Prometheus: NR #26

Yes, I missed last week, but I'm making it up today. I wasn't going to do a review until I saw this movie. I and many other people have been excited for this ever since it was first mentioned. The film that has had 50 trailers, 75 teaser trailers. and 100's of teasers for the teasers trailers for the trailers! The sorta, kinda, maybe prequel to "Alien". I'm ecstatic to finally talk about...

   Let's Begin

PLOT

Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway have been on the hunt for the origins of man kind, and believe they've found the true origin; a planet in a solar system that has very close conditions to our solar system and planet. Peter Weyland, founder and owner of  the Weyland corporation, believes in the project and gives them the funds to send a team to explore the planet. Once there, they soon realize that this discovery was best left untouched.

PROS

The performances from Noomi Rapace  (who played Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" movie), Idris Elba, and Charlize Theron are outstanding. Noomi's character of Shaw is almost like a new age Ripley, but has enough to stand out from the crowd. Idris Elba becomes one of the few crew members you actually care about, and Charlize Theron, for the second week in a row, plays a great villain.

But Micheal Fassbender as David, the latest in android technology, steals the show. His performance and character are great and really help to keep the movie going. David is the most interesting character in the whole film.

The film looks gorgeous. Ridley Scott still knows how to wow you. The cinematography is amazing, and so are the special effects.

Speaking of special effects, Scott choose to use practical effects in most scenes involving the aliens (I don't mean the ones from "Alien", these are new aliens not yet seen in this film universe). While there is some obvious Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) for the more dynamic scenes, it still looks very realistic.

Say what you will about Ridley Scott's modern career, but he still knows how to make you cringe. The film halfway through goes into "Horror" mode and has scene after scene of "HOLY CRAP" moments. The one scene that everyone is talking about, the most "HOLY CRAP" moment in the entire film, left me literally shaking long after it happened. This film is not for the faint of heart.

But don't think this is all gore and violence, the movie is true, slow, thought-proving Sci-Fi for the first half, and the last 20 min. or so. It raises many questions and takes its time bringing them up.

CONS

The crew, as in the side characters, aren't that interesting. They just seemed boring and two-dimensional. I never cared for any of them because they never do anything with them.

The film raises a ton of questions, spends time wondering about them or gives you a lot of time to do the same, and ends with more questions then answers. Now, I feel that either this was done to make way for a sequel (hopefully called "Prometheuses"), or that was the point. The point being that we as humans will always pose and seek out answers to questions, no matter how irrelevant they seem. Either way, it really does leave you hanging.

The biggest and most glaring problem with the film is that it's a prequel to "Alien". What this means is that the filmmakers have to put random little nods and connections throughout the whole film that pull you out of the cinematic world and back into reality. The references feel really tacked on, which makes me think that this wasn't the original intent. Someone working on the film may have hinted on the "Alien" connection and too many fans got the wrong idea. The worst part is that they had to tie it in at the end with a completely unnecessary scene. You think the movie's over, but then they almost ruin the whole thing with the "Alien" connection. I think the best way to have done this was to set it in the "Alien" universe, but have only small. background references to "Alien".

CONCLUSION

This is an awesome movie. It gets back to true Science Fiction while also including the horror elements that fit well in the film. I loved this movie, and I know why I did. Because I went in there not expecting an "Alien" prequel, but an awesome Ridley Scott movie, and that's what I got. So if you hear the phrase "It was disappointing" or "It's not as good as the other 'Alien' movies", don't listen. This is a movie that should have been judged on its own merits, but was almost ruined by the hype. If you go see this film, just remember, it's better if you don't think about "Alien".

RATING

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