Prometheus 3D
(2012)The search for our beginning could lead to our end
Director Ridley Scott's sci-fi thriller, set in the same universe as the Alien series. A discovery about the origin of life leads a team of explorers - including Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba and Michael Fassbender - to travel to a distant planet in the year 2093.... More
But the investigation into humanity's past and the discovery of an ancient civilization has brought them into contact with a powerful threat that could cause our extinction.
Not a direct prequel to Alien, Scott referred to the film as having evolved into its own "grand mythology and universe".Hide
-
Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Logan Marshall-Green, Sean Harris, Benedict Wong, Patrick Wilson
Written by Damon Lindelof, Jon Spaihts
Flicks Review
BY Dominic Corry Flicks Writer
With the infamous 'chest-burster' scene in 1979's Alien, Ridley Scott set a standard for body horror that even David Cronenberg couldn't top. There's a scene about two thirds of the way through Prometheus that may strain credulity, but hot damn if it isn't the most squirm-inducing moment of creative on-screen body trauma since John Hurt's lunch turned on him.... More
It's a great scene, but there's plenty more to Prometheus, which has to be from certain angles the most anticipated movie of the year. Anyone expecting a re-tread of the 1979 film will find plenty of call-backs and reference points, but this film has a MUCH huger scope - one that I thoroughly relished witnessing unfold on screen.
The 'Macguffin' of Prometheus is nothing less than the origins of humanity, and how it ties into the Alien films that came before isn't hugely important to this story. I found the questions posed (only some of which are answered) fascinating and ambitious.
There is a wide variety of well-drawn characters here, with Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender having the most fun as an ice queen and a robot, respectively.
The film contains no shortage of freaky and exciting set-pieces, but it was the implications that really made this special for me. I wish more films had this level of ambition, along with the artistry to execute it. As far as I'm concerned, Ridley Scott is doing some of the best work of his career here.
I find 3D annoying at the best of times, but there are some breath-taking compositions in here that make a very strong argument for the format.Hide
The Peoples' Reviews
Reviewed & Rated by
Your rating & review
Rate / Review this movieRate and/or review
Prometheus 3D
BY Damon-Keen nobody
Meandering, incoherent drivel. This move is so full of plot holes, bad science, dreadful characterization and laughable acting that I struggle to understand what anyone could see in it. Ridley hasn't made a good film in years, and this film continues that trend.
Embarrassing.
BY GrahamP superstar
Forget the movie "Alien" this is completely different.
Of course you can pick holes in the plot like the different blend of characters on the trip but it is also a real visual experience. The future technology is well thought out but I did wonder why wine bottles and glasses had not changed at all.
I usually find 3D annoying but in this movie they did make the best use of 3D that I have seen so far.
A sequel will be made I am sure.
BY RexH superstar
Dr Smith wasn't the only reference to spot throughout this movie. The older Wellend looked uncannily similar to Keir Dullea's Dave character at the end of 2001. In fact, the 2001 referencing was noticeable throughout this film, from the scattered landscape panoramas of the opening to the video calls home to the... More exercise sequences and the trip to the monolith.
More amusingly, there was a direct Moebius connection with regard to the look of the "creators" and the somewhat hilarious struggle at the end between the humanoid and many-tentacled alien was a swipe from a Moebius strip in which a hot woman turns out to be... a many-tentacled alien! It's not surprising, since Moebius contributed concepts to original Alien movie of 1979. Perhaps this was Scott's homage to the late Jean Giraud.
Apart from referencing 2001 and his earlier Alien project, Scott seems to have been influenced by Forbidden Planet (again), the Quatermass films, those two Mars movies and Contact... There was a moment before the captain decides to ram the alien spacecraft when I thought of Star Trek, in particular Scotty, though that was probably just me!
I don't mind guessing - or viewing - all these influences, real or imagined, but what annoyed the hell out of me were the poorly written characters (and for such good actors). Not since George Lucas introduced mind-numbing woodeness to Star Wars 1,2 and 3 have I seen characters I couldn't care less about! Oh, the biologist is dead! Good thing, too! What biologist approaches a completely unknown alien life form as if it's a cute kitten? Idiot!
The geologist? Why was he even there? Oh, right; to die.
And the set up once they had all regurgitated themselves out of cryo-sleep was absurd - an improbable rehash of the Nostromo crew without any back story to make it credible. Irascible, unco-operative, dysfunctional... this is not how one picks a top crew for a major undertaking worth trillions of future bucks.
There were plot holes you could drive battalions through. No explanation as to what the "creators" were running from or how they came to be decapitated. Not by our favourite aliens, they hadn't been birthed yet.
Oh, and Ridley? Evolution is a SLOW process - it takes a little longer than twenty or thirty minutes!
The Theme: nothing new, but interestingly put forward and it would have been even more interesting if all the above nonsense had been put to one side to allow a deeper exploration. Sometimes exposition gets in the way of a good movie but in this case exposition would have helped immensely.
So what was good about this film? Surprisingly, quite a lot. Notably Fassbender's David. He was almost a movie in himself. In fact, he could probably sustain one. The clip "Happy Birthday David" was brilliant and scary! Charlise Theron makes a delightful Ice Queen, yet still remains delightfully hot!
What engaged me most of all was the visuals. Sumptuous landscapes, stunning sets, excellent CGI, satisfying use of 3D, and a gritty feel that involves the viewer. There were moments of pure poetry - the Prometheus in orbit around the giant planet, and the holographic star chart in the chamber are two that sit in my memory. When it worked, it worked brilliantly.
Unfortunately, the "horror" sequences were just slapstick.
BUT.... it's the first science fiction movie deserving of the name in a long time. That's worth 3 stars in itself.Hide
BY KatieF superstar
Some of the plot at times were a bit hard to follow as you're unsure of where it's heading and you're left with many questions when the film ends, but after reading more about the plot and significance of objects and names in... More the film it becomes clear.
I will certainly watch this again.Hide
BY Jordan superstar
Not just for want of more stories from a loved franchise, but also for the amazing visual journey Scott took us on with "Alien".
So what has he given us with "Prometheus"?
This is the story of Drs. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace, whose star grows ever faster) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) who discover a series of images... More from our ancestors that show a chart to a planet, left for us by those beyond the stars.
As they take a journey with a star-studded cast (Charlize Theron, Idris Elba and Michael Fassbender turning in a performance worthy of Lance Henriksen's "Bishop"), on arrival to this mysterious planet, the environment isn't the only thing that is alien to them.
Everything starts to fall apart in a thrilling manner leading to an ambiguous ending that is open to your interpretation.
While the dialogue is shoddy in parts, and some of the thrills rather obvious, visually it is one of the most beautiful films to have shown up in the last few years. While this is highlighted in 2D, it has used 3D fantastically and is a better film as such. There is no colour loss allowing the detail to really come in, and the depth given to the world is something to see. In many ways, it does 3D so much better than "Avatar", which popularized this format.
Overall, while there are some quibbles with it, "Prometheus" delivers a great film, packed with delicious visuals and some great, thrilling action-packed moments.
This film definitely gets close to delivering something that lives up to its namesake.Hide
Showing 5 of 9 reviews. See all reviews
The Press Reviews
74%
of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
A magnificent film... It's in the classic tradition of golden age sci-fi, echoing Scott's "Alien", but creating a world of its own. Full Review
Buffeted by a lack of suspense, threadbare characters, and a very poor script, the stunning visuals, gloopy madness, and sterling Fassbenderiness can't prevent Prometheus feeling like Alien's poor relation. Full Review
Ridley Scott has counter-evolved his 1979 classic Alien into something more grandiose, more elaborate – but less interesting. Full Review
Although Ridley Scott's 3D visual feast is no classic, the oozing alien tentacles hit all the right sci-fi horror notes. Full Review
An awe-inspiring, mind-gouging, eye-blazing spectacle of high-pitched disappointment. Full Review
This really isn't an Alien movie; it's a lumbering, if visually impressive, space exploration epic which eventually turns into an Alien movie. Full Review
Where Prometheus falls short is that, with the exception of one sequence, the action comes across as silly and weak. Full Review
Scott is to be praised for the sheer level of invention in Prometheus, even if he doesn't keep it all under control. Full Review
Prometheus is grand to look at, but it lacks the brutal simplicity and rigour of its forebears. It's too long winded to pass as a horror, and too daft to really be anything else. Full Review
It might not pack the unbearable menace or blazing horror of the saga's first two movies, but it utterly eclipses the last two. It's exciting, tense and fully impregnated for sequels. Full Review
Remains earthbound in narrative terms, forever hinting at the existence of a higher intelligence without evincing much of its own. Full Review
Care to comment?