The Dangers of High Expectations

Rating: 8/10 (2 June 2012)

I must admit, ever since buzz about an "Alien prequel" started floating around the internet about two years ago, I've been in a state of intense anticipation. When I discovered that the project had moved in another direction and became Prometheus, I, like many other fans, began following the near endless stream of trailers, images, and viral videos that have been churned out for the film the last few months, all the while eagerly latching onto each new show of the "space jockey" or allusion to Alien.
Then I saw the film. I must admit that my disappointment was partially my own fault for letting myself get carried away by the hype, but the studio ought to have some regret for stoking such anticipation for what they must have known is film that is little more than average. Or perhaps that's why they did it. Either way, the film gets off to a rather nice start, and the first hour is, particularly for Alien fans, quite enjoyable. Seeing the crew explore a derelict ship like the one in Alien, finding its crew of "space jockeys" and the persistent about-to- become-an-Alien-movie allusion to the original film are enough to have me, and most of the audience, on the edge of their seats. Then the film reaches the hour mark, and it's all down hill from there. The script runs out of steam, resorting to twists such as Guy Pearce's appearance on the ship and the yawn-inducing "twist" that Charlize Theron's character is his daughter. Characters such as David, that had been set up in the first half as scheming and multi-faceted, suddenly become flat, and characters seem to forget what had happened earlier in the film (where's the tension between Noomi Rapace and Theron after she kills Holloway? What about David's role in infecting him with the virus? IT'S ALL FORGOTTEN). Worse still, the trailers had literally spoiled all of the scenes we get with the various alien creatures, from the hammerpede to the tentacle monster. What we saw in the trailers is all there is, and much of the ending, with the space jockey ship being hit by the Prometheus, is also ruined in the ads. The ending, while interesting, is shameless for the extent to which is drops any attempt to answer the questions posed in the film, instead setting up for the inevitable Prometheus 2. The last shot, while interesting, is also an entirely predictable shout out to Alien fans that I, and judging from their reaction the whole audience, thought was poorly done. The movie also consistently breaks its own logic, and the constant to-and-fro from the Prometheus to the derelict feels both unnecessary and pointlessly frenetic. While the set designs and the planet Scott creates are impressive, I never felt very drawn into the film's atmosphere after the story leaves the derelict for the first time. The music is entirely bland, and I frequently didn't even notice that it was there.
As for the characters, I was shocked by how one dimensional and static they were, especially given the all-star cast. While Fassbender is predictably good as David, the character itself is hindered by a script that forgets halfway through what makes the character interesting. While Rapace does a decent job as Shaw, some of her dialog delivery was so poor I actually cringed. Would it have killed them to do a second take on some of these scenes? The rest of the cast is entirely unmemorable, save for Idris Elba-who is himself underutilized-, particularly Logan Marshal-Green, who is killed off so early and in such an uninspiring fashion that I found myself wondering why they even bothered having the character in the first place.
Overall, setting aside my own self-inflicted hype disappointment, Prometheus is an undeniably mediocre film that will tickle the fancy of Alien fans in some respects, but will satisfy no one's expectations. Still, I recommend the film to Alien fans for the hint of magic that the film has. I just wish they had aspired to more than the middle ground of unoffensive mediocrity.
EDIT: After seeing the film a second time, and abandoning my fan hopes for it to be a traditional Alien movie, I can say that as its own film Prometheus is good. 8/10 recommended.