Like me, you might have read or heard recently that Ridley Scott has stated that Prometheus is not a prequel to Alien. When I watched the movie I couldn't understand how he could claim such a thing as it has very obvious links to the 1979 film he also directed.
I now understand that what he said was that this was not a direct prequel. What he meant by this is; He sees this film as being set one or two movies before Alien. But at some stage, if Prometheus is successful, those other two movies could get made.
Prometheus is the name of a ship carrying a team of scientists to a distant planet. The team have found their way there through a series of 'star maps' that have been found in many different and ancient civilizations. Believing this to be an invitation from the inhabitants of this planet, the team of scientists go to seek them out. Once there they discover a structure containing some dead humanoids they call engineers. And a room full of cylinders which start to ooze black liquid. One crew member unknowingly ingests the liquid and starts to have some rather nasty reactions to it. Meanwhile another crew member is attacked and killed by a snake like creature within the confines of the structure. The team must get back to Prometheus as the fate of the earth rests in their hands.
Prometheus is the name of a ship carrying a team of scientists to a distant planet. The team have found their way there through a series of 'star maps' that have been found in many different and ancient civilizations. Believing this to be an invitation from the inhabitants of this planet, the team of scientists go to seek them out. Once there they discover a structure containing some dead humanoids they call engineers. And a room full of cylinders which start to ooze black liquid. One crew member unknowingly ingests the liquid and starts to have some rather nasty reactions to it. Meanwhile another crew member is attacked and killed by a snake like creature within the confines of the structure. The team must get back to Prometheus as the fate of the earth rests in their hands.
One of my friends recently saw the movie and wrote on facebook "Visually brilliant, links to Alien awesome. Script and soundtrack awful!" The funny thing about this comment was that I kinda felt the opposite (visually brilliant aside - as I agree with that part). I felt that it was the links to Alien that let the film down. And I actually struggle to see how Ridley Scott could join this up with Alien even if he had two more films in which to try.
I felt that if Prometheus was a stand alone film, exploring a similar genre but totally separate to Alien and giving us a totally different beast, it would have worked. But it was the mis-matched guidelines that tried to marry up with Alien where it seemed to fall apart.
The film left me with a lot more questions than answers and I don't think I'm alone in feeling that way. Maybe that's what Ridley was going for so that the studio would let him make Prometheus 2 and 3? All I know is that I felt super let down by the ending and felt that the final 'alien' made a mockery of the creature I've been scared of for the last 10+ years.
If you're a fan of the original Alien movie you might enjoy Prometheus as it has the same approach to the horror/sci-fi genre that Alien had. It's a slow burner but one which has been stylishly made and featuring some great performances. Just don't expect a film that will seamlessly answer all of those questions you've had for the last 33 years. 7 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 17th June 2012
UK (Re)Release Date - 1st June 2012
Cast Overview:
Noomi Rapace ~ Elizabeth Shaw
Michael Fassbender ~ David
Charlize Theron ~ Meredith Vickers
Idris Elba ~ Janek
Guy Pearce ~ Peter Weyland
Logan Marshall-Green ~ Charlie Holloway
Sean Harris ~ Fifield
Rafe Spall ~ Millburn
Director ~Ridley Scott
Writers ~Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof
