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- First reviewJune 9, 2012
- Last reviewJune 9, 2012
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BFizzle's Reviews
Overall rating
4
/
5
Prometheus
PostedJune 9, 2012
Dialogue
3
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5
Special Effects
5
/
5
Art Direction
5
/
5
Acting
3
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5
Story
4
/
5
Camerawork
5
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5
In the bible, man is expelled from paradise after eating from the tree of knowledge. The clear message: some thing's man is better off not knowing. PROMETHEUS posits a possible origin of man and then sends man on a quest across galaxies to meet his maker only to discover that man is not exactly what it's maker had in mind upon it's initial visit to Earth. I won't spoil the secrets (though the trailers do a good job of that for you) but I will say that Prometheus plays for the first half like Tree of Life (by way of Alien) before settling into the more traditional gross-out, high octane action and violence you expect from a monster movie. And make no mistake, this is a monster movie.
The question of how this fits into the ALIEN universe is handled intriguingly. It's a prequel but not a direct prequel. Of the story, I can only say that it begins with an extraordinarily promising premise and follows its beats through to their logical conclusions. Whether you will be satisfied by it's logical conclusions is a different story. For all the inventiveness of the first half, in the second half you still have to deal with the same old "supposedly brilliant scientist touching something he obviously shouldn't touch (thus setting events in motion)" or the "two guys who separate from the rest of the group...gee wonder what happened to them?" And despite all the portents of doom, someone still has to say, "We were so wrong!" There were about 4 too many characters for my taste and if you've watched the trailers closely, the "twist" at the end isn't really a twist, though no less interesting. Investigating the true origin not only of a species but of the reason for creation itself was an interesting concept to explore. Not sure it was successful in positing a case one way or the other, but it certainly lay the ground for a sequel, and in 2012, is there anything more important than sequel groundwork?
Prometheus is currently the one to beat as far as visual effects are concerned. In fact as far as 3-D and visual effects both are concerned, we are no longer in a post-Avatar world...we have now entered the post-Prometheus world. Ridley Scott, the great visualist, paints a magnificent canvas. Every ship and creature looked photo real no matter what was happening. The use of 3-D in the space sequences was such that you felt you could reach your hand through the screen into outer space. Feeling the need to up the scare quotient he himself invented several decades ago, Scott succeeds in the creation of new creepy, squirm inducing monsters. None of them achieve the elegance, ingenuity, or downright terror of the original Alien Xenomorph, but you will be freaked out...you will definitely be freaked out. One thing is for sure, Ridley Scott is definitely in his zone here.
To compare this to ALIEN really isn't fair, but as a matter of growth, one would assume that Ridley Scott having done this so effectively several decades ago with no money and with 7 really good actors would understand characterization in this kind of backdrop. I'll say there were four good actors with four good performances in this movie and then everybody else (and there were a lot of 'everybody else') existed to be monster food.
Michael Fassbender continues his storming of the Hollywood acting citadel, turning in easily the most memorable and interesting role in the film. His robot David has an agenda all his own. Fassbender is great here, but I now question his ability to play a good guy or anyone remotely normal (not to say he is the bad guy - the antagonists are quite clear in this film - but to say he has ulterior motives is the understatement of the millennium). Charlize Theron is in great form relishing the frigid corporate princess. Idris Elba adds gravitas and charm to the otherwise forgettable role of the captain and illicits genuine cheers at a climactic moment. Finally, Noomi (Original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) Rapace puts on her best Sigourney Weaver impression as the films center and heroine. If Weaver was the queen of calm under pressure, Rapace sees her and raises her in a surgery scene that has to be seen to be believed (assuming you can watch the screen as it happens).
In summation, Prometheus is by no means perfect nor will it be the game changer the original Alien was. What will allow Prometheus to live beyond this year is not just its truly game-changing visual effects and use of 3-D, but that it attempts to ask (though doesn't necessarily succeed in positing answers to) the BIG questions that movies stopped trying to answer. It reminded me of a time when movies weren't afraid of taking on big questions and sometimes falling flat on their face. It was a raucous good time and a movie I truly want to see again...assuming I can sit through that damn surgery scene again...woof.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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