Prometheus

Until Sunday this was the only movie called Prometheus that I had watched, Prometheus...what I remember.
By the gods I miss The Critic!

First Off
Prometheus is….not a direct sequel to Alien. There is no planet LV 426. There is no ending that leads to Ripley and her space faring band. This is about as much a prequel to Alien as Phantom Menace is to New Hope.

Now with that out of the way….I really dug 99% of Prometheus.

The Jist

Ancient civilizations on Earth all have this nifty star map. This location could be the answer to the ultimate question. Scientists figure where map leads. Mess of science folks and a robot follow map. Then hilarity ensues with alien planet, a ship, goop, robot shenanigans, flame throwers, dead stuff, and giant albino muscley humanoids.  This is a extremely broad synopsis of the movie, but it pretty close to the story.

Good Stuff

I really liked Michael Fassbender’s android, David. He was a great mix of stoic robot and sort of a creepy kid. Like one who pulls the wings off of flies and takes stuff apart to see what is inside. Actually, all the actors do a descent or above job.

The science fiction elements were spot on; the ships, robots, alien stuff, techno gadgets/babble and locales.

The visuals were pretty damn cool: the landscapes, the ships, the big head room, the improv surgery, the creatures, etc. It had tons of great images to remember.

This was a not too over bearing God vs. science narrative mixed in with alien Dr. Frankensteins that have some hidden agenda and I enjoyed it.

There was room for personal interpretation. I have spoken to two other viewers and we all have different takes on the bigger plot points. It was cool to see a movie where everything wasn’t spoon fed to you. There were ideas left open for the viewer to find their own answers. I had an awesome hour long chat about the events in the film. We both had completely different views on the events in the film. Our points all made sense and yet, were nowhere near the same. It wasn’t like some Kirk vs. Picard , would Batman lose a fight to Captain America or could Superman use Thor’s hammer argument either. It is why I really liked the story told in this movie.

The 1% Stuff

Guy Pearce’s bad, Dick Tracy villain-like, makeup was bad.

The last two minutes of the movie really bugged me. It felt kind of tacked on to appease fans. I thought it was unnecessary for this movie. It made for a plot hole that bothered me, but not enough to poo-poo the film.

There was some predictability in the story and action. It didn’t take away from the movie, it just dulled the action a bit.

The fact I will be in the minority of people who enjoyed this film. It is getting a beating by many many movie goers. I thought this was a great sci-fi film. The biggest problem will be for people who think this is a direct prequel to Alien will be upset. I went into this movie with zero expectations. Well, maybe one...I wanted to see a new sci-fi movie. I did that and walked away very content.