Prometheus – Special Edition

There's not much more I can say that hasn't already been said. It's a solid edit that greatly improves upon the theatrical release. Characters behave less silly, the mystery preserved, and a tighter thriller simply through reorganization.

I did knock a point off the visual editing since there was a brief moment when the Adobe Media Offline image popped up. It was only 12 frames or so, but something that should have been caught prior to final build. There may also have been a couple black frames between scenes, but I watched the BR converted to MP4 on my TiVo so it's possible something in the conversion and/or transcode caused those. In my albeit quick scan of the MP4 on my computer I couldn't spot those, so I'm going to go with a transcode problem. I'll update if I encounter the problem on a closer inspection of the file. That said, I don't feel right knocking points off until I can confirm it wasn't something on my end.

In the end this is a very good edit, one that you should consider watching. It definitely improves Prometheus and makes it a much more enjoyable film.

I really don't have that much else to say that others haven't already, and I could very easily just copy+paste my review of Giftbearer onto here if you want to know my thoughts. Like Giftbearer, this incorporates previously deleted scenes into the Prometheus narrative to create a much smarter and more satisfying experience than the version released in theaters, and it does its job very skillfully. All deleted material is integrated into the story excellently and it flows much more swimmingly than before. Again, like Giftbearer, fantastic stuff.

Prometheus was kind of a devisive movie. Some, like myself, loved it and others found it just ok. It's not that I loved every minute of it, but if there wasn't a fanedit, I would be perfectly happy with my bluray version. Let's say my overall enjoyment factor was a 9. When I was looking for fanedtis of this and the "Covenant" (which I hated), I found out that this and the "Giftbearer" version by Severian, where the top two. "Giftbearer" was actually more preferred by the people, but the quality was really really bad, and when watching a film like this, with breathtaking visuals, it is impossible for me to ignore a low quality, So I went with this one. Why I wanted to watch a fanedit in the first place, since I was happy with the original? Well, I always love a good extended version of a movie I like, because it, usually, enriches my experience! I just love good, rich lore.

So, this has indeed a higher quality, but unfortunately, it's still not that great. At least I could watch it without having the quality ruin the entire film for me. The audio visual editing was in general excellent, with the exception of the sound which had some minor issues here and there, with the music being too loud and it was distracting from the dialogue. Also, after about half an hour, I believe the audio gets a liiittle bit out of sync. In VLC player, I had to adjust the audio to +0.400 in order to be in sync with the actors' mouths when talking.

On the narrative side of things, yes, this was definitely the ultimate edition of this movie. Cutting out the Engineers at the beginning, adding the TED talk, extending other scenes, trimming some with bad decisions from the characters etc, were all very very welcome and made an already great film, superb!

I wish I could say this would be my go-to version in the furture, but for quality reasons alone, I just can't. It's 2022, at the time of this review, and image and audio quality are sky high and I just can't go back to DVD quality, it hurts my eyes. My bare minimum is a clean 1080p. BUT, if anyone doesn't care about this, I most definitely recommend it and I assure you it will be your go-to version! But even if you are like me, you should at least watch it only once, just so you have a second, more complete and streamlined version of the film in your mind. So when you watch the theatrical, you can just fill in the blanks in your head.

Thank you Agent 9, I really hope you will consider ugrading the quality, and thanks to anyone who read my review!

I have to say that this is the best fan edit I've seen and I've seen a lot. Adywan's SW:R is something entirely different as he fixed the shoddy effect work of the special edition and the original movie, but Agent9's work on PROMETHEUS plays with the existing footage and creates a much more satisfying experience, in my opinion.

All the re-integrated footage works brilliantly and his choice of edits improve the characterisations and motivations. It's impossible to entirely fix the shoddy writing in the movie but I believe this is the best that we'll ever get - a fixed version of Ridley Scott's return to the Alien universe.

Speaking of Alien, Agent9 really makes his edit feel like it belongs more in the Alien canon. His sound editing is superb and every choice he made enhances the film.

I missed the original beginning but after a while I realised that this particular edit doesn't need it and it was right to drop it. I would personally cut the TED speech right down as it meanders and doesn't really help the movie. I would have cut to the titles when Weyland explains about Prometheus stealing fire from the Gods. "What have we done with it?" That would set up the tone of the movie perfectly and would justify cutting the original opening. It also hints that we haven't done anything to be proud of which could be the motivation behind the Engineers decision to exterminate us.

The new title sequence works brilliant and the 3D is very good, although I would have reversed it so that the title "PROMETHEUS" was 'out front' and the credits were behind it. Unfortunately, my BD player won't allow me to fast forward to reverse the disc so I can't check but if there isn't a date at the TED conference, there should be as the date is established later in the movie when Prometheus arrives at LV223.

On a purely technical note, I was hoping to replace my 3D Prometheus disc with Agent9's edit and keep them all together in the steelbook I have, but unfortunately a couple of technical issues will prevent me from doing so. There is no menu with the disc, which I can live with, but it's a pain not being able to fast forward or rewind. I won't blame Agent9 for this as it could be an issue with my BD player. However, the bitrate is lower than my original movie and the 3D is... different. It's a little hard to put my finger on but I believe the subtle instances where objects are in front of the screen are no longer in front. You definitely get 3D depth going back but nothing coming forward in the original unaltered footage. The silica storm is a good place to compare versions. Also the oratory. I remember an orbit coming slightly out of the screen but this doesn't happen in this version. It's a very small matter, as I said, but I was hoping to replace my original theatrical release with Agent9's edit as I believe his is the more solid movie.

The re-instated Fifield monster works brilliantly and you do get the feeling that you are looking at an early xenomorpth although the colour timing isn't as successful as elsewhere. It looks a little too much in the magenta area to my eyes. I could be wrong. And for everyone who hated the rolling space ship, just watch how Agent9 fixes it. Miraculous.

To summarise, this is an absolutely astounding fan edit. Not only does it fix problems with the story but it also links the film more firmly to it's predecessors. Brilliant, brilliant work.

I was astounded at how well this repaired some of the erratic narrative beats in the Theatrical cut, considering the limited amount of footage available. Highly enjoyable, though I agree with a couple of the other reviewers that Fifield and Milburn are cut a little more than may have been necessary.

Nevertheless, this edit is quite impressive - especially considering some of the unfinished effects shots were completed. This is one of the best versions of this film I have seen to date. Agent 9, I look forward to seeing more of your work.