Prometheus 3D (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review - Page 3

Yup a bit of a retcon, but then again the dudes changed size in ALIEN itself. The set up shots used children in space suits to make the set look much more looming and large; then close ups reverted to the actors and there was a noticeable size change for the keen eye. Prometheus plays the same tricks, first with good optic tricks in the space jockey room, then not so well in the lifeboat.

HOLY FRIGGIN COW!!!

Is this the ultimate 3D movie or what, I am completely taken.

It is like I got a brand new projector once again, the 3D is
absolutely spellbinding. Makes Avatar 3D really look like an
afterthought.

Now i believe in 3D, this and IMAX Under the Sea are the only
titles worth showing off IMHO at this time.

The cause is obvious, from Casey Broadwater at blu-ray.com:

I know i am biased, having a Polish bride, but why is every other decent photographer in H-wood Polish these days?

The 3D was great on my set, much brighter then some 3D I've seen in theaters. I like the film, but felt it left the original and spun in another direction. When I watched some of the supplementary material I could see why, way too much collaboration, too much attention paid to the look and not enough to the plot, it lost the focus of the story. Some scenes cut should have remained, in particular Tom Hardy's transformation. Overall I still enjoyed it.

Watched the 2D version over the weekend… add another vote for “A/V was great but the movie, not so much”. The movie left me a bit disappointed. I was hoping for some intensity like in Alien(s).

Which I believe is the difference between those of us that did like it. I think some people were wanting and expecting that type of film which it could never be since it would just make it an extension of the other films. I was always more curious about the derelict ship and who were the occupants and why it did end up on the planet. Some of the best science fictions books I have read had nothing at all to do with intensity and would be boring to most reading it I would guess.
Edited by Sharp1080 - 11/27/12 at 12:58am

My thoughts exactly....I went into this film the way Ridley Scott wanted people to go into it. He stated this movie was not a prequel to Alien but it does have something to do with it. Like you Sharp1080, I was very interested in the strange ship that was on the planet LV-426 from the first Alien movie. Where did it come from, how did it get there? Did it crash or was it landed. Who sent the signal that made the Nostromo go to the planet? These questions were not answered in this movie but it gave some hints and clues and had me very involved. I really enjoyed Prometheus and hope it made enough money here and overseas to get a sequel made. I would love this story to continue.

I must echo the common criticism that it was too much fast paced action and not enough sci-fi thrill. EVERYTHING these days have to be paced for ADHD sufferers apparently with no more than 120 seconds between explosions, yelling, or major plot points. How can we ever get sucked into a movie and immersed in the characters when the longest time between cuts is 2.4 seconds? *Sigh*

Remember in Alien how long it took from the time they left the ship to get back? That would have been boiled down to a whole 4 minute sequence in this movie. Ripley's activation of the self destruct cut down to a 5 second code entry and flip of a switch and back to the action!

I'd much rather stretch a scene than cut it down to nothing but cliff notes in a 1080p 3-D eye popping and DTS-HD 7.1 shiny wrapper. This movie ran when a suspenseful walk was all we wanted.

The cherry on top of the SON I AM DISAPPOINT sundae was using Theron when her role could have been played by any number of up and coming actresses to keep the cast relatively fresh and unrecognized. Instead I was watching a movie where I kept seeing Charlize and not her character thanks to this being her 23rd movie and having been released right next to Snow White & The Huntsman which was sheer brilliance by both studios. At least Fassbender had been relatively unseen by me since Inglourious Basterds as his other movies fall outside my personal preferences but I'm sure many saw him in the latest X-Men movie just a year prior.

I do agree somewhat with your opinion. The thing is I did not look at this movie as an Alien movie. Alien in my opinion is the best Sci-fi / horror movie ever made period. As you said, I love the slow camera work and how the characters interacted with each other. It was more of a mysterious creepy atmosphere but also realize that Aliens is considered to be a great film also.That had loads of action and really was a totally different movie from the first. Is Prometheus as good as Alien.....? No but I think it deserves a place in my cabinet next to Alien.

I was messing around and found a interesting video discussing ancient mounds found in United States and skeletons of giants with double rows of teeth. Made me think of the Seeders. http://youtu.be/ELu9ARLo0jc

I agree - it deserves to stand on it's own merits, but Scott set himself and all of us up with the early descriptions of this being an Alien prequel and then shifting gears completely and going off on a different path. I think he decided to go where he wanted, not where the fans of Alien wanted him to go. Not his fault my expectations were not met but then he didn't ask me. :/ My anguish lies in what easily could have been after seeing how good things can look and sound these days and knowing what Scott is capable of (he's made 3 of my top 5 favorite all time movies in Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator). Did I want a carbon copy of Alien? I'd say a resounding NO but then again, I haven't enjoyed a Predator sequel hardly at all up until the last installments, Predators, which returned back to nearly an identical plot line complete with jungle and the original music. Maybe I'm just too shallow for my own good - or maybe I just am nostalgic and getting old. *damn kids and their loud music fast paced CGI*

Point well taken. Just a bit off topic, which version of Blade Runner did you like the most? With or withhout Ford's background voice over....I feel like some of it could have been left in during the begining. Some scenes near the begining seemed a little empty without the voice over.

For the sake of this thread and not going off topic too much, I replied in the Blade Runner thread over here: http://www.avsforum.com/t/880791/blade-runner-the-final-cut/1290#post_22644573

I have watched Prometheus 5 times now and every time I watch it I understand more. It is a very deep movie and makes you think about things. The depth to this movie is refreshing, compared to most new action movies. Most new movies are constantly moving and changing. Most new movie action scenes are so quick and so aww-stunning that I cannot even digest what just happened. I have a hard time keeping up with the fast pace of new movies because the story is pushed along so quickly. There is no depth, no explanation, no reason, and no plot. It is just mostly all shock-and-aww. So, when Prometheus came out, I felt it dove into the plot fairly good. Now, I am a very opened minded individual, so I understood most of what Scott was trying to say. But, there are a lot of people who watched this movie who did not understand. I have a friend who is of a Christian mind. He is devout and when I talked to him about this movie, he truly did not understand what Scott was trying to say. I had to explain to my friend the little nuances in the movie and how it talked about alien hybrid creation, modifying genetic DNA, how we came from extra terrestrial beings from another planet, and so on. Prometheus talks about a lot of taboo issues that most people do not like or choose not to think about. This movie, in my mind, tries to disprove the existence of god and every religion ever created. The depth of Prometheus is absolutely outstanding. This is one of many movies that was deemed not good in the theater, but caused a lot of controversy. V-For Vendetta is another deep thinking movie. Most people did not like that movie either. But, it sure was talked about. Still, to this day, I see people wearing the happy faced mask while protesting in public. I sure hope Scott makes another movie and expands on Prometheus. I want to know if Shaw and David ever find where the engineers came from. Finding out where the engineers came from is like that old question that asks, “who created god”? Shaw is devout, but since she finds the truth about our existence, she seeks out their creators. Please Ridley Scott, make another movie??? Please???

It has plot holes you could fly a cruiser through, but it also has vivid state-of-the-art 3D. Inception it's not, in every sense. I'll enjoy it again and just look past the discontinuities.

I agree with you 100%....I have watched this movie 3 more times at home after going to the theater to see it when it came out. The more I watch it, the more I enjoy it and pick up on small details that I missed the first time around. I feel the same way about another Ridley Scott film Blade Runner. Like you, I hope he proceeds to expand on Prometheus and continues the story because I would love to see where this story is going....

First thing first: I didn't watch the Bluray. There, I said it.
But let's start with the movie itself. It is an excellent flick. Not to be confused with his earlier movies which were as close to being work of a genius as a director can make. This one - not so much. Still - good work. After watching it in a theater I promised myself I would get it as soon as it comes out on Bluray.
That day comes a few months later. I wait until the $49 price for the 4 disc set comes down to a more reasonable number. Two months later it happens - $29. I drive to a local BB store and unknowingly purchase my ticket to hell.
The descend starts as soon as I press Play. Nothing. Dead silence. Usually, there is a chapter selection, special features, etc. Not with Prometheus. After 7 minutes of spinning the disk flashes a 4 seconds panning shot of the 20th Century Fox logo (BTW, is it just me or is this a really terrible name for a company?), then screen goes blank.
My first thought is that BD player broke down. But my BD player (as a matter of fact the entire home theater) is from the Pioneer Elite lineup. Not exactly the cheapest. So, I patiently wait for it to load. At 9PM I give up.
The next morning I remember that I left the disk in the player. The player froze. It does not respond to Stop, Play, anything. I reconnected the power cord. Same story. Fox logo, then bupcis.
I try other discs from the same set. The DVD is fine, special features Bluray - no problem. The player is 3D but TV isn't, so I have no idea if the 3D disc works. It tells me that my TV isn't 3D (it senses that through HDMI!) so I can go suck an egg. This is expected.
I go a little further and test other Bluray disks in my collection. Some of them are even newer releases than Prometheus. All others work fine.
I drive back to the store. No refund, says the clerk. I patiently explain that I want to exchange. She grabs the case and shows me that it loads fine on a BB in-store player. I am embarrassed. After a long drive home i test the replacement Bluray. Still no luck. "$29 to watch Fox logo spin and hear some trumpets? Some deal!" I thought to myself. I am convinced at this point that it is the disc that is defective, not my $900 Elite BD player. But why does it work in BB store and quits as soon as I get home? After a few hours it strikes me like a thunderbolt. I drive back to the store and this time I make sure the clerk (a different one) picks the Bluray, not the DVD. Finally - the logo, then silence. They have the same problem too! The previous clerk tested the DVD. This clerk reluctantly gives me yet another 4 disk set. I drive (or, rather, race) home. Same problem again, with the replacement Bluray. At this point I am not annoyed anymore. I am seriously considering that my BD player is cursed. It is a different state of mind I cannot describe. My wife looks at me from a safe distance and asks me if I am OK. How am I supposed to answer?
I hit the Internet. Search "prometheus bluray defect" and you will see what I saw. There are thousands of people who went through the same problem I did. It is all because of bad batch (or several). Some of the forum users tell me how to take care of the problem. I follow only some of their suggestions:
1) Recycle power on Bluray player.
2) Reset Bluray player to factory default settings
3) Buy Bluray player head cleaning disk with special cleaning liquid ($15.99)
4) Buy Bluray disk cleaning kit ($24.99)
5) Buy latest HDMI cable with some special insulation and network capability ($60)
6) Erase memory from Bluray USB drive
7) Disconnect network cable from Bluray player
8) Disable network access on Bluray player (couldn't do it, no idea how!)
9) Reset network access on player (same as above)
10) Make sure Bluray player is set to NTSC and not PAL/SECAM or MESECAM (don't ask what all this means, could be gibberish for all I know)
11) Spray Bluray player insides with a dust cleaning pressurized can
12) Take the disk out, disconnect all cables and gently shake Bluray player (I made sure nobody saw me do this)
In a few more hours by descend to hell goes into overdrive. I am completely unable to accomplish any task other than breathing and thinking about Prometheus. The body rejects any position - standing, sitting or laying down is impossible. I grimly drive back to BB store. Inside the store I for some reason feel like I stole something. The loss prevention guy looks at me the wrong way, the clerks are a bit apprehensive, the cameras are following my each step. Paranoia starts to set in, of course.
The clerk takes the set and calls duty manager. The manager listens to her whispering while gently smiling at me. They both find a Geek Squad guy who approaches me and asks if I ever used any of the digital copies of the movie. I ask him what they are. He explains. I reply that I have a multi-thousand dollars home theater. Top of the line. Creme of the crop. King of the hill. Why would I keep getting multiple digital copies of the same movie which I cannot even watch on my premium home theater (just on my laptop)? At this point I am convinced that they are convinced that I am just stealing multiple digital copies of the same movie and re-watching them all over again on a tiny screen.
I show them a hundred pre-printed pages of web forums which describe the manufacturing defect in detail. The Geek Squad guy is now 100% is on my side, but BB store manager... Not so much (probably suspicious about my trembling hands). He suggests I call Fox and request an exchange. At this point I lose my temper. "Look", I say. "All I wanted to do is to watch bloody Prometheus on Bluray. I paid you the 30 bucks, on top of that I spent $100 on cleaning equipment and cables I don't need, $20 on gas driving back and forth! I have not eaten or slept for two days..."
The manager takes pity on me. In violation of store policy he gives me a hundred percent refund and even pulls all other copies off the shelves since there was no way to know which disks work and which are defective.
At home my obsession with watching Prometheus right this instant gets the better of me. I decide to download a free copy of Prometheus off the P2P network. Actually I download two different versions within 4 hours. One is 3D and looks like two identical video feeds split horizontally on my 2D TV. The other one has a perfect crystal clear 1080p picture, but soundtrack is in Ukrainian. I fall asleep to the Ukrainian Prometheus.
In the morning my descend to hell completes. I reach rock bottom. The ancient gods of Bluray decide to give me a break. DirectTV HD broadcasts the movie (1080p, Dolby Digital soundtrack, perfectly watchable). I record it twice for some reason (don't ask). More than that, the same morning BB store decreases the price of 4 disk set from $29 to $19. Of course, that make no difference to me. $19 for a fair chance to view Fox logo, hear fanfare and drums is still a tall order.
Do I blame Ridley Scott for my adventure? Absolutely not. He didn't press these defective copies in some rundown Bluray factory in Malaysia. Do I blame Fox? Definitely. There are so many fans of this wonderful director that feel deceived by this substandard product... It is a crime not to enforce reasonable quality assurance process (testing every 10th or 100th disk for defects) to cut costs. It is a treachery. I am glad that only some of fans experienced this descend into the ninth circle of hell.
Only one question remains. Should I keep buying other sets (perhaps used ones) until I find a copy that works? As a die hard Ridley Scott fan I definitely should - considering the plethora of extra features and commentary it offers. But I would rather wait till it reaches what it is actually worth, about $9 per 4 disk set.
PS. Here is a pres release from Fox 20th Century:
"In other news today, a number of readers are reporting problems with Fox's Prometheus Blu-ray. Throughout the second half of the film, some copies are plagued with macro-blocking and will occasionally cause players to simply shut down. It appears to be a manufacturing error and isn't affecting all copies, so if you're having trouble we recommend you exchange it with your retailer. You can also contact Fox Customer Care at 1-888-223-4369."
Edited by grigorianvlad - 4/13/13 at 9:44pm

Excellent film despite what many said since its release in the cinemas last year.

The blu-ray is superb, but I've not gotten the extended cut disc yet; I'm still looking to get Bram Stoker's Dracula and other older films.

LOL!!

Update for Pioneer BD player owners who plan to buy this title:

4/23/2013 - contacted Fox. Rude person says "we have no reports of problems with this disk". My statement that I did not call to find out if there are previous problems, I am reporting one. The Fox lady is determined to convince me that since there "have not been any problems" (which contradicts their own PR release which acknowledges the problem) I must not have a problem as well. Still, she agreed to replace my Bluray within 4 weeks. I call Pioneer support to discuss a possible issue with my BD player. Their response is "this particular BD player has some Java code which makes it incompatible to play this particular title, firmware update is not available yet". So, I am increasing my rating from 2 to 3. Disk manufacturers have to make sure it is compatible with all players on the market.

Watched this one 3 times now and continue to enjoy it more with each viewing. Some of the cinematography is amazing and the 2D and 3D versions are both really nice.

Thanks, Ralph!

Those of you who have watched it in 2D, did it show on your receiver,s front LED display as simply DTS instead of DTS HD MASTER AUDIO.?

Mine only displays DTS and not DTS-HD MASTER AUDIO. I know it's not my receiver because it correctly displays other similarly encoded discs. Should i Even bother exchanging it? Bought it from amazon.

^^ Exchanging it will not help.

Can you check your player to make sure there are no secondary audio features turned on? Also, as this is a relatively rare 7.1 disc, I wonder if perhaps you have a 5.1 system and that is confusing the player or the AVR? Do you have other DTS 7.1 discs? It should still give you HD MA 5.1 if so.

If you do have a 7.1 system, and PLIIx and whatnot are turned off, do the rear speakers have sound? If so, then it appears you are hearing the HD MA. Just the display is wrong. If you are hearing only 5.1, then yes, that would appear to be the core DTS 5.1.

Thanks for the response, Roger.
Yes, I do have other 7.1 discs and my system has no problem recognizing them as such. In fact that was the first thing I did when I noticed the display as only DTS. My other discs show DTS-HD MASTER AUDIO as they should. This is the first disc that I have that it does not display right.

Mystery solved. Turning off the secondary audio in my oppo 103 did it. Now it displays the correct encoding. Thanks.

Watched the Prometheus in 2D blu ray on Monday afternoon.

The opening "Scotland" scene is very beautiful on my 100" screen. It's as if it has a 3-dimensional look.

I enjoyed Prometheus as a standalone sci-fi movie, without considering its relation to Alien & Aliens (which are 2 of my favourite sci-fi movies).

Regards.

Yes, I'm in agreement with you. I was initially a bit disappointed with the film, but having watched it a number of times since the first viewing, I've enjoyed it more each time. It truly does fly quite high as a standalone sci-fi flick.

Easily one of RS's worst efforts.

I see it differently - one of his best efforts.