What I hated the most about this movie was how the whole concept was wasted with very lazy character writing. In Alien the characters are in concept "Space Truckers", they are just normal people and not especially heroic or intelligent or talented or cowardly; they are just normal people. They feel like normal people, but they aren't stupid. In the end, the crew in Alien gets killed in part due to sabotage. Some bad decisions are made, but they are understandable and relatable. I contrast, I feel like the crew in Prometheus, despite being professional academic geniuses, would have gotten themselves killed through pure stupidity and immaturity even if there was no hostile alien. It ruins the tone of the film. I feel like Prometheus should have been more like... a cross between Alien and The Andromeda Strain. A puzzling mystery to solve, the stakes and danger slowly building and not becoming evident until the final act.
You are objectively wrong tho. In Prometheus all protagonists have a clear agency and internal motivation and well characterized dynamics to describe them(teleological framework vs nihilism vs toxic ambition vs scientific realism). All character motivations are explored through character dynamics and expanded upon using the actual plot and internal struggle which is pretty rare. In Alien none of the characters have any agency nor do they have motivation except for getting home and not wanting to be part of the mission in the first place. The only character with agency is Ash and literally nothing would happen without Ash deceiving and gaslighting everyone.
Just listening to your video, and hearing you say "the problem isn't that Fifield gets lot, but that he isn't given a good reason to get lost" it hit me, its really esy to fix that. Simply, David sabotages his map to deliberately lead them somewhere in the ship where he knows they will get infected. Just as he infects Holloway, he sets up milburn and fifield, he didn't originally set them up to get lost, but once they were, he tampers with their map so that they go somehwere dangerous. Boom, done. On the subject of deleting vickers, I submit that instead of Guy pearse in old man makeup, have vickers BE that character, a tough as nails CEO who is searching for immortality, but isn't old, she can still have the scene with david, but not hate him because hes the "son" her father wanted, but simply because she's a powerful person who is used to having people obvey her and threatening them to comply.
This video sums up how there was very nearly a sci-if classic with Prometheus but it fell just short due to everything you’ve stated. This is the most frustrating thing about it: it’s so close to greatness you can almost touch it. Still, it’s my third favourite Alien film due to how beautiful it looks and the risks it took.
Great Video. My only issue is you briefly mention that she dreamed in third person, but I often remember my dreams after the fact as if they were in third person.
Came here to say this, even when lucid dreaming I see myself in third person. The only first person POV dream I even remember is when I got stabbed in the heart by a king and someone else
I started watching, thinking, ah this guy doesn't know what he's talking about, then by the end, I'm thinking that this guy knows exactly what he's talking about and makes a lot of sense.
I remember when I watched this movie for the first time and reached a point, maybe halfway through the film, when I knew it wouldn't be able to land on its feet. I couldn't put my finger on why, but I think you did, here. Your version of the movie is fantastic. Hollywood needs to hire you and the person who re-edited Raising Cain!
Yea you can tell it gets in too deep with itself. And that it wouldn't be able to deliver on its ambitious promises. That's why so many questions were left unanswered
I don't understand why the algorithm leaves your channel in shadows. I have just watched three of your videos - all of them of outstanding production quality.
I was enjoying Prometheus until I found out it was a prequel to Alien, then it was like this makes no sense to me! But still a decent watch on a rainy day.
@@theorixlux I do that all the time too. This morning I had dream about these characters fighting from the perspective of me watching a movie about them. I think that counts.
Two words....Damon Lindelof. People reacted to Dan and Dave like it didn't happen just a handful lf years eariler to LOST. To be fair to the geneder dichotomy of how one reacts to medical issue, their two reactions somewhat checks out based on my experience.
It seems that so many prequels went into pitfalls that are 1. The story became so convoluted that it’s unbelievable that it can be resolved and the resolution ended up contradicting with things in the original continuity. 2. So many original continuity characters popping up in the prequel means it’s hard to raise the stakes because we all know these characters won’t die for the time being and most of the time, they survived ridiculously dangerous situations thanks to plot armor and plot armor alone. For example, in some case, a hero had a golden opportunity to kill the villain but since the villain shows up in the OG while the hero didn’t, the hero had to do something very stupid and out of character so that they will fail or die in the process. In my opinion, the good prequels are Andor season 1, House of the Dragon season 1, Better Call Saul and Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal (Some said Red Dead Redemption 2 as well but I have never played that). The latter two works the same way by being the prequel that give the answer to the questions in the OG and set up the payoff in the sequel. Revenge of the Sith is decent but not “good” good but the rest of prequel media kinda sh*t the bed.
Nice analysis. To me, though, the insolent lack of answers to questions that the movie itself pushes in my face is the clear winner of the competition for this film's most aggravating problem.
I think the biggest problem is how willing educated scientists were willing to put themselves into danger on an Alien planet. I myself, a regular dumb dude, wouldn't even get close to being as stupid as they were.
I find this video a particular exquisite analysis, because in filmmaking you have to consider what is necessary to make a movie good and most of the time the filmmakers can't tell if it's good, how good or why it's so good. There are movies that can have bad writing, bad acting, bad everything and still come off as good in the end product. Multiple movies have been saved by one element throughout the movie, be it music, character or just editing, what matters is the good outweigh the bad, and that's what most movies miss, this being one of them. The movie starts rough with a tough premise, which is sci-fi horror and drama, but it doesn't have enough to fulfill it, so it already fails at that. Then it bumbles around with weak development, poor structuring and downright embarrassing moments, so it doesn't even manage to take off as it goes on. The end is just everyone giving up on whatever was left, with no payoff or surprises to compensate the rest, so it just crashes entirely without even trying to stick to its own logic. The worst is that it tries to imply so hard on mysteries and that you have to take your own conclusions, but it's done in the worst way possible, where the mysteries aren't that interesting, much less is the experience, and even less so are the answers. Everything is too superficial, with the Engineer literally beating you in the head with it like "You get it? It's supposed to mean something! This is genius!", as if it was some epic story. It could've been one, but it wasn't. It's a movie that comes off as insulting. It calls film fans idiots, it calls sci-fi horror fans idiots, it calls the franchise fans idiots. Hell, it calls even its own fans idiots. One thing is to be subversive while having an innovation, another is to patronize your audience and throw homework on our lap to make their movie make sense. Unfortunately, this a movie that would require an overhaul, because it's beyond fixing. It would need a completely different script for starters, a trimming of 90% of the characters, someone that knows how to make good movies and someone that actually loves 'Alien'.
Wow your approach to rehabilitating this was methodical and surgical, just incredible 😭 Pls recommend us books to learn how to analyze, edit & critique media like this.
Wait, how does this only have 493 views? I seriously thought it was one of those millions subscriber channels. Though, I actually found your analysis better than most of those channels', less pretentious and more logical, even though I might not agree with everything.
Excellent analysis and exactly what I felt was wrong with the movie! I remember being so gripped by the main premise set up in the first 20 minutes of the movie, I kept wanting the movie to stay with it rather than straying to all these other poorly developed characters
Late to the party here but this film was excruciatingly frustrating to watch. It almost felt like than rather not providing sufficient justifications as to why events happen or why the characters make certain decisions it’s almost like the film had little of anything to intimate to the viewer. I suppose the “worthy” will get it right? The ambiguitous infection of this film was quite severe. You could even keep the crap subplots if you kept the scene with Weyland and the Engineer as exactly as you described. Especially frustrating were the characters which (there were way, way too many of) were almost like cardboard cut outs of stereotypical roles from the ACME Sci-Fi cupboard rather than thinking, feeling, people. Your video was good though!
Very interesting analysis and i would really like to see the 'fixed version' 🤩 But on the topic of stupidity: I am baffled that a lot of people (even very thorough critics) miss the point, that Fifield and Millburn get *crazy stoned* ! While that doesn't explain why the get lost it really DOES explain Millburns reckless behaviour regarding the 'snake' (which is the biggest complaint about the movie ... besides Vickers ending). 😲😲 The smoking part isn't particularly flashed out, but shown and more: The effect (esp. on Millburn - which didn't bring in the stuff) is clearly seen even before the snake. Another point (here & in Covenant e.g. taking off helmets) is that 'reliance on machinery/sensors/gadgets' is not stupidity but things we are very used to. Shure - i wouldn't trust technology made in 2024 (and for earth) to be reliable on a different planet 300 years ago. But why not trust space exploration technology made then (at a time where space exploration is basically standard)?
14:03 Good video overall but you're just plain wrong here, the flute actually makes perfect sense. The engineers, or handsome-squidwardians as they are known on their home world (LV-122 of the Conch Streeticuli system), are known to be ardent players of wind instruments such as clarinets and flutes. Its part of their unique culture and i personally think its great world building. While this is not shown directly in the movie, it is prominently featured in the supplemental material Aliens: Battle of Bikini Bottom. (this is confirmed canon by Ridley)
That's interesting. I don't think I've seen the xtra stuff you're talking about. Still I'm not sure if that means the flute makes "perfect" sense. Music plays a major role in human culture but that doesn't mean it's how we start the space shuttle;-)
Even though I know making cosmic horror movies are really hard I was still very upset when I watched this movie, it really went under the expectations. Though it still won't be a great movie, with your changes it would at least be more enjoyable. From now on when I think of this movie I will imagine your version as if it is canon 😂
Well, you make good points... Your changes would have improved the movie, but then again, there was just so much wrong with the movie, ANY changes would've been an improvement. I was personally hoping for a truly alien/foreign experience... Cthulu in space kinda thing. Having the engineers look like humans and tying then to life in Earth just destroys any semblance to cosmic horror
My modern test for a good movie is whether I will itch for my phone or not. Prometheus kept me captivated while most movies fail. I was just watching Breach 2020 and Skylines 2020, and both were terrible space movies. So much so, I turned to Prometheus for something actually well-made and interesting.
Yeah man exactly. That's the problem with other films these days. They stick to the same old concepts. Prometheus tried something new, while still being connected to a previously established franchise (Alien) but the fans at the time didn't like this film. Due to two reasons 1) It was a prequel (At the time prequels weren't really good like Star Wars for example) And 2) People didn't like that this was how the Xenomorphs, Chest bursters, etc were created. Due to it trying something new. Now people are tired of the same film concepts. Make up your minds people! 😁
@@sam1am_30 I agree. Personally I was shocked at the end of second pre-prequel when it turns out that the insane robot is the one who engineered the egg-shaped alien pod. The one which delivers a springing crab-snake which lays an egg in you. Now I have a timeline. I am not sure why people hated the 3rd Alien movie from the original series - the prison planet. I watched it again 2 years ago and it was better than first time I watched it as a kid.
@@Ash_G I don't mean to be mean to your opinion, but Alien ³ us my most hated movie of all time. I do like it. There is no Alien movie that I say is "All that sucks". But they killed off Newt and Hicks. They got rid of the victory that we felt in Aliens. They got rid of some of the best characters in the series, just for shock value. (Also, cause they didn't want to pay Michael Beihn and Newt). The plot it's self sounds oke. Ripley stuck in a prison sounds interesting. The execution is 💩 But there are a few scenes that actually do like. Heck I wouldn't even mind if they left Hick and Newt alive, but still stayed on the prison. If Hicks still died in Alien 3, but in a different way (Sacrificing himself to save Ripley, or doing the same thing that Vasquez did in Aliens) I would not mind. Just don't kill him in a stupid way. Newt in the other hand. Still could've lived. They could've done this. Ripley and Newt live. But only Ripley is released out of the pod. Newt stays in it for the whole film. And towards the end a line is said by a officer or prisoner that goes like this "Were keeping the girl in there, so that later the federals can pick her up". Later when Ripley dies and falls in the lava. It can zoom in on the pod and then Ripley dies. Not saying that your opinion sucks or that the movie is bad, cause it does have some scenes I do like, but I'm just saying what they could've done better or different.
@@sam1am_30 I feel old when I read your enthusiastic reply. All I know about "movie watching" is that certain _conditions_ must be met for you to enjoy or dislike them. I didn't like Alien 3 at first, it was okay. But 15 years later as I sat alone after dinner and wondered what I could possibly watch during cold London winter, and there it was Alien 3. I like the prison planet aspect and how they could possibly fight it off. Alien 2 was just a military op to me. Being a Red Alert and StarCraft fan, I enjoyed the "man Vs aliens" aspect only.
Just found your channel and I'm now binge-watching all your videos. Once I'm done I'll have to go back and read through my own scripts to see if I'm making some of these mistakes!
I know this is years late, but you my friend, are a genius. I kept thinking throughout the entire film that if they just got rid of all of these silly sub plots (If Charlize Theron can't make a character interesting no one can), remove the over-explained dialogue and made some characters less stupid, it would be so much stronger. Wonderful analysis!
The real problem was that a pretty solid script (originally written by Jon Spaihts) was reworked by Damon Lindelof, who did a particularly bad job at it. Inconsistency, dumb behavior and lack of reason in plenty of scenes were in fact senseless additions and changes. I don't know if it was made intentionally to reflect some of Ridley Scott's ideas, but the movie would be much, much better without these alterations.
I absolutely love your take. Reduce the subplot, tighten the script, and everything else falls into place. Watching your other videos, you've got some great insights overall. Something I want to add though, particularly about this movie, is that most people (who like Prometheus) when they review this movie always like to make a big deal about how the engineer wanted to kill its creation, and how that's really profound and all that crap. (Even the people who hate the movie will usually comment on it in some form.) I'm glad you didn't bring it up though. Mostly because it is isn't important to the actual plot of the movie, but more importantly those people who do bring it up always forget the obvious fact that this is the last remaining engineer on a deserted planet. Everyone is so busy attributing this one man as being the spokesperson for his entire race, that they overlook the fact that he was clearly left behind. It's like watching Lexx and thinking Poet Man is a perfect example of a Brunnen-G.
I always feel sad as this movie has awesome things to work out with and didn't reach its full potential. Even with this drawbacks, the movie is still worth watching.
My biggest gripe is the unexplored and unanswered questions with the engineers. After cutting the extra subplots, they could have added an entire scene to answer questions and develop the character/moral motivations and species of the engineers to set up for a follow up movie. Instead they had the engineer lash out and went straight into the final act. With all the extra time they could have had a better dialog scene where the humans all come up with a way to convince the engineer not to destroy humanity and work together to solve the bigger issue where the engineer can introduce himself and explain his situation instead of being a stoic alien with no emotion. It would be a great opportunity to introduce their culture, technology, and motivations, and an additional engineer character could be reanimated to serve as the 'hidden' antagonist for another movie about stopping humanity from being destroyed. The humans would save the 'good engineer' from the 'bad engineer' in the climax of this film and the movie could end with them sailing away in space with the good engineer set on creating a plan to save the engineer race and humanity against the, temporarily subdued 'bad engineer' using crazy technology or alien booby traps to try and stop and fight each other as they make there escape, until the next film. This film should have left us yearning for more answers and excited to go on a deeper adventure, but with a stronger hope that we would get the answers eventually. This film shuts the door completely and unnecessarily which was very dissatisfying.
The scene with the worm in Charlie’s eye could work as long as HE doesn’t see it. Have a shot of his face, we see the worm twitch in his eye and he feels it, but when he rushes to the mirror it’s not visible. Then Charlie can dismiss it as a random twinge, while the viewers know he’s infected.
Nope. Just watched it again. He's looking in the mirror when the worm crawls out. And even if he didn't get a good look at it the fact that he's on an alien planet and he's sick should be enough for him to seek medical attention.
I think something that gets missed is that in the lame dialogue of a tacked on scene they really push how important it was to the dude with the eye worms to make first contact. Like mutiny level. I didn't catch it until I rewatched with subtitles after watching this video. That explains it a little better.
Look, the real problem with Prometheus is that Damon Lindelof was involved in any way with the writing. That dope was responsible for LOST, which on one level seemed great because I like the dichotomy of science vs. faith (a prominent feature of Prometheus), but Lindelof is so busy getting high on his own farts that he just throws crap against the wall and never looks to see if it sticks. I never dreamed when I initially got interested in LOST that there wasn't some "plan" to tie all this crap together. Isn't that your job as a writer? "What would you say you do here, Damon?" Oooh! Smoke monster! Polar bears!! Numerology! Magnetic island!!!! Whooo!!!! Nope. No plan. No thought. No message. Let's just film Evangeline Lilly and Josh Holloway half naked in Hawaii. Great!! That's a wrap! Now let's go see if we leech ourselves onto some real talent like Ridley Scott, Idris Elba, Charlize Theron, and Michael Fassbender and see how we can totally screw up what should have been a masterpiece. Prometheus was **FILMED** beautifully! It looked __GOOD__!!! I *love* watching that scene where they are leaving space to land on the planet. David was super interesting. The crew came prepared to explore -- vehicles, equipment, etc. -- and they just blow it with Damon Lindelof as a writer. Looking through Lindelof's credits, I see he was also a writer for "Cowboys & Aliens", another subpar movie that wasted Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford for gawd's sake. Nice to know though that if I ever get sick of my regular job, I can always get a job as a writer in Hollywood, since this numbskull continues to get writing gigs... I'm telling you, the only problem with Prometheus is that they let Damon Lindelof touch the script. Send that dude to Siberia, trade him for Even Gershkovich or something and let Putin torture the crap out of Lindelof until he comes up with a coherent working reason for all the crap he threw into LOST. I'm very mad about LOST, if you can't tell. No plan. Make up $#@& with no reason. Sprinkle some religious stuff around. There isn't a Russian jail harsh enough for Damon Lindelof.
I really enjoyed your analysis and proscriptions but, for good or ill, I think it's a well-established conceit throughout film/TV history that the dreamer is seen in the dream by the audience.
I would say the problem with this movie is the excesive amount of symbolisms and not all viewers will grasp all of them. That left me wondering what they were supposed to mean a few times.
IOW, people need to stop using Lindeloff for basically anything - there is very little he is attached to that doesn't have massive issues. I guess if anything he partially did turned out good, the other person got to override him - like a Lucas & Spielberg thing.
This is the second video of yours I've watched, and dear god you are so correct about everything. You share my perspective nearly perfectly, but your capacity to express it both eloquently and succinctly exceeds my own. I admit some degree of my enjoyment in watching is coming directly from seeing my own perspective mirrored, but damn, in this world, that has always felt so rare. There are plenty of people on RUclips that I "like and agree with"...... but never have I encountered someone who so precisely expresses my own opinions and sentiments. And I will freely admit that I had not put the degree of thought you have into this film, and you made a number of points that had never entered my mind.... but still, this is as close as something can possibly be to feeling like I'm encountering my long-lost twin. Perhaps that may be an excessive and overly sentimental statement that sounds ridiculous, but it is how your perspective makes me feel.
I can't help but think the word...Wrong. This is of course because in a prequel you create a dawn of a story(or shed light upon a previous work much like a backstory(gives reason)). To introduce more questions than originally asked is perhaps a way for future growth, but it also has the side effect of making anything beyond seem trivial and anything happening seem duh
Great analysis. I think you are spot on. I also think the whole “who are the engineers” thing is just not a big enough driver for an exciting story - I mean,who cares, really? With a monster movie it’s obvious where the excitement comes from - not with this philosophical rubbish. I remember watching this film and feeling so disappointed - I also hated the blue-black-grey colour scheme - it just added to the tedium - I never felt they were actually in space or on a planet.
DaveScripted I’m sure these videos take a ton of work, so I’m sure it’s more than laziness! I subscribed, hopefully, you’ll have the time and the inspiration to make more! :)
Honestly my favorite part about Prometheus is that some guy wrote a fake script where Engineer explains that the reason it's trying to destroy humanity is because we killed Jesus and even though that idea is so totally disconnected from anything even remotely resembling a reasonable plot point people still defend the fake script to this very day.
Your comments and exclamations are dead on! I love this movie and I hate it. I sense that you are much like me and feel the same. What’s funny to me, is that I find myself watching the damn movie again and again! I try to just laugh at the absolute stupid parts and be fully entertained bye the brilliant scenes. I was surprised you didn’t mention how silly it was for poor little Dr Shaw to take it so personal that she couldn’t have a baby; and how could Charlene minimize the magic of creating life? His comment went something like “well, but we do know now, it’s all you need is a little dash of DNA and a little of this and presto, like it’s nothing; life is created. All while she’s crying and pouting like a nine-year-old girl. Not this super scientist that she is playing. I find myself trying to figure out why I keep coming back to it. What the hell is it about this movie {with all of it’s insanely annoying parts), That keeps bringing me back? and why in the hell is there such a shortage of good films in this genre. Take the movie, signs. Low budget film that had a good story telling, tight dialog and great acting. I spent decades writing and directing commercials. Make me want to try and make a low budget film. But I’m too sick and old now. You sound so incredibly knowledgeable. Are you in the industry? Educate me why there aren’t more films like this? That movie “Signs” was about aliens invading our world and the producers and director. Pulled it off! And couldn’t have been some huge crazy budget film. I can’t help thinking there’s got to be loads of people who could do it? What’s the scoop? And thank you for your wonderful critique. I will be back looking for more. You won me over, brother!
I love Signs! It's my favorite M Knight movie! I'm just a fan so don't know why the sci fi genre seems lacking especially the big Hollywood movies. But there has to be good ones out there too. I thought Prospect was a good low budget one that didn't get much attention. And thanks! 🙏
What I don't like about Prometheus is what David did when he fiddled with the black goo. A better name for David would be Dick, because he effed-up everything.
Good points, but some I disagree with. More of the dumb characters could have been written better, and less of why the alien use a flute in their technology. I know people love Alien, but even I see issues with that film, and it's still well made, so I don't see why people hated this film so much? I guess it didn't live up to what people wanted.
I'm sorry, Ellie is not smart. She is supposedly a scientist and says "I choose to believe". This is the antithesis of science, *and* of being smart. Also aside from that, she's sleeping with that petulant little shit boyfriend. Thankfully after he gets himself killed she starts thinking a little more rationally, seeing how quickly infection can lead to a painful death. I'll give you that at least; she had major courage to surgically remove the alien baby. Still, she's also very whiny, shrieks too much, and is a pale comparison to Ripley.
Bloated script, poorly edited, too many characters, not enough character development, terrible dialogue. I mean really almost everything except cinematography. Besides- the sequel utterly annihilates THIS film just by existing.
2:12 As to why the Engineers left maps.... Why do you assume that the 'Engineers' made those crude cave drawings? Has it occurred to you that Shaw's assumption is incorrect? It will always be frustrating to find no answer, if you have asked the wrong question. Instead ask a different question. Is Shaw correct to assume that the cave drawings were made by the Engineers, rather than by cave dwelling humans who witnesses the Engineers showing a hologram to members of the tribe? Are the crew of _Prometheus_ the first humans to set foot on LV 223? Isn't it convenient that there is breathable air in the dome all the way from the cargo hold of the ship to the chamber full of urns. Did we just watch the result of the protagonist being 100% certain in their assumptions, while also being wrong.... leading to the death of almost every character. They arrived on a Moon where there was no hostile threat aware of their arrival. They rushed in, and set off the chain of events whereby they got themselves killed. They missed out on evidence that painted an entirely different scenario of what they had found. Shaw thinks she found the origin of humanity, as her religious beliefs lead her to place humans as a central purpose of creation... and again as a _target_ when she has a knee jerk change of assumption, and jumps from thinking about the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelations. She never contemplates that humans may be caught up in this scenario in any other capacity. They can be the creation, or the target,... but not _raw material_ . You say "Franken monster" .... but this was "Frankenstein in space" . The map is from a 1950s UFO abduction story that ties into the location of the original _Alien_ movie. The Engineers are like _Igor_ going to Earth to fetch more bodies for the lab. Weyland is like Dr. Frankenstein in creating David, as David will be Dr. Frankenstein in the sequel. Who ever is in charge of the 'Engineers' is the unseen Dr. Frankenstein of this story. There's even a visual reference where Shaw tries to reanimate the head using a jolt of electricity. Also, the title "Prometheus" is linked to Mary Shelley's full title for her 1818 book "Frankenstein : The Modern Prometheus" .
Get rid of Vickers? No way!She’s awesome, it’s intriguing just to wonder if she is a robot. Worm in the eye is really cool - he just assumed it must have been imaginary Everyone hates way too hard on this film
People are dumb, that's why. Then when they get what they deserve like trash modern movie they still complain and wonder why hollywood is getting worse.
What I hated the most about this movie was how the whole concept was wasted with very lazy character writing. In Alien the characters are in concept "Space Truckers", they are just normal people and not especially heroic or intelligent or talented or cowardly; they are just normal people. They feel like normal people, but they aren't stupid. In the end, the crew in Alien gets killed in part due to sabotage. Some bad decisions are made, but they are understandable and relatable. I contrast, I feel like the crew in Prometheus, despite being professional academic geniuses, would have gotten themselves killed through pure stupidity and immaturity even if there was no hostile alien. It ruins the tone of the film. I feel like Prometheus should have been more like... a cross between Alien and The Andromeda Strain. A puzzling mystery to solve, the stakes and danger slowly building and not becoming evident until the final act.
You are objectively wrong tho. In Prometheus all protagonists have a clear agency and internal motivation and well characterized dynamics to describe them(teleological framework vs nihilism vs toxic ambition vs scientific realism). All character motivations are explored through character dynamics and expanded upon using the actual plot and internal struggle which is pretty rare. In Alien none of the characters have any agency nor do they have motivation except for getting home and not wanting to be part of the mission in the first place. The only character with agency is Ash and literally nothing would happen without Ash deceiving and gaslighting everyone.
@@NoOne-uh9vu You are full of crap
Just listening to your video, and hearing you say "the problem isn't that Fifield gets lot, but that he isn't given a good reason to get lost" it hit me, its really esy to fix that. Simply, David sabotages his map to deliberately lead them somewhere in the ship where he knows they will get infected.
Just as he infects Holloway, he sets up milburn and fifield, he didn't originally set them up to get lost, but once they were, he tampers with their map so that they go somehwere dangerous. Boom, done.
On the subject of deleting vickers, I submit that instead of Guy pearse in old man makeup, have vickers BE that character, a tough as nails CEO who is searching for immortality, but isn't old, she can still have the scene with david, but not hate him because hes the "son" her father wanted, but simply because she's a powerful person who is used to having people obvey her and threatening them to comply.
This video sums up how there was very nearly a sci-if classic with Prometheus but it fell just short due to everything you’ve stated. This is the most frustrating thing about it: it’s so close to greatness you can almost touch it. Still, it’s my third favourite Alien film due to how beautiful it looks and the risks it took.
Great Video. My only issue is you briefly mention that she dreamed in third person, but I often remember my dreams after the fact as if they were in third person.
Same! Often i will switch POVs while still in the dream
Came here to say this, even when lucid dreaming I see myself in third person. The only first person POV dream I even remember is when I got stabbed in the heart by a king and someone else
I started watching, thinking, ah this guy doesn't know what he's talking about, then by the end, I'm thinking that this guy knows exactly what he's talking about and makes a lot of sense.
🙏
I remember when I watched this movie for the first time and reached a point, maybe halfway through the film, when I knew it wouldn't be able to land on its feet. I couldn't put my finger on why, but I think you did, here. Your version of the movie is fantastic. Hollywood needs to hire you and the person who re-edited Raising Cain!
Yea you can tell it gets in too deep with itself. And that it wouldn't be able to deliver on its ambitious promises. That's why so many questions were left unanswered
I don't understand why the algorithm leaves your channel in shadows. I have just watched three of your videos - all of them of outstanding production quality.
Luckily the algorithm recommended this channel to me and now I love it
I was enjoying Prometheus until I found out it was a prequel to Alien, then it was like this makes no sense to me! But still a decent watch on a rainy day.
Y'all don't dream in the third person?
I only dream in the second person
@@theorixlux I do that all the time too. This morning I had dream about these characters fighting from the perspective of me watching a movie about them. I think that counts.
I dream in forth person; I control myself as I watch myself from the perspective of someone else.
Two words....Damon Lindelof. People reacted to Dan and Dave like it didn't happen just a handful lf years eariler to LOST.
To be fair to the geneder dichotomy of how one reacts to medical issue, their two reactions somewhat checks out based on my experience.
Binging all your videos because THEYRE JUST SO GOOD, you really deserve more views.
THX!! 🙏You just made my day!
It seems that so many prequels went into pitfalls that are
1. The story became so convoluted that it’s unbelievable that it can be resolved and the resolution ended up contradicting with things in the original continuity.
2. So many original continuity characters popping up in the prequel means it’s hard to raise the stakes because we all know these characters won’t die for the time being and most of the time, they survived ridiculously dangerous situations thanks to plot armor and plot armor alone. For example, in some case, a hero had a golden opportunity to kill the villain but since the villain shows up in the OG while the hero didn’t, the hero had to do something very stupid and out of character so that they will fail or die in the process.
In my opinion, the good prequels are Andor season 1, House of the Dragon season 1, Better Call Saul and Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal (Some said Red Dead Redemption 2 as well but I have never played that). The latter two works the same way by being the prequel that give the answer to the questions in the OG and set up the payoff in the sequel.
Revenge of the Sith is decent but not “good” good but the rest of prequel media kinda sh*t the bed.
Nice analysis.
To me, though, the insolent lack of answers to questions that the movie itself pushes in my face is the clear winner of the competition for this film's most aggravating problem.
highly underrated video - great work!
I think the biggest problem is how willing educated scientists were willing to put themselves into danger on an Alien planet. I myself, a regular dumb dude, wouldn't even get close to being as stupid as they were.
The studios should send their rough drafts to video essay youtubers to find flaws in order to solve major issues. Why dont they do this?
I'm available ;-)
I find this video a particular exquisite analysis, because in filmmaking you have to consider what is necessary to make a movie good and most of the time the filmmakers can't tell if it's good, how good or why it's so good.
There are movies that can have bad writing, bad acting, bad everything and still come off as good in the end product. Multiple movies have been saved by one element throughout the movie, be it music, character or just editing, what matters is the good outweigh the bad, and that's what most movies miss, this being one of them.
The movie starts rough with a tough premise, which is sci-fi horror and drama, but it doesn't have enough to fulfill it, so it already fails at that. Then it bumbles around with weak development, poor structuring and downright embarrassing moments, so it doesn't even manage to take off as it goes on. The end is just everyone giving up on whatever was left, with no payoff or surprises to compensate the rest, so it just crashes entirely without even trying to stick to its own logic.
The worst is that it tries to imply so hard on mysteries and that you have to take your own conclusions, but it's done in the worst way possible, where the mysteries aren't that interesting, much less is the experience, and even less so are the answers.
Everything is too superficial, with the Engineer literally beating you in the head with it like "You get it? It's supposed to mean something! This is genius!", as if it was some epic story. It could've been one, but it wasn't.
It's a movie that comes off as insulting. It calls film fans idiots, it calls sci-fi horror fans idiots, it calls the franchise fans idiots. Hell, it calls even its own fans idiots. One thing is to be subversive while having an innovation, another is to patronize your audience and throw homework on our lap to make their movie make sense.
Unfortunately, this a movie that would require an overhaul, because it's beyond fixing. It would need a completely different script for starters, a trimming of 90% of the characters, someone that knows how to make good movies and someone that actually loves 'Alien'.
Wow your approach to rehabilitating this was methodical and surgical, just incredible 😭
Pls recommend us books to learn how to analyze, edit & critique media like this.
Thx! Two I recommend are John Yorke's Into the Woods and Phillup Pullman's Daemon Voices.
Wait, how does this only have 493 views? I seriously thought it was one of those millions subscriber channels. Though, I actually found your analysis better than most of those channels', less pretentious and more logical, even though I might not agree with everything.
THX!!! 🙏
Absolutely. His Channel is on Cosmonaut Variety Hour Level 🎥
Excellent analysis and exactly what I felt was wrong with the movie! I remember being so gripped by the main premise set up in the first 20 minutes of the movie, I kept wanting the movie to stay with it rather than straying to all these other poorly developed characters
Such a waste of money, the writers really took a bomb here
Late to the party here but this film was excruciatingly frustrating to watch.
It almost felt like than rather not providing sufficient justifications as to why events happen or why the characters make certain decisions it’s almost like the film had little of anything to intimate to the viewer. I suppose the “worthy” will get it right? The ambiguitous infection of this film was quite severe.
You could even keep the crap subplots if you kept the scene with Weyland and the Engineer as exactly as you described.
Especially frustrating were the characters which (there were way, way too many of) were almost like cardboard cut outs of stereotypical roles from the ACME Sci-Fi cupboard rather than thinking, feeling, people.
Your video was good though!
Very interesting analysis and i would really like to see the 'fixed version' 🤩
But on the topic of stupidity: I am baffled that a lot of people (even very thorough critics) miss the point, that Fifield and Millburn get *crazy stoned* !
While that doesn't explain why the get lost it really DOES explain Millburns reckless behaviour regarding the 'snake' (which is the biggest complaint about the movie ... besides Vickers ending).
😲😲
The smoking part isn't particularly flashed out, but shown and more: The effect (esp. on Millburn - which didn't bring in the stuff) is clearly seen even before the snake.
Another point (here & in Covenant e.g. taking off helmets) is that 'reliance on machinery/sensors/gadgets' is not stupidity but things we are very used to.
Shure - i wouldn't trust technology made in 2024 (and for earth) to be reliable on a different planet 300 years ago. But why not trust space exploration technology made then (at a time where space exploration is basically standard)?
14:03 Good video overall but you're just plain wrong here, the flute actually makes perfect sense. The engineers, or handsome-squidwardians as they are known on their home world (LV-122 of the Conch Streeticuli system), are known to be ardent players of wind instruments such as clarinets and flutes. Its part of their unique culture and i personally think its great world building. While this is not shown directly in the movie, it is prominently featured in the supplemental material Aliens: Battle of Bikini Bottom. (this is confirmed canon by Ridley)
That's interesting. I don't think I've seen the xtra stuff you're talking about. Still I'm not sure if that means the flute makes "perfect" sense. Music plays a major role in human culture but that doesn't mean it's how we start the space shuttle;-)
I believe on this
riddley scott should not touch sci-fi anymore
Even though I know making cosmic horror movies are really hard I was still very upset when I watched this movie, it really went under the expectations. Though it still won't be a great movie, with your changes it would at least be more enjoyable. From now on when I think of this movie I will imagine your version as if it is canon 😂
Your analysis of Prometheus matched my own - I thought It lacked focus due to those very reasons.
You know what they say about great minds ;-)
Well, you make good points... Your changes would have improved the movie, but then again, there was just so much wrong with the movie, ANY changes would've been an improvement.
I was personally hoping for a truly alien/foreign experience... Cthulu in space kinda thing. Having the engineers look like humans and tying then to life in Earth just destroys any semblance to cosmic horror
A trick : watch series at flixzone. Me and my gf have been using it for watching a lot of movies lately.
@Iker Jimmy Definitely, have been using Flixzone for since november myself :)
@Iker Jimmy yup, have been watching on Flixzone for since november myself :D
@Iker Jimmy yea, I have been using Flixzone for since december myself :)
@@ikerjimmy2696 isn't flixzone the one that was implicated in installing malware?
My modern test for a good movie is whether I will itch for my phone or not. Prometheus kept me captivated while most movies fail.
I was just watching Breach 2020 and Skylines 2020, and both were terrible space movies. So much so, I turned to Prometheus for something actually well-made and interesting.
Yeah man exactly. That's the problem with other films these days. They stick to the same old concepts. Prometheus tried something new, while still being connected to a previously established franchise (Alien) but the fans at the time didn't like this film. Due to two reasons 1) It was a prequel (At the time prequels weren't really good like Star Wars for example)
And 2) People didn't like that this was how the Xenomorphs, Chest bursters, etc were created. Due to it trying something new. Now people are tired of the same film concepts. Make up your minds people! 😁
@@sam1am_30 I agree. Personally I was shocked at the end of second pre-prequel when it turns out that the insane robot is the one who engineered the egg-shaped alien pod. The one which delivers a springing crab-snake which lays an egg in you. Now I have a timeline.
I am not sure why people hated the 3rd Alien movie from the original series - the prison planet. I watched it again 2 years ago and it was better than first time I watched it as a kid.
@@Ash_G I don't mean to be mean to your opinion, but Alien ³ us my most hated movie of all time. I do like it. There is no Alien movie that I say is "All that sucks". But they killed off Newt and Hicks. They got rid of the victory that we felt in Aliens. They got rid of some of the best characters in the series, just for shock value. (Also, cause they didn't want to pay Michael Beihn and Newt). The plot it's self sounds oke. Ripley stuck in a prison sounds interesting. The execution is 💩 But there are a few scenes that actually do like. Heck I wouldn't even mind if they left Hick and Newt alive, but still stayed on the prison. If Hicks still died in Alien 3, but in a different way (Sacrificing himself to save Ripley, or doing the same thing that Vasquez did in Aliens) I would not mind. Just don't kill him in a stupid way. Newt in the other hand. Still could've lived. They could've done this. Ripley and Newt live. But only Ripley is released out of the pod. Newt stays in it for the whole film. And towards the end a line is said by a officer or prisoner that goes like this "Were keeping the girl in there, so that later the federals can pick her up". Later when Ripley dies and falls in the lava. It can zoom in on the pod and then Ripley dies. Not saying that your opinion sucks or that the movie is bad, cause it does have some scenes I do like, but I'm just saying what they could've done better or different.
@@sam1am_30 I feel old when I read your enthusiastic reply. All I know about "movie watching" is that certain _conditions_ must be met for you to enjoy or dislike them.
I didn't like Alien 3 at first, it was okay. But 15 years later as I sat alone after dinner and wondered what I could possibly watch during cold London winter, and there it was Alien 3. I like the prison planet aspect and how they could possibly fight it off.
Alien 2 was just a military op to me. Being a Red Alert and StarCraft fan, I enjoyed the "man Vs aliens" aspect only.
@@Ash_G Nice opinions. I respect that.
Just found your channel and I'm now binge-watching all your videos. Once I'm done I'll have to go back and read through my own scripts to see if I'm making some of these mistakes!
THX!!🙏
Prometheus is not an alien prequel if there is no alien
Great video. I liked the movie though. It reminded me of „At the Mountains of Madness“ by Lovecraft
I know this is years late, but you my friend, are a genius. I kept thinking throughout the entire film that if they just got rid of all of these silly sub plots (If Charlize Theron can't make a character interesting no one can), remove the over-explained dialogue and made some characters less stupid, it would be so much stronger. Wonderful analysis!
You're a genius!
The real problem was that a pretty solid script (originally written by Jon Spaihts) was reworked by Damon Lindelof, who did a particularly bad job at it. Inconsistency, dumb behavior and lack of reason in plenty of scenes were in fact senseless additions and changes. I don't know if it was made intentionally to reflect some of Ridley Scott's ideas, but the movie would be much, much better without these alterations.
Do you know where I can take a look on the original script?
I absolutely love your take. Reduce the subplot, tighten the script, and everything else falls into place. Watching your other videos, you've got some great insights overall.
Something I want to add though, particularly about this movie, is that most people (who like Prometheus) when they review this movie always like to make a big deal about how the engineer wanted to kill its creation, and how that's really profound and all that crap. (Even the people who hate the movie will usually comment on it in some form.)
I'm glad you didn't bring it up though. Mostly because it is isn't important to the actual plot of the movie, but more importantly those people who do bring it up always forget the obvious fact that this is the last remaining engineer on a deserted planet.
Everyone is so busy attributing this one man as being the spokesperson for his entire race, that they overlook the fact that he was clearly left behind.
It's like watching Lexx and thinking Poet Man is a perfect example of a Brunnen-G.
Dude this is such a good video. I always hated Prometheus but never really knew why until now.
The movie was trash... Constantly spoon-feeding me the religious implications of things like I'm some kind of dumdum
I always feel sad as this movie has awesome things to work out with and didn't reach its full potential.
Even with this drawbacks, the movie is still worth watching.
Sometimes fixing these things close things left open, and leave open things previously closed
My biggest gripe is the unexplored and unanswered questions with the engineers. After cutting the extra subplots, they could have added an entire scene to answer questions and develop the character/moral motivations and species of the engineers to set up for a follow up movie. Instead they had the engineer lash out and went straight into the final act. With all the extra time they could have had a better dialog scene where the humans all come up with a way to convince the engineer not to destroy humanity and work together to solve the bigger issue where the engineer can introduce himself and explain his situation instead of being a stoic alien with no emotion. It would be a great opportunity to introduce their culture, technology, and motivations, and an additional engineer character could be reanimated to serve as the 'hidden' antagonist for another movie about stopping humanity from being destroyed. The humans would save the 'good engineer' from the 'bad engineer' in the climax of this film and the movie could end with them sailing away in space with the good engineer set on creating a plan to save the engineer race and humanity against the, temporarily subdued 'bad engineer' using crazy technology or alien booby traps to try and stop and fight each other as they make there escape, until the next film. This film should have left us yearning for more answers and excited to go on a deeper adventure, but with a stronger hope that we would get the answers eventually. This film shuts the door completely and unnecessarily which was very dissatisfying.
The scene with the worm in Charlie’s eye could work as long as HE doesn’t see it. Have a shot of his face, we see the worm twitch in his eye and he feels it, but when he rushes to the mirror it’s not visible. Then Charlie can dismiss it as a random twinge, while the viewers know he’s infected.
Nope. Just watched it again. He's looking in the mirror when the worm crawls out. And even if he didn't get a good look at it the fact that he's on an alien planet and he's sick should be enough for him to seek medical attention.
I think something that gets missed is that in the lame dialogue of a tacked on scene they really push how important it was to the dude with the eye worms to make first contact. Like mutiny level. I didn't catch it until I rewatched with subtitles after watching this video. That explains it a little better.
Look, the real problem with Prometheus is that Damon Lindelof was involved in any way with the writing. That dope was responsible for LOST, which on one level seemed great because I like the dichotomy of science vs. faith (a prominent feature of Prometheus), but Lindelof is so busy getting high on his own farts that he just throws crap against the wall and never looks to see if it sticks. I never dreamed when I initially got interested in LOST that there wasn't some "plan" to tie all this crap together. Isn't that your job as a writer? "What would you say you do here, Damon?" Oooh! Smoke monster! Polar bears!! Numerology! Magnetic island!!!! Whooo!!!! Nope. No plan. No thought. No message. Let's just film Evangeline Lilly and Josh Holloway half naked in Hawaii. Great!! That's a wrap! Now let's go see if we leech ourselves onto some real talent like Ridley Scott, Idris Elba, Charlize Theron, and Michael Fassbender and see how we can totally screw up what should have been a masterpiece. Prometheus was **FILMED** beautifully! It looked __GOOD__!!! I *love* watching that scene where they are leaving space to land on the planet. David was super interesting. The crew came prepared to explore -- vehicles, equipment, etc. -- and they just blow it with Damon Lindelof as a writer. Looking through Lindelof's credits, I see he was also a writer for "Cowboys & Aliens", another subpar movie that wasted Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford for gawd's sake. Nice to know though that if I ever get sick of my regular job, I can always get a job as a writer in Hollywood, since this numbskull continues to get writing gigs... I'm telling you, the only problem with Prometheus is that they let Damon Lindelof touch the script. Send that dude to Siberia, trade him for Even Gershkovich or something and let Putin torture the crap out of Lindelof until he comes up with a coherent working reason for all the crap he threw into LOST. I'm very mad about LOST, if you can't tell. No plan. Make up $#@& with no reason. Sprinkle some religious stuff around. There isn't a Russian jail harsh enough for Damon Lindelof.
I really enjoyed your analysis and proscriptions but, for good or ill, I think it's a well-established conceit throughout film/TV history that the dreamer is seen in the dream by the audience.
being a geologist =/= being in charge of mapping something
I would say the problem with this movie is the excesive amount of symbolisms and not all viewers will grasp all of them. That left me wondering what they were supposed to mean a few times.
Gotta love those spaceships that keep everything grounded.We ALL know what happens when you leave earth's gravity.
I would love to see this remake!
IOW, people need to stop using Lindeloff for basically anything - there is very little he is attached to that doesn't have massive issues. I guess if anything he partially did turned out good, the other person got to override him - like a Lucas & Spielberg thing.
This is the second video of yours I've watched, and dear god you are so correct about everything. You share my perspective nearly perfectly, but your capacity to express it both eloquently and succinctly exceeds my own. I admit some degree of my enjoyment in watching is coming directly from seeing my own perspective mirrored, but damn, in this world, that has always felt so rare. There are plenty of people on RUclips that I "like and agree with"...... but never have I encountered someone who so precisely expresses my own opinions and sentiments. And I will freely admit that I had not put the degree of thought you have into this film, and you made a number of points that had never entered my mind.... but still, this is as close as something can possibly be to feeling like I'm encountering my long-lost twin. Perhaps that may be an excessive and overly sentimental statement that sounds ridiculous, but it is how your perspective makes me feel.
Best video about prometheus
I can't help but think the word...Wrong. This is of course because in a prequel you create a dawn of a story(or shed light upon a previous work much like a backstory(gives reason)). To introduce more questions than originally asked is perhaps a way for future growth, but it also has the side effect of making anything beyond seem trivial and anything happening seem duh
Great analysis. I think you are spot on. I also think the whole “who are the engineers” thing is just not a big enough driver for an exciting story - I mean,who cares, really? With a monster movie it’s obvious where the excitement comes from - not with this philosophical rubbish. I remember watching this film and feeling so disappointed - I also hated the blue-black-grey colour scheme - it just added to the tedium - I never felt they were actually in space or on a planet.
wow what a great video, I hope you make more!
Me vs Laziness. The struggle is real! Your encouragement is appreciated :-)
DaveScripted I’m sure these videos take a ton of work, so I’m sure it’s more than laziness!
I subscribed, hopefully, you’ll have the time and the inspiration to make more! :)
Bang on analysis. Subscribed!
I just rewatched this movie again with my cousin wasn't as bad as I remembered but not exactly good either. Anyway Vicker was very hot.
Alien read the mind of david
As he did with the scientist shawn
He broke his head as he found him as a droid
Honestly my favorite part about Prometheus is that some guy wrote a fake script where Engineer explains that the reason it's trying to destroy humanity is because we killed Jesus and even though that idea is so totally disconnected from anything even remotely resembling a reasonable plot point people still defend the fake script to this very day.
Nothing to fix - Just throw away & forget it was made
Your comments and exclamations are dead on! I love this movie and I hate it. I sense that you are much like me and feel the same. What’s funny to me, is that I find myself watching the damn movie again and again! I try to just laugh at the absolute stupid parts and be fully entertained bye the brilliant scenes. I was surprised you didn’t mention how silly it was for poor little Dr Shaw to take it so personal that she couldn’t have a baby; and how could Charlene minimize the magic of creating life? His comment went something like “well, but we do know now, it’s all you need is a little dash of DNA and a little of this and presto, like it’s nothing; life is created. All while she’s crying and pouting like a nine-year-old girl. Not this super scientist that she is playing. I find myself trying to figure out why I keep coming back to it. What the hell is it about this movie {with all of it’s insanely annoying parts), That keeps bringing me back? and why in the hell is there such a shortage of good films in this genre. Take the movie, signs. Low budget film that had a good story telling, tight dialog and great acting. I spent decades writing and directing commercials. Make me want to try and make a low budget film. But I’m too sick and old now. You sound so incredibly knowledgeable. Are you in the industry? Educate me why there aren’t more films like this? That movie “Signs” was about aliens invading our world and the producers and director. Pulled it off! And couldn’t have been some huge crazy budget film. I can’t help thinking there’s got to be loads of people who could do it? What’s the scoop? And thank you for your wonderful critique. I will be back looking for more. You won me over, brother!
I love Signs! It's my favorite M Knight movie! I'm just a fan so don't know why the sci fi genre seems lacking especially the big Hollywood movies. But there has to be good ones out there too. I thought Prospect was a good low budget one that didn't get much attention. And thanks! 🙏
I love Prometheus as flawed as it is
So thats why I liked the movie, because I can overlook bad subplots
What I don't like about Prometheus is what David did when he fiddled with the black goo. A better name for David would be Dick, because he effed-up everything.
How in the world did you end up feeling like Ellie was sympathetic and David was cruel? It's 100% the other way around
Good points, but some I disagree with. More of the dumb characters could have been written better, and less of why the alien use a flute in their technology. I know people love Alien, but even I see issues with that film, and it's still well made, so I don't see why people hated this film so much? I guess it didn't live up to what people wanted.
I dream in the third person lol although i hardly exist in my dreams
my dream is to hardly exist
good video
I'm sorry, Ellie is not smart. She is supposedly a scientist and says "I choose to believe". This is the antithesis of science, *and* of being smart. Also aside from that, she's sleeping with that petulant little shit boyfriend. Thankfully after he gets himself killed she starts thinking a little more rationally, seeing how quickly infection can lead to a painful death. I'll give you that at least; she had major courage to surgically remove the alien baby. Still, she's also very whiny, shrieks too much, and is a pale comparison to Ripley.
Bloated script, poorly edited, too many characters, not enough character development, terrible dialogue.
I mean really almost everything except cinematography. Besides- the sequel utterly annihilates THIS film just by existing.
6:44 aftshadowong?
erase it from existence and ban ridley scott from ruining any more of his films.
Didn't David poison Holloway because Holloway was a dick to him
Certainly possible. He was easily offended
Im only see magnetto
this is fucking amazing
good job
that movie sucked hard but you did it!
2:12 As to why the Engineers left maps....
Why do you assume that the 'Engineers' made those crude cave drawings? Has it occurred to you that Shaw's assumption is incorrect? It will always be frustrating to find no answer, if you have asked the wrong question.
Instead ask a different question. Is Shaw correct to assume that the cave drawings were made by the Engineers, rather than by cave dwelling humans who witnesses the Engineers showing a hologram to members of the tribe?
Are the crew of _Prometheus_ the first humans to set foot on LV 223? Isn't it convenient that there is breathable air in the dome all the way from the cargo hold of the ship to the chamber full of urns.
Did we just watch the result of the protagonist being 100% certain in their assumptions, while also being wrong.... leading to the death of almost every character.
They arrived on a Moon where there was no hostile threat aware of their arrival. They rushed in, and set off the chain of events whereby they got themselves killed.
They missed out on evidence that painted an entirely different scenario of what they had found. Shaw thinks she found the origin of humanity, as her religious beliefs lead her to place humans as a central purpose of creation... and again as a _target_ when she has a knee jerk change of assumption, and jumps from thinking about the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelations.
She never contemplates that humans may be caught up in this scenario in any other capacity. They can be the creation, or the target,... but not _raw material_ .
You say "Franken monster" .... but this was "Frankenstein in space" .
The map is from a 1950s UFO abduction story that ties into the location of the original _Alien_ movie.
The Engineers are like _Igor_ going to Earth to fetch more bodies for the lab.
Weyland is like Dr. Frankenstein in creating David, as David will be Dr. Frankenstein in the sequel.
Who ever is in charge of the 'Engineers' is the unseen Dr. Frankenstein of this story.
There's even a visual reference where Shaw tries to reanimate the head using a jolt of electricity.
Also, the title "Prometheus" is linked to Mary Shelley's full title for her 1818 book "Frankenstein : The Modern Prometheus" .
Worst movie fecking ever.
This is one of the greatest stories ruined by the wrong cast.
Get rid of Vickers? No way!She’s awesome, it’s intriguing just to wonder if she is a robot. Worm in the eye is really cool - he just assumed it must have been imaginary
Everyone hates way too hard on this film
People are dumb, that's why. Then when they get what they deserve like trash modern movie they still complain and wonder why hollywood is getting worse.
Well I don’t have a problem about the movie is that the evolution didn’t come out as clear when the aliens are up at the end