Problematic but not totally without merit.

Rating: 6/10 (14 August 2014)

Ridley Scott returned to the "Alien" series universe 33 years after having helmed the visionary sci-fi horror classic, and the results are, rather predictably, only so-so. It hits a number of the same beats as the 1979 film, while also attempting to provide us with answers to some of the questions that it may have provoked in the viewer. Where did the derelict come from? How did it come to be a wrecked hulk? Who was the Space Jockey? And what exactly was the purpose of the cargo?
Scott seems to be more or less just going through the motions here, working from a script credited to Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof. "Prometheus" is technically well made, if obviously not nearly as fresh an experience as "Alien" was 35 years ago. There's almost zero tension, the characters are mostly just not that interesting, and the plentiful CGI is nowhere near as memorable as the special effects of the original film.
Two scientists, Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), collect evidence that they find in ancient cave drawings that would seem to indicate that mans' origins lie in the stars above. Together with an assortment of technical crew, a helpful android named David (Michael Fassbender), and icy corporate type Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), they travel in an exploratory vessel to a distant planet, where they make some supposedly interesting discoveries.
Scott and his crew do take full advantage of the advances in visual effects over the subsequent decades, so this is a very slick looking film. But it's largely lacking in the thick, overwhelming atmosphere of Scotts' earlier effort, and this whole idea of exploring the mystery behind elements in "Alien" isn't too satisfying (the prequel to John Carpenters' "The Thing" suffered from the same problem). Also, to put it quite frankly, it isn't scary at all. It's really not that distinguishable from a lot of other genre productions these days. The one truly memorable sequence involves some emergency surgery.
The cast (also starring Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Sean Harris, and Rafe Spall) is certainly game; Rapace is very earnest in the lead, but the only real standout is indeed Fassbender as the android, who in the tradition of Ash in "Alien", may make you wonder if he can be trusted.
This kills time fairly well for a little over two hours, but it can't help but fall short compared to a superior predecessor.
Six out of 10.