visually stunning, but with many faults in narrative and plot, Prometheus is still powerful enough to leave you thinking long after the credits

Rating: 7/10 (8 June 2012)

It has been over 30 years since director Ridley Scott brought us one of, if not the greatest horror film of all time. A sci-fi thriller that has led to multiple sequels, parodies in other media, and defined a genre of film, Ridley Scott's "Alien" is still a powerful exploration into deep space and an introduction to a mythology unique to this franchise.
Fast forward from 1979 to 2012, and Scott is releasing the seventh film in the "Alien" franchise (the second he has directed), though there had been talk for quite some time that this is not a direct prequel to "Alien," but rather in the same universe as the first film. Forget that and this is no spoiler"Prometheus" is the prequel to "Alien."
Set before the events of Ripley and the members of the Nostromo, "Prometheus" tells the story of Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway, two archaeologists on a journey to a distant planet multiple solar systems away from Earth to try and find the beginnings of human life. Having found dozens of separate cave drawings on Earth that depict a five planet solar system, Shaw and Holloway discovered that the drawings are linked to a system deep in space that may hold the key to human existence. Funded by trillion-bazillionaire Peter Weyland, Shaw and Holloway are part of a crew of 17 that lands on this distant planet to find what the two archaeologists call "engineers;" the creators of the human race. Is this a story of gods or religion? It contains these elements, but we are never force fed the answer.
Of course, not everything goes according to plan on this mission. I say "of course" as if you have seen an "Alien" film before this, you know how it is going to work: land on the planet, check things out, find something strange that you don't understand, lose a couple of crew members that aren't essential to the team, get worried about what is happening, all hell breaks loose. "Prometheus" is no different in its format. It worked for "Alien" and "Aliens," starts to feel old in "Alien 3," and, to me at least, feels dated, very expected, and all-too- familiar.
However, the annoyance of the same format can be overlooked because the narrative itself is such a mess. With story structure issues, plot lines that are either meaningless or never explained, and dialogue that is sometimes laughable, it is easy to forget that we have seen this format of movie before. This was most surprising about "Prometheus." Not that Ridley Scott hasn't made a movie with bad narrative before, but the original "Alien" is easily one of the best sci-fi films of all time. It is careful, calculated, intense, and powerful. "Prometheus," on the other hand, is sloppy in its story-telling and doesn't seem to care about its characters nearly as much.
"Prometheus" is a mess of tangled plots, disjointed story, and questions without answersbut god damn if it isn't beautiful looking and, most importantly, entertaining.
To read the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/prometheus/