Prometheus (Alien Prequel)

[EvilNed]

Ned - I explained that D/C thing in a previous post of mine. Don't know, doesn't seem like an explanation to me... I know what you mean, but that doesn't explain anything really as far as I'm concerned.

[MinionZombie]

Don't know, doesn't seem like an explanation to me... I know what you mean, but that doesn't explain anything really as far as I'm concerned. Then you're just weird...   Here's most of that particular scene for a review...

[krakenslayer]

In addition to the above,   it is VERY strongly implied elsewhere in the film that Weyland is directing David's actions during their "dream conversations". Also, in the David promo video released before the film, it appears that he follows some variation on Asimov's Laws of Robotics, so as part of his programming he can't allow a human to be harmed. He still had to get the victim's permission, however involuntarily, before doing it.

[MinionZombie]

^^^ Kraken -   Nice spot on the issue of 'implied consent' from Charlie towards David, I thought the same thing when I saw that scene.

[EvilNed]

The how is there. The WHY isn't. Can somebody please explain WHY David poisoned Charlie?

[krakenslayer]

The how is there. The WHY isn't. Can somebody please explain WHY David poisoned Charlie? *Adding in some text to push the first words of the spoiler tagged text out of the view of the threaded lines of initial text from each post* MZ   He poisoned Charlie because Weyland asked him to. Weyland asked him to because he was desperate to uncover the secrets of the Engineers' power/biotech and had a very limited amount of life remaining in which to do it. This way, he wouldn't have to wait to get back to Earth, then get ethical approval, etc. to test the stuff on living tissue. He may have also had one eye already on the applications within his weapons division.

[MinionZombie]

*Adding in some text to push the first words of the spoiler tagged text out of the view of the threaded lines of initial text from each post* MZ   He poisoned Charlie because Weyland asked him to. Weyland asked him to because he was desperate to uncover the secrets of the Engineers' power/biotech and had a very limited amount of life remaining in which to do it. This way, he wouldn't have to wait to get back to Earth, then get ethical approval, etc. to test the stuff on living tissue. He may have also had one eye already on the applications within his weapons division. ^^^ Well said, Kraken, also...   With Weyland being near-death, there might also be other selfish motivations - as in, might he be able to gain a new lease of life by ingesting something found on the planet? He certainly would want a 'guinea pig' first of all though...

[Sammich]

How similar to At the Mountains of Madness was it?

[krakenslayer]

The story has some superficial similarity to the Lovecraft story insofar as it largely consists humans exploring the deserted structures of an extraterrestrial civilization that predates life on earth, and encountering leftover horrors within. But it's not strikingly similar: I would never have made the connection had I not read about Del Toro abandoning his film due to this. You could also draw equally salient comparisons with Star Trek: The Final Frontier and Avatar, although for my money I enjoyed Prometheus better than either of those.

[shootemindehead]

How similar to At the Mountains of Madness was it? In my opinion, not at all. I think the whole 'At the Mountains of Mdness' - 'Prometheus' thing is absolute bunkum altogether. The NO reason why one couldn't co-inside with the other.

[EvilNed]

Hmm, all this seems very speculative and far-fetched... Not at all elaborated upon in the film itself.

[acealive1]

$40,000,000 already made........

[krakenslayer]

Hmm, all this seems very speculative and far-fetched... Not at all elaborated upon in the film itself.   From what I remember, David is seen talking with Weyland in his Hypersleep pod, then is cornered by Vickers, refuses to tell her anything, but very quickly thereafter poisons Charlie. Later, Weyland reveals that he has traveled there because he only has a few months to live and hopes that the Engineers' godlike technology can grant him a longer life. From his point of view, the whole exercise is a desperate, last-ditch, selfish attempt to cheat death; it is quite clear he would do anything for a chance to live at this point, so when some of the Engineer tech (figuratively) lands in his lap, he doesn't waste time testing it out. The audience isn't exactly spoon-fed this, but the chain of motivation is very much there if you look for it.

[EvilNed]

Again, very speculative and far-fetched. I get what you're saying. But it's not there in the film.

[krakenslayer]

Again, very speculative and far-fetched. I get what you're saying. But it's not there in the film. I'm not sure what you mean by "there in the film". Just because not every connection and not every single step in every interpersonal process is explicitly played-out on screen doesn't mean its not there, and that it can't be inferred from what we do know. That's part of the fun. One of the major sources of tension in the film is the uncertainty about where certain characters' loyalties lie, and I think Scott plays a good game in keeping that uncertainty suspended for quite a long while. In order to do that, he has to withhold certain pieces of information. By the time we know what's what (as far as trust is concerned), it would be unnecessary and Scooby Doo-ish to go back over everything and recite exactly who was doing what to whom and why. You're expected to work it out for yourself, the clues are there. The problem is that people (and I don't entirely exclude myself from this) are so used to Hollywood feeding them everything in easy mode these days. Sure, Prometheus isn't a mind-bendingly complex movie, and it DOES have one or two plot holes, but it does demand a bit more of its viewers than most modern sci-fi movies in order to get the most out of it. Reading over my post, it sounds a bit patronizing. I am in no way trying to infer that you are stupid and just "didn't get it" (you've always stuck me as one of the sharper knives in this drawer ), I just think you, and a lot of the naysayers I have been reading online, might benefit from a second viewing.