Prometheus Reviews

It's not Alien and it sure as hell ain't Blade Runner but I found it to be one of the most enjoyable cinematic experiences I've had in a long time, although strictly a great visual experience as opposed to an intellectual one - the first act in particular and the introduction of David is amazing in 3D. But great visuals is something to be expected from a Ridley Scott film and they do not make up for a messy final act.

I don't agree that Prometheus is pretentious, I feel it does a noble job at trying to please both the thinking man and those who love blockbusters without trying to be predominantly one thing or the other. I like the faith and belief angle, even if it is only briefly touched upon. However, in trying to appease the blockbuster-hungry audience, Scott has yet again copped out, much like how Robin Hood became typical, mundane and by-the-book instead of the unique interpretation of folklore that was originally intended.

I liked Fassbender, I liked Rapace and I liked Elba. Beyond those three, the characters and performances are forgettable and AVP springs to mind. Even Resurrection has a stronger and more memorable supporting cast than this. Shaw and Holloway (and I mean the characters, not so much the actors) must be one of the most unbelievable screen couples I have ever seen. Holloway is an arsehole and Shaw is several classes above him. Also, the Scottish actress who plays the medic is utterly horrendous. Theron isn't much better, particularly in the scene between her and Pearce which comes across as a bizarre nod to the "I wan't more life, father" scene from Blade Runner. Her line delivery here is particularly awful and the supposed 'mystery' as to whether she is a robot or not is extremely poor, predictable and unnecessary, especially considering that you already have one robot who may or may not have sinister intent.
,
I won't say that this was disappointing as, after Robin Hood, I wasn't expecting much. I enjoyed the ride immensely and it's a satisfying prequel to the original film. But this could have been so much more and, outside of the cinema, this probably won't amount to much. Hopefully a director's cut may be one the way but, as it stands, it's not quite the return to form from Scott that I was hoping for. As I've said, visually this is fantastic in 3D.

My favorite genre of movies is sci fi. That being said, its saying a lot that there is no doubt in my mind this is the best movie I've ever seen. That's my opinion, but I truly recommend this film to anyone who like sci fi, and also recommend watching "Alien" right before you go see Prometheus. It enriched the experience for me for sure!

"If we don't stop it, there won't be any home to go back to!"

2012 has been a great year for movies, particularly during the summer. Summer blockbusters have always been about the spectacle, and that's perfectly fine with me. The Avengers delivered on what it promised - an entertaining and visually exhilarating ride. It started off the summer season with a bang (it garnered critical acclaim and has grossed over a billion dollars worldwide so far, making it the third highest grossing film ever), and now Ridley Scott's long-awaited Alien prequel finally hits movie theaters all around the world. There's been a lot of hype surrounding Prometheus, as it marks Scott's return to the film that started his successful career. I was excited, and even though I didn't love the first Alien film quite like everyone else, seeing a sci-fi epic directed by Scott was something anyone, regardless if they saw Alien, would want to see. Having seen it now, in IMAX 3D, I can say that it literally blew me away. It definitely lived up to the hype, and even exceeded my expectations.



In 2089 on the Isle of Skye, scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) discover cave paintings identical to those already discovered in many different parts of the world - they depict a man reaching out to a strange constellation of stars. Three years later Shaw and Holloway are among the crew of Scientific Exploratory Vessel Prometheus, heading for the planet closest to the stars depicted in the drawings. Also on board are Captain Janek (Idris Elba), the powerful representative of Weyland Corp, Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) and David (Michael Fassbender), an all-intelligent android. Prometheus lands on the planet, and in a vast cavern the scientists make some strange, unsettling, discoveries.



Scripted by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof, Prometheus is filled with subtle throwbacks to Alien. It really expands on the Alien lore and concepts - I was quite annoyed that I never re-watched the first Alien film when I came out of this movie because you get more out of it if you do. Regardless of whether you're a newbie to this franchise, there's still so much complexity you can appreciate from the film. It's a truly deep plot Scott has going on his latest blockbuster, with themes of religion and our origins, and these link together beautifully. There are questions raised in the film about our makers, and like most films with a philosophical edge, these questions are never answered (it should be kept that way in my opinion). The film also follows a classic line of events, as the crew's situation just gets worse and worse. Scott and his writers really tried to create a reminiscent structure to Alien, and he succeeded with that. My only criticism with script is character - there's not a great deal of it than you'd expect. While the heroine, Elizabeth Shaw, is fairly well established and developed, some of the other characters aren't. There's no tension between some of them even though there should be, and times it fails to develop some members of the crew and even elements of story. Vickers in particular is established beautifully, but her character never has a chance to develop. The same goes with David. I don't mind this as much as most movie-goers probably will, but it's definitely a flaw in the film.



Prometheus always manages to keep you on the edge of your seat though. At the heart of it, it is a horror movie just like Alien. The film includes a dozen of unforgettable sequences - to be honest, every moment of the film is memorable. There are moments of gore, which definitely delivers on gruesomeness. A truly terrifyingly marvelous features Shaw performing abdominal surgery on herself. Expect a lot of blood. Also pretty spectacular was the climax - definitely the best sequence of I've seen all year so far. Holy shit, that got my heart pumping. From the moment it begins, you are tense and it won't stop til the ending of the film.

Scott has a remarkable cast to work with, though some are kind of wasted on their weak characters. Noomi Rapace is awesome, making a big name for herself in Hollywood after the Swedish adaptation of the Millenium trilogy and starring in the Sherlock Holmes sequel. She's fantastic in the role of Shaw, and provided the emotion and physique to pull off some truly unbelievable scenes. She's one to watch, I can tell you that. Logan Marshall-Green is exceptional as Holloway, delivering on the desperate attitude of his character. Michael Fassbender meanwhile is a show stealer. He adopts a more different approach to playing the android as opposed to actors cast in this kind of role in previous Alien films. Fassbender goes for eerie feel with his portrayal of David, and it actually works really well, making the audience suspicious about his true agenda. Likewise, Charlize Theron also had a suspicious feel in her acting here, and it definitely allowed her to be an effective character. It's a shame her character wasn't developed enough, as Vickers was actually really interesting. Still Theron was excellent, and my god, she is fine as hell (anyone who follows my reviews will know I almost always say something like that :P). Guy Pearce makes a brief appearance in this under heavy make-up as Weyland, and his practically unrecognisable. Idris Elba is also superb as the captain, but his character, like many, is never fully developed towards the end.



The spectacle of Prometheus is one of the film's strongest points. Scott is no stranger to working with a grand budget, and he always manages to work with it and create a visually terrific blockbuster. Everything about Prometheus looks beautiful. Shot by one of my favourite cinematographers, Dariusz Wolski, the film has rich, dark look, and it all falls into the place with eerie sets. The planet that the crew lands on is full of danger and death, and the film created this perfectly. The visual effects are top rate through out and definitely the best I've seen all year (yes, even better than The Avengers). The design of ship, Prometheus, is actually quite stunning, and the production design on the interior is superb - the space suits the crew wear look pretty awesome to me. While the score isn't that memorable, it did add to the tension of the film, and the creature designs are just frightening. If you're a fan of scary aliens, you're in for a treat, as Prometheus features an array of shocking things that will have you jumping in your seat. I saw this in IMAX 3D, and while the 3D isn't amazing (I was surprised considering it was shot in the format), it didn't ruin anything for me, and was implemented well at times, particularly the climax. Scott stages some pretty spectacular action sequences that actually have a real sense of tension to it - it's not just eye-candy, there is true suspense at work in Prometheus.



Yes, I have issues with the characters in the screenplay, but I still love this film. Prometheus is probably the first blockbuster with a complex narrative to be released this year. It's rich with subtle themes and references, and the cast is fantastic. After watching this, it made want to watch the Alien series all over again, and that's definitely a good sign. Once I've finished with them, you expect me in the cinema watching this another time. Yes, it's that fucking good.

In most recent memory, we have seen films either loosely based or are partially connected to a franchise that are set in an earlier time setting but are not directly linked to a first instalment. For example, there was Casino Royale in 2006 and Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes in 2011. However, ever since 2003 when Prometheus began development, questions arose of how close or how different the film was going to be in comparison to the Alien franchise, particularly the first film. Whether Ridley Scott served as director or not, the film was bound to be a highly-anticipated motion picture with immense expectations. Nevertheless, Scott makes a film that shows a different style to him that we have not seen from him for a while, but there was still something missing from Prometheus. Therefore, it still had its fair share of flaws.


The science fiction genre is what initially created Ridley Scott and his talent as a film director, which we learned from Alien and Blade Runner. He comes back to the genre after many years and gave us a film that was obviously dazzling to watch, effects-wise, and had slightly similar concepts to James Cameron’s Avatar. However, Prometheus suffered from flaws that unfortunately did not make it become as great as it should have been. First of all, the screenplay was very weak and was at times, very corny. The use of bad language was not necessary because that is what makes some films funny whereas this film is not meant to be humorous in the slightest. In addition, it really lacked the tension, the fright and the terror that was expected and there were some muddled moments within the plot that caused unexpected confusions. Furthermore, despite Prometheus was filmed in 3D, it was not an entirely memorable or dazzling experience in that format either. However, director Ridley Scott was not to blame for these weaknesses as he solidly directed this, like James Cameron did with Avatar, as he embarked us back into the world that he created in 1979. It is just unfortunate that the flaws within the script and plot prevented Scott from giving us the breakthrough that we should have seen.


Swedish actress Noomi Rapace leads the pack as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw. Rapace who had risen to fame in the Swedish Millennium trilogy and made her presence known in Hollywood and, therefore, English-language films as she starred in Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows. However, her role in Prometheus was going somewhere a little different. Although this film has a leading female, like Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, and that the audience would examine the comparison between Ripley and Shaw. Both Rapace and Shaw lacked the terrified and scary but courageous and heroic tone that we would expect from a female protagonist in a sci-fi thriller. Nevertheless, Rapace’s performance was not fantastic but she still portrayed a likeable protagonist.


In addition to the cast was Michael Fassbender, who has massively risen to fame over the past 3 years since Inglourious Basterds as he portrayed android David. Like Shaw with Ripley, David has been compared to Ash (acted by Ian Holm) and Bishop (performed by Lance Henriksen). Fassbender gave us another side to acting that he had not done before until now. He gave David that rather eerie and unique tone to his character. Therefore, he gave another memorable performance and he is just getting better and better. Furthermore, in the supporting cast were Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron, Rafe Spall, Logan Marshall-Green and Idris Elba in their respective roles as members of the team.


Overall, Prometheus is an enjoyable film that is decent enough for the science-fiction genre but it is perhaps not a brilliant Alien prequel. The film perhaps is not complete just yet and we could be in for some more films in the near future. However, it could either lead closer or draw even further away to the Alien franchise. Nevertheless, Prometheus did not necessarily have to be made and was not entirely as mind-blowing or as suspenseful as what was anticipated, but it still managed to be at least a satisfying film for audiences to appreciate and a possible sequel could improvise.

"My God, we were so wrong..."


You can spend ages debating whether it is a prequel or not. The references to Alien is most certainly there. But it should still be able to stand alone as one film. Which it does, even if it does raise several unanswered questions. Questions that might be addressed in possible sequel. That is unfortunately one of Prometheus flaws. There are some things that doesn't make sense, and while it is sometimes fine keep some things in the dark, I feel a bit cheated eventually. Particularly the opening raises a lot of questions.

If I am to address some of Prometheus other flaws, I need to move slightly into spoiler territory. Because there are some plot holes or just lack of logic that annoys greatly. For instance, Michael Fassbender puts some alien-stuff into Logan Marshall-Green drink, for some reason. This is turning him into some alien, but before that he have sex with Noomi Rapace. She gets pregnant (despite that she says she is unable to get pregnant), and is somehow already three months on the way. She panics and performs an intense surgery to get it out. It's an alien infant with loads of tentacles. She just leaves it in the surgery room, and doesn't give it any more thought. No one does. No one seems to give any thought about it. She just operated out an alien! Then there is the thing that certain characters could use some more development, instead of just being alien food. But that is to be expected I guess.

"How far would you go to get your answers?"


Despite all this, Prometheus is an excellent blockbuster and is so far the best film of the year. To begin with, the visuals are so awesome that I'm on the edge of having an orgasm. It's a visual triumph. The photography is beautiful, particularly in the opening scene, where the camera floats above the landscape. It's superbly designed. Everything in it looks great. The design of the aliens, the suits, the ships, the landscapes and the small little details. Everything is carefully constructed into perfection. Ridley Scott proves again that he is a perfectionist when it comes to the technical aspects of filmmaking. Even the 3D looks phenomenal, and this is perhaps one of the best uses of the technology that I have witnessed.

Noomi Rapace is proving herself to be a very skilled actress and her role in Prometheus shows how wasted her talent was in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. She does with great skill avoid to fell into trap of trying to recapture the same thing that Sigourney Weaver did in Alien. Instead she creates a whole different character, who's not as heroic as Weaver's Ripley. Instead she is much more fragile and there are scenes who shows her very high acting qualities. Like the mentioned surgery. Still, she is not the one who owns every scene she is in. That's Michael Fassbender as David the android-thingy. His screen presence is nothing but magnetic.

While it is not as tense or terrifying as Alien, Scott has still managed to create a suspenseful film. He does steadily allows the tension to build slowly and when he finally decides to unleash it, hell is definitely loose. Everything takes a turn for the chaotic and intense. The atmosphere is dazzling, the action is intense, the sound is brilliant, the score is majestic, it's a visual spectacle and despite it's flaws, it is always teasing my curiosity. I want to know more and I want to know it now. I'm hoping for a sequel, because this is one of the most interesting universes in film history.