Prometheus – Special Edition

I have just watched this Agent 9's fan edit of Prometheus. To begin with, let me say that Prometheus is a very bad movie, and nothing seems to change this fact. I thought maybe a new edit could have saved it, but it is still what it is, and Prometheus basic concepts are embarrassingly ridiculous.

With that said, I'll leave my thoughts about the movie, and continue with the actual edit. This version is a feat in itself , and manages to rescue many of the very worst parts. By cutting away a lot of unnecessary and - above all - silly parts, the film is worth seeing, without compromising on quality. Speaking of quality, it is topnotch and I did not notice any new edits or other adjustments.

(Be warned, possible spoilers ahead:)

Agent 9 has chosen to remove several parts that are terribly bad, such as the exploding head, Fifields ridiculous howl and the scene where Vickers and Janek decides to leave the control bridge to have some private time. This last mentioned change does however lead to a logical gap: if Janek would not have left the control bridge, he would reasonably noted that Fifield and Milburn were in trouble. Which of course might have lead to another chain of events. However, I prefer this change, it makes Janek much more credible and captain-like.

I am not sure that the color corrections were necessary, but since I did not notice them, I guess they were well considered.

I liked all added scenes, they give the movie more depth.

What I did not like:

As for the sound, I noticed that the applause at the opening scene sounds rattling, like sound with low quality.

Im have not compared, but I suspect that some scenes where cut, when Prometheus is entering the alien planet. I wish that some of these were kept, because they add lot of atmosphere, and are a beautiful and almost poetic part of the movie.

Other than that, I believe that Agent 9 done an excellent job and would highly recommend this version before the theatrical version.

This edit is nothing short of a triumph! It takes a deeply flawed film which polarised it's fan base and repairs and realigns some very dodgy plot holes and character motivations to make a much more coherent and more less maddening experience. Yes, the film still has it's problems, but Agent9 has created the best available version of Prometheus, one which I believe even Ridley Scott would enjoy.

Before I get into some of the editing choices here, let me first discuss the presentation. Simply put, this is the most professional and polished fan edit I've ever seen. From the a/v quality, the execution of the changes to the movie and the BD menus, this is gold standard work.

The colour timing of the the deleted scenes, for the most part, is indistinguishable from the finished film. And the new 5.1 mix created especially for those scenes is stellar work.

Moving on to the editing choices, most of which improve the film considerably and do away with nearly all of the annoying sloppy writing plot holes and idiocies. An odd side effect of that is that Agent9 has thrown a light on a couple of things that I never considered before. Take Holloway's wiggly eye worm. He makes much more sense in this edit with the reinsertion of some of his scenes so I caught myself wondering why would a trained scientist on an alien world ignore such a thing? When he trips and stumbles later he tries to brush it off then almost immediately he's shitting himself asking if there is something wrong with him. I couldn't help think how all of that would make more sense if the eye worm scene was gone and he didn't know there was something wrong with him until he asks Shaw what she sees.

Another thing I wondered about is why Weyland is no longer a "ghost" in the hologram. It neither hurts nor fixes anything for me so I was wondering why the editor made that choice. Maybe that is a point that other fans have problems with and Agent9 has taken their wishes into consideration.

Also I wondered why Elizabeth was lying on her back saying she can't go on, only to have the deus ex machina of David speaking to her from his detached head. Because this edit improves so many things I thought about that moment for the first time. I would have cut her bleating and started with David speaking to her.

The biggest question I have about the editing choices is the beginning TED scene... although it is nice on it's own and it gives us more of a sense of who Weyland is and why they put Guy in makeup, I still think most of that speech has little baring on the film or even spoils some of it. I loved David quoting Lawrence of Arabia but now he's just mimicking Weyland. I really think the point to cut out of that and go to titles is after he says "What have we done with it?"

And one final thing, why is Shaw not dead from drug and alcohol abuse? LOL! She sticks that morphine thing in herself so many times then goes straight for the Vodka (which incidentialy has the UK alcohol unit pink stamp on it that they use today).

This is an incredible piece of work. The end scene with Shaw and the Engineer is very exciting and edge of the seat stuff. The wire removals, added sound and colour timing here are a perfect storm of Fanediting prowess.

If anyone is a fan of Prometheus or is interested in Fanedits, PROMETHEUS - THE SPECIAL EDITION is for you!

I've found my favorite version of Prometheus. I didn't notice any audible defects (though, I did watch this late at night and had the volume down so I wouldn't wake anybody!) and the visual editing was always strong, no stray frames or sudden jump cuts. The MP4 version could have had better video quality, but the promise of a revised version on Blu-ray makes me a happy camper!

My only real quibble was the use of the original theatrical ending where Shaw and David have their discussion about going to "Paradise" before they rappel to the ground. As was mentioned in the forum, her choice of words calling David a "f***ing robot" was a bit more realistic given how much he had put her through. Also, I loved Rapace's delivery of the line. :P

Great job, A9! I look forward to seeing more of your work.

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.

First, I must say that I really like the theatrical cut of Prometheus.
Now, on this fanedit:

It was really good, all the new and altered scenes are a great addition to this movie.
Especialy the new prologue with the TED conference, more character developpement on Vicker and the captain, and the extended combat against the engineer.
The work on this is really amazing, all those new effects are awesome!

Now, I got some nickpicking to do. First is the original prologue with the engineer that was totaly cut. I think it's a very important scene to explain more proprieties of the black goo, but I agree the the TED conference is a better prologue.

I also have some issues with some deleted stuffs:
Weyland not being "dead" (what does it change?),
Vicker and the captain sexual relationship (It even made more sense with all this new character developpement),
and most of the mentions of Shaw's father.
Those were not necessary , but I don't understand why they were cut.
The scenes about her father are not very important, but I think that most of David's obsession/curiosity about Shaw got cut right along and those were a part of his character.

All the Millburn/Fifield scenes that got removed was done masterfully. In this version they are not fleeing back to the ship and got lost, they are just exploring another area and got left behind. Great editing on this.
The editing was also amazing when the ship crashed and Vicker and Shaw ran away from the debris.

In conclusion, a powerful edit that hold strong in a standalone watch. But as a adaptation of Ridley Scott's work, it lost some of it's meaning like the proprieties of the black goo and the character of David. Which may make this edit inconsistent with an eventual sequel.
It was so close to become my definitive version of Prometheus, but I'll be sure to watch the other fanedits of Agent9 who got me very impressed.
PS: (I just wish I had a bluray burner to fully enjoy this edit)