Prometheus
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender
Writers: Jon Spaihts, Damon Lidelof
Director: Ridley Scott
Story:
Year 2089. An archaeologist couple
discover a star map among many of history's ancient cultures, and
they see it as an invitation to learn about the beginning of mankind. The Weyland Corp. funds the creation of star ship
Prometheus and a crew is gathered on a voyage to the distant moon,
LV-223. In 2093, they arrive at their destination.
Review:
I'm just gonna cut to the chase and say
I thought this movie was absolutely fantastic. My jaw was dropped and
my eyes were bug-wide behind the RealD glasses for the entire
runtime. This was only my third outing to see a movie in true 3D (not post-conversion nonsense) and I
gotta say it has been my favorite experience, thus far. Basically
because Scott took a minimal approach with it. Instead of shit
jumping out at you every five seconds, you're flying over vast and
beautiful landscapes, watching water droplets descend upon you, or
being thrown into the middle of a violent storm. This is at the perfect
time, too, as I had pretty much sworn off the 3D gimmick for being,
more often than not, fucking lame as hell. Not here, though. MIND.
WAS. BLOWN.
I will say that Prometheus didn't feel like a precursor to Alien as much as I had expected (even with notification that it was going to be its own thing, I was thinking "bullshit, this will feel like an Alien film through and through"), but I really had no problem with that.
Don't get me wrong; the Alien vibe is definitely in there, just not overflowing with it. At many times I felt like I was watching an adaptation to one of the mining missions in the first Mass Effect game, due to suit
designs and locale. I do have a few issues that ultimately aren't
really issues. Huh? I'll explain- The film raises some questions in and of itself and they go unanswered. After doing some reading, this was
said to have been done for a sequel in mind. That's all well and
good, but it's not even concrete as of yet that there will indeed be
a sequel. On the other hand, I am one of those people who enjoys a
film that leaves you with mystery and bewilderment. It's a double edge
sword; I want to fucking know, but yet, I am cool with developing my
own ideas. Lastly, the story flowed perfectly for me. I never once thought that things seemed muddled or rushed.
I won't say that there isn't a scare
factor here, as a few moments are pretty intense and freaky, but
mostly this is a true blue Sci-Fi film. That may be a deal breaker
for some. Anybody absolutely yearning for that slasher-in-space vibe
from Scott's first film will most likely be pissed and slinging
popcorn at the screen. Same can be said for anyone expecting a
bombastic combat action film like Cameron's Aliens; it's not that at
all. It's just simply Prometheus.
There were several visual FX companies
on board for this beast, including my favorite, WETA Digital. I think
the Peter Jackson founded company produces the absolute best CGI
there is. Everything looked awesome to me. The ships, space, the
climate of LV-223, as well as everything that happens during the
third act and everything that is a part of those happenings. The film's
practical FX are absolutely badass, as well.
The musical score is fucking
epic, too. Certain scenes just have ambient sounds going on in the
background, and I think this greatly enhanced a creep factor. The
opening theme is fantastic. Not much more to say about this, other
than I would listen to this shit at my house on the daily.
Performances from all the main cast are outstanding. Though, there's a few characters here
that are purely fodder for the slaughter, and they are more vague
than a girlfriend's reasoning for dumping your ass in 10th
grade. That being said, Michael Fassbender as android David is hands
down one of the most enjoying performances in a genre film for a long
time. There's a good deal of depth given to him. You get to see
things that influence him in order to make the human crew more
comfortable in his presence. I don't want to say more than that; he's just
completely fabulous. I thought Noomi Rapace as archaeologist
Elizabeth Shaw was really fascinating, too. This character has to go
through some shit. There's a few moments of sadness with her past
that really made me cling on to the girl. Idris Elba as Janek,
the captain of Prometheus, fucking owns, too. He has quite a few
funny moments when interacting with Charlize Theron's character and
also brings it when it comes to heroic epicness. Speaking of Theron-
she portrays Weyland Corporation employee, Meredith Vickers. She's on
the mission to monitor whatever the research crew finds on LV-223. A
pretty bitchy character, but also a practical thinker. And holy shit
does she look amazingly hot struttin' around the ship in that tight black outfit.
Final thoughts:
Gonna cut off here and just say I
cannot wait to watch this film again. When the final credits rolled,
I wanted to walk out to the front booth, order two more tickets for my lady and I and walk
right back in and plant my ass down in the same seat. I fucking
adored Prometheus right from the opening scene.
