There should be one thing that everyone can agree on with Prometheus, and that is that it looks stunning. Another thing that most people will probably agree on is that Fassbender’s performance as the creepy 8th generation android from Weyland Industries is pitch perfect. Outside of these two aspects things will get murky depending on what your pre-conceived ideas were.
The problem with all the haters, I think, is that they believed the hype that Prometheus was an Alien prequel. And it is, but not in the way many were hoping. Prometheus is a film that investigates the creation of the alien race, rather than an Alien movie per-say.
The nightmare inducing scares and action are selective and carefully placed. You could almost call Prometheus a drama. It has a slow build and a slow wind-down that leaves the Alien series wide open for another prequel that investigates and entirely different tangent altogether.
What Prometheus is, is a well thought out foundation that the Alien legacy can now stand upon. It’s got some great characters, but the terror is more insidious than in your face. There are no marines packing a futuristic arsenal of weapons, instead there are scientists. There are a few twists and turns and the story is well driven and not too predictable.
There are obviously a few major plot holes, and the open ended ending will frustrate some. But Prometheus is a solid two hours of entertainment that will hopefully re-ignite the sci-fi genre and give Hollywood something new to play with.
FILMGUIDE rating:
Reviewed by: Jonathan Read
