Prometheus

[Dandontdare]

Sorry Dan, I mis read your post, didn't mean to be tellin you to suck (space ship control) eggs.

[Link Prime]

The faith aspect of Shaw's character is seriously uncooked.

As was the potential to tie the Engineers motives 2000 years ago to the advent of Christianity.

Not sure why you'd think the Engineers would have anything to do with such, bar Shaw's ill-defined faith and someone at some point mentioning something about something that so-say happened two thousand years ago. In its own confused way, I suppose the filmmakers would have the Engineers be analogous with the Nephilim (they're giants, sure, even though they have more in common with the Sons of God, i.e angels); which, if we're going by the Judeo-Christian timeline, would place them at the time of the flood, some four thousand years ago.

Like PROMETHEARSE as a whole, it's a mess. In the the context of the story, the implications are profound enough without Shaw having to be religious. And while I'm all for ambiguity, the film in question needs to actually explore its ideas for us to come to our own conclusions.

I read an interview with Lindelhof last week (may have been on Bleedingcool, not sure) where he discussed the implications of the Engineers wanting to wipe us out 2000 years ago.
I guess it was up to the viewer to consider if it had something to do with Christ or perhaps the Roman Empire. I cant think of any other relevant aspect to humanity's development that occurred in that period, so I guess they were alluding to either of those.

[TordelBack]

I guess it was up to the viewer to consider if it had something to do with Christ or perhaps the Roman Empire. I cant think of any other relevant aspect to humanity's development that occurred in that period, so I guess they were alluding to either of those.

Ptolemy's Almagest?  While completely missing the point re: the Earth orbiting the Sun, it did systemise astronomy in terms of mathematics, so could be seen as the start of humanity's journey to the stars.

[mygrimmbrother]

Interesting but I don't think the movie merits this level of analysis, and that's not a dig at your theories chaps, it's just not worthy IMO!

I'm continuing with my knee-jerk negativity and hereby proclaim my intention to boycott the Blade Runner sequel whenever that turns up 

[Link Prime]

I guess it was up to the viewer to consider if it had something to do with Christ or perhaps the Roman Empire. I cant think of any other relevant aspect to humanity's development that occurred in that period, so I guess they were alluding to either of those.

Ptolemy's Almagest?  While completely missing the point re: the Earth orbiting the Sun, it did systemise astronomy in terms of mathematics, so could be seen as the start of humanity's journey to the stars.

From Wikpedia:
Ptolemy's cosmos
The cosmology of the Almagest includes five main points, each of which is the subject of a chapter in Book I. What follows is a close paraphrase of Ptolemy's own words from Toomer's translation.[3]

The celestial realm is spherical, and moves as a sphere. Strike 1.
The Earth is a sphere. Almost...we'll give him that one.
The Earth is at the center of the cosmos. Strike 2.
The Earth, in relation to the distance of the fixed stars, has no appreciable size and must be treated as a mathematical point.[4] Technically correct, depending on your perspective.
The Earth does not move. Strike 3.

If I was in charge of an advanced civilization I wouldnt be feeling too murderous if that was what they believed at the time! 

MGB is probably right though...it doesnt warrant this level of discussion!

[JOE SOAP]

They tried eliminating us 2000 years ago because we'd discovered that boiled eggs and a flute were the key to intersellar travel.

[dyl]

http://www.movies.com/movie-news/ridley-scott-prometheus-interview/8232
I remember thinking uh oh when shaw said they'd been dead for 2000 years. The last question in this interview shows what they almost went for, very naff!! The fact that they didn't but still left the seeds in the script sums up the film for me.

[TordelBack]

http://www.movies.com/movie-news/ridley-scott-prometheus-interview/8232. The last question in this interview shows what they almost went for, very naff!!

But if you look at it as an "our children are misbehaving down there" scenario, there are moments where it looks like we've gone out of control, running around with armor and skirts, which of course would be the Roman Empire. And they were given a long run. A thousand years before their disintegration actually started to happen. And you can say, "Lets' send down one more of our emissaries to see if he can stop it. Guess what? They crucified him.

This makes me sad.  And not only because the statement "A thousand years before their disintegration actually started to happen" makes no sense (the 'Roman Empire' started maybe 30 years before Christ's birth arrival, and (let's try to be charitable here) its predecessor the Republic had only been going for 500 years before that), or even the notion that the Romans were 'out of control' in comparison with the rest of skirt-wearing human history. 

Mainly it makes me sad because it is everything I feared about this movie when I saw the first snippets.  I hate this sort of claptrap, it's all been done to death.  Think I'll skip my planned trip.  Moonrise Kingdom instead, maybe.

[JOE SOAP]

Don't worry, Jesus is a Replicant, or some other Retrofit-Ridley-Reason that gets pulled out of his arse when asked a difficult question about something he never put enough thought into in the first place.

[TordelBack]

I know, I know, but 'aliens controlled our evolution', 'aliens shaped our history', 'Jesus was an alien'... it's just not something I could be arsed sitting through again. 

[JOE SOAP]

You'd think after BSG it was done to death.

[Link Prime]

They tried eliminating us 2000 years ago because we'd discovered that boiled eggs and a flute were the key to intersellar travel.

Let it go Joe! 

[Professor Bear]

You'd think after BSG it was done to death.

In BSG canon, it was ultimately God wot done that, surely?

[JOE SOAP]

They tried eliminating us 2000 years ago because we'd discovered that boiled eggs and a flute were the key to intersellar travel.

Let it go Joe! 

I did say it was the best thing in it.

[Roger Godpleton]

First Act: Boring as fuck.
Second Act: Uneven & confused but some cool stuff is there.
Third Act: Uneven & confused and boring as fuck.