Movie: Prometheus

[Killa-Eyez]

Saw it the other day. It supposedly takes place in the Alien universe though I find it a much better film then any of the Alien movies. That, in contradiction of many other Alien lovers who misunderstood the purpose of the movie and said it sucked. The story is centered around the origin of our existence, influenced by the "Ancient Astronaut" theory. It's a story on it's own which I thought it was put together pretty well and showed promise for story development to a possible sequel. The cast was pretty refreshing, seeing Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Michael Fassbender (Magneto from First Class) all in one movie.

I'd say I agree with IMDB, an 8.0 rating.

Anyone else seen it?

[darkshadow]

I saw it a week ago, still need to write my mini review on it.

[Animeniax]

Is it even out in the U.S.? Saying it's better than Aliens is a bold claim.

And for anyone who doesn't know, Noomi Rapace starred in the original (superior) Swedish version of Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

[Y]

I like the implication that an 8/10 film is "much better" than Alien or Aliens, two of the most revered masterpieces of their respective genres.

[Kraco]

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Spoilers included






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I wouldn't call this better than the original Aliens. This was quite a nice movie, but it would be difficult to better the Alien movies. However, I still think this fits well into the same group. The basic setting of a greedy corporation not caring for individual lives in the background and then hapless, ignorant humans being scared and killed was the same. I also liked the lack of overly blatant narrative devices in this movie. I still haven't got around to buying the Aliens BD box so my memories are quite dim, but I seem to recall the original Aliens also didn't spend too much time explaining anything to the people getting slaughtered. It was well that also extended to the lone sentient alien we saw in this one; he was just as single-minded as the horrors his race developed.

That last sentence also brought me to another thing that pleases me: I was always wondering during the Alien movies what kind of bizarre evolution would have led to the alien species, and this movie gave the perfect answer: They were simply artificially developed as monstrous bioweapons, by the masters of such bioengineering.

What I didn't like about this movie were the pacifist yet selfish treehuggers, but since such people exist all around us, I can't really complain or, the least of all, call it unrealistic. I supposed they also needed to be that way, considering their background.

[Animeniax]

I like the implication that an 8/10 film is "much better" than Alien or Aliens, two of the most revered masterpieces of their respective genres.

Aren't they the same genre?

[Y]

Alien is a horror film and Aliens is an action film, although dithering about genre is really rather pointless. Let's just say instead that Alien and Aliens cultivate a very different atmosphere and both succeed at it tremendously.

[XanBcoo]

I am so confused as to David's motivations in a few scenes. Why did he do what he did to Holloway? The scene was set up as if he knew some information the audience didn't, but ultimately his actions weren't related to his directive.

[Y]

Prometheus is gorgeous, but the designs are uninspired. The film is replete with fantastic actors (especially Fassbender) who are serviced not at all by the wooden, miserable script. If the movie were merely a heavily flawed auteur effort I would cut it more slack, but the naked desire to turn this into a franchise puts that idea away.


That last sentence also brought me to another thing that pleases me: I was always wondering during the Alien movies what kind of bizarre evolution would have led to the alien species, and this movie gave the perfect answer: They were simply artificially developed as monstrous bioweapons, by the masters of such bioengineering.

I don't mean to be insulting but you're kind of stupid for not understanding this the very first time you watched "Alien". It was always very evident that the Space Jockey was hoisted by his own petard, so to speak.

[XanBcoo]

Prometheus is gorgeous, but the designs are uninspired.

Yeah, it was a weird mix of Giger and random Star-Trekky-run of the mill sci-fi imagery. The vaginal/phallic aliens did not mix well at all with the goofy looking Engineers or the crew and mechanics of the Prometheus ship. Made the whole thing feel thrown together.

[Y]

Yeah, it was a weird mix of Giger and random Star-Trekky-run of the mill sci-fi imagery.

Speaking of "Star Trekky" the main musical theme is, if I recall correctly, the theme of Star Trek 5 The Final Frontier.

[Kraco]

I am so confused as to David's motivations in a few scenes. Why did he do what he did to Holloway? The scene was set up as if he knew some information the audience didn't, but ultimately his actions weren't related to his directive.

Wasn't he under orders from the old cadaver? It was indeed set up as if he knew something beforehand, but considering he was basically an AI, you could also say he predicted the outcome but only wanted to prove it. He's clearly not working under Asimov's robotic rules and being devoid of emotions, he could basically do anything to find clues to curing the mummy's old age.


I don't mean to be insulting but you're kind of stupid for not understanding this the very first time you watched "Alien". It was always very evident that the Space Jockey was hoisted by his own petard, so to speak.

The first time? When I watched it for the first time, I was so young I had to find excuses to visit the fridge or whatever during the most thrilling parts of it. Even later I didn't consider it so evident - perhaps because I never really spent any time considering it (the brief appearance of the space jockey in the first movie, that is). There could have been plenty of other explanations, anyway.

[Y]

Wasn't he under orders from the old cadaver? It was indeed set up as if he knew something beforehand, but considering he was basically an AI, you could also say he predicted the outcome but only wanted to prove it. He's clearly not working under Asimov's robotic rules and being devoid of emotions, he could basically do anything to find clues to curing the mummy's old age.


David was experimenting with the black oil (I'm just going to call it this, because it has the same hilariously random and plot-driven effects of the similar substance in X-Files) to try and help Weyland reach his goal of immortality. Why he thought dosing Shaw's husband with that stuff would further this goal is another matter entirely. Did he assume the first alien liquid he found MUST confer immortality? Or was the movie making more hamfisted analogies about science unfettered by morality?

EDIT:

In addition, can anyone explain why the black oil turned the guy into a fucking zombie? When the space jockey eats it, he dissolves and dies. When David doses Shaw's husband with it, he undergoes a slower version of the same process. When the scientist gets a whole faceful of the shit, he suddenly becomes a super powered crabwalking zombie, able to shrug off gunfire like it was nothing. As DS pointed out, it also acts as an evolutionary booster to the worms in the tomb chamber, instead of killing them or turning them into zombies. Is there ANY reason for this to happen except "the plot demands it!"?

[Kraco]

As DS pointed out, it also acts as an evolutionary booster to the worms in the tomb chamber, instead of killing them or turning them into zombies. Is there ANY reason for this to happen except "the plot demands it!"?

DS hasn't pointed out anything but that he saw the movie a week ago...

Anyway, we don't even know what the space jockeys were aiming for with the black oil. It's reasonable to assume they intended to wipe out humans from Earth, possibly along with every other animal, but for all we know, they weren't, after all, as good scientists as they thought (as proven by the fact they got killed by their own creations) and the black oil had effects beyond their calculations. Holloway's infection and Shaw's pregnancy suggests the polymorhic alien initiation actually requires breeding. Holloway himself simply started to rot. His and the zombie warrior's (and possibly the ancient space jockey's at the beginning of the movie if he drank the same shit) variable fates could be caused by slight genetic differences. The snake like aliens arising from the tiny worms should also be a result of the infected worms breeding, following the same logic. So, the snake aliens weren't mutated worms but rudimentary aliens born inside the worms, just like the more humanoid aliens develop inside humans (or space jockeys).

Well, like I said in my first post, I consider this quite a nice movie. It has its obvious problems but all in all it entertained me well and I can see myself buying the BD once it hits the bargain bins.

[darkshadow]

Reference:

[ 08:06:09 ] <Y> but he was still screaming as he hit the ooze
[ 08:06:17 ] <DS> for some reason the black liquid mutated the worms into those things
[ 08:06:17 ] <Y> anyway
[ 08:06:22 ] <DS> so I guess whatever
[ 08:06:25 ] <Y> yeah lmao

[XanBcoo]

There were so many unintentionally comical parts as well.

Engineer head exploding when they jolted it, David's head peeking out of a duffle bag. Comedy gold.

[Y]

Gonna write a post.

Prometheus was a super frustrating movie. I came into the movie determined to appreciate it, no matter whether it was a masterpiece like Alien and Blade Runner, an excellent movie marred by some flaws like Kingdom of Heaven's director's cut, or even just acknowledge the good elements if it looked like the movie had been cut to pieces like the theatrical Kingdom of Heaven. I was unprepared for a shallow, insulting film that retained none of Scott's auteur sensibility (although perhaps after Robin Hood the warning bells should have been tolling).

Prometheus looks great. This is the first and most obvious compliment you can pay a summer blockbuster, but I have to temper my praise even here. The opening scene is replete with stunning vistas of primordial Earth, and is soon followed up by the absolutely mesmerizing routine of the android David (Fassbender) aboard the starship Prometheus. I'm not joking when I say I would watch a 2 hour silent film with only scenes of this type. The star map inside the Engineer's ship is also gorgeous. Later designs just don't have the same inspired, breathtaking sensibility of these early scenes. A vision of Dr Shaw (Rapace) in a dream sequence has a hideous, cheesy looking filter over it (and who dreams in third person?). The murals, sculptures and ships of LV226 cannot match the iconic visions of H R Geiger. The film starts out absolutely mesmerizing and rapidly descends to pedestrian.

The actors do what they can, especially Fassbender who gives a triumphant performance, but they just aren't serviced by a stupid, choppy script. I knew I was in for a disaster when I saw Damon Lindelof's name in the credits - the showrunner of Lost is an expert in repeating simple character beats to the point of obsession and flaunting philosophies he is not nearly smart enough to engage. The film is a treatment of the monomyth by a man with a poor understanding of his primary inspiration Christianity and a dismissive attitude towards other sources such as Eastern mysticism. Heavy-handed symbolism clubs the viewer unconscious by about the halfway point.

Not only does the script do a poor job of approaching its deeper conceits but it is a failure on many very simple levels. Dialogue is often ridiculously banal - the explorers discover a dead alien body, open a door and find the head, and the exchange is literally "A head. Must have been decapitated.", the kind of thing that wouldn't be out of place in Resident Evil 1. Events occur without logic and character motives are nonexistent. Many characters given tons of screentime, such as the corporate representative Ms. Vickers (Theron) literally have no character arc or purpose within the plot, and Theron is flat and hamfisted besides.. Events occur with poor explanation or no justification. The aforementioned alien bioweapon has several different totally random and contradictory effects that cannot be reconciled. The characters race from a storm that will kill them, except then it catches them and the risk become that they will lose the alien head, since none of them are killed or even injured by the storm. The science in the script is as atrocious as the philosophy.

The action set pieces have the requisite sound and fury, but very little fun, and the philosophies are there but no serious examinations or dialogues are conducted. Scott has gone on record stating this was not the result of the movie getting butchered in the editing room so it surpassed my worst case scenario - he actually did just cash in on the prestige of Alien to create a new, profitable franchise with no brains or heart. For shame.

[Kraco]

The characters being what they were with their flawed personalities, half-assed philosophies or even their lack of purpose of existence in the movie were intentional as far as I can see. That was clear as soon as they had woken up and we saw for the first time the sorry excuse for a crew the billionaire cadaver had managed to scrape together. However, that was realistic considering the nature of the mission - or to be more specific the fact practically nobody among them even knew the mission. I can imagine the technology in the whole ship was very new and chances were high they all would have died before waking up, yet they were foolish enough to sign the contract. So, a bad script served them just fine. They were each and every one meant to be doofuses, especially the billionaire himself who was dreaming of eternal life and his pitiful daughter who boarded the ship out of jealousy, imagining her old man was planning one last massive heist and not simply leaving everything to her on a gold platter like he should in her opinion.

I'm not really going to deny your other points.

[Animeniax]

Finally saw this movie. I agree with everything Y said and a lot of what Kraco and others said. Very disappointed in this movie, because like Y I went into this movie determined to giving it every opportunity to blow my mind and expand my horizons. What I got instead was scene after scene of frustration that led to a final big letdown.

Why are movies/shows about scientific explorations always encumbered with crews of miscreants and malcontents who don't follow orders, complain about everything they should or are told to do, and just generally convey the sense that they don't want to be there or to do what is required of them? That was the first element of the movie that made me question how much I was going to enjoy it. Add on all the other issues with the plot, pointless characters, and generally underwhelming underlying motive for the entire mission on Weyland's part, and this was a pretty horrible movie. Looking back, I'm wondering about all the people I know who gave it such high praise, and reevaluating their sensibility for what constitutes intelligent entertainment.

[Animeniax]

I just watched Alien (director's cut I believe) and man what a difference. I felt actual dread and fear, even though I knew what was going to happen for the most part. Weird, but I also realized I've never seen the movie in its entirety before. The horseshoe spaceship is in Alien, something I didn't know while watching Prometheus. Also, the giant spaceman sitting at his gun is also in Alien. The vases aren't there, but there are seed pods instead. Maybe they evolved since the events in Prometheus.

edit: according to this website, http://screenrant.com/prometheus-alien-connection-benk-176223/2/the two planets and two horseshoe spaceships are different. They conjecture that the one in Alien was just one of many piloted by the Engineers that happened to crash on the planet that Ripley's crew lands on, and is not the same one as the ship found in Prometheus.

[TwisT]

Just a fun clip for all of us that loved David


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWmbqH_z7jM

And one with young Peter Weyland


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb7gspHxZiI

[Animeniax]

Did you feel David had a big enough role in the movie that you could have that kind of attachment to him? I might have to watch the movie again, but I didn't see that the David android did anything good or bad to the point he should be iconic.

[Kraco]

Wasn't he for sure one of the stronger if not the strongest characters in the movie? Considering it was a movie made mostly out of weak or pointless characters.

[Animeniax]

Well he did have the most screen time, but I think its hard to develop the character of an android. Anything he did was under the directive of his owner, Weyland. But as you said, the movie was indeed made almost entirely of weak and pointless characters. It's weird people would have an attachment to David, much less any of the characters.

edit: I recently rewatched Alien3 and Resurrection. Why is it that after two incredible brain-expanding works of art, most franchises turn to shit? 3 was bad, Resurrection was absolute shit. Both used the Alien franchise to sell terrible scripts with unlikeable characters, weak story lines, and a denigration of the mythos of the Alien universe and its iconic characters.

What's worse is that Joss Whedon wrote the story for Resurrection. I guess it was early in his career, or the director/producers butchered his story, but it was shameful to be associated with this movie.

[Lucifus]

Totally have to second Animeniax's perspective on this movie. It was utterly disappointing and the second I saw the delinquent characters who jumped along for the ride(why does the crew of space voyage's always include temper-mental seemingly uninhibited members?), I knew the film was gonna end up being shyt.

It begged me to suspend my disbelief, however I just couldn't; having seen this script played out so many times before.

Tis a shame to have it associated with the Alien franchise.

[Animeniax]

Sigourney Weaver thinks the world needs another Alien movie. Maybe Prometheus was it, but without any cameo from her. She was the producer for the third and fourth movies, which were terrible. Not sure I want another movie that tries to exploit the Alien universe if it's as bad as the last 3 in this franchise.

I was the same as you, Lucifus. I wanted so bad to like this movie, trying desperately to look past the early signs of trouble that plague these movies (the angsty unruly crew). But the movie failed to deliver. It was a commercial success though, so people will see it as a "good" movie.

[Buffalobiian]

I wasn't really disappointed with this movie. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I don't revere Alien and Aliens so much like almost everyone else.

I jumped into this movie thinking "well now I'll watch this one and they'll tell me where the Aliens come from". They did that, and now I move on with life.

[Animeniax]

I don't think it was the Alien universe that gave me high expectations as much as it was all the positive reviews and talk from buddies and online. The last 2 Alien universe movies were terrible after all (4 if you include the AvP movies).

Prometheus fails as a movie on its own for the reasons that have been posted (weak character development, flimsy twist and overall plot).

[Y]

Long story short, my previous post about Prometheus is almost entirely incorrect.

[Animeniax]

Long story short, my previous post about Prometheus is almost entirely incorrect.

You rewatched it and divined some hidden magic in the mess? I was going to rewatch it with similar hopes since the first watch came with a lot of hype and expectation. But then I watched Alien 3 and Resurrection and remembered that they sucked so Prometheus probably sucked as bad as I remembered.

[Animeniax]

I rewatched it and got a little more satisfaction from the movie. The over-arching premise was worthwhile and compelling. The movie just fails horribly at its execution. I found so many plot holes in the storyline (might have been due to editing) that overshadow what could have been an amazing movie based on a premise that yet remains worth exploring further. They left the door open for a sequel as Shaw and David travel to the Engineer's homeworld in one of the alien ships. Hopefully if they do make another movie, it will be better written.

[Buffalobiian]

Apparently David and the Engineer had a 4 minute conversation in the control room, and it was supposed to be on BD. I didn't see that in my BD version though. Perhaps it was under "Deleted Scenes".

Even if they didn't have that conversation, I would have wanted to know what David said before he got his head ripped off.

[Animeniax]

I think it's evident David told the engineer that Weyland was dying and needed help, which played into the irony of the engineers' purpose to wipe out humanity and led to the engineer attacking the group.

That being the case, I see why a 4 minute conversation between David and the engineer was cut from the movie, since one line would have had the same effect of setting the engineer off. Or did you mean that the conversation occurred earlier?

[Buffalobiian]

I think it's evident David told the engineer that Weyland was dying and needed help, which played into the irony of the engineers' purpose to wipe out humanity and led to the engineer attacking the group.

That being the case, I see why a 4 minute conversation between David and the engineer was cut from the movie, since one line would have had the same effect of setting the engineer off. Or did you mean that the conversation occurred earlier?

No, it happened right before he got decapitated. I can see why it was taken off too because it is rather inconsequential.. but I still crave a transcript out of sheer curiosity.

[Animeniax]

No, it happened right before he got decapitated. I can see why it was taken off too because it is rather inconsequential.. but I still crave a transcript out of sheer curiosity.

I think it was cooler and scarier that the engineers didn't speak in the movie. It made them seem colder and more aloof by remaining silent, like how you deal with unruly children.

It still pisses me off how the scientists acted in the movie, particularly how mopey and upset Holloway acted before he died. They spent less than 6 hours exploring just a tiny area of the planet, decided all the engineers are dead and will provide no immediate answers, and then start acting like petulant children. They even expected to talk to their creators and ask them questions!! This from scientists who spend years and years studying minutiae and discovering nothing, now want answers and they want them now!!!

[Shadow Skill]

The only thing I got from the movie was the ancient advanced aliens, created life throughout the universe and one day decided man-kind wasnt worth the effort, as in they created us and tried to destroy us.

The whole story seemed to revolve around that planet was a planet for military weapon testng. Maybe they were trying to create the ultimate bio-weapon. Some will argue is us and other may argue is the Alien.

I think they could have directed the movie in a better way that explains that other than having some worm infect them and change/evolve in to something else, the Alien eventually. Almost seems like it took DNA from everyone/everything it infected in order to become the Alien. Sad plot if you ask me. Could have been better explained.

[Animeniax]

I don't think there was enough proof that the planet was primarily for military testing. I thought it was ridiculous that the ship captain (a grunt for all intents and purposes) deduced the purpose of the planet and the goo. Recall that they only investigated the one mound and didn't explore the remaining 99.9% of the planet. For all they knew, the advanced aliens' capital city was on the other side of the planet.

I love most of Ridley Scott's work, but he missed the mark with this movie. For all it could have been, it was so much less than that. There's talk of a second movie.

[Shadow Skill]

True, but I believe "If" the capital city of the advanced aliens was on the planet, they'd have ships in orbit protecting the planet.

If they make a sequel. Lets hope they actually take a minute to explain some details or history to help piece the puzzle together. Other wise, it's just movies jumping around from story to story with no connectivity.

[Animeniax]

Well the "engineers" visited earth 30k years ago, so it's possible they died off since then and don't exist anymore. If they experiment with deadly agents like the stuff on LV-223, it's possible they wiped themselves out, same as the human race will most likely destroy itself here on earth.

Who knows, maybe the ship captain was right, maybe it was an installation planet where they stored special weapons. I just think it's ridiculous how he (a grunt) came to that conclusion and why he said it so matter of factly like there was no question about it. Then worse, the ship crew (who are there for money) sacrifice themselves to "save the world" based on what little they know of the engineers' purpose.

Prometheus did well enough in theaters to justify the studio greenlighting a sequel or two. Hopefully they concentrate on the story more with any sequel.

[Kraco]

I just think it's ridiculous how he (a grunt) came to that conclusion and why he said it so matter of factly like there was no question about it.

Doesn't that actually make sense? If it was a more informed person, he would come up with all sorts of theories and couldn't pick one without much more evidence. But an ordinary grunt will stick to his first idea and believe it's the absolute truth - unless a better alternative is crammed down his throat (literally in Alien's case).

[Y]

Doesn't that actually make sense? If it was a more informed person, he would come up with all sorts of theories and couldn't pick one without much more evidence. But an ordinary grunt will stick to his first idea and believe it's the absolute truth - unless a better alternative is crammed down his throat (literally in Alien's case).

This is a great bit of writing - a serious-minded military guy extrapolating his life experiences out into a framework to understand the world and believing in it with absolute certainty despite no real evidence, in a movie about the dichotomies of science and faith.

EDIT:

When people see this scene they often ask "How the hell does he know?" when he gives the explanation. He doesn't. He wants to know. Not coincidentally, this ties in with a lot of the themes of the movie.

[Animeniax]

Doesn't that actually make sense? If it was a more informed person, he would come up with all sorts of theories and couldn't pick one without much more evidence. But an ordinary grunt will stick to his first idea and believe it's the absolute truth - unless a better alternative is crammed down his throat (literally in Alien's case).

That does seem possible, so most likely I'm annoyed with the character's behavior and that sort of one-track mindedness more than anything. It just appears to be a very specific hypothesis and very much plausible, which didn't fit coming from a grunt. While I don't put 100% faith in the "specialists," it just seemed unlikely that a grunt would figure it out.


This is a great bit of writing - a serious-minded military guy extrapolating his life experiences out into a framework to understand the world and believing in it with absolute certainty despite no real evidence, in a movie about the dichotomies of science and faith.
What evidence is there that the ship captain was former military? Unless they mentioned that somewhere, the guy could be a merchant marine, a ship captain who just floats from location to location. It's just as likely it was poor writing and you're reading too much into it.

[Y]

What evidence is there that the ship captain was former military? Unless they mentioned that somewhere, the guy could be a merchant marine, a ship captain who just floats from location to location. It's just as likely it was poor writing and you're reading too much into it.

Thanks for this reply to my post.

[Animeniax]

Thanks for this reply to my post.

Thanks for dodging the question? I searched around, nothing anywhere about Janek being former military. On one site Scott is said to describe Janek as "an old sea dog" but that's hardly a reference to military experience. Like I said, it's just weak writing in a movie that focused too much on a grander scheme, meanwhile leaving out details that make the scheme worth caring about. This lapse in particular is just giving Janek something to do besides drive Ms. Vickers around.


EDIT:

When people see this scene they often ask "How the hell does he know?" when he gives the explanation. He doesn't. He wants to know. Not coincidentally, this ties in with a lot of the themes of the movie.Again, I think you're giving too much credit here both to the writers and to the Janek character. He's a ship captain, paid to haul his cargo from point A to point B. You could argue he wouldn't accept the mission unless he actually cared about the purpose, but for pilots the travel is the purpose, not the scientific oddity they hope to find at point B. And remember the expedition cost over a trillion dollars, so he's paid quite well to take the mission, not because he "wants to know."

[Y]

Thanks for dodging the question? I searched around, nothing anywhere about Janek being former military. On one site Scott is said to describe Janek as "an old sea dog" but that's hardly a reference to military experience. Like I said, it's just weak writing in a movie that focused too much on a grander scheme, meanwhile leaving out details that make the scheme worth caring about. This lapse in particular is just giving Janek something to do besides drive Ms. Vickers around.

Again, I think you're giving too much credit here both to the writers and to the Janek character. He's a ship captain, paid to haul his cargo from point A to point B. You could argue he wouldn't accept the mission unless he actually cared about the purpose, but for pilots the travel is the purpose, not the scientific oddity they hope to find at point B. And remember the expedition cost over a trillion dollars, so he's paid quite well to take the mission, not because he "wants to know."

That's just like, your opinion, man.

[Animeniax]

That's just like, your opinion, man.

Indeed, but supported with facts and common sense. I'd rather the movie didn't have so many glaring plot holes and poor writing, but it does.

To make the Prometheus/Alien world even crazier, I was reading about the supposed connections between the engineers and Jesus Christ. Ridley Scott himself suggested/entertained the idea that JC was an engineer sent to the earth to help humanity during one of our times of crises and debauchery. When humans responded by crucifying him, that's when the engineers decided to exterminate all humanity with the black goo. Maybe Scott was kidding, but if not, how's that for some suggestive story telling?

[Y]

Indeed, but supported with facts and common sense. I'd rather the movie didn't have so many glaring plot holes and poor writing, but it does.


Yeah but, not really though.

[Buffalobiian]

Ani's idea is more supported due to the lack of evidence that the captain was ex-military.

The Jesus Christ thing is interesting.. but all depictions of Christ that we see are facially hairy, while the Engineers are anything but hairy. How are they going to pull that off? Someone gave him a wig?

[Animeniax]

Either Jesus is misrepresented in our annals (some suggest he'd most likely be black or middle-eastern brown yet he is depicted as white because of the European establishment that pushed Christianity on the world) or the engineers had the technology to make their representative appear more like the humans whom he was trying to save. They were advanced enough to have that ability.

I'm disappointed no one got my Driving Ms. Daisy reference.

[Y]

Ani's idea is more supported due to the lack of evidence that the captain was ex-military.

The evidence is, foremost, the fact that it's painfully obvious that Idris Elba's character was ex-military in everything he said, especially the scene in question if you do things like listen to the dialogue and understand human speech. If you need something dumb, like, oh I dunno, the actor saying the character had a military background, well that's the second fuckin' line of his Wikipedia entry, right after "He's the captain of the ship", so obviously anyone who said they "researched" the character and could find no evidence that he had a military background is just a craven liar who has no problem making shit up to support his views about movies and TV. Not calling out anyone in particular, of course.

EDIT:

Would the point I was making be any less accurate if I had described the captain as a "military-minded" guy instead of specifically saying that he came from a military background. Jesus Christ.

[Animeniax]

Wow, just when I thought we'd have a decent discussion, you lose the argument and go catty on me.

Did you edit that wiki entry yourself or are you really relying on a wiki entry as fact? Like I said, I searched and found no references to a military background for Janek. If being a ship captain means you're military, then welcome aboard the nuclear powered destroyer class Love Boat, Capt Stubing. Just so you know, plenty of idiots like to fancy themselves "military experts" when they're just cowboys with no skill and no training. Groups like Blackwater are full of these dumbies. Janek may fancy himself a military man, but he's a ship captain on a science vessel.

And to add to the dumbness that is Prometheus, recall that Fifield, a geologist, gets lost in the dome. The biologist he is with approaches the alien lifeform that emerges from the black goo and tries to pet it. How poor is the writing in this movie.

edit: following the reference on which the wiki "factoid" is based, lo and behold, the factoid is wrong.

Here's the article it references (and one I read during my previous research):
http://movies.inquirer.net/3843/%E2%80%9Cprometheus%E2%80%9D-crew-on-a-mission-collision

Janek, the captain of the Prometheus, is described by Scott as an “old sea dog” – an officer in the classic tradition, and an alpha male whose primary mission is to protect the ship and its crew. His ambitions and vocation provide a sharp contrast to the heady goals of Shaw and Holloway and the venal corporate interests of Vickers. Elba describes Janek as “a longshoreman and a sailor. It’s his life and the crew is his responsibility. Ultimately, he makes a huge decision that sums him up as a man.”

Surprise, surprise, no mention of military in the article, as described by Elba or the director. Thank you, wiki, for ruining the world.

[Y]

Wow, just when I thought we'd have a decent discussion, you lose the argument and go catty on me.

Did you edit that wiki entry yourself or are you really relying on a wiki entry as fact? Like I said, I searched and found no references to a military background for Janek. If the actor claims it, then it is the only such mention and is unsupported by anything the director says. If being a ship captain means you're military, then welcome aboard the nuclear powered destroyer class Love Boat, Capt Stubing. Just so you know, plenty of idiots like to fancy themselves "military experts" when they're just cowboys with no skill and no training. Groups like Blackwater are full of these dumbies. Janek may fancy himself a military man, but he's a ship captain on a science vessel.

And to add to the dumbness that is Prometheus, recall that Fifield, a geologist, gets lost in the dome. The biologist he is with approaches the alien lifeform that emerges from the black goo and tries to pet it. How poor is the writing in this movie.

edit: following the reference on which the wiki "factoid" is based, lo and behold, the factoid is wrong.

Here's the article it references (and one I read during my previous research):
http://movies.inquirer.net/3843/%E2%80%9Cprometheus%E2%80%9D-crew-on-a-mission-collision

Janek, the captain of the Prometheus, is described by Scott as an “old sea dog” – an officer in the classic tradition, and an alpha male whose primary mission is to protect the ship and its crew. His ambitions and vocation provide a sharp contrast to the heady goals of Shaw and Holloway and the venal corporate interests of Vickers. Elba describes Janek as “a longshoreman and a sailor. It’s his life and the crew is his responsibility. Ultimately, he makes a huge decision that sums him up as a man.”

Surprise, surprise, no mention of military in the article. Thank you, wiki, for ruining the world.

EDIT:

This is a really good post about the issue. Rereading this post really made me think about the issue. I like your style and I think you'll go far with analysis like this.

[Animeniax]

That's just like, your opinion, man.

Mreow!

You stake most of your argument on the wiki article that definitively says he's military, which I've shown is bs and you're a fool for relying on wiki to prove an argument. So now it's just that he seems military because of some of what he says. Nice backtracking.

[Ryllharu]

Don't be a moron, learn military slang.

"Sea dogs" are low rank military...or low ranking pirates. Either way, organizations aboard vessels that are run with a very strict, military hierarchy. Using the term “old sea dog” implies nothing but military, or a group run militarily.

[Kraco]

Even today you don't need to be career military to be able to think like one possessing such a mindset or skills, to a limited extent. You just need to have watched movies, tv series, read books, played games, read encyclopedias, sat thinking it all, and who knows what you will be able to do in the future, in virtual reality. What comes to the other people, I think I mentioned it before, but it's obvious they are shady dregs, all of them. None of them are from anywhere near the top of their field. Because decent or better scientists wouldn't have agreed to a possible suicide mission using experimental technology, with no briefings or data whatsoever available beforehand. Only people with nothing to lose would agree to this kind of a trip. So, it's useless to expect them to behave like your famous professors with hundreds of peer-reviewed publications.

[Y]

Don't be a moron, learn military slang.

"Sea dogs" are low rank military...or low ranking pirates. Either way, organizations aboard vessels that are run with a very strict, military hierarchy. Using the term “old sea dog” implies nothing but military, or a group run militarily.

Not to mention the source for the "military background" statement is obviously the Empire magazine article, just as the source for the direct quote was inquirer.net. This is probably obvious to anyone who doesn't have a vested interest in trolling up a storm and lying about Wikipedia links in order to score points in a discussion though and really goes without saying.

[Animeniax]

Don't be a moron, learn military slang.

"Sea dogs" are low rank military...or low ranking pirates. Either way, organizations aboard vessels that are run with a very strict, military hierarchy. Using the term “old sea dog” implies nothing but military, or a group run militarily.

Come on, sea dog refers to sailors, not military at all. Regardless, running a vessel with pseudo-military precision and hierarchy does not mean any of the crew are military or have the military knowledge to figure out the purpose of an alien planet.


Even today you don't need to be career military to be able to think like one possessing such a mindset or skills, to a limited extent. You just need to have watched movies, tv series, read books, played games, read encyclopedias, sat thinking it all, and who knows what you will be able to do in the future, in virtual reality. What comes to the other people, I think I mentioned it before, but it's obvious they are shady dregs, all of them. None of them are from anywhere near the top of their field. Because decent or better scientists wouldn't have agreed to a possible suicide mission using experimental technology, with no briefings or data whatsoever available beforehand. Only people with nothing to lose would agree to this kind of a trip. So, it's useless to expect them to behave like your famous professors with hundreds of peer-reviewed publications.
Good points about the kind of guys who would sign up for a mission like this. True, they wouldn't be the brightest scientists, but these guys were particularly dumb.

With your experience, did you discern the engineer's purpose on the planet? Or did you have to wait for Janek to explain it like the rest of us?


Not to mention the source for the "military background" statement is obviously the Empire magazine article, just as the source for the direct quote was inquirer.net. This is probably obvious to anyone who doesn't have a vested interest in trolling up a storm and lying about Wikipedia links in order to score points in a discussion though and really goes without saying.When you lose, cry troll.

edit: found the Empire article, and yes Elba claims Janek has a military background. First and only suggestion of this. Congrats, Prometheus is still shittily written.

[Ryllharu]

Not sailors. SEAMEN. Military.

Big difference.

[Y]

That does seem possible, so most likely I'm annoyed with the character's behavior and that sort of one-track mindedness more than anything. It just appears to be a very specific hypothesis and very much plausible, which didn't fit coming from a grunt. While I don't put 100% faith in the "specialists," it just seemed unlikely that a grunt would figure it out.


What evidence is there that the ship captain was former military? Unless they mentioned that somewhere, the guy could be a merchant marine, a ship captain who just floats from location to location. It's just as likely it was poor writing and you're reading too much into it.

Wow it's really weird how Kraco and I are obviously proposing the same idea - that as a direct, practical thinker the captain of the ship would immediately guess at a military purpose for the installation and then present his theory as fact - but when Kraco posts it, you find it plausible and confess that your distate for the scene mainly lies in finding his personality and background suspect. When I post it, in a near-identical formulation, suddenly his behavior is just "poor writing" and I'm "reading too much into it" and you seize upon minutiae to falsely dispute - in the same post, no less! Maybe in the future instead of obviously posting your replies based on who you're replying to, you could make them in two consecutive posts to disguise your naked trolling and lack of interest in any sincere discussion, on such a pithy subject as a movie no less.

[Animeniax]

Not sailors. SEAMEN. Military.

Big difference.Not true. Sea dog refers to any kind of sailor or person who spends a lot of time on a sea-faring vessel. Even Elba calls the character "a longshoreman, a sailor." There may be a specific use of the term "sea dog" in the military, but there's also a more common use to describe sailors.

[Animeniax]

Wow it's really weird how Kraco and I are obviously proposing the same idea - that as a direct, practical thinker the captain of the ship would immediately guess at a military purpose for the installation and then present his theory as fact - but when Kraco posts it, you find it plausible and confess that your distate for the scene mainly lies in finding his personality and background suspect. When I post it, in a near-identical formulation, suddenly his behavior is just "poor writing" and I'm "reading too much into it" and you seize upon minutiae to falsely dispute - in the same post, no less! Maybe in the future instead of obviously posting your replies based on who you're replying to, you could make them in two consecutive posts to disguise your naked trolling and lack of interest in any sincere discussion, on such a pithy subject as a movie no less.

Where Kraco tries to explain his mentality, which would be understandable as the ship's captain and because people are full of shit, you try to justify with unsupported claims about his military background. It's possible Kraco's explanation is correct, and it's just as possible it's shitty writing. Your explanation is out in left field.

They could have done so much as far as story to lead up to someone explaining the purpose of the planet for the viewers. They got lazy and made Janek explain it just as a plot point. That's what makes me upset about the movie.

[Y]

Where Kraco tries to explain his mentality, which would be understandable as the ship's captain and because people are full of shit, you try to justify with unsupported claims about his military background. It's possible Kraco's explanation is correct, and it's just as possible it's shitty writing. Your explanation is out in left field.

They could have done so much as far as story to lead up to someone explaining the purpose of the planet for the viewers. They got lazy and made Janek explain it just as a plot point. That's what makes me upset about the movie.

Thanks for this reply to my post. The discussion wasn't complete without a reply such as this. After reading the whole thread and then this post, I realized what the thread was missing was a post just like this.

[Animeniax]

Thanks for this reply to my post. The discussion wasn't complete without a reply such as this. After reading the whole thread and then this post, I realized what the thread was missing was a post just like this.

Wow you really hate to lose an argument don't you.

edit: you do understand, don't you, that when you go back and edit older posts once you've sobered up or reconciled any bitchy feelings, your revisions are often missed. Maybe think before you post and you won't have to do edit.

[Kraco]

With your experience, did you discern the engineer's purpose on the planet? Or did you have to wait for Janek to explain it like the rest of us?

Well, I can't recall anymore what I thought back then, but probably I didn't think it a military installation. But it's not like I'd be particularly military-minded. I have only spent about a year of my life in the military. Such a time doesn't really reform a person through and through unless you are a real military fan.

Besides, I don't think that much during movies. Maybe I should, but as it is, I just sit and let it flow in, evoking feelings.

[Y]

Wow you really hate to lose an argument don't you.

edit: you do understand, don't you, that when you go back and edit older posts once you've sobered up or reconciled any bitchy feelings, your revisions are often missed. Maybe think before you post and you won't have to do edit.

I don't think you're very good at reading posts if you think we've been having a discussion, that my edits softened up my posts, or that the edits are directed at you.

[Animeniax]

Well, I can't recall anymore what I thought back then, but probably I didn't think it a military installation. But it's not like I'd be particularly military-minded. I have only spent about a year of my life in the military. Such a time doesn't really reform a person through and through unless you are a real military fan.

Besides, I don't think that much during movies. Maybe I should, but as it is, I just sit and let it flow in, evoking feelings.

I also don't have any real military experience and yet I'm somewhat military-minded and there just isn't enough information to make a military decision as to the circumstances on LV-223. I'm just incredibly annoyed at how the team investigated about 5% of the entire planet, then Holloway decided the mission was a bust and Janek guessed at the purpose of the planet and got it pretty much right. I know people jump to conclusions and make hasty decisions, but I think in the case of the movie it was more poor writing than anything.

Sorry for double post.


I don't think you're very good at reading posts if you think we've been having a discussion, that my edits softened up my posts, or that the edits are directed at you.
Actually I'm sure you do it so you seem like less of an ass. Someone reading my reply to your original post will have read your edited post (assuming they read posts in sequence) and then assumed I was wrong or being unpleasant. Sneaky you.

[Y]

Well, I can't recall anymore what I thought back then, but probably I didn't think it a military installation. But it's not like I'd be particularly military-minded. I have only spent about a year of my life in the military. Such a time doesn't really reform a person through and through unless you are a real military fan.


The point of the scene isn't that Idris Elba magically knows the purpose of the installation, of course. It's bizarre that anyone could get that out of that scene. This is a movie that is explicitly about the search for answers, for deeper meaning in life, and that scene's setting up the mindset of men like the captain - he's a leader of men, so his theories become fact when presented to his subordinates and crew, and he's a practical, direct thinker (a military man, although him literally being in the military has less than zero bearing on the scene, as the characters are cipher and symbology) so his first theory about the alien facility is practical and direct. Both in the text of the film and in a broader metaphorical scope the captain is working out his inadequacies - in the film, the captain is made inessential by Vickers who makes all the real decisions, and so he is trying to control the situation around him by turning his speculation into fact, the way that leaders of men have a tendency to do.


Sorry for double post.


Actually I'm sure you do it so you seem like less of an ass. Someone reading my reply to your original post will have read your edited post (assuming they read posts in sequence) and then assumed I was wrong or being unpleasant. Sneaky you.

Like all of your other posts, this one is wrong too.

[TwisT]

I don't wanna interrupt your gentleman's conversation, but i must agree with Ani about the "old sea dog" thingy. I have no idea if it really as anything with the military to do, but when i hear that term i directly associate it with a person that has spent a big part of his life at sea, be it military ship captain, a deck-scrub on an old pirate ship, a fisherman on a fishing vessel or just some grunt on a cargo vessel or oil tanker. Only requirement in my mind for such a "title" or nickname is that the person is a little older (at last 40-45) and has spent most of his adult life at sea.

As for all the other things you discuss (probably the things that actually matter when discussing the movie) i don't really care. Even though i agree that there was holes in the movie and it could have been better i still think it was a great movie. There ain't that many Sci-Fi movies about spacetravel/other planets/terrifying alien lifeforms being made, so when there is one that is enjoyable i don't wanna over analyse it to find every little flaw so i will never enjoy it again.

[Y]

As for all the other things you discuss (probably the things that actually matter when discussing the movie) i don't really care.

Well, you said it, not me.

[Animeniax]

The point of the scene isn't that Idris Elba magically knows the purpose of the installation, of course. It's bizarre that anyone could get that out of that scene... blah blah blah.

Like all of your other posts, this one is wrong too.Talk about reading too much into a scene/character. Your discerning all of that from the 5-10 minutes of screen time for Capt Janek rivals the preposterousness of Janek's assertion of the purpose of the planet. Both are full of shit. I guess you consider yourself a leader of men, maybe even a military man.


As for all the other things you discuss (probably the things that actually matter when discussing the movie) i don't really care. Even though i agree that there was holes in the movie and it could have been better i still think it was a great movie. There ain't that many Sci-Fi movies about spacetravel/other planets/terrifying alien lifeforms being made, so when there is one that is enjoyable i don't wanna over analyse it to find every little flaw so i will never enjoy it again.

That was my hope for this movie, that it would be the start of a great franchise. But the more I consider the story and plot holes, the more I read about the movie, the more I read others with similar criticisms as mine. I think the big problem is the movie tried to do too much and be too convoluted. For a movie that tries to make you think, it does a poor job when you think about it.

Look back at Alien and Aliens. They were rather simple stories that didn't aspire to be too much, and they ended up being some of the best.

[Y]

Talk about reading too much into a scene/character. Your discerning all of that from the 5-10 minutes of screen time for Capt Janek rivals the preposterousness of Janek's assertion of the purpose of the planet. Both are full of shit. I guess you consider yourself a leader of men, maybe even a military man.

Hey. Dumbass. I guess you missed the implications of my post on the previous page where I pointed out that you agreed with Kraco when he presented the exact same idea. Here's what it means: you're a retard troll and you're full of shit. Stop posting.

[Animeniax]

Hey. Dumbass. I guess you missed the implications of my post on the previous page where I pointed out that you agreed with Kraco when he presented the exact same idea. Here's what it means: you're a retard troll and you're full of shit. Stop posting.

No, I entertained his idea as being a valid possibility because he presented it as that: an idea. Meanwhile you present many of your ideas like they are an obvious certainty, particularly the part about him being "a serious-minded military guy," which I have since debunked for the most part. Janek and his crew hardly seemed like serious people in the movie.

It's all about the delivery.

edit: and just to disprove any catty calls about differential treatment, here's a criticism of something Kraco posted:


What comes to the other people, I think I mentioned it before, but it's obvious they are shady dregs, all of them. None of them are from anywhere near the top of their field. Because decent or better scientists wouldn't have agreed to a possible suicide mission using experimental technology, with no briefings or data whatsoever available beforehand. Only people with nothing to lose would agree to this kind of a trip. So, it's useless to expect them to behave like your famous professors with hundreds of peer-reviewed publications. That's arguable but this is a trillion dollar mission. Scientists come in all different types, from the crappy ones to the single-minded extremely dedicated ones. I think it's fair to say Shaw and Holloway are the dedicated ones, having devoted significant time and effort to excavations on Earth and now to travel to another star system to find their answers.

You could argue Fifield the idiot geologist and Milburn the idiot biologist are substandard scientists, but that's a bit of a stretch to explain how Fifield gets them lost in the ruins and Milburn tries to pet an unknown alien snake species. Even the shittiest scientists in their fields should be able to avoid such pitfalls.

[Shadow Skill]

Ok enough of the Sailormoon and Tuxedo mask talk. I don't care whether he was a military or some lonely guy on a naval ship filled with 15,000 other lonely guys.

I always assumed they had radars or xray scanners or something other type of scanner that scanned the planet they were in orbit around. Does it say how long they were in orbit? I imagine long enough to get a detail observation for the captain to come to that conclusions.

The Jesus thing... not sure where people get the idea he is black. We have neither proof he was black. His parents were clearly from that Nazareth area, which is your typic middle eastern, slightly darker skin with beards and what not. From the area his parents come from and the people who live in that area today (Same people) are not black.

So I am inclined to not believe that. Not that skin colour should play a role here. I am not racist. Just my opinion based on facts.

I am glad they didnt draw parallels to Jesus. That would have made the movie terrible.

[Kraco]

That's arguable but this is a trillion dollar mission. Scientists come in all different types, from the crappy ones to the single-minded extremely dedicated ones. I think it's fair to say Shaw and Holloway are the dedicated ones, having devoted significant time and effort to excavations on Earth and now to travel to another star system to find their answers.

Weren't Shaw and Holloway the only people, aside from the billionaire funder himself (and his jealous daughter) the only ones who knew anything at all? So, they can be counted out of what I said. The rest knew nothing. Now, that's precisely the important point. IF the others had been told something of what the mission is all about, you'd expect some really adventurous and daring scientists of actual fame might have signed in. But if you just tell them: "I'm the richest man in the world (and look like a fucking mummy from Egypt) and I have decided you will accomppany me on a mission I can't tell you anything about, and I expect few of us will survive even the flight!" who the hell would agree to hop aboard? Only somebody who's running from loan sharks and is tired of his life... I reckon you'd find that type more among the less gifted than the better portion of scientists. And from the looks of it, Weyland didn't bother searching too hard.

[Animeniax]

Ok enough of the Sailormoon and Tuxedo mask talk. I don't care whether he was a military or some lonely guy on a naval ship filled with 15,000 other lonely guys.

I always assumed they had radars or xray scanners or something other type of scanner that scanned the planet they were in orbit around. Does it say how long they were in orbit? I imagine long enough to get a detail observation for the captain to come to that conclusions.

The Jesus thing... not sure where people get the idea he is black. We have neither proof he was black. His parents were clearly from that Nazareth area, which is your typic middle eastern, slightly darker skin with beards and what not. From the area his parents come from and the people who live in that area today (Same people) are not black.

So I am inclined to not believe that. Not that skin colour should play a role here. I am not racist. Just my opinion based on facts.

I am glad they didnt draw parallels to Jesus. That would have made the movie terrible.
Recall they chose a landing spot based on Holloway's assertion that the structure he saw wasn't natural, that "God doesn't build in straight lines," not any greater scientific calculation. They did scan the planet for atmospheric gases and heat sources along the few miles they flew over before landing. It still wouldn't give the Captain enough information to make such a definitive guess as to the purpose of the planet.

I think people suggest He's black just because the popular conception that he is European white is preposterous. Most likely He's Arab/Persian brown. They didn't bring up the Jesus angle in the movie and they most likely never will. I think it's just the director feeding the overactive imaginations of his fans.



Weren't Shaw and Holloway the only people, aside from the billionaire funder himself (and his jealous daughter) the only ones who knew anything at all? So, they can be counted out of what I said. The rest knew nothing. Now, that's precisely the important point. IF the others had been told something of what the mission is all about, you'd expect some really adventurous and daring scientists of actual fame might have signed in. But if you just tell them: "I'm the richest man in the world (and look like a fucking mummy from Egypt) and I have decided you will accomppany me on a mission I can't tell you anything about, and I expect few of us will survive even the flight!" who the hell would agree to hop aboard? Only somebody who's running from loan sharks and is tired of his life... I reckon you'd find that type more among the less gifted than the better portion of scientists. And from the looks of it, Weyland didn't bother searching too hard.
They made it clear the ship crew didn't know the mission beside ferrying their cargo to a far off destination (hence the bet). They didn't really say how much the science crew knew about the mission except Fifield congratulates Shaw on meeting her maker. I don't see that it was a suicide mission. They went to meet their makers, who they didn't expect would be out to kill them, else why create them in the first place? I think that was one of the concepts of the movie, hence Shaw's line "we were so wrong."

Even if the scientists had no idea of the purpose of the mission, and even if they are some of the dumbest people in the science community, it doesn't explain their behavior in the ruins. A geologist gets lost running down what's basically a one way tunnel, and a biologist tries to pet an unknown alien species. These actions are ridiculous even for non-science folks.

[Kraco]

Even if the scientists had no idea of the purpose of the mission, and even if they are some of the dumbest people in the science community, it doesn't explain their behavior in the ruins. A geologist gets lost running down what's basically a one way tunnel, and a biologist tries to pet an unknown alien species. These actions are ridiculous even for non-science folks.

Perhaps, perhaps not. If you look at humanity at large, most of it is made of fools and cowards. A coward wouldn't have ever boarded the space ship, so they were left with non-cowards. And fools.

You have a much better opinion of humans than I do. And let's not forget Weyland was a megalomaniac yearning for immortality, so it's not like he'd have hired too bright people who could have snatched the candy from his feeble hands. He couldn't trust even his own daughter (for a reason, but that was entirely his own fault).

[Animeniax]

Perhaps, perhaps not. If you look at humanity at large, most of it is made of fools and cowards. A coward wouldn't have ever boarded the space ship, so they were left with non-cowards. And fools.

You have a much better opinion of humans than I do. And let's not forget Weyland was a megalomaniac yearning for immortality, so it's not like he'd have hired too bright people who could have snatched the candy from his feeble hands. He couldn't trust even his own daughter (for a reason, but that was entirely his own fault).

Actually I think I have a very poor opinion of humans, which means either you have an abysmal opinion of us or you're mistaken. I think in the end a lot of the silliness that I'm upset about can be chalked up to panic. Fifield and Milburn may just have been panicking when they left the group in the ruins and gotten lost.

I've read criticism that Vickers' death was dumb because she ran in a straight line and the ship rolled over her. I thought it was a pretty dumb ending for her too, but really we could say she acted foolishly in a stressful situation. It's easy for us to watch and think she should be smart enough to run to the side, but we're not in a life-death situation such as hers so it's easy for us to think it through whereas she doesn't have that luxury.

[Kraco]

I've read criticism that Vickers' death was dumb because she ran in a straight line and the ship rolled over her. I thought it was a pretty dumb ending for her too, but really we could say she acted foolishly in a stressful situation. It's easy for us to watch and think she should be smart enough to run to the side, but we're not in a life-death situation such as hers so it's easy for us to think it through whereas she doesn't have that luxury.

Haha. Running directly ahead and not to the side when something moving strictly linearly is chasing you has happened in ten thousand movies and tv series, at least. There has to be some psychological truth lingering behind that behavior, because as insanely stupid as it looks to the audience, it still keeps appearing in fiction time after time.

[Animeniax]

Found this in a Cracked.com article about the most overused movie tropes:

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