Review 109: "Prometheus"

This is kinda like that one movie.

What was that called? Oh, right.

Predator.

 

    Prometheus is a sorta -prequel to the Alien series and follows Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and her boyfriend Charlie (Logan Marshall-Green), who discover a plant which may contain the secret to where we come from. See, they believe that we were created by aliens and travel to find these so-called "Engineers". Funded by the Weyland Corporation head Peter (Guy Pearce), they set off on the ship Prometheus and travel to the planet alongside Weyland worker Vickers (Charlize Theron), android David (Michael Fassbender) and pilot Janek (Idris Elba). There, they find more then they bargained for...
    Prometheus became mega-hyped before it's release due to the film's kinda sorta maybe relationship to Ridley Scott previous Alien movies. I haven't gotten around to watching the Alien series. I will soon, but I went into Prometheus without any real knowledge off the "other" films in the series. And perhaps that's for the best, since I really enjoy Prometheus on it's own.

Engineers bathe in sunblock.

    The basic idea of Prometheus, where we come from and what that means, is a extremely intriguing idea. While the whole "ancient aliens" idea has been ran into the ground by, you know, that guy, the film manages to separate itself from the jokey recent nature of the ancient aliens idea, with some honestly smart thoughts as to how that would work and what that means for religion. The topic of religion is one that is well addressed in the film and works well in it, in case you were wondering. The central idea of Prometheus is a strong one and supports the story of the film well. For the first half at least.
    The second half of the film delves more into straightforward sci-fi horror. Most of the film's interesting ideas are put on hold as the crew of the Prometheus deals with alien illnesses, mystery creatures and the expected morally ambiguous android. It is a step down from the first half, with very little moments that have been done before. However, it's still remains solidly entertaining and the production value of the movie makes it as absorbing as before.
    The film is one of the best looking of the year. The sets created look very cool and stand out among all the "sci-fi spaceships" and "ancient alien homeworld" sets most sci-fi films tend to have. The effects look spectacular, especially a storm that blows in on the planet. The acting is consistently great. Rapace makes for a likable heroine who the audience can get invested in, while Theron plays a pretty cool villain. Elba has fun as the comic relief, but by far it's Fassbender who steals the show with a terrific performance as the chilling android.

Ever get the feeling you're being watched?
 

    Prometheus isn't the groundbreaking sci-fi epic the hype would have you believe, but it is a solid, very entertaining sci-fi film. The cast, especially Fassbender, is great, with director Scott creating a fascinating world and well-made world for the characters to explore. The first half of the film is the best, asking some very interesting questions. However, the film does devolve into basic sci-fi horror in the second half, which at least is solidly fun. It's not the best, but Prometheus is one wild ride. Prometheus gets 5 stars out of 6.