"Sometimes, to create one must first destroy."

Rating: 7/10 (11 May 2017)

Within the pure sci­-fi genre, Prometheus is arguably one of the best movies in years. Fortunately, it's an utter failure as a prequel to Alien, which allows Ridley Scott to expand the universe created by himself and to explore other aspects of science fiction. Instead of another monster movie, this is a hardcore science film that gets its inspiration from the best of them all: 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The opening sequence is incredibly captivating and immediately sets the tone of the film: dark, but not too much, and bold. Besides, it'll have you thinking about it throughout the whole movie and trying to connect it to the main narrative. In the same fashion of the monolith in 2001, that creature will leave you wondering how did that being end up there and what exactly did it (he?) do?.
After that, the main characters are introduced and the first half hour is fast-paced and what every blockbuster should be. Between beautiful imagery and exhilarating theories about the origin of mankind, there is a lot to enjoy in Prometheus. In the mean time, the giant human head seen in one of the posters finally makes its appearance and the lack of attention given to it is rather surprising, especially considering that it is one hell of a mysterious artifact. The mid events are not as interesting as the ones from the beginning, but towards the end it gets a lot better again. Besides, there is never real suspense and the main thing that keeps the viewer glued to the screen is that opening sequence and the eternal question: who put that there?.
Michael Fassbender's android David has to be one of the most underrated movie characters ever. Fassbender's performance is smooth and unique, which slowly builds up David's intellect and many of his actions are opened to personal interpretation. However, some characters are poorly written and, therefore, uninteresting, such as Charlize Theron's Vickers, who plays an unnecessary human (is it?) villain. Idris Elba's Captain Janek is a cool character, but not as cool as they thought he would be. And Noomi Rapace's Elizabeth Shaw, aka supposed Ripley, is a pleasant female lead, but not that exciting. Oh, and the guy who plays the other lead character is a horrible actor.
Many elements in the movie seem very surreal, which makes sense given the constant references to surrealist artists, and that only enhances its mystery. Obviously, not everything will be deciphered upon the first viewing and that is, or should be, the main goal of any movie of any genre. Yet, some mysteries will hopefully be unravelled in the sequel.
Ridley Scott definitely knows how to sell a movie and everything in this one looks absolutely terrific; the visuals are literally otherworldly and there are no wasted shots nor annoyingly noticeable CGI. Prometheus is a visual treat, and its experience gets even better with the amazingly effective score.
Prometheus is a very solid and satisfying sci-fi movie and it should be an inspiration to blockbusters in general. The closing sequence, when the birth finally occurs, is brutal and it reminds you of why you love movies in the first place. And the question remains.