History Film / Prometheus

* CanonDiscontinuity
** ''Prometheus'' completely ignores the ''Film/AlienVSPredator'' films. The Weyland Corporation [[https://www.weylandindustries.com/timeline timeline]] notably does ''not'' feature Charles Bishop Weyland, who founded Weyland Industries in that canon. Subverted in a sense because [[spoiler:the Engineer's suits and equipment resemble that of a Predator's armor and weapons and many of the "pictures" in the room resemble both Xenomophs and Predators]].
** The tech, especially the autonomous, gravity defying, reconnaissance spheres, are something the Colonial Marines probably wished they had in Aliens.

* ChekhovsSkill: David is shown taking linguistics lessons from the ship's onboard computer, and says that he spent the last two years learning every ancient and proto language he could get his hands on. This later proves to be important when Weyland asks David to speak with the surviving Engineer.

* ContinuityPorn

* CorruptCorporateExecutive

* CosmeticallyAdvancedPrequel: Justified, as the ''Prometheus'' is a brand-new expedition ship whilst the ''USCSS Nostromo'' from ''Film/{{Alien}}'' was an old space truck designed for cargo.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Several, given the nature of the film and the monsters found within.

* TraumaticCSection: [[spoiler:Shaw cutting out the FetusTerrible]].

* HolographicInterface
** One was human-made, used for the MissionBriefing early on.

Months prior to the film's release, ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' fans speculated about whether ''Prometheus'' had any relation to the franchise. Creator/RidleyScott danced around the issue at first by saying ''Prometheus'' started as a direct prequel before moving onto something new entirely during its initial inception. But the film itself clarifies its position in the ''Alien'' canon with notable references to the Xenomorphs and Weyland Industries (before it became [[MegaCorp Weyland-Yutani]]). The plot's main focus, however, is on the nature of the "Space Jockeys" and their connection to humanity.

* ArcWords: Since David is (at least, partially) based on Lawrence's character, and since he is an important character, three ArcWords of ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia'' get to become ArcWords of ''Prometheus'', as they are symbolically related to the plot for various reasons:

* CrocodileTears: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dSkf06yCvU "Happy Birthday, David"]] viral clip shows that androids aren't quite capable of convincingly faking emotions like sadness.

* CreditsGag: At the end of the credits it's noted that the footage is the property of Weyland Industries.

* {{Retraux}}: Subtle example, but the "Happy Birthday, David" viral video is done in the style of a 70's or early 80's informational or advertisement video. Its most noticeable in the retro music and the clipped, "brick to the ear" audio mastering, but also in the furniture and interiors shown, repeating, moving geometric patterns in the "beat clips," fonts on the infographics, as well as the high-key lighting and color choice.

** The final act reveals that Vickers is actually trying to reign in the real CorruptCorporateExecutive.

* PostClimaxConfrontation: Just after the Engineer starship goes down, its still surviving pilot attempts to kill off Doctor Elizabeth Shaw one final time, only for the latter for let loose the Trilobite Facehugger upon him and likewise subsequently impregnate him with the Xenomorph Deacon once that happens.

** Shaw's Swedish actor Creator/NoomiRapace slips out of her British accent occasionally the CaptainsLog at the end for example.

* OrganicTechnology: Staple of the Engineer culture. Anything from their ships to their clothes seemingly seamlessly fused to their bodies seems to be made of living tissue or bone. The most significant example is probably the black sludge, which in Earth-like atmospheric conditions has the ability to mutate any Terrestrial life-form in horrible, parasitic ways into techno-organic nightmares.

** The movie ends much like how the original ''Film/{{Alien}}'' did: the survivor goes off into space, leaving behind a the final log of the ship that describes what she's been through.

* NaiveAnimalLover: A character finds a snake-like creature who is obviously acting in an aggressive manner but still decides to get in close to touch it while calling it "baby". It doesn't end well.

** Vickers being [[spoiler:Weyland's daughter]], is once again foreshadowed by the fact that she and David [[spoiler:(who Weyland had earlier referred to as the "closest thing he had to a son"),could easily pass for brother and sister]]. Janek even asks Vickers [[spoiler:if she is an android because she and David have a similar temperament.]]

* FromASingleCell: [[spoiler:It's strongly implied that even the smallest drop of the virulent black goo ending up in an ecosystem would be enough to turn a habitable planet into an all out DeathWorld overrun with rapidly evolving flesh-eating nasties, deadly parasites and rampaging mutants. For instance, the "Hammerpede" that killed Millburn and Fifield originated as an inch-long segmented worm that got drenched in the goo leaking from the vases]].

** Shaw uses [[spoiler:the Trilobite in a desperate attempt to escape the Engineer knowing that the survivor of ''that'' fight is more than capable of killing ''her'', but at that point she literally has nothing to lose- to whit- the Engineer's hands are literally ''around her throat'' at the time]].

** [[spoiler:When Shaw informs Janek that the Engineer vessel is headed to Earth with its "payload", he decides to crash the ship headfirst into it. His crewmen Ravel and Chance refuse to leave his side in order to help him. They all go out in explosive style]].

** Let's say that it is possible to restore functionality to the nervous system of an organism that has been decapitated and has been rotting for over 2000 years (the brain of the organism has been derived of oxygen all that time, which the brain requires to function); the head's muscles would have been so decayed over that time that the head would no longer be recognizable; let alone move its facial muscles.

* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:When David makes First Contact with the last living Engineer. The ancient being seems to understand him, holding David's chin in a tender, almost paternal fashion. but suddenly the alien [[NeckLift grabs him by the neck]] and [[OffWithHisHead decapitates]] him.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The Engineer is killed before he can destroy Earth, but everyone on the ''Prometheus'' expedition is dead except for Elizabeth and David. They pilot a course for the home world of the Engineers to in a desperate attempt for answers, but in the process Shaw ends up inadvertently creating ''something much, much worse''.]]

** [[spoiler:David manages to wake up the Engineer and tell him Weyland's request, but while the Engineer seems contemplative at first, after watching Weyland's mooks mistreat Shaw, he suddenly mutilates David and kills Weyland and the rest. He then re-initiates a 2000 years old mission to carry the black liquid to the Earth, ostensibly to bomb the planet with it and reboot all of its biosphere.]] The reason of any of this is left open to interpretation. This is lampshaded in-universe when [[spoiler:Shaw asks him why the Engineers had prepared such a plan against the humans]], but no answer is given within the film.
** A deleted longer version of the same scene makes it slighty less ambiguous, albeit giving it different implications. [[spoiler:The Engineer now talks and actually replies angrily to Weyland, but what does he say and why he ends up reacting that way are still unclear. According to the promotional book ''A grammar of modern Indo-European - Prometheus edition'', the Engineer's reply to Weyland's request for immortality translates literally as "you would not be a man if you didn’t grow old," implying either that humans cannot be made biologically immortal or that the Engineer simply doesn't deem them worthy to receive such gift. However, David instead claims the Engineer is asking why is Weyland supposed to be so great as to deserve immortality, which differs enough from the real line to suggest David might be actually ''betraying Weyland'' by [[TranslationWithAnAgenda deliberately mistranslating the dialogue]]. Those lines and Weyland's subsequent pathetic boasts also imply the Engineer attacks him merely out of annoyance, although this leaves the reason of his mission to Earth still unknown and even harder to guess than in the final cut.]]

* ApocalypseHow: Towards the film's end, [[spoiler:it's revealed the Engineers were apparently planning to inflict a ApocalypseHow/Class4-[[ApocalypseHow/Class6 6]] on Earth using TheVirus that they made (''Film/AlienCovenant'' confirms it would've been a very precise Class 4: the virus would've infected all animal life to mutate or eradicate them while leaving all the plant life untouched). The Last Engineer tries to reach Earth and complete this mission after awakening]].

* BigBad: The Engineer race. [[spoiler:They seeded life on Earth, but now they want to get rid of it for some reason. The means they use to achieve this are… ghastly]].

* BigNo: Shaw, [[spoiler:watching Holloway flame-broiled alive by Vickers]].

* AnAxeToGrind: Shaw carries a fire axe while inside [[spoiler:Vickers' ejected lifepod]], and [[spoiler:the mutated Fifield]] uses one to dispatch a mercenary.

* OneDimensionalThinking: A DoubleSubversion when [[spoiler:Vickers and Shaw are running away from the crashing spaceship along its longest axis as it rolls toward them, but Shaw survives when she [[DramaticSlip falls over]] and it finally occurs to her that she could roll a short distance to one side. The second subversion comes when it falls on top of her anyway. Possibly a third subversion when it almost crushes her but is stopped by some rocks. The same doesn't occur to Vickers and she's just plain crushed. Ironically, if ''she'' had fallen, she might've thought to roll in the other direction from the one Shaw rolled, which would be the way ship wouldn't fall.]]

* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: While Shaw does show pain from time to time as a result of her emergency surgery, it doesn't cripple her actions very much, and she's still able to move around and even run. Writing it off as an adrenaline rush or her drugged up on painkillers is a bit of a stretch considering the amount of physical activity she does afterwards, [[spoiler:including running away from the Engineer and later, a crashing ship, not to mention hauling David's body from where the Engineer snapped his head off at to wherever another Engineer ship was at.]]
* ManOnFire: [[spoiler:Holloway allows himself to be torched when he's infected with the black mutagen.]]

* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Holloway]] asks for this—and gets it—from Vickers. Granted, [[spoiler:a flamethrower]] doesn't seem all that merciful, except compared to what was happening to him.

* MutagenicGoo: The black goo responsible for the creation of xenomorphs and mutation of humans and other lifeforms.
* MythologyGag
** Compare the first trailer to the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf99ouvFBJw 1979 trailer]] for ''Alien''; most notably it contains the same wailing tone throughout. Lampshaded by the online community later with this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ6SUTI1j9M gem]].
** David performs an impossible basketball shot, just like Ripley in ''Film/AlienResurrection''. (Exaggerated when he does it while riding a bicycle.)
** Also, a certain line from ''Aliens'' gets repeated.

** The briefing scene aboard the ''Prometheus'' resembles the briefing from ''Aliens'', including most of the crew not having been told about the purpose of the mission before they went into hypersleep. However, the circumstances of this movie make this much less plausible.
** The movie ends much like how the original ''Alien'' did: [[spoiler:the survivor goes off into space, leaving behind a the final log of the ship that describes what she's been through]].
** David 8. Compare with Ripley 8 in ''Alien: Resurrection''.
** The POV Cams from ''Aliens'' re-appear. And, like that movie, the team disarms themselves with disastrous results.
** The head on the outside of the ship closely resembles the newborn from ''Alien: Resurrection''.
** The [[spoiler:mutated Fifield]] gets run over and crushed by a vehicle in exactly the same way as one of the Xenomorphs in ''Aliens''.

* OnlySaneWoman: Vickers may be a DesignatedVillain, but she is one of the few characters who behaves rationally, generally does the right thing, and generally tries to avert disaster for everyone. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, she gets a [[DroppedABridgeOnHim spaceship dropped on her]] for her troubles]].

** Shaw's Swedish actor Creator/NoomiRapace slips out of her British accent occasionally (the CaptainsLog at the end, for example).

* OrganicTechnology: Staple of the Engineer culture. Anything from their ships to their clothes (seemingly seamlessly fused to their bodies) seems to be made of living tissue or bone. [[spoiler:The most significant example is probably the black sludge, which in Earth-like atmospheric conditions has the ability to mutate any Terrestrial life-form in horrible, parasitic ways into techno-organic nightmares.]]
* OriginsEpisode:
** Scott claimed fans would "recognize strands of ''Alien''[='=] "DNA" at a certain point in the film. The film features a [[spoiler:wall mural that looks eerily similar to the Xenomorphs]] and [[spoiler:a variety of monsters]] that will be very familiar to ''Alien'' fans.
** [[spoiler:A proto-xenomorph called the "Deacon"]] makes an appearance at the very end of the movie. It should be noted, however, that [[spoiler:this creature is '''not''' the first Xenomorph, as evident by the presence of the murals and the gut-burst corpses of the Engineers]], but it does clearly establish that the movie is an ''Alien'' prequel.

* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Shaw's departure for the Engineers' homeworld, as well as the Deacon creature in the final scene.]] In connection to the former, the alternate ending for the film has David reveal that the closest word we have for where the Engineers came from is "Paradise".

* CuriosityKilledTheCast: Leads to some rather easy WhatAnIdiot! moments:

* CuriosityKilledTheCast

** Vickers tells [[spoiler:Weyland]] before the team leaves for the structure: "If you go down there, ''you'll die''." Not only do [[spoiler:Weyland and most of the team]] get killed minutes later by [[spoiler:the surviving Engineer]], but [[spoiler:Vickers ends up getting crushed by the falling Engineer ship seconds after her escape pod lands on the moon]].
* DeadStarWalking: Guy Pearce appears to be this. It's said in the film that he was close to death just before the ''Prometheus'' set out for LV-223, and recorded a final message knowing his time was at an end…[[spoiler:then it turns out he was on the ship all along]].
* DeathByGenreSavviness: Zig-zagged: After the team finds the dead body while exploring the alien moon, [[ThoseTwoGuys Fifield and Milburn]] [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere turn tail to head back to the ship]]. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, they get lost, and end up getting killed there. The rest of the party manages to survive that particular excursion]].
* DeathIsDramatic: Shaw's [[BigNo response]] to [[spoiler:Holloway's death]].

* {{Determinator}}: Shaw turns out to be an especially tough cookie when she [[spoiler:removes the alien lifeform from her womb]].
* DistantPrologue: The film's opening depicts [[spoiler:what seems to be the Engineers creating humanity.]]

%%* DontTouchItYouIdiot: [[http://res-gestae.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d53ab0t David. Enough said.]]

* DwindlingParty: By the end of the exposition [[spoiler:Shaw and the decapitated head of David are the only surviving crew members]]

* EscapePod: When the ''Prometheus'' is on suicide mission to bring down the alien space ship, Vickers escapes via escape pod. [[spoiler:It doesn't help her survive for long.]]

* ExitPursuedByABear: [[spoiler:The final Engineer is finished off by the fully-grown "fetus" that Shaw removed earlier]].
* {{Expy}}
** Vickers is set up as something of one for Ripley, at least to start with—aloof, no-nonsense, and mercilessly by-the-book when a crew member returns to the ship infected with ''something''. [[spoiler:No doubt deliberately done as a red herring to further Creator/RidleyScott's pre-release claims that Vickers would be the lone survivor]].

* EyelessFace: The [[spoiler:Deacon]].
* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong: [[spoiler:The last Engineer]] gets this from [[spoiler:the squid-like creature Shaw releases]].
* FaceHugger: The xenomorphs.
* FailsafeFailure: The storage area. The jars apparently [[spoiler:do ''nothing'' to contain the black stuff, and unleash it as soon as the door is opened; the only way to handle it safely is by actively freezing it]]. Possibly intentional if Janek is right about their nature, and it ''has'' been a very long time.

* AbusivePrecursors: [[spoiler:To the point that they are trying to wipe humanity, [[OffingTheOffspring their own creation]], out altogether]].
* ActionSurvivor: Shaw. Notably, she runs like hell when [[spoiler:the Engineer attacks Weyland, Ford and the mercenary]].
* AIIsACrapshoot: David [[spoiler:has been instructed by Peter Weyland to get in touch with the Engineers by any means necessary.]] While he's programmed against attacking humans, after Holloway expresses willingness to do "anything" to learn more about the Engineers, David can interpret this as permission to [[spoiler:poison Holloway with the Engineers' organic sludge to see what happens.]] Foreshadowed to a degree by the ''Happy Birthday David'' viral advert:

* AliensAreBastards:
** [[spoiler:The Engineers seek to wipe out the life of Earth for unknown reasons, and the last Engineer alive in the ship almost immediately starts killing everyone once he's awoken]]. WordOfGod confirms that the Engineers are pretty much assholes.
** Because the Engineers only sent out the [[spoiler:death warrant for humanity 2,000 years ago, some fans speculate that the Engineers and humanity were on good terms until some unspecified event occurred at that time which prompted the Engineers to want to eradicate humanity. The official reason has yet to be confirmed, however.]] The film's script confirms it.

* ChekhovsSkill
** David is shown taking linguistics lessons from the ship's onboard computer, and says that he spent the last two years learning every ancient and proto language he could get his hands on. This later proves to be important when [[spoiler:Weyland asks David to speak with the surviving Engineer]].

** David's ability to decipher the Engineer symbols and machinery in the structure comes in handy when [[spoiler:Shaw uses him to control an Engineer craft and leave the moon at the end of the film]].

* CleanPrettyChildbirth: Inverted. [[spoiler:Not only is Shaw's caesarean section far more gruesome than most real childbirths, but [[BodyHorror it's not even a human child]] being birthed in the scene.]]
* ContinuityNod
** Near the end of the film, [[spoiler:the Engineer is killed by an organism resembling a giant facehugger, releasing a creature that appears to be a xenomorph related to the one found in ''Film/{{Alien}}'']].
** [[spoiler:Shaw's final log at the end of the film is very much a nod towards Ripley's log at the end of ''Film/{{Alien}}''.]]
** [[spoiler:The suits, the gun on the ship… etc.]]

** Everything related to the film, from the ViralMarketing campaign (that shows Weyland Industries before it merged with the Yutani Corporation) to the content of the plot (the crew interacts with the same type of ship seen in the original film, the Space Jockey race, [[spoiler:xenomorphs]], etc.), is made of this.
** The New Age background music to Weyland's presentation is from the end credits of Alien.

** [[spoiler:Weyland himself is a different story. He lies to the crew, treats Vickers like a redheaded stepchild, and seems to be the person pulling David's crew-abusive strings. He's also effectively risking humanity's existence on his request of the Engineers being well-received]].
* CosmeticallyAdvancedPrequel
** Justified, as the ''Prometheus'' is a brand-new expedition ship whilst the ''Nostromo'' from ''Film/{{Alien}}'' was an old space truck designed for cargo.

* RedHerring

* TheReveal: [[spoiler:The Space-Jockey from the original ''Alien'' was in fact an Engineer. Given that they are supposed to look near-human, the reason for the Space-Jockey's strange, elephantine features is because it was merely his ''helmet'']].

** The "Engineers" left the human race to fend for itself, [[spoiler:and then attempts to exterminate it.]] Peter Weyland built the most powerful corporation on Earth, [[spoiler:and his daughter Vickers worked hard to be worthy of inheriting it, only for Weyland to seek immortality via the Engineers instead.]] Shaw discovers that [[spoiler:she's pregnant with an alien fetus, and immediately has the autodoc cut it out of her and attempts to kill it.]]

** Invoked by David. "Don't we all wish for our parents to be dead?" [[spoiler:Weyland programs him, serving as sort of adoptive father, and without him, David would consider himself to be free.]]

* PoorCommunicationKills
** Janek, right before [[spoiler:the mutated Fifield]] attacks. He clearly realizes that something is wrong, and even voices as much to himself, but doesn't use the comm system to warn the mechanics or even stop the door from opening.
** Janek again, when Fifield and Milburn come upon the pile of Engineer corpses in the structure. Janek thinks it's amusing and tells them to have a good night, then leaves the comm station right before Milburn gets attacked. [[spoiler:Not that he would have been able to help them anyways, considering the storm.]]

-->[[spoiler:'''[[TookALevelInBadass Shaw]]:''' '''''DIE!!''''']]
* {{Prequel}}: The majority of the film takes place 29 years before the events of ''Alien''.

* RagnarokProofing: It's stated that the [[spoiler:Engineer's starships]] are ''at least'' 2,000 years old, and yet are shown to be still functional and flyable.
* RammingAlwaysWorks: [[spoiler:Since the ''Prometheus'' is designed for long-range space travel with little in the way of weaponry, Janek sets the ship on an intercept course with the discovered Engineer ship to prevent it from leaving orbit and attacking Earth]]. Unusually, [[spoiler:the ''Prometheus'' is completely destroyed, while the Engineer ship is merely brought down intact to the ground]].
* RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler:Fifield]], post-mutation. It takes him [[spoiler:being shot multiple times, hosed down with several flame-throwers,]] ''and'' [[spoiler:run over]] to finally kill him.

** [[spoiler:The hammerpede crawling down Milburn's throat. It seemed like this would be the origin of the xenomorph, but it turns out the thing was just killing him and nothing more.]]
** The final act reveals that Vickers is actually [[spoiler: trying to reign in the real CorruptCorporateExecutive]].

** David performs an impossible basketball shot, just like Ripley in ''Film/AlienResurrection''. (Taken UpToEleven when he does it while riding a bicycle.)

* UpToEleven: The last four movies had face-raping facehuggers that look like big skeletal spiders. How do you top that? Simple: [[spoiler:take the same creature, make it the size of a car, and turn it into a tentacled monstrosity with a mouth full of fangs and eyes on its underside]].