Film Prometheus: A few significant Absurdities
Sept 18, 2019 17:52:28 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on Sept 18, 2019 17:52:28 GMT -5
Film Prometheus: A few Significant Absurdies
Prometheus is the name given to the interstellar ship on a journey to a planet where the humanoids referred to as the Engineers who created mankind are supposed to reside. The chosen expedition members include archaeologists, biologists, a crew to steer it to its exact destination on the planet's surface once it arrives.
It also includes an android who resembles the actor who played Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia. In fact the film is its favorite movie and he even quotes from it. This android remains awake or active during the entire voyage, while the rest of the travelers are kept it stasis. Hidden among these passengers, in a certain concealed section, unknown to the other passengers, is the man who funded the trip because he aspires to gain immortality.
The whole concept is fascinating, although it takes a direct swipe at the Biblical account which tells us exactly who created mankind. But let's set that aside momentarily for the sake of discussing the film itself. Once they arrive, members of the crew head strait for the area where they believe the Engineers or Creators of mankind are. A huge structure that turns out to be a starship. There they find them all dead and everything indicates they were killed by something they themselves had created.
This is when the totally unbelievable start to happen and the audience BS detector alarms can be expected to start going off. First we have a crew-member, the male archaeologist, suddenly remove his helmet to breath the alien air directly and then, after expressing concern and calling him crazy, the female archaeologist doing the same. If indeed it is safe, why is she initially so worried? Why is she so sure it is safe because he doesn't immediately keel over. Some things take time to have a deadly effect as anyone with normal intelligence knows.
Then we have this perpetually-grumpy, anti-social geologist, who physically resembles that redheaded fellow whom is referred to as Pinocchio in the film The Burbs, losing his temper because the Archaeologists are doing what they travelled those millions of miles to do, seek the creators. Instead of going about his own geological business, he behaves as if he has nothing else to do himself simply because they are conversing about the dead Engineers. He angrily claims not to be there to talk about dead bodies. Acts more like some peevish kid who has been told to eat his spinach and throws a temper-tantrum. Completely unbelievable behavior from a supposedly professional exo-planetary geologist who would normally be totally engrossed in examining the soil and taking samples of whatever he could find on this newly-discovered world as his geologist responsibilities demand.
Then we have the happy-go-lucky, extremely carefree, and obviously brain-dead chubby jovial zoologist who mindlessly follows him in order to return to the ship after doing absolutely nothing and where they could both continue to do nothing. They get lost? Now, wouldn't exploring astronauts have some way to find their way back to the entrance and not rely on mere memory?
Also, the zoologist doesn't behave like one. In fact, he doesn't even act like a human being of normal intelligence. Why? Well, because he reaches out with his hand toward an approaching alien creature that resembles a cobra about to strike, calling it shy, and has it attaching itself to his arm and breaking it, introducing itself into his spacesuit, and plunging down his throat as a consequence.
Now, you don't need to be a zoologist to know that you don't handle unknown animals which strongly resemble a cobra about to strike in that careless way. Neither do you assume such an animal to be shy or timid as he did with absolutely no other reason but sheer stupidity as an explanation.
Later in the film, we have the male archaeologist, the guy who stupidly took off his helmet, deciding to have congress with the female archaeologist after which he goes to the rest room, and observes small animalcules gingerly swimming in his eyeball as he looks in the mirror.. Then after expressing an initial surprise, he totally ignores it, calmly dons a spacesuit in order to go back to the Alien ship with others of the crew. Once a good distance from the ship's medical facility, he decides to suddenly pronounce himself feeling seriously ill.
Ummm, er, excuse me for noticing, but isn't the normal reaction to seeing animals swimming in our eye to panic? You know, to let others know that we have a serious problem and get ourselves to medical in order to have them removed? Now that's the normal human reaction back on Earth. On an alien planet, things are far more urgent. There, getting help as soon as possible becomes even more crucial since you very probably have aliens in your eyeball and that isn't good.
Then there is the ship section where info from the alien ship is arriving constantly. This is shown to be only under the captain's observation with absolutely no assistants. Then to add insult to viewer injury, the captain is shown abandoning his responsibility in order to have congress with ship's attractive female director who orders him to be in her quarters for that purpose in fifteen minutes. They are both engaged in having sex in her cubicle when the cobra-like creature attacks ad kills the geologist and the zoologist.
Sorry, but I find such unprofessional behavior and sloppy management of very basic and very vital duties aboard a starship unbelievable.
No I am not a professional movie-maker. But one doesn't need to be a professional movie-maker in order to know that such behavior will be seen as unbelievable and as an insult to the audience's intelligence.
On the other hand, the acting was superb. The android was very believable and expressed his warped mentality based on an inherent dislike for humanity superbly. The monster face-huggers and their hideous brood, were well portrayed, as was the giant, taciturn, enigmatic, blue-skinned, bald Engineer. But the film could have definitely been more convincing had it avoided the aforementioned absurdities.
It also includes an android who resembles the actor who played Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia. In fact the film is its favorite movie and he even quotes from it. This android remains awake or active during the entire voyage, while the rest of the travelers are kept it stasis. Hidden among these passengers, in a certain concealed section, unknown to the other passengers, is the man who funded the trip because he aspires to gain immortality.
The whole concept is fascinating, although it takes a direct swipe at the Biblical account which tells us exactly who created mankind. But let's set that aside momentarily for the sake of discussing the film itself. Once they arrive, members of the crew head strait for the area where they believe the Engineers or Creators of mankind are. A huge structure that turns out to be a starship. There they find them all dead and everything indicates they were killed by something they themselves had created.
This is when the totally unbelievable start to happen and the audience BS detector alarms can be expected to start going off. First we have a crew-member, the male archaeologist, suddenly remove his helmet to breath the alien air directly and then, after expressing concern and calling him crazy, the female archaeologist doing the same. If indeed it is safe, why is she initially so worried? Why is she so sure it is safe because he doesn't immediately keel over. Some things take time to have a deadly effect as anyone with normal intelligence knows.
Then we have this perpetually-grumpy, anti-social geologist, who physically resembles that redheaded fellow whom is referred to as Pinocchio in the film The Burbs, losing his temper because the Archaeologists are doing what they travelled those millions of miles to do, seek the creators. Instead of going about his own geological business, he behaves as if he has nothing else to do himself simply because they are conversing about the dead Engineers. He angrily claims not to be there to talk about dead bodies. Acts more like some peevish kid who has been told to eat his spinach and throws a temper-tantrum. Completely unbelievable behavior from a supposedly professional exo-planetary geologist who would normally be totally engrossed in examining the soil and taking samples of whatever he could find on this newly-discovered world as his geologist responsibilities demand.
Then we have the happy-go-lucky, extremely carefree, and obviously brain-dead chubby jovial zoologist who mindlessly follows him in order to return to the ship after doing absolutely nothing and where they could both continue to do nothing. They get lost? Now, wouldn't exploring astronauts have some way to find their way back to the entrance and not rely on mere memory?
Also, the zoologist doesn't behave like one. In fact, he doesn't even act like a human being of normal intelligence. Why? Well, because he reaches out with his hand toward an approaching alien creature that resembles a cobra about to strike, calling it shy, and has it attaching itself to his arm and breaking it, introducing itself into his spacesuit, and plunging down his throat as a consequence.
Now, you don't need to be a zoologist to know that you don't handle unknown animals which strongly resemble a cobra about to strike in that careless way. Neither do you assume such an animal to be shy or timid as he did with absolutely no other reason but sheer stupidity as an explanation.
Later in the film, we have the male archaeologist, the guy who stupidly took off his helmet, deciding to have congress with the female archaeologist after which he goes to the rest room, and observes small animalcules gingerly swimming in his eyeball as he looks in the mirror.. Then after expressing an initial surprise, he totally ignores it, calmly dons a spacesuit in order to go back to the Alien ship with others of the crew. Once a good distance from the ship's medical facility, he decides to suddenly pronounce himself feeling seriously ill.
Ummm, er, excuse me for noticing, but isn't the normal reaction to seeing animals swimming in our eye to panic? You know, to let others know that we have a serious problem and get ourselves to medical in order to have them removed? Now that's the normal human reaction back on Earth. On an alien planet, things are far more urgent. There, getting help as soon as possible becomes even more crucial since you very probably have aliens in your eyeball and that isn't good.
Then there is the ship section where info from the alien ship is arriving constantly. This is shown to be only under the captain's observation with absolutely no assistants. Then to add insult to viewer injury, the captain is shown abandoning his responsibility in order to have congress with ship's attractive female director who orders him to be in her quarters for that purpose in fifteen minutes. They are both engaged in having sex in her cubicle when the cobra-like creature attacks ad kills the geologist and the zoologist.
Sorry, but I find such unprofessional behavior and sloppy management of very basic and very vital duties aboard a starship unbelievable.
No I am not a professional movie-maker. But one doesn't need to be a professional movie-maker in order to know that such behavior will be seen as unbelievable and as an insult to the audience's intelligence.
On the other hand, the acting was superb. The android was very believable and expressed his warped mentality based on an inherent dislike for humanity superbly. The monster face-huggers and their hideous brood, were well portrayed, as was the giant, taciturn, enigmatic, blue-skinned, bald Engineer. But the film could have definitely been more convincing had it avoided the aforementioned absurdities.