Prometheus [FILM]

[echo]

In the late 21st Century, a star map is discovered within the imagery of Aztec, Mesopotamian and Magdalenian culture. The crew of the spaceship Prometheus is sent on a scientific expedition to follow the map as part of a mission to find the origins of mankind. Exploring the advanced civilization of an extraterrestrial race, they soon discover a threat to humanity's very existence.



Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Charlize Theron
Release date: June 8, 2012

We dissect the Prometheus trailer ? Is or isn?t it an Alien prequel?

Earlier this morning, Gavin posted the new Prometheus trailer, the epic return of Ridley Scott to the lands of Science Fiction. That fact alone would have been enough to see it quantum leap it?s way to the top of my list of most anticipated movies of 2012, but there is a mystery around Prometheus that has my geeky mind racing at warp speed.

When Prometheus was first announced, it was said to be the long rumoured prequel for Scott?s 1979 classic, Alien. All the initial leaked images ? with their mix of futuristic industrial tech and Geiger designed landscapes and spaceships - as well as all the plot descriptions supported this assertion. Sci-fi film geeks around the world simultaneously developed indelible grins, for it seemed that the messiah was finally returning.

Then suddenly it was announced that Prometheus was not going to be an Aliens prequel but rather a separate story ?with strands of Alien DNA?, and the internet was filled with a collective ?What the???

MTV then outright asked one of the lead actors, Michael Fassbender, if Alien and Prometheus was connected and he replied with an unequivocal ?Oh, absolutely. There?s a definite connecting vein.?

Confused yet?

Now the trailer has been released, and eagle-eyed viewers immediately spotted a few, shall we say, interesting clues.

The first of these is the overall design and editing of the trailer itself. Thematically and structurally, it is eerily reminiscent of the original Alien trailer, complete with the movie title being slowly revealed a letter at a time.

It goes on in fanboy fashion as it should be.

First trailer:



Some viral marketing:



Most recent trailer:



Now, the big question was if this is a prequel to Alien or not. It started out that way (and even in the Alien Anthology foreword Scott confirms it) but recently all those involved said that this is a movie on its own. I don't really care either way as a new sci-fi romp will be awesome (with or without xenomorphs).



This is also a thread for all kinds of speculation and/or fan fiction.

[Squirly]

It is set in the Aliens universe, obviously, hence can be seen as a prequel. The trailers show the team coming into the same room as in the first Aliens, finding the gigantic alien with the broken chest cavity, so that's an obvious hint right there. Then there's Guy Pearce's speech as Weyland (which I haven't watched it yet, but I've heard good things about it).

I can't wait for this. I love the Aliens universe and I want to see more of it. This is a good start. Let's hope it rocks the hell out of the box office so we get to see more movies of this type. Not necessarily sequels, but just more movies in this world.

[Gammaray]

Pretty amped for the movie myself. Every time I see this ...



I keep thinking that looks like a kind of Dead Space marker.

[pArkEr]

I think it would be more accurate to say that Alien is set in the Prometheus universe, not the other way around.

The movies are definitely connected, there's no doubt about that. But I don't think what happened in Alien is necessarily relevant to the plot of Prometheus. There'll probably be a couple of references and hints towards the events of Alien, but at the end of the day, they're building a completely new mythology, which Alien will simply fit into.

And I think that's awesome.

[echo]

And then another one slips in: (Coutesy of the Movies)

Not content with blowing our minds twice already with those amazing Prometheus trailers, here’s an awesome (but kind of creepy) viral video showing the unboxing of the android David, played by Michael Fassbender. It’s pretty chilling stuff, and just keeps my excitement levels up to max.



As if the video itself was not spectacular enough, how people discovered it was also pretty incredible. Following on the original viral video of Guy Pearce’s Peter Weyland’s fake future TED, this weekend at Wondercon audience members were given Weyland Corp business cards, that gave them a telephone number. When the number was called, a telephone operator informed them that all Weyland Corp lines were busy, but then sent them a text message with further instructions. The text message then directed them to a website where the video originated from.

I love this.

[pArkEr]

You guys think they outsourced the marketing of the film to Valve?

[echo]

That aesthetic and feel of the film is just spot on.

And some more info about the movie with very interesting quote from Scott:

http://www.themovies.co.za/2012/04/1...nd-xenomorphs/

And finally, he provides an unequivocal answer on whether or not we’ll be seeing the alien “Xenomorph” in Prometheus, as some fans have speculated:

“No. Absolutely not. They squeezed it dry. He (the xenomorph) did very well. (He laughs) He survived, he’s now in Disneyland in Orlando, and no way am I going back there. How did he end up in Disneyland? I saw him in Disneyland, Jesus Christ!”

Hmmm.

[Sir-Ominous]

New amazing TV spot

[echo]

[Drone]

Saw the 3D trailer yesterday when I went to watch Avengers and I have to say that this looks extremely good. The visuals where mind blowing. I definitively want to see this as soon as its released here.

Ridley Scott has got something special here...

[pArkEr]

So, there's a couple of reviews out, aaaand... well, it's a bit underwhelming. There's apparently major problems with the script, the characters are uninteresting, it isn't scary...

That said, every single review so far has compared it directly with Alien, which we know shouldn't be the case. Sure, the movies are set in the same universe, but that doesn't mean they have to be the same type of movies. Scott himself has described Prometheus as more philosophical horror, and only has strands of Alien's DNA, so I think the comparisons are very unfair.

Fassbender is apparently out of this world, and there is a huge sense of wonderment in place of Alien's relentless tension, so there's that...

Guess we'll just have to see for ourselves.

[Aesir]

Still excited though!

[MonGooS]

Anyone going to be watching this this weekend? I am hopefully going to make a turn and see it on Saturday, quite excited. It got a 7.9 on IMDb and 74% on RottenTomatoes so it must be decent.

I am just so sick of being forced into watching 3D Movies. The 3D itself doesn't bother me, but paying double the price for the exact same experience does.

[echo]

Going to watch this in a huge group on Friday. In 2D. I can't wait!

[MonGooS]

In 2D! How?!

[echo]

Canal Walk is showing the movie in both 2D and 3D. So you can choose which show you want to watch. What is your nearest big cinema?

[MonGooS]

Nelspruit Riverside, Polokwana Savannah Mall and Witbank The Ridge are all the same distance from me. But I have to go to Nelspruit to pick my phone up from Vodacare, and the Nelspruit mall doesn't give you an option. So 3D it is for me, unfortunately. Either way, 2D or 3D, I am excited.

[Grimnebulin]

Going to watch this in a huge group on Friday. In 2D. I can't wait!

So just for the record, 2D. Thanks, you are a legend.

[Kharrak]

Okay, so.

I loved it. Really enjoyed it - great to finally see some tension building back into movies! Not nearly as much as 80's / early 90's, but some is still good. It's not a scary movie - it's more Aliens than it was Alien.

Also, the big question - the movie doesn't lead or connect directly to Alien.

The movie rather shows how the alien organism comes about. Though there are suggestions that the ship in Prometheus is the one in Alien, it's clear that the ship in Alien is a different, unrelated one. What's still unsure is whether the ship in alien was designed to drop the eggs, or fell to the weaponized disease that leads to the alien, leaving the hatched alien to lay the eggs.

My only issue would be the ending. Not bad, but feels flat without more fleshing out. The movie is already longer than two hours, but would have felt better if we saw that learning to fly the ship wasn't such an immediate process

[Grimnebulin]

@Kharrak - Going to let this one digest tonight, but tomorrow I'm ready to discuss the **** out of this movie. Pretty much on par with your initial reaction, but still working my way through some of the various strands.

Absolutely worth the watch.