Why Does Prometheus Reuse Images from Alien?

[jostpuur]

Prometheus was very good! Folks, don't believe the complainers!

It doesn't make sense to accuse the movie of "plot flaws", since the movie is clearly intended as a kind of puzzle.

One theory is that in the beginning the engineers created life with a sacrifice ritual, but it could also be that the creation of life was accidental, the main purpose of the sacrifice being an execution of some dissident or criminal.

It could be that the engineers in the beginning were not as advanced as the engineers later in the film. Perhaps they were messing around with stuff they didn't understand?

The origin of the cave paintings seems little mysterious, considering the sacrifice scene in the beginning, and the hostility of the engineer later in the film. One possibility is that the cave paintings were instructed by some third humanoid party, and were not an invitation. Perhaps some third humanoid party attempted to deliver a warning message: "That's where your creators are, and that's where your death will eventually come from".

 

[Ryan_m_b]

One theory is that in the beginning the engineers created life with a sacrifice ritual, but it could also be that the creation of life was accidental, the main purpose of the sacrifice being an execution of some dissident or criminal.

I'm short on time but a quick point about this; the idea that an incredibly human like organism could dissolve itself into a primordial soup and then billions of years later a near identical sentient species evolved is ludicrous to the extent that my suspension of disbelief is ruined.

 

[daveb]

Take a look at the name folks...Prometheus, and look to the myth of Prometheus. In the myth, Prometheus made mankind out of clay and stole fire from the gods, giving it to mankind. As an allegory, Prometheus was an archetype for the quest for scientific knowledge and truth.

So, take this and place it within the conext of the movie. Here's my theory.

The Engineer at the beginning is a terrorist who opposes his militaristic civilzation's use of the bio-weapon (the black ooze) that causes drastic mutations in other species (but not their own species probably). He takes some of this and seeds life on earth. Keep in mind, only a little bit of the ooze managed to create an antire planet (i.e., earth) full of life. The ship at the beginning are his "comrades" who are also part of the terrorist organization.

Cut to the evoluation of mankind (yes, a big glass of BS to swallow unless you also assume that all the mass extinctions throughout history were also engineered so as to get life to the point where humans could evolve), and the terrorist engineers visit ancient cultures to both warn them of the military installation (the one on the star maps) as well as prepare us when we eventually develop the scientific knowledge to become what we were meant to be - a weapon to be used against the engineer's civilization.

Of course, in the meantime, the civilization has collapsed under its own weight, or due to their bio-weapon getting out of control (as is shown by the drastic and rapid evolution of the worms and of the geologist when exposed to concentrated amounts of the ooze). My guess is there were other military installations as well. The other planets that were shown in the bridge of the alien ship were other planets the terrorists had also seeded (and most probably destoyed by these other military installations). The crashed ship in Alien was such a world where the ooze got out of the military's control (remember in the first Alien, Ash stated the xenomorph was a "perfect" organism because it was so adaptable in the way it propogated the species). Fortunately (for us) the military never managed to get to Earth before their own creation destroyed them.

Now, were there plot holes in this one - definitely, especially in the stupidity of some of the characters. If the geologist was so expert at mapping, how did he get lost? But "playing" with the small wormlike creatures by the biologist is perfectly natural. After all (if I were thinking like him and not aware I was in a movie where I'm expendable under seemingly contrived cirumstances), it's small, I'm in a protective suit (I have my helmet on at that time), so what harm is there in examining the tiny little creature. I have no idea that a) it's bigger than it appears; b) it's composed of mostly muscular fibers (otherwise, how did it break an arm?); and ) it has acid for blood.

I could go on, but you understand what I mean. I think some people didn;t like the movie because it didn't answer any questions and made you come up with answers yourself.

 

[Borek]

I feel cheated.

 

[arildno]

I feel cheated.

It was a horridity and a frightfulness.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

I know it's a bit late but this is a very interesting review
http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/2012/06/10/prometheus-pandering-to-anti-science/

 

[Borek]

I know it's a bit late but this is a very interesting review
http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/2012/06/10/prometheus-pandering-to-anti-science/

They behave in such stupid and illogical ways you wonder how they qualified for the job of traveling to an uncharted world on a voyage funded by the biggest corporation on Earth in the first place.

Couldn't say it better.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Looks like I made a good decision to wait for this on DVD. Any word on a sequel?

 

[SHISHKABOB]

Looks like I made a good decision to wait for this on DVD. Any word on a sequel?

I've only heard from secondary sources that they heard that there will probably be a sequel.

 

[Gordianus]

Saw Prometheus last night on DVD. I´m extremely thankful I didn't go to the theater because the movie looks like a super long Three Stooges chapter. Or perhaps Moe, Larry and Curly had more brains than the characters in Prometheus. I can hardly believe the same Ridley Scott shot Alien or Blade Runner.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Just saw it's on Netflix instant! I'm off to watch it!

 

[Borek]

I'm off to watch it!

Poor Greg.

 

[Gordianus]

Yeah, I pitty him.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Just watched it on a plane. I see there were several big "idiot" moments and can understand why some were turned off by them. Overall though I got into the atmosphere and enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next movie!

 

[fizipl]

This film should be better but its OK:) worth to see :P

 

[Vierstein]

Hollywood releases films abroad before the US.

When did that started happening? I still remember the pre internet times, when months or even almost a year would pass before a movie that premiered in America hits Europe.

 

[vjk2]

Prometheus made me seriously doubt the talent of Ridley Scott. It was so disjointed, and the horror aspects felt forced and boring.

But, basically, the idea is that there's this group of super-beings that goes around basically seeding planets with life. That's what the opening scene is. To create life, a super-being sacrifices itself so its DNA can seed life. Earth is one of those planets. Earth went off track. So, 2000 years ago, the super-beings send one of their own to Earth to get people on the right track again. The people of Earth seriously screwed up, which got these super-beings really angry and so they planned a super-weapon to wipe out life on Earth.

And so when the movie begins, the humans have discovered this super-weapon. They don't know it yet, of course.

Also, try and guess what happened 2000 years ago that might greatly offend a race of super-beings.

 

[1977ub]

As someone who is over-familiar with nearly every second of the original "Alien", I had an objection to Prometheus that I never had to the sequels: It frequently attempts to reuse exact images from Alien, pasting them together somewhat incoherently. I made a list: http://1977ub.posterous.com/even-critical-reviews-of-prometheus-dont-ment