My Take On Ridley Scott’s PROMETHEUS

One of my favorite movie series is Ridley Scott’s Alien franchise. The original movie, Alien, was one of the only two movies that ever really gave me the willies. The other was the original version of The Blob, which gave me nightmares for days when I saw it as a kid. Alien did the same for me later on, when I was in high school. And I loved the other Alien movies, with the exception of the third one.

In Prometheus, Scott has created a masterpiece in terms of stunning visual effects. Beyond that, I have to confess I had mixed feelings. The story line was interesting, and I didn’t have much trouble following it (some folks have complained about the plot, and it is a bit uneven). The acting was good, although some of the characterizations were…questionable. One that stood out in a good way was the character David, who was probably the most intriguing of the bunch. The only one that I really didn’t care for was the elderly man who clearly was just a younger man in makeup. I found those scenes rather jarring, when set against the visual opulence of the rest of the film. Why not just find an older actor who really looks the part?

There were two other things that I really didn’t care for. One was that the core question of the story (no spoilers, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out when you see it) wasn’t answered, although that leaves the door open for a sequel, which is fine by me. The other is that there were too many different, um, variations, shall we say, on the alien theme. It’s sort of hard to describe without spoiling it, but Scott might have been better off following the maxim from The Highlander, “There can be only one!”

Despite those little qualms, I quite enjoyed the movie, and would definitely recommend that you go see it if you enjoy science fiction or general doomsday mayhem. I’d just recommend that you recalibrate your expectations slightly, as this isn’t quite on par with the first two Alien movies (which I consider the best of the lot).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIJeQNyZ6VE