When I found out Ridley Scott signed on to direct a prequel to the Alien franchise I was in a word: stoked. Contrary (and not on purpose) to popular opinion, my favorite is the Scott directed "Alien" as opposed to the James Cameron directed "Aliens".
I adored "Alien" because it was to Sci-Fi horror what "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)" was to Slasher-horror. By this I mean, it was simple, clean, and fantastic, without the bells and whistles of contemporary scare cinema.
That being said, I did enjoy Prometheus quite a bit. It felt rather disconnected from the series, sort of in the same way the 4th Indiana Jones did compared to the first three--with a few decades in between and therefore a huge curve in special effects. The technological advances in graphics did not detract from the movie, but in some ways took away from what I valued in the first two movies.
The casting was great, a good mix of familiar faces, some not so familiar. I am, to be sure, a huge Michael Fassbender fan, though when I saw him in the trailer I was skeptical. This skepticism evolved quickly into fascination as the first few minutes of the film had a large focus on him. He plays David, the token android and not only did he play this role exceptionally well, but the complexities of his character were incredibly fascinating to watch unfold. I think that cinephiles will appreciate David all the more because of who or rather "what" his character emanates through his physical appearance, subtle mannerisms and spoken lines. Does "Big things have small beginnings" ring a bell? If not, shame on you.
Charlize Theron played her typical type-cast "I have no soul, deal with it" persona. Noomi Rapace (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) plays the hopeful and overly optimistic Dr. Shaw alongside a crew of scientists with various specialties, most of whom do add to the entertainment, but yet some of whom do get lost in the mix. Oh yeah, and Guy Pearce was in there somewhere too.
I have to say, it does not explain a lot of what I had thought would be explained. I did find myself thinking back and saying a lot of "wait a minute's"; but it's visually stunning scenes and "wtf" plot points, along with Fassbender's enigmatic performance makes this one a film to see, but see the first two first! (skip the rest).
7.5/10
