First off, I would like to say that I was totally pumped for this movie to come out when I saw the first trailer. As the movie started approaching its release date, a couple of friends and myself decided to watch the Alien series multiple times (yes, I said multiple). The reason we watched these films was (1) to get a feel for Ridley Scott's director capabilities, and (2) because we (or at least I) thought Prometheus was an Alien prequel. So I sat around trying to analyze the trailer for Prometheus inserting my own plot and trying to figure out what was going on. This made the whole process of waiting for the movie totally awesome and fun. However, when the movie came out and we saw it, it became obvious that my preconceived ideas of what was going on weren't necessarily the focus of the film. Which was fine, because I enjoyed what Ridley Scott presented.
Second, I would like to address the plot of the movie and my personal feelings. WATCH OUT, SPOILERS AHEAD. So the movie is focused around archaeologists who find cave paintings that point them in the direction of the stars--specifically one solar system that has a moon which is able to sustain life (this just so happens to be the planet in the Alien movies). So they travel out to this planet in search of answers as to who created humans, and why they were created. As a side note, this sparks some cool discussion with friends and relatives as to what people believe in regards to creation and eternity. Besides this, the movie has an interesting scene where one of the early android models (David 8), asks one of the human characters how far he would go to find out his purpose, to which he replies "as far as I have to" (this is a paraphrase). The android then goes on to ask why it was that the humans created him, to which he replies "because we could," then David says, "how disappointed would you be if your creator said the same thing to you?" I thought that Ridley Scott touched on some good points in this small dialogue, and this could probably be discussed for a long time in retrospect of reality. They then find themselves on the strange world face to face with their creators (a.k.a Engineers). At this point in the movie it feels as though Ridley Scott walked into a brand new house with you (The viewer), and opened every door to every room without showing you what was in them. This move on Ridley's part was I believe intentional, and this is one of the reasons I really liked the movie. Scott brings a whole new level of mystery and wonder to the Alien universe, and you walk away feeling like you know just as much as the scientists who landed on the strange planet. Instead of having the "god perspective" in the movie where you see all the connections and understand everything, Ridley Scott leaves you with a bunch of rabbit holes. Some people might not like this, but I think it is a brilliant move as a Director. Obviously there is much more to be discussed in regards to plot, but to cut things short, the movie has tons of replay value because of the detail and mystery mixed up in the story.
Thirdly, there is the big question looming in everyone's mind (or at least it WAS in mine), is the movie really a prequel to Alien? Yes and no. It is my personal belief that it all takes place in the same universe, and even on the same planet, but not the same scenes. When I say not the same "scenes," I mean that the ship that the scientists find looks the same as the ship in Alien and Aliens, but it is not. I believe it is another ship entirely and these are my reasons: (1) There are tons of dead Engineers on the ship in Prometheus that are nowhere to be found in Alien; (2) There is the Space-Jockey manning the ship in Alien that has his stomach burst, but in Prometheus the Space-Jockey leaves the ship and dies; (3) David (the Android) says that there are other ships on the planet, which gives me the impression that this ship is an entirely different one than the ship seen in Alien. Not only all these reasons, but the Alien that comes out of the Space-Jockey at the end of Prometheus looks different from the other Xenomorphs (Aliens), in Alien and Aliens. What is different you ask? (1) The Alien that comes out of the Space-Jockey has no tail, which all other Aliens do; (2) The Alien has a different mouth feature than other Aliens. Again, this is my personal opinion, and you can disagree, but I do not believe Ridley Scott is a stupid director who would allow for there to be plot holes between his movies that are so blatant. I believe that Ridley has put the plot together so well, that people walk away wondering what just happened. I think this is re-enforced by the fact that many people on facebook say that the movie is better the second time they watch it. Why? Because they understand more of the plot that they missed the first time they saw it.
Anyway, these are a few of my thoughts on the movie Prometheus. Let me know what you think, and what your personal opinions on the movie were.
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