Movie Review: Prometheus

One of the two films that I am actually excited to see this year just got watched by my eyes. So, how was it? I'll get to that right now...

As of right now, Prometheus is still rocking a strong 74% on Rotten Tomatoes and there are numerous positive and negative reviews. I'm just going to touch on a few things that I liked and disliked.

Firstly, the film is set in the universe that the original Alien series is from, but it is not a direct prequel as initially intended by Scott and Cameron. The story is much better portrayed this way than if they had done a direct prequel that just led us right into Alien.

The movie sets out to ask many questions that plague humankind. Those deep burning questions that many people have about who made us and why we are here. The meaning of life and all that. One of the biggest complaints that I've noticed is the lack of answers the film gives the audience.

What did you really expect? I feel that it's better to give the audience something to think about and ponder than to flat out give an absurd answer that in no way can be correct. Or to give a one-sided argument to defend your own beliefs. I don't want a pretentious millionaire telling me who or what he believes in and shoving it down my throat in 3D for two hours.

That's one point of the film that I truly enjoyed. The questions posed are some that many people want answers to and will probably never get. This movie just plays on that note and leads us into some more complex things.

The good things:

Obviously, the visuals are amazing. The acting is top-notch too. There is one scene that involves staples that had me cringing in my seat. I am not squeamish by any means, but this particular scene is done so well that I gritted my teeth a bit.

Like I mentioned, the questions it poses are fascinating and it brings about others subtly in the background. Let's look at the android in the film, played by Michael Fassbender. The film is set around humans looking for their creator, wanting answers, but he is already around his maker with no more answers than "we made you because we could." An endearing sentiment isn't it?

Fassbender played the part of an android very, very well. His mannerisms, speech and even his goofy walk were a nice touch to his take on a soulless robot.

The actors chosen were great and pulled off their respective roles brilliantly.

There aren't a lot of really disappointing things with the film, so I'll just jump into those few things.

Things I didn't like:

*There will be a few spoilers here*

There is always a guy on a spaceship that is the "I-won't-bow-to-conformity" guy and here we have a geologist with a mohawk. I don't understand why there always has to be that guy on the ship. I know the audience identifies more with the guy that says "why are we walking into a dark cave when something is after us?," but these characters have always annoyed me. The actor Sean Harris played the character well, it's the character itself I find annoying.

Next point: A civilization that's so advanced it has holograms that show millions of solar systems and they can traverse the galaxies creating life start their ship's computer with a flute or a piccolo. I understand that it's the sound that is starting the con, but to use such a primitive item for such an advanced race just seems kind of belittling to their species. "I'm a god-like being that travels billions of miles to create life on desolate planets...let me play my piccolo and start up the navigation system..." Really?

The score was a little too happy-go-lucky for my tastes. For a film with such magnanimous questions, the score just seemed a little too much like Star Trek: Next Generation for me. It wasn't a bad score by any means, but a darker sound would have completed the already tense atmosphere.

The only other thing that I really didn't like was the final scene. *Heavy spoilers here* After everything is said and done, Shaw (Rapace), decides she is not going to find a way back to Earth, but instead go to where the "engineers" came from?!?!!? Really? That's your next move? They're bigger, stronger, far more intelligent -- one ripped an androids head off with his bare hands before murdering every other person in the room -- and they had planned on killing our species...so you're going to hunt them down to find out why they made us or spared us? Even the android asked what she hoped to accomplish by doing that. It's sad that I identify with the android moreso than most of the human cast. This, to me, is the dumbest thing in a film that was otherwise amazing.