Movie Review: Prometheus

Plot: Two explorers discover a set of symbols that send them across the universe to uncover humankind's origin. What they find is not so welcoming.

In 1979 Ridley Scott defined the sci-fi/horror genre when he directed Alien. No movie had ever been made like it and it set the blueprint for what was to be expected from the genre. Suprisingly, it has taken him 33 years to return to sci-fi with Prometheus.....and he does not disappoint.

The question going into the film was is it, or is it not a prequel to Scott's 1979 Alien. The answer is yes. It is without a doubt a film that takes place before the events of Alien, but it is not a direct prequel. Alien does not pick up right where Prometheus ends. Prometheus takes place on a different planet, LV-223 and Alien takes place on LV-426. But the DNA of the Alien films are sprinkled throughout the film. Another question some had was is it just simply another "Alien" film. No, the aliens that appear in the Alien franchise (Xenomorphs to us nerds), do not appear in this film. This gives it a fresh and original take.

Prometheus is one of the most visually stunning films I have seen in a while. The very second the film started, I was in awe of the beauty on screen. The cinematography in the the first half of the film was spot on perfect. It was as if the camera was sculpting the film like it was a piece of clay. I am never one to pay attention to camera placement in films, but this one really stands out. Not only was the film beautiful, but the fact that Scott demanded that large, detailed sets be built was very refreshing. So many times a director will just have an animator throw in a digital background, but Scott used as little CGI possible in this film. The sets were spectacular and were very appreciated. If George Lucas had spent as much time developing characters as he did CGI backgrounds, who knows the impact it could have made on his Star Wars prequels.

Prometheus is packed with heavy hitting actors. Noomi Rapace shines as Elizabeth Shaw, an explorer who uncovers the symbols on Earth that lead them across the universe. Charlize Theron plays the cold, strict Meredith Vickers whose job is to "Make sure they do thiers". And Guy Pearce and Idris Elba both shine in smaller rolls, Pearce as the legendary Peter Weyland for you Alien fans and Elba as Janek, captain of the Prometheus. But as Michael Fassbender tends to do, he steals the show. In the film Fassbender plays David, an android lifeform with all the qualities of a human. Androids have always been a part of the Alien universe. Ian Holm played the ruthless Ash in Alien and Lance Henriksen played the popular, heroic Bishop in Aliens and Alien 3. Fassbender does an excellent job of seperating himself from these two characters and creating his own personality for David. Unfortunately I can't go into much detail about the character. This film needs to be viewed going in knowing as little as possible.

When it comes to 20th Century Fox, I have a lot to complain about. I've never been a fan of their studio. For the past decade they have pretty much ruined 98% of the films they've touched. After having Len Wiseman do Live Free or Die Hard as a PG-13 film just so they could gross more at the box office, I was worried they would water this down from what it needed to be. But thankfully Scott fought to release the film he had set out to make and with strong fan support, Fox gave the ok to release it with an "R" rating. Well done this time Fox, well done. This isn't a hard "R" film. But it's dark, it's scary and there is just enough gore sprinkled in and Scott did well at balancing it all out. They will see a benefit from this and hopefully this will help their judgement for future projects.

The only complaint I have with this film was that it felt time resticted. Damon Lindelof who was one of the head writers for Lost penned the film and as usual he leaves the audience with some questions. I personally would have been fine with thirty more minutes of film so we could have seen a little more story development. When mankind travels across the universe to meet their creators, it's kind of a big deal. I thought the story was phenomenal, but motives in the film were left questioned that could have been answered with more screentime. I think and hope this will spawn a sequel and maybe that was Lindelof's plan, but when the film ended I was still hungry wanting more.

The sci-fi/horror genre is almost an extinct genre. 2007's Sunshine was the last memorable film that I can think of and maybe all the way back to 1997's Event Horizon before that one. Hopefully this will put some life and interest back in the genre I love.

If your're not familiar with the Alien films, I would highly reccomend watching them. This being a prequel, you don't necessarily need watch them prior to Prometheus, but I would reccomend watching them prior so you can know what was first created and then be able to go back and enjoy what Ridley did here by bringing the franchise back to life.

Final Verdict: 9/10