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In Prometheus we see the awakened Engineer standing up and apparently bowing in front of the humans that he kills minutes later.

Was that a sign of respect or was he just feeling sick after standing up quickly? If it was a sign of respect, how do you explain his later behavior? Did something suddenly cause him to change his initial opinion? (like David's question, for example)

I'm referring to the version of the movie available on iTunes. In this version the Engineer stands completely upright and only then bows. It doesn't look like the alternate scene videos on YouTube where he leans too far forward while raising from the bed.

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    He appears to collapse, presumably due to the excessive amount of time he's spent in hypersleep and the atrophy of his muscles; youtube.com/watch?v=ZLgw0jeu_-c – Valorum Sep 11 '16 at 21:16
  • @Valorum The video you linked is described as an "alternate scene." Do you know if it plays out the same way in the original film? – Rogue Jedi Sep 11 '16 at 21:34
  • @RogueJedi - I seem to recall it's largely identical – Valorum Sep 11 '16 at 21:38
  • The second question would be a duplicate of scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/18678/…. – Z. Cochrane Sep 11 '16 at 21:46
  • Its definitely not a "bow" as much as a involuntary collapse - at first he doesn't acknowledge surrounding humans until few seconds later, then again he collapses after standing up. – Yasskier Sep 11 '16 at 21:59
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My take on the scene was that he was extremely weak and tired from the long Hypersleep and just lost his balance.

Dr. Anil Biltoo states here what David said to the Engineer here He was a part of the SOAS Language Centre in London who was the Linguist Teacher on Prometheus.

“This man is here because he does not want to die. He believes you can give him more life.”

A lot of people , me included presumed that he said something incredibly rude angering him and therefore ripping people apart. But as we see, David did not say anything offensive and it is my opinion that he was angry from the start most likely due to the fact that the Engineers had already decided that humans were to be exterminated.. Which would mean that he was never intending to show any type of respect towards the crew of the Prometheus. And thus that the gesture was actually just him losing his balance.

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