Ridley Scott is back with a kind-of-but-not-really prequel to his first major hollywood success, Alien. But this time, he has state of the art CGI to help him out while exploring the limitless world of sci-fi. Also aiding Scott’s venture are the acting talents of Noomi Repace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, and the writing talent of the Lost TV show writer Damon Lindelof.
Plot:
A team of scientists journey through the universe on the spaceship "Prometheus" on a voyage to investigate Alien life forms. The team of scientists becomes stranded on an Alien world, and as they struggle to survive it becomes clear that the horrors they experience are not just a threat to themselves, but to all of mankind. (copied from IMDb)
My Thoughts:
Critically, summer blockbusters usually get terrible reviews because they are generally tailored for summer moviegoers who just want popcorn flicks that demand little to no critical thinking from the audience. However, as I have been following the progression of Prometheus, I started to believe this film would be much more. And then when the MPAA slapped a R rating on it and Ridley Scott didn’t dispute it, I knew this film had serious potential. But did it deliver?
Kind of.
Prometheus was both very impressive and yet, quite disappointing. Let me first highlight the positives.
First off, the visuals were nothing short of stunning. The CGI work should easily be some of the best work American audiences will witness all year. Some of the shots of space were literally breathtaking. Also, Ridley Scott certainly delivered in creating a freakishly tense, horrific atmosphere.* The same subtle intensity that was so masterfully done in Alien over 30 years ago is revived to an even greater scale in Prometheus. Also, Noomi Repace and Michael Fassbender’s acting performances were superb, with Fassbender being the standout. He has had an absolutely incredible past two years of acting performances, and his role as an emotionless robot in Prometheus continues his good streak.
Now for the negatives. My main issue falls on the script. The plot creates holes in itself that it never fills, and other moments are just so silly and unnecessary it hurts. The characters in the film, who are on an incredibly important and expensive scientific quest, are casted as horribly inept and have the decision-making ability of attractive teenagers in a cheesy horror movie; (arguably mentally retarded.) The script also includes pointless shots of barely-clothed women, and writes in ALCOHOL on a scientific space ship. I mean really? Who would spend one trillion dollars on a spaceship and then give the scientists a lifetime supply of alcohol and tobacco. These are just a few among many, many things I take issue with. I don’t want to underplay how badly sloppy script writing hurt this film; it nearly destroyed it. And acting-wise, Logan Marshall-Green’s performance was laughable, and Charlize Theron, who I am a huge fan of, unfortunately way overacted her role.
Where does that land us, then? A movie with high ambitions that was undone by lousy script writing. But not entirely undone. Prometheus asks huge, huge questions about the meaning of life that it purposefully never answers. Some are going to love this, while others will hate it. But along that journey, the viewer is forced to witness unrealistically dumb characters do even dumber things in a horrifically gorgeous, breathtaking alien world.
Kind of.
Prometheus was both very impressive and yet, quite disappointing. Let me first highlight the positives.
First off, the visuals were nothing short of stunning. The CGI work should easily be some of the best work American audiences will witness all year. Some of the shots of space were literally breathtaking. Also, Ridley Scott certainly delivered in creating a freakishly tense, horrific atmosphere.* The same subtle intensity that was so masterfully done in Alien over 30 years ago is revived to an even greater scale in Prometheus. Also, Noomi Repace and Michael Fassbender’s acting performances were superb, with Fassbender being the standout. He has had an absolutely incredible past two years of acting performances, and his role as an emotionless robot in Prometheus continues his good streak.
Now for the negatives. My main issue falls on the script. The plot creates holes in itself that it never fills, and other moments are just so silly and unnecessary it hurts. The characters in the film, who are on an incredibly important and expensive scientific quest, are casted as horribly inept and have the decision-making ability of attractive teenagers in a cheesy horror movie; (arguably mentally retarded.) The script also includes pointless shots of barely-clothed women, and writes in ALCOHOL on a scientific space ship. I mean really? Who would spend one trillion dollars on a spaceship and then give the scientists a lifetime supply of alcohol and tobacco. These are just a few among many, many things I take issue with. I don’t want to underplay how badly sloppy script writing hurt this film; it nearly destroyed it. And acting-wise, Logan Marshall-Green’s performance was laughable, and Charlize Theron, who I am a huge fan of, unfortunately way overacted her role.
Where does that land us, then? A movie with high ambitions that was undone by lousy script writing. But not entirely undone. Prometheus asks huge, huge questions about the meaning of life that it purposefully never answers. Some are going to love this, while others will hate it. But along that journey, the viewer is forced to witness unrealistically dumb characters do even dumber things in a horrifically gorgeous, breathtaking alien world.
Rating: 5/10
*Random side note: If you are planning to watch this movie, which I do recommend, notice the absence of the color red. Its a weird thing I picked up on...I’m not sure the reasons why Ridley Scott did this but I’m pretty sure the color red is seen only twice in the entire film. Food for thought.
