A OK movie but no more than OK.

Rating: 6/10 (12 June 2012)

And so it has arrived, Ridley Scott's maybe/maybe not prequel to his classic ALIEN. Well does it deliver? Maybe/maybe not. I've seen this has been high on many lists of most anticipated movies in 2012. But what was seen of it in trailers and alike leading up to the release didn't wow me. It looked really great visually but what one could make out of the plot seemed strikingly similar to the original ALIEN. Two writers with doubtful records made that not unexpected. The crews all talk of how this shouldn't be seen as a prequel in the normal sense makes me wonder if they really wanted to say: Don't get your hopes up. Why would one not what to do a prequel to one of the most liked sci-fi movies ever? Feeling unable to live up to it is one big reason. So what about the results? Well the resemblances to ALIEN turns out in many parts to be true. So far that one could somewhat view Prometheus as a re-imagining of the original. The ties to the original are there but they are very loose so it feels pretty much like just fan pleasing which is disappointing for us who wanted a real backstory. The visuals are stunning as is expected. The 3D in my opinion was fine in that it was there without being forced, necessary? no but not annoying either. The acting is also good Noomi Rapace did well and while not standing up to Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley still managed a good performance. However the far best performance is Michael Fassbender as the android David. He continues the prove himself as one of the big names in acting at time of writing this. The others also do well in their performances. But still the entire cast never manage to reach the reality and substance of the original and also as a stand alone movie it is not very deep stuff. There are few that touch or grip you. Still I think that the kind of emotionless characters are to blame on the script not the cast. The acting is mostly solid but the characters not so. While the effects are stunning the film is really lacking in the suspense. There are some jump moments but they are few and short. The style of the suspense one would expect to be like the original but it fails at most. When you also don't care much for the characters you don't feel appalled or sad when someone drops off. The plot apart from being similarly to the original in the structure it also on its own is far predictable. Even if you have no experience of the series or so you can pretty much guess where it is going and the lack of suspense does not help. And as many more have pointed out the story asks many questions but provides few answers. The links to the ALIEN saga are weak so I'm not referring to those questions but ones that the film itself asks. The film on it's own has several strange and hard to interpret moments. It was written by the writers of Lost and sequels are likely to come but still it makes one frustrated.
To sum up Prometheus is a alright but flawed movie. Most surprisingly weak is the thrills and suspense. All the technical aspects are stunning but the characters and story are seriously lacking. If you expect background to Scott's original you will be disappointed and also in it's own this is a story the asks more than it answers. Ending this with a quote from another reviewer: Not as frightening as ALIEN or as thrilling as ALIENS but still alright. Ridley Scott's return to the Science fiction genre. Leaving the cinema I can't help but feeling: Was that it?