“Even if I remembered that wrong, I think his assumption that the aliens would be friendly and have the answers is quite a big one. (You don’t have to be Stephen Hawking to know this.)”
Yeah, it is sort of interesting to point out that general, humans are pessimistic and anxious about what would happen if they run into extraterrestrial life, but in this movie not only are they excited but they also believe they’ll be able to find communication et al. There’s some justification for it but overall these are exceptionally faithful/optimistic characters in a genre practically built around cynicism. The fact that the only answer we have for the biological weapons is then, “In order to create first you must destroy,” makes this thematic usage of faith intensely unsatisfying to me. It is here and the idea of Shaw searching for ‘Paradise’ that I can definitely see how Scott may be intending some more material on the subject and hasn’t successfully made Prometheus standalone. I don’t necessarily think he bit off more than he can chew, just that he stopped cooking before the dish was done.
Which, to be fair, if he really really wanted to make that movie explore those themes, he could have done so by taking a little while longer on the script and sussing all those issues out. As much as he acknowledges it may stand alone and never get to grow into a separate series, I think he’s banking on it. I sort of worry, though. The Matrix was meant to be standalone in case the sequels never happened, and it clearly can operate like that — but once the sequels were greenlit, the Wachowski’s control and consideration of their themes and pacing and stuff like that went out the friggin’ window. I think Scott is doing the same thing we’re discussing about Jackson in The Hobbit thread …. refusing to kill babies, not limiting himself to one movie to really say what he wants to say, exploiting this contemporary multi-installation enfranchisement time of cinema history to elaborate instead of isolate.
(I say that but I do have the idea for not one but two original trilogies I would like to do that I do not believe would be possible in any other form but a miniseries, so there’s that! My main point though is that this multiple-installment moviemaking process is enabling a certain type of laziness, the type that figures if an arc isn’t fully cleaned up in one installment, then there will always be the sequel.)
—PolarisDiB
I don’t necessarily think he bit off more than he can chew, just that he stopped cooking before the dish was done.
That still doesn’t make things better, though, right? My point with the “bit off more than you can chew” comment is that answering—or dealing with—where we came from and why—in a satisfying way would be ambitious enough. To me, taking on those questions is bold—unless you’re not serious about it.
Which, to be fair, if he really really wanted to make that movie explore those themes, he could have done so by taking a little while longer on the script and sussing all those issues out.
Right—and the film strongly suggests that its going to deal with those themes, which is what made me a little excited.
My main point though is that this multiple-installment moviemaking process is enabling a certain type of laziness, the type that figures if an arc isn’t fully cleaned up in one installment, then there will always be the sequel.
It’s the wrong way to go about it, imo. Commit to a multi-installment series first, have a writer complete the script of all the films and then film all the films at one time. Of course, that’s a huge gamble and maybe it’s too risky. At the very least the script for the all the films should be completed first, and that shouldn’t be too risky, right?
It’s been a while since I saw it. Not that long, but my memory of it grows fuzzy, which probably doesn’t mean anything good. If I recall correctly I was a bit disappointed.
What I do remember, and someone has already mentioned this, is that I didn’t care at all for the characters. None of them. The only one that actually had a presence was the Robot. And he ended up being a poor sport.
Jazzaloha
…but I didn’t like were it went from there.
Yeah, talk about a descent into crappiness. So disappointing. Man, if part 2 can salvage this film, that would be something.