Prometheus: Giftbearer

I do not agree w/ 100% of the editing choices made. However, I found the overall edit much more enjoyable than the theatrical cut.

According to what I've heard . . . Blade Runner has enjoyed (at least) THREE official edits. Perhaps, there is still hope for a studio-sanctioned re-edit for Prometheus.

Honorable mention: Charlize Theron (the actress) = Extreme Daddy Issues

P.S. I watch an SD copy . . . so I've not TRUE way of judging the audio/video quality. NON-Blu-ray video -- makes for a frustrating watch.

Prometheus always had one problem. It wasn't goofy biologists trying to pet Geiger-esque phallic symbols, nor was it running straight away from a gigantic wheel. It wasn't even Charlize Theron being, well, Charlize Theron.

The problem was the lack of character development that permeated the whole movie. Brilliant lines and revealing moments were dashed aside in lieu of ship captains accentuating their bitchiness or unnecessarily exploding heads and it ultimately turned every character that wasn't Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace (and to a lesser degree Idris Elba, who can't not be awesome even if he tried) into a barebones tool to push the plot on to the next special effect.

I am very pleased to say that Prometheus: Giftbearer solves this problem with gusto. So, let's tackle this one at a time, shall we?

Audio/Video Quality: 10

As Futurama's interpretation of God once said, "When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all." This absolutely applies here. What recoloring was done to the deleted scenes fit flawlessly and had me questioning whether or not I'd actually viewed certain scenes in the initial cut.

Visual Editing: 9

This is one of the better visual editing jobs I've seen. The cut scenes were both welcome and necessary to the overall plot. The shortening of drawn-out moments and the removal of the sillier scenes were mostly spot-on. Also I can't stress enough how happy I was to see less Charlize Theron in this cut. I actually liked her character better as a result.

One complaint I've been reading in the earlier reviews was over the "In the Beginning" prologue turning into a dream sequence just after Noomi's character witnesses a horrible trauma. This is up to the viewer, of course, but I didn't find a single thing wrong with this decision. If anything it only spiced up the scene and ended up giving me a chill I didn't feel when I watched the theatrical cut (then I only felt confused), so no points removed there.

That said there was an occasional odd cut (I can count two welcome, albeit a tad clumsy, changes), but nothing that hindered my enjoyment of the film.

Audio Editing: 9

Changed and removed lines abound and for the better, though I did notice that it occasionally got very loud. I'm kind of stretching for a complaint on this regard, however. I did like how the creature at the end was muted, though. Nice touch there; added to the creepy factor a bit.

Narrative: 10

This is where I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this recut was absolutely necessary. As I said before the character development was completely removed from the theatrical cut of the film despite the fact that the very scenes that made one care about those characters were actually shot. Severian restored the hell out of the best of those scenes. Now you can see Guy Pierce sans old-guy prosthetics making a powerful speech about the importance of to going too far with science. Suddenly Idris Elba's stand against the alien menace is more powerful thanks to a beautifully spoken monologue that details a similar dark chapter of his past. I found myself actually emotionally engaged in the characters presented. They were people, not plot devices, and the whole movie was far far better for it.

Enjoyment: 10

Recuts like this are the reason I love fanedits. When someone takes his or her own personal time to turn a bad movie good or a decent movie great, and then brings it to the world, I have this odd feeling of being rescued. While I would sit around complaining about a bad movie someone out there would rather bite the bullet and actually do something about it. It's a beautiful thing.

As for this particular recut, I'll say that it was very aptly titled. This is a gift, and its bearer is Severian. Thank you.

This turned a good movie into an almost great movie. It still has flaws but it's a much more smart sci-fi film and less generic.

The structure was vastly improved thanks to the deleted and extended scenes. The only part that felt out of place was the flashback sequence after Charlie's death. It was well done, but felt off.

While I enjoyed the original version of Prometheus, I was also frustrated by its total ambiguity. I like when there is some mystery left to ponder or discuss, but in the end Prometheus was just too vague.

In my opinion, Severian's fan-edit fixes the film's overbearing ambiguity while tightening the narrative and characters. Frankly, I am shocked by the amount of interesting and important scenes that were originally left on the cutting room floor (such as the opening talk and the engineer's dialogue). Technically, the edit is well done. I didn't notice any jarring edits or transitions.

The reviews for the theatrical version of Prometheus were decent, but I wonder how it would have been received had this been the original edit of the film. This is an excellent edit that does what every fan-edit should do: improve the original film. In my opinion, this turned a decent film into a great one. I definitely recommend giving this one a watch.

First, thanks Severian. I'm glad I have this version of Prometheus to watch now.

I'm one of those people who really liked the theatrical Prometheus. But I knew it wasn't perfect. And I knew that an edit, especially one that added deleted scenes, could be something great. This is that. Is it the best possible Prometheus? I don't know. My gut says it's not, but who knows.

I love the added scenes. I've had the movie for a number of months now, but I made a conscious decision to hold off on the scenes until I saw them in a fan edit. I think they all work here. Everything that people are saying these scenes add - they do. I especially love the final scene with Shaw and David. Great line in there.

Editing's good, nothing too noticeable. Some minor annoying stuff was taken out, and I think that's good. Putting the TED Talk at the start was, I think, a good idea, but it definitely gave the movie a different vibe. This is a more straightforward science fiction film I think. And that's okay. But the movie, as a whole, is a lot less mysterious. This is a byproduct of practically every single change. And that's okay. This is a different beast. This fact has actually made me appreciate the original more. The mystery of the original is one of the things I loved about it, and now I'm finally understanding why the film was cut the way it was. Putting the engineer scene at the start of the original was one biggest ways that it solidified it's mysterious tone. Interestingly, the engineer scene here seems to almost answer questions, instead of raise them. Due to its placement, we know what the engineer is, what Shaw thinks it did, and now the scene is almost an endorsement of Shaw's belief that the engineers created the humans. By actually seeing what she's, possibly, imagining, we have no choice but to assume that we're seeing the truth. Thinking on it more this placement is rather brilliant. Whilst imagining this engineer conceiving the human race, Shaw is pregnant, with what could be the beginning of a new race.

Anyway, yeah, I love this edit. I love this new version of Prometheus. And I love the old version of Prometheus. I love the additions (I just wish you could have included "David 8"). I like the cuts. Great work, great edit.