This was THE movie of the summer that I've been waiting for. Sure I want to see Spider-Man, The Dark Knight and a handful of others but if forced to only see one, this would have been it.
Director Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Alien, Gladiator etc., etc.) goes back to (maybe) revisit the Alien series. The movie tackles big questions such as how did life begin and why?
The film opens with some visually stunning (no surprise from Scott) vistas and some weird, human-like creatures seeming to seed the planet. Is this how and where life started?
Fast way forward to 2093 where a ship with a crew of 17 is racing across space to find a planet that might hold the answers. The crew is made up of a diverse group including archeologists, a humanoid robot and a mission commander who is as beautiful as she is severe. Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender and Guy Pearce star.
Once they reach the planet, they find the decapitated body of a giant human-like creature (hmmm) which seems to have been dead for 2000 years. The genetic material is human. This is referred to as the most significant discovery in the history of mankind.
From there Prometheus manages to bring up situations and questions that are never fully answered. The fact that the robot is evil is way too easy to see. The fact that the old man on board is related to a crew member is also way to easy to guess.
The film pretty much gives up on answering questions and turns into more of a thriller as the crew must now escape from what looks like a sure death on this distant planet. The visuals and special effects are a great as you want them to be but the story has lapses and holes that should have been filled.
The nod to Alien seems forced and, quite frankly, unnecessary.
Prometheus is a challenging film. I left the theater feeling as if I had seen a great film but on the way home had second thoughts and felt it was only a good film. As time goes by I feel that maybe it is a very good film that needs to be revisited. Maybe on a second viewing it will be easier to get a good read on it.
grade B+
mcw
