So Happy!

Rating: 10/10 (9 June 2012)

The story of Prometheus follows the same story line that Alien, Aliens, Alien3, Alien Resurrection, and AVP all follow, which is a small group of explorers stumble upon an alien world that houses a terrifying monster, which is awakened by their presence and chaos ensues. Through this horror a major female character becomes a heroine.
If you watch all the Alien movies back to back (as I did prior to seeing Prometheus), this story structure becomes a bit too obvious and dilutes the suspense of the movie. Prometheus, however, manages to follow this same story arc in a completely refreshing way that allows long time Alien fans (such as myself) to sit back at the edge of my seat.
As for the story, I will not give away any spoilers in this review. I will simply say that this movie is both a prequel to the Alien franchise and its own movie entirely (so expect to see a familiar "face" or two, but not any cameos by Sigourney Weaver). I would say this "reboot" of the Alien universe is most akin to the reboot of Star Trek in 2009 in how the general characters and story line is the same but redone with a fresh cast, new art direction, and new adventures. Also, there are a few scenes that are truly disturbing.
It is my opinion that the best scary movies are the ones that make the viewers think. They are the movies that cause people the cringe, think "what would I do" and be terrified by the response. Prometheus defiantly incorporates such mental horror throughout the picture. Furthermore, we all know that audience's love the "happily ever after" ending, and it is hard to be frightened for a major character dying in a movie because of it. Prometheus did not suggest any such ending, and I found myself truly wondering who, if any, of the characters were going to survive at the end.
And speaking of characters, the acting was great! David, the android played by Michael Fassbender, deserves a best supporting actor Oscar nomination. Noomi Rapace delivered the most chilling scene in the movie with flawless execution, and Charlize Theron plays a bitch like no other!
Lastly, I want to comment on the art direction, cinematography, and directing: industry changing. Seriously. This movie will be used in college Film classes as an example of how to properly direct a movie. The visuals are believable and actually tell half of the story (as opposed to those horrible moments in movies where a character suddenly narrates their situation for the audience's sake, but the dialogue comes across incredibly forces and reminds you that the people are just actors and you are in a movie theater).
Prometheus is a movie for smart movie goers. It is designed for people who pay attention to what is said, not said, seen, and heard. The movie will shock, scare, creep, and make you not want to eat food for a solid day after watching. I highly recommend this movie!