Prometheus *PLOT SPOILERS* discussion - Page 7

Originally Posted by Josh Z 

The corporate people said that they'd never encountered an alien life form that matches Ripley's description in any of their colonies, not that they'd never encountered alien life at all.

Originally Posted by oink 

For Sanjay:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2012/06/_one_of_my_creationist.html

Originally Posted by oink 

For Sanjay:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2012/06/_one_of_my_creationist.html

Originally Posted by oink 

One thing is certain, "The Company" never has had a history of lying...

FWIW Josh, I read your review at the other site.
You bring up some valid points, most particularly that the actions of the scientists were as scientific as the actions of my kittycat.
IMO, this is the one major flaw in the movie.
Many of points you have raised in the review have since been answered by the posts of others here and elsewhere.
Although not a masterpiece, Prometheus is a fine (and stirring) sci-fi.
My 8 farthings.

Originally Posted by mr. wally 

ok this movie is starting to get to me. not this creationism stuff, but unexplained actions in the movie.

Originally Posted by mr. wally 

why does elizabeth get infected with an alien embryo after having sex with her bf, after david infects him with a substance that turns him into an engineer?

Originally Posted by mr. wally 

and how many forms do proto-aliens take?

Originally Posted by mr. wally 

the brilliant scientists who couldn't find their way out of the pyramid despite having something akin to a gps device, were infected by a worm/slug like creature that jumped down his throat. what are those and why are they different?

Originally Posted by mr. wally 

they don't appear to be the same creature that bursts through your chest after gestation.

Originally Posted by sdurani 

The movie doesn't tackle creationism, as in an Abrahamic God creating the entire universe (including us), but instead limits its scope to something smaller and simpler: engineers seeded our planet and others, starting a chemical chain reaction that eventually results in humans. It's not like they created the planet itself. This is closer in premise to the 'Chariots of the Gods' books from the '70s (our gods were really ancient astronauts), as well as movies like 'Mission to Mars' or even the opening line from 'Battlestar Galactica' ("there are those who believe that life here began out there"). I don't feel the premise is more profound than that: humans on this planet were a result of seeding by humans from another planet

Originally Posted by RobertR 

I must say I've never been impressed by the Chariots of the Gods concept. Von Daniken's book is full of faulty reasoning and misstatements in order to support his sensationalist thesis. The concept itself is unsatisfying because it answers nothing. It just passes the buck to another location.

Originally Posted by RobertR 

The concept itself is unsatisfying because it answers nothing. It just passes the buck to another location.

Originally Posted by GoCaboNow 

A funny note, I watched Alien 4 the other night and when the credits rolled I saw the writer was none other than Joss Whedon.

Originally Posted by sdurani 

Which is what this movie does. Imagine someone hinting that they'll show you your creator, only for you to discover that by "your creator" they meant "your parent". While technically not inaccurate, it doesn't answer much. At some point you're going to ask who made them (which Shaw does ask in the film).

Originally Posted by sdurani 

The movie doesn't tackle creationism, as in an Abrahamic God creating the entire universe (including us), but instead limits its scope to something smaller and simpler: engineers seeded our planet and others, starting a chemical chain reaction that eventually results in humans. It's not like they created the planet itself. This is closer in premise to the 'Chariots of the Gods' books from the '70s (our gods were really ancient astronauts), as well as movies like 'Mission to Mars' or even the opening line from 'Battlestar Galactica' ("there are those who believe that life here began out there"). I don't feel the premise is more profound than that: humans on this planet were a result of seeding by humans from another planet. It doesn't turn him into an engineer. Holloway got infected with a tiny amount of black goo, which (as we saw at the begining of the film) attacks the host on a genetic level (which would include sperm). Charlie transfers that infection into Elizabeth's egg. As many forms as animals on our planet. Those are the results of worms getting infected with the black goo. They're different from other aliens just as mutated roaches are different from mutated cows. Different movie, different alien.

Originally Posted by oink 

A4 is/was unfairly beaten up.
I like it for what it is: entertaining.
In case you are unaware, Prometheus was originally conceived as a "2 parter."
A lot of folks either forget or are not aware of this.
R.S. makes it very plain, at the end of this movie, there is more to the story.

Originally Posted by JMCecil 

Maybe they are saving the entire story, script and good actors for the next movie.

Originally Posted by R Harkness 

Perfect. As I said: not exactly a movie that rewards too much thinking about it :-)

Originally Posted by sdurani 

Holloway got infected with a tiny amount of black goo, which (as we saw at the beginning of the film) attacks the host on a genetic level (which would include sperm). Charlie transfers that infection into Elizabeth's egg.

Originally Posted by Mr.G 

This is not a normal sperm and egg conception. Charlie's sperm may have been mutated or the organism may have just included itself into the semen. It was established beforehand that Shaw was incapable of having children which possibly meant no egg was present. The organism was introduced into the vagina/uterus by the penis much like the face-hugger introducing the organism into the victim's stomach cavity. Once the organism has established itself in the host it is free to grow at an exponential rate using the victim's body as an energy source.

Originally Posted by fookoo_2010 

Another possibility is that the black goo can grow on its own - remember what attacked the biologist.

Originally Posted by Mr.G 

It was established beforehand that Shaw was incapable of having children which possibly meant no egg was present.

Originally Posted by fookoo_2010 

Another possibility is that the black goo can grow on its own - remember what attacked the biologist.

Originally Posted by sdurani 

I thought the black goo always worked through a host. When they first walk into the room, all the goo is contained in the jars; nothing has leaked out. The conditions of the room keep things practically in stasis (like the engineer's severed head). Upon entering the room, we see tiny maggots in David's foot prints (I don't know if they were already there or if David brought them in from the outside, but it doesn't matter). The next time we see the maggots, the black goo has made them grow to the size of earthworms. A little after that, the earthworms have grown into arm-length serpents. And that's what attacks the two scientests, not the liquid itself.

Originally Posted by mr. wally 

not sure which hole i want an alien embryo to implant itself in me.

Originally Posted by fookoo_2010 

I may have to see this a fourth time and probably will.

Originally Posted by fookoo_2010 

But my point was that the lovely creature that appeared out of the goo came about with out a host.

Originally Posted by Mr.G 

This is not a normal sperm and egg conception. Charlie's sperm may have been mutated or the organism may have just included itself into the semen. It was established beforehand that Shaw was incapable of having children which possibly meant no egg was present. The organism was introduced into the vagina/uterus by the penis much like the face-hugger introducing the organism into the victim's stomach cavity. Once the organism has established itself in the host it is free to grow at an exponential rate using the victim's body as an energy source.

Originally Posted by fookoo_2010 

Another possibility is that the black goo can grow on its own - remember what attacked the biologist.

Originally Posted by derek 

What David said to the engineer....
"Courtesy of Prometheus' linguist teacher Dr. Anil Biltoo, of the SOAS Language Centre in London, this is what David said in Engineer-ese, translated into English:
"This man is here because he does not want to die. He believes you can give him more life."
Apparently, the question was part of a longer conversation that ended up on the cutting room floor—all of which would still have been shown without subtitles at Scott's insistence, had it made the theatrical version. Who knows, it could all show up in the Blu-ray release and we can see it for ourselves, but we'll have to wait and see."
http://blastr.com/2012/06/we-finally-know-what-davi.php

Originally Posted by derek 

What David said to the engineer....
"Courtesy of Prometheus' linguist teacher Dr. Anil Biltoo, of the SOAS Language Centre in London, this is what David said in Engineer-ese, translated into English:
"This man is here because he does not want to die. He believes you can give him more life."
Apparently, the question was part of a longer conversation that ended up on the cutting room floor—all of which would still have been shown without subtitles at Scott's insistence, had it made the theatrical version. Who knows, it could all show up in the Blu-ray release and we can see it for ourselves, but we'll have to wait and see."
http://blastr.com/2012/06/we-finally-know-what-davi.php