A thought-provoking premise falls short.

Rating: 5/10 (8 June 2012)

I wanted to love this movie. The cinematography, scope, and concept evoke awe. The execution was at times flawed, but nearing the end of the film, I was happy I had come.
Without giving too much away, when we all think the movie is over, the director gives us all a little extra. Unfortunately, this "little extra" ends up feeling gratuitous, manufactured, and banal.
Ultimately, the movie fails in its vain attempt to be both a prequel and a movie in its own right. The sheer beauty of the cinematography and the computer graphics is staggering. The acting was thoroughly believable. Clearly borrowing from better films, such as Star Wars, Alien, The Fifth Element, and Star Trek, it nearly achieved such greatness but for an inability to take its audience seriously enough to go beyond the profit-driven motive to set up a sequel and end the movie with integrity.
It will leave you unsatisfied.
5/10