As to the plausibility of Ripley and the cat...she loves Jonesy. What person wouldn't go back for who or what they love unless they're a coward?

Courage, smart or not in the context of a dangerous or life threatening situation, is not implausible. It's positively human at our best.

The fossilized dead boides looked like a hamaneseque holocaust painting.  The hammerpede looked like a small alien life-form.  It's not hard to see why they would produce different reactions.

The crew here is also fucking cobbled together.  People are kind of missing that point.  Who would agree to go into chrysleep for a freaking year for mysterious reasons that are not explained to you until after you wake up?  You're acting like Weyland made sure he got the most professional biologist and geologist in the world.  This is not demonstrated by the film at all.  This was mainly a crazy rich man's erratic behavior.  His daughter obviously didn't think they were going to find shit, and she was doing the managing here if not the hiring of the rest of the staff.

It's interesting how this thread has turned into a defence of Alien. A movie which does exactly as it says on the tin, and in doing so it works, very succesfully!

Like many people here, Alien is my favoutite film. It's a wonderful scary work of entertainment, which still has the power to shock. It's not perfect, no film can claim that, but it doesn't disappoint. That is the key difference between it and Prometheus. 

Prometheus disappoints on many levels. Not least, because it was helmed by one of my favourite directors and was HIS return to the Alien Universe. The most disappointing thing of all is that it left me feeling that way, which was totally unexpected!

I certainly don't hate it, but it's now obvious that it could and should have been so much more. That's why we are all here, because even the disappointment fascinates and gives cause for debate. 

All is not lost, and we are all here hoping that the story can continue, hopefully still with Ridley at the helm.

I just have to mention Jonesy! Yes, he was an obvious, shameless plot device, but I would have done exactly as Ripley did, perhaps that makes me an idiot?

In my opinion it says much about her character and the human condition.

Necro my friend, the last time I was on, your thread had 50 or so posts, now it's closer to 130 and still going!

Well done everyone for keeping it clean!

Ding, ding, round 3! :-D

Ah good I was hoping for some new comments from others :D

"The fossilized dead boides looked like a hamaneseque holocaustpainting.  The hammerpede looked like a small alien life-form.  It's not hard to see why they would produce different reactions." So you think milburn and fifiled are scared shitless and want to get the hell out of there when they dont see any alive aliens yet an alive one makes milburn think oh im not scared now its a little puppy (thats really not small at all by the way) (even a spider can kill a human and thats tiny) LOL!

Yer I think your find everyone barring maybe people with brain damage or blind or something would stay with the body and examine it and run away from the snake lol. Even with a torrent of opinions against him six will no doubt fight on. Maybe hes just locked in this fight and doesn't want to lose now but secretly realises somethings up! And yes I know there is always a lover and hater of everything - I just never met one for alien in this way - I  am guessing this is why people are so shocked lol! 

Six come clean - are you Damon Lindelof?

So to sum it up Six would hug a cobra cos he thinks its like a puppy. Thinks everyone is crazy and they will think prometheus will become a masterpiece in the future even tough we are a year and a half on - this is the future lol! Hates probably one of the best films in cinema history 'alien' and thinks it doesnt make sense even though just about everyone does think it makes sense. Hates cats and thinks everyone else does even though they are saying the opposite and you can read it all over the news on the internet. Would leave one of his crew outside even though hes still alive. Thinks an egg is as scarey as a cobra : he must be scared every time he opens his fridge :D ! I think I am realising why your point of view is the way it is lol!

Anyway I should finish with something positive - even I too want prometheus to work and I think there is possibility for it to be saved in the comming parts - there could be flash backs and other various story lines which could intertwine etc. . But as it stands Prometheus was something that could of been a masterpiece but just missed by quiet a way. It is a good film and I love parts of it especially the engineer idea and the original over all idea. I was waiting for this kind of film for a long time so its great its happening, it just got muddled up a bit too much and its hard to tell exactly why as of this date!

ps I am loving HICKS lol...

Oh no djamelamezaine, he can't be Damon Lindelof, as he's a self-confessed Alien fanboy. Or at least he was!:D

Would you leave your friend stranded on an alien planet? I would hope not! Yeah it was a bad idea, but there really was no alternative. Dallas would never have left anyone behind. He would probably have saved Jonesy too! Lol

As idiotic or illogical as the egg scene may appear to Sixxshot, in the context of the film it worked perfectly, it surprised & shocked the audience! Kane never struck me as being an idiot!

The Hammerpede scene was supposed to have a similar effect, but the element of surprise just wasn't there, it was too obvious, but it came across as funny, whether that was intentional or not. Then again, perhaps the whole scene was a hallucination? :D

ps HICKY is one sweet, funny guy! 

.....and you know I really liked the characters in Alien. I actually felt some empathy for them. Apart from Janek, Chance & Ravel, (who were all underused) I actually disliked the main characters of Prometheus!

Hey, maybe that's because they were SCIENTISTS!....... OK, apart from Vickers.........:D

Whether or not you were dissapointed by Prometheus is a totally subjective opinion.  I and plenty of other people weren't.  This is why this website exists.  It was a success.

Djmelamazine, that was just a bunch of freaking flame bait.  Honeslty, I'm not going to respond to you anymore. you come off as an immature prat.  If the King Crimson guy has something else to say, maybe I'll reply to him, but not your hissy fit reactions to the things I say.

I don't hate Alien for Christ's sake.  I love the movie.  It's just a lot of Alien purists are totally hypocirtical in how they give certain things in Alien a pass (ambaguity of the plot, and stupid decisions by characters) while acting like those same things are unforgivable in Proemtheus.  I get it.  Prometheus is new, and you still feel the need to scrutinize the hell out of it untill it loses its "newness," but I just see some of the same critiques, which are repated over and over again to the point of absuridty (you'd think Milburne was the main character of this fucking movie) to be really over-exaggerated if not incorrect (ambaguity, for example, is not the same as a plot hole).

And I don't have to f pretend Prometheus is a success.  It already is.  Look at the boxoffice and the fact a sequel was greenlit aumotically.  Get real.  And interpreting the reception of the movie as determined by you and and a hand full of people that don't like something is ridiculous.  Again, look at the Blu-ray sales numbers!  If people didn't like it, they wouldn't have bought it.  Don't act shocked when the sequel makes a lot of money, because it will.

And the idea of people being insulted at me pointing out things illogical in Alien is really rich for a few people that don't like a movie but spend hours a day at forum about it.

Even though I'm disappointed there's still plenty to like!

I went to the cinema for 4 viewings, and have watched Prometheus on average, once a week since the BluRay release!

My opinion may be subjective, but it's because I DO like Prometheus that I've been on this site for 17 months and am still trying to figure out why I feel disappointed!

Heh I was soo right...

You definitely need to be able to overlook illogical parts with prometheus I see why you rate it more now.

Yer its new lol...blu ray sales were good almost half of avengers which was an awful movie lol...and yes the blu ray was very well made - i would rate that top of all the things made for the prometheus project...pretty sure most people went out following the ad campaign 'questions will be answered' boy were they pissed when they found out the answers were not good ones lol. And no you have not point anything out illogical about alien yet. Please try. I do hope part 2 is a success but at this moment it is a bit scarey more of the same will be the beginning of the end its gotta pull some big punches. People have bewn burned by part 1 it no longer can survive off the back of alien's (the first one :p) brilliance.

@visionary yer they were all paraniod schizophrenics escaped from the local loon bin :)

Ps anyone from staff here - maybe look at new posting box on andriod - wont let me copy n paste. Bit awkward to use - maybe need a test from a phone?

@Sixxshot, I like everyone, I respect other members opinions, I never resort to name calling, I don't hate anything and I will not argue or show hostility to anyone! That's not why I'm here.

I would like to see Sir Ridley make a Director's cut of Prometheus, maybe after P2 while we are awaiting P3?

Yes !!!! That would be excellent cer. Blue !!!!!!

Let's keep this thread argument free guys otherwise this thread will be locked.  This isn't aimed at anyone in particular or having a go at anyone.  So let's, please keep it friendly!

:) your 138 posts late on that heh. No but seriuosly a bit of ribbing is ok surely but yer I know try to keep it clean. Yer wanted to point out to a staff the copy paste in these new 'post' boxes or what ever there called don't work on andriod phone not tried much of the other stuff yet...anyway just saying. ..

Only just caught up on this thread as I've been busy :)

@Xeno alpha; I agree completely and i did ask a certain member (politely) earlier on in this thread to calm it, which fell on deaf ears. I don't think it is fair to lock a thread that other members are enjoying and having a friendly debate about because of the actions of one particular person. Maybe we should just ignore that particular member? That would be fine with me!

@Lone, @Visonary Alpha....I'm in total agreement. All I've trying to get at is a notion that while I enjoy this film, it is far from a masterpiece and I refuse to defend the indefensible even though I like the film. I am mourning a lost opportunity. I am just looking for honest discussion about clear flaws that could have been avoidable.

.

We often have very spirited debates on this site & it is my opinion that they usually go rather well.  IMHO - This is one of the few places, on Earth, where rational debate can still occur!  Honestly, the quick wit, & the senses of humor around here often make me laugh out loud!  I am sure there is no ill-intent by anyone, just the usual sarcastic wit of real debate a few may not be used to hearing?  Rock on then?

STAFF; Why can i not use copy and paste with this new Posting Box? The other one was better!

Come on guys this is a place for all of us to debate about Alien/Prometheus. Besides even though we love these movies they are still after all, just movies for entertainment. If you believe a movie to be sacred than your missing out on real life.

Ignore YT they have the most vile disgusting opinions that are so out of touch with reality that they cant and wont be nice to anything if it doesnt suit their agenda/video.

Necronom, you can copy and paste... it works

No the copy paste is not working on andriod phones - least not on mine...