Well think about all the reasons it was a mess to you before you watched it so many times you figured out a way to do the writer’s work for them. Start with the black goo that is whatever the plot needs it to be.
I found it mostly a mess because I didn’t understand it. Initially I chalked that up to me being very new to the Alien franchise at the time. (I had watched Alien once before.) But clearly that isn’t the only reason. There is also significant lack of exposition on events, which made it hard to watch the first time, but, after re-viewing, the film is fully understandable. Though I will say watching Alien and absorbing the Mother-Ridley-Ash relationship is key to fully understanding Prometheus. The heart of each film, from Alien to Prometheus to Covenant is the ominous Weyland Corp. - Xenomorph dynamic.
I do think there were convenient plot devices, like the black goo, which (as expected) serves the same function in Covenant. Other information is never clearly defined, like Charlize Theron’s character Meredith Vickers and her motivations. She has a subtle arc, but is a high profile person of little consequence.
However after watching multiple times, I appreciated the subtlety of the story and the elements that are present but not said out loud. Rather they are whispered, implied at or left completely unsaid. This feels very natural and adds to some of the mystery of the plot by not outright telling the audience. Certainly that is a hindrance for people who will only watch the film once. To me it feels like a very intelligent movie because it doesn’t pander with simple explanations. It even attempts to explore religion and philosophy with varying degrees of success. I thought that was refreshing, since most science fiction films today are more concerned with apocalyptic events and lasers than intellectual concepts.
For the record, Prometheus seemed to be a riff on a concept that (far as I know) Star Trek pioneered back in 1993 on The Next Generation episode “The Chase”. I am not sure how familiar Scott or Damon Lindelof were with it, but the premise is almost identical. Interesting that they went with such a grand plot only to serve as backstory for a particular sci-fi movie monster.
I will grant though that Ridley Scott may on some level be one of the greatest directors ever. While he has to bear some responsibility for that complete and utter turd of a script it is the most polished execution of a horrible script I’ve ever seen. The dude knows how to shoot and edit a movie.
This may be true.
Pasted below, please find a fact sheet confirming that the worldwide rights to MIDWAY from The Mark Gordon Company, directed by Roland Emmerich, have been acquired by Bona Film Group. Please let us know if you have any questions.
WORLDWIDE RIGHTS TO FEATURE FILM “MIDWAY”
FROM THE MARK GORDON COMPANY, TO BE DIRECTED BY
ROLAND EMMERICH, ACQUIRED BY BONA FILM GROUP
· Bona Film Group will lead the investment on renowned director Roland Emmerich’s next epic feature, MIDWAY, based on the true story of World War II’s Battle of Midway, for The Mark Gordon Company (MGC), it was announced today in Cannes.
· In addition to investing in the film, Bona will distribute the film in China, and retains its worldwide distribution rights, excluding the U.S. Wes Tooke wrote the script for the project, which Bona’s Yu Dong will produce with Emmerich, MGC’s Mark Gordon and Matt Jackson, along with Harald Kloser.
· MIDWAY is based on the true story of the Battle of Midway – a turning point in the Pacific theater of World War II. The story follows the real soldiers and aviators who pulled off the unbelievable to turn the tide of the war.
· MIDWAY continues MGC and Emmerich’s successful working relationship, having together produced previous films including THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW and 2012.
· The deal marks a new level of engagement for Bona’s international business development.
· Yu Dong, the founder, president and CEO of Bona, has overseen the production of more than 260 films produced and is one of the most senior filmmakers in China. Bona has previously funded such films as Emmerich’s INDEPENDENCCE DAY: RESURGENCE, THE MARTIAN, X-MEN: APOCALYPSE, ALIEN: COVENANT, and WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, among others.
· A globally distinguished and visionary director, Emmerich’s credits include INDEPENDENCE DAY and INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, 2012, and 10,000 B.C., among many others. He and Kloser are represented by CAA and Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal Laviolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman.
· Tooke’s credits include serving as a writer and producer on USA Network’s Colony and Amazon’s upcoming series Jean-Claude Van Johnson. He is represented by WME, Rain Management Group and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols & Adler.
· Josh Clay Phillips will oversee the project on behalf of MGC.
· CAA brokered the deal and will represent MIDWAY’s U.S. distribution rights.
@Imperious:
Pasted below, please find a fact sheet confirming that the worldwide rights to MIDWAY from The Mark Gordon Company, directed by Roland Emmerich, have been acquired by Bona Film Group. Please let us know if you have any questions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31g0YE61PLQ
Well, when this flops it’ll be mostly Chinese money going down, I guess.
I do think there were convenient plot devices, like the black goo, which (as expected) serves the same function in Covenant. Other information is never clearly defined, like Charlize Theron’s character Meredith Vickers and her motivations. She has a subtle arc, but is a high profile person of little consequence.
I do think there were convenient plot devices, like the black goo, which (as expected) serves the same function in Covenant. Other information is never clearly defined, like Charlize Theron’s character Meredith Vickers and her motivations. She has a subtle arc, but is a high profile person of little consequence.
Ha, nice.
The Half in the Bag episode was one of the first things I watched after seeing the movie. I agree with their take on Covenant, except I would recommend watching it if you are into the series. It was definitely better than Aliens or Alien 3.
And Mike shares my opinion on Prometheus. Jay to a lesser extent. That it got better and more understandable after watching it a second or third time.
But I cannot say enough good things about Mike, Jay and RLM as a whole. They are a voice of reason in our nutso world.
They’ve come a long way from their ST TNG movie reviews, with their Phantom Menace takedown being their coming out party to the world.
Their monotone Covenant clip is a good contrast to one of my favorites, Grown Ups 2:
I will say that the scene you reference may not be what you think. I am not certain the direction they were trying to go with it, but I don’t feel as though it was meant to be, at least, primarily homosexual. There are a number of ways to look at it. It also wasn’t as gratuitous as you described.
If that sways you at all. I am trying not to reveal anything that may be unknown prior to watching.
Just as an update - based on your interpretation I went and saw Alien Covenant yesterday and - good grief - the scene I saw on the internet wasn’t even in the movie! Stupid internet! The actual movie scene was no big deal at all - and as you said - was left wide open for interpretation.
What really ended up disappointing me was the over reliance on CGI effects which did not look convincing, combined with some nonsensical scenes which did not match the original Ridley Scott masterpiece.
For example (spoiler) - instead of the traditional snakelike chest burster coming out of a victim, an entirely developed obviously CGI mini-alien comes out? Huh? The little white aliens spawned from spores looked unconvincing and moved so fast I couldn’t follow the action.
I liked the original slow moving alien much better - it moved as if it knew it was so bad-ass it didn’t need to be in a hurry.
As far as the universe of Alien goes, I feel like Ridley Scott is trying to tell a good origin story… but it is at times inconsistent. Some of the new elements added, like David’s role in the rise of Alien, are interesting, but they clash with other established information. The youtube vid from Red Letter Media that Flashman posted does a good job of pointing many of these out.
@Der:
Just as an update - based on your interpretation I went and saw Alien Covenant yesterday and - good grief - the scene I saw on the internet wasn’t even in the movie! Stupid internet!
This problem actually predates the Internet by several decades. Movie trailers produced by the studio itself are (and historically have been) produced before the final cut of the film is completed. As a result, they sometimes contain scenes which end up being chopped out during the editing process. An example is the scene in the Casablanca trailer in which Rick tells Major Strasser, “All right Major, you asked for it” before Rick shoots him. In the actual film, Rick doesn’t say that; the Major draws his gun first, and Rick manages to shoot him before getting shot. (Kind of like the Han Solo / Greedo re-edit in Star Wars.) A variant of this phenemenon involves a trailer using one particular take of a scene and the finished film using a different take. An example would be the sweater scene at the end of the Ed Wood film Glen or Glenda (which is remarkable for the fact that the financially-challenged Ed Wood almost never shot more than one take of anything). In the movie, Delores Fuller takes off her angora sweater and hands it to Ed; in the trailer, she takes it off and tosses it at him. (The scene lighting is also appreciably different in the two takes.)
Or the 2001 Spider Man movie that had Spidey capture a helicopter by spinning a web between the Twin Trade Towers in NY… this was in one of the first teaser trailers… then vanished before the film’s theatrical release.
So in SW R1. A lot of Teaser material simply vanished.
If this is becoming cause, then i would say keep your Trailers, Movie Industry.
Keep it!
Saw Hacksawridge the other day.
It is a good; just not a war movie. I would recommend it worth watching it.
I had to get used, to see Vince Vaughn in combat clothes and helmet nur it was ok.
Too many white people in Dunkirk I hear…
I will see it on the 23rd.
70mm IMAX!
70mm IMAX!
YES! Way to go!
I wish there was an IMAX 70mm playing near me, but there isn’t. Going to have to settle for normal 70mm and hour’s drive to Detroit.
Interstellar was utterly mindblowing in IMAX 70mm when I saw it at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. Never had a theater experience like it. The monumental subject matter helped too. For some reason, the museum is not playing Dunkirk this time.
For some reason, the museum is not playing Dunkirk this time.
:oops:
@wittmann:
I will see it on the 23rd.
I’m looking forward to your review. I’m going to wait to watch the film with Dad.
