Much better than some would have you believe..

Rating: 8/10 (18 November 2012)

Like many people, I had seen the trailers for this movie and also knew it was by Ridley Scott who was responsible for the original Alien movie and that it was loosely a prequel. Naturally I had high expectations, but after visiting this site and seeing so many recent negative reviews, that changed and I was set up for a disappointing movie.
Despite this, a part of me held some hope that surely the movie couldn't be as bad as many have reviewed - this is after all a Ridley Scott sci-fi film, and one can usually expect a degree of quality. I'll get straight to the point - this was in no way a disappointing or poor movie. I'm not sure why so many on here say otherwise - perhaps because a strongly negative review can be more dramatic or grab your attention? or perhaps they were expecting something along the lines of some of the other Alien movies (ie: fully formed aliens on the loose and big battles between them and marines or whoever else).
While Prometheus can't help but be a prequel of sorts, it should not be viewed with an expectation of the same kind of action sequences in the Alien movies, even though there is plenty of action to keep the viewer happy, some of which is just as violent and gory as anything seen in those other films. Prometheus then, is not like Aliens or the films that followed. It is very much closer to the original Alien and the whole feel and style of the film is similar as you'd expect from Ridley. I don't think any genuine sci-fi fan would be disappointed with this movie - there is the right combination of action and intelligent story writing - some of the sub-stories are quite deep, particularly involving the android character. OK, so this movie is not perfect.. the actions of some of the crew (most of them actually) can be quite foolish and gung-ho considering they are on an alien world with all the potential risks involved - but who knows? perhaps IQs take a serious dip in the future, or reliance on virtual experiences has made the human race so complacent with regards to danger? There is always an answer to most flaws you could pick - I'm sure Ridley could explain far better and knew what he was doing. The bottom line is, if you've seen the trailer and like what you saw or think this could be your kind of film then go watch it yourself and form your own opinion. Don't be put off by the negative reviews - this truly is a very interesting, enjoyable film, much more than just another dumb aliens vs the humans free for all.