This is the movie that I personally anticipated more than any other release so far this summer. While I was genuinely excited for "The Dark Knight Rises", "Marvel's The Avengers" and a handful other productions, none of them matched my eagerness for "Prometheus". But does it deliver?
When it was announced that Ridley Scott would return to the sci-fi genre for the first time since 1982's "Blade Runner" and that he'd also revisit his very own classic "Alien" by doing so, I was definitely not the only one who got seriously pumped for it. Although I personally wasn't introduced to the "Alien" franchise until my late teens I knew about their influence and legacy. I mean, just look at the facts: With Ridley Scott behind the camera, an array of up and coming actors in front of it, "Lost" mastermind Damon Lindelof writing the script and all of that bound together by some ingeniously great viral marketing and a kick-ass trailer and poster campaign, you've got some hot property.
The film focuses on a team of scientists on a mission to a mysterious planet that supposedly is the home of an alien race called the Engineers. Led by hints found all over the world, the Engineers seem to be the creators of mankind. Talk about ambitious, right? Not only does the movie try to fit in with the "Alien" universe (sparked by the obscure space jockey reference from the first "Alien" movie), it also tries to tackle higher questions of our origin, of faith, belief and religion. The problem here is that the majority of these attempts are rather clunky, with characters literally spelling it out to the audience without ever diving deeper into the topics, let alone giving satisfying (or at least debatable) answers.
Nonetheless, "Prometheus" impresses on other levels. It is a marvel to look at, what Ridley Scott and cinematographer Darius Wolski have created is pure visual bliss, especially when watched in breathtaking IMAX 3D. Quite honestly I think that's the best 3D I've seen so far on the big screen, kudos to that. In combination with a haunting sci-fi score the world that is being created is nothing short of grand and epic, the perfect playground for a huge movie like "Prometheus".
Unfortunately though when it comes to plot and characters the movie falters. As I said "Prometheus" is really ambitious but can't disguise the fact that besides some poorly handled pseudo-depth it is practically "just" a horror movie, complete with (sometimes more, sometimes less predictable) jump scares and plain stupid character actions. If you compare it to the original "Alien", which is a perfect example of a film with a B-plot that thanks to perfect execution grows to become much more than the sum of its parts, "Prometheus" thinks it has more to say than it actually does. That doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing if the movie in question at least delivers on a genre level.
Problem is "Prometheus" doesn't succeed here either. While it has some spine-tingling body horror elements that reminded me of the best work of David Cronenberg, it's not constantly suspenseful or exciting. Too many times you'll question the character's actions who are supposed to be highly regarded scientists but mostly behave like college kids on a field trip and that'll take you right out of the experience.
Performance-wise the movie is also not very consistent. Heroine Noomi Rapace is OK in her lead role but never reaches the soaring highs of "Alien" star Sigourney Weaver. Charlize Theron is wasted in a one dimensional role (although the writers gave her a twist at the end that nonetheless doesn't add anything to her character), the inclusion of Patrick Wilson feels tacked on and don't get me started on the casting of Guy Pearce in very silly Old Man makeup. The saving graces are Michael Fassbender in a scene-stealing role as android David and Idris Elba as the ship's captain. The rest of the cast is mostly dead meat and doesn't leave any impression.
All of that adds up to a somewhat satisfying movie. The most disappointing thing is probably how close "Prometheus" gets to be a great sci-fi movie. It sets its bars too high and falls short on most levels. Let's hope the (recently green-lighted) sequel will improve upon this beautiful but flawed movie.
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