Franchise Resurrected

Rating: 9/10 (10 June 2012)

In a world of poorly done prequels that miss the boat completely, "Prometheus" has created a different kind of prequel that delves deeper into side stories than that of the main plot of "Alien," as everyone expected. Ridley Scott gladly reserves his directing helm and shows his true prowess as a master of sci-fi horror, giving us wide open vistas and worlds, while at the same time, creating a sense of shock, horror, intensity, and claustrophobia. We are introduced to Dr. Shaw, played by Noomee Rapace in the first scene of a film as she completes her discovery of a series of like symbols throughout the world in a small cave. The symbols represent a star cluster light years outside of Earth and before we know it we are whisked away to the helm of the ship "Prometheus" as it approaches planet LV-223, commanded and inhabited by David, played by multi-talented Michael Fassbender, fresh off his convincing role of Magneto in "X-Men: First Class." The David character is presented to us as sensitive and smart, picking up on every possible piece of human information he can gather, and using his android tendencies to examine the dreams of the frozen crew and gain a tactical advantage, becoming more friendly by studying and mimicking the human moves of Peter O'Toole in "Lawrence of Arabia." David and Dr. Shaw are the two most compelling characters in the screenplay and that is why they are described in detail. Efforts are somewhat but not completely wasted on the talents of Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, and Guy Pearce, all of which should have played more integral roles as they were absolutely riveting with the screen time they were given. "Prometheus" should have been titled "Space Jockeys" as that is what the film focused on, while giving us a slight teaser of the "Alien" franchise yet to come at the end of the film, introducing us to possibly the first face-hugger in existence. As a reviewer I am not here to answer questions, which I have done so already, but to alleviate any feelings of disappointment that some may have. The previews leading up to the films release really do a great job of expressing the need to know. If you are expecting the world of chest-busters, face-huggers, and acidic blood, you have come to the wrong movie, but if you have come to study more about the origins of secret races only glazed over in Ridley Scott's 1979 scream-fest you are in for pure elation. As a hardened "Alien" fan-boy, minus the last two entries in the series and the abomination that was the "Alien vs. Predator" series I left the film not the least bit disappointed in the film that was presented. Instead of answers you will get questions, and these questions will be answered in the sequels that stem from the masterpiece that is "Prometheus." Watch, enjoy, and question!!!