Is Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus’ A Lovecraftian ’2001′?

[Malone]

Saw the movie last night. Was reluctantly dragged to it by my girlfriend as Scott is a very hit-and-miss director in my opinion, but was pleasantly surprised. It's a gripping, fast-paced, thrill-a-minute show that took me out of myself and the two hours flew. Excellent performances all around, but Fassbinder as David stood out. And YES, the movie is in essence At the Mountains of Madness set in space: the ignorant and hubristic protagonists, the alien as 'Other', hubris and nemesis etc. Haven't enjoyed a movie so much in a long time. Check it out!

[Cnev]

I watched it last night. I made a point to minimize my exposure to the ridiculous amount of info available on the story before seeing it, so I really had no expectations going into it. It's difficult to fairly review it knowing it is the first movie of a new trilogy. The ideas are very much in their infancy and it shows, but they are big, horrific, devastating and touch upon subjects that the mainstream science fiction genre has either completely strayed from or disappointingly cheesed up and butchered. I feel like Prometheus approaches them in a much more mature and thoughtful way. I found this quite refreshing.

On the downside, I wish more effort had been put into making all the characters stand out and feel like they have an important place within the story. Unfortunately, they all feel disposable to me aside from David and Elizabeth, and even then the attempts to make Elizabeth a deeper, more relatable character come off as contrived and uninspired. I don't know if it's just nostalgia or what, but when I look back at Alien and Aliens, all the characters had such a genuine charm about them. I can't imagine those movies being the same had those characters been left out, regardless of their importance within the story. They were all so detrimental to the overall vibe of their respective movies, and it's something I deeply miss. But, Fassbender is absolutely brilliant as David and he pretty much steals the show with his performance.

Ultimately, I loved it and am super stoked to see where this story goes.

[luciferfell]

I loved Prometheus. I agree its basicly At the Mountains of Madness in space. And I loved how the film explains a lot of the mysterys in Alien and then brings a boatload of new questions. Highly recommened.

[Brendan Moody]

I haven't seen Prometheus yet (tomorrow, maybe), but for those who have, here's a spoilery EW.com article about the possibility that the film's Lovecraftian similarities may cause delay or cancellation of Guillermo del Toro's At the Mountains of Madness film.

[DoktorH]

Quote Originally Posted by Brendan Moody

I haven't seen Prometheus yet (tomorrow, maybe), but for those who have, here's a spoilery EW.com article about the possibility that the film's Lovecraftian similarities may cause delay or cancellation of Guillermo del Toro's At the Mountains of Madness film.

I thought his Mountains of Madness was already cancelled on account of his involvement with The Hobbit, pacific rim, and a hojillion other things.

I'd heard bad things about Prometheus from colleagues at work. Fellow Ligotti fans are digging it, though, which is a good sign. I'll catch it tomorrow if not this afternoon.

[shivering]

[No spoilers].

Saw it today. Entertaining? Yes. Definitely. Depth? A little. Inconsistent and almost laughable in parts? Definitely. Worth seeing? Definitely.

Too much hype methinks.

Ridley Scott does not, as usual, come off as much of a thinker.


Color me somewhat disappointed, but I am going to see it again to see if my initial reactions still hold.

[Brendan Moody]

Quote Originally Posted by DoktorH

Quote Originally Posted by Brendan Moody I haven't seen Prometheus yet (tomorrow, maybe), but for those who have, here's a spoilery EW.com article about the possibility that the film's Lovecraftian similarities may cause delay or cancellation of Guillermo del Toro's At the Mountains of Madness film. I thought his Mountains of Madness was already cancelled on account of his involvement with The Hobbit, pacific rim, and a hojillion other things.

Well, the article goes into that. Different versions of the film had been rejected by a couple different studios, causing delays, and he back-burnered it when it looked like he was going to direct the Hobbit films, but as recently as July 2011 he was still hopeful about the project. Now he seems to think that the similarities between AtMoM and Prometheus make it not worth pursuing in the near future, and possibly ever.

[Gray House]

Quote Originally Posted by Brendan Moody

Now he seems to think that the similarities between AtMoM and Prometheus make it not worth pursuing in the near future, and possibly ever.

That is unfortunate. I very much enjoyed several of Guillermo del Toro's films. I enjoyed Ridley Scott's Alien more than James Cameron's Aliens but even though James Cameron was going to be involved with del Toro's movie I think I'd have higher expectations for that than I have for Prometheus. But, reading this thread, I am looking forward to it.

[The New Nonsense]

I didn't care for Prometheus. I was expecting intelligent and moody Sci-Fi. What I got was a dumbed-down Resident Evil in space. Some scenes were laughably absurd. I'd give examples, but I don't want to include spoilers.

[MagnusTC]

[possibly spoiler alert]

When I went to see the film, I expected lack of consistency, laughably absurd parts and superficial characters, so I couldn't really be too disappointed about that : )

What I perhaps didn't expect was the the Icelandic location, the interior design for the alien ship and the technology of the Engineers, which I found pretty interesting aesthetically. Also, the implicit references to Michelangelo, Blake and Joseph Wright. And the realization of the Engineers as living classical sculptures with translucent alabaster skin.