Excellent film hidden inside a really dreadful one

Rating: 7/10 (1 June 2012)

Watching Prometheus is a frustrating experience. This is mainly because there is a very good film which has been folded inside an exceedingly bad film. I can't make head nor tail of Ridley Scott's pronouncements about this not being an Alien film but happening in a parallel universe. This is without a doubt an Alien film so why pretend otherwise?
Let me talk about the good film. At its best this is a great monster movie with lots of action and scares. It delivers on the monsters and it delivers on the hardware. Even the CGI is excellent for once. The cast is just about perfect. I have my reservations about Noomi Rapace but she is pretty good as the Ripley-alike. Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron and Idris Elba are all outstanding and the supporting cast is equally good. It is (the good part) a worthy addition to the Alien mythology and Ridley Scott proves he can still deliver the goods after a long run of mostly forgettable films. This is clearly set up to allow for a sequel too, though I can't imagine Scott doing it. Could James Cameron be tempted?
Except it's all wrapped up in some embarrassingly lame plot about the meaning of life and who made us. Worse, it's tied to an utterly awful story clearly derived from Eric Van Daniken; God was a Spaceman; cave paintings prove it etc., etc. The dialogue is just about the worst I've ever heard in a blockbuster movie and that's really saying something.
There's a clear and compelling way to improve Prometheus that would make a killer director's cut. First, cut out all the drivel that happens in the opening act and start with everyone already on board the Prometheus. Remove all the "God was a Spaceman" references and insert some short scenes giving a more believable motivation for the expedition. How about – we've seen some weird anomaly in a far galaxy, let's go and investigate and see if we can find new bio-weapons for the company? Remove naff dialogue where characters discuss their beliefs. Turn up the background sounds so you can't hear the worst of the remaining dialogue. You'd be left with a 90 minute film worthy of the Alien franchise and we could all believe in Ridley Scott once again.