Grim, but engrossing prequel to Alien

Rating: 8/10 (25 November 2012)

Make no mistake, that's what Prometheus is. It is a prequel to the 1979 classic by basically the same people. Sir Ridley Scott may want us to believe this is a stand-alone film, but there are simply not enough original ideas or set designs for this to be the case. That said, this is the best film to come along in many years dealing with this subject matter. The first couple sequels to Alien were quite good, even though they each had their own style and ideas. By Alien Resurrection, however, it became clear that there was no way either Ripley or the Alien could be killed off completely. Not as long as there was any money to be made. And by the time Predator showed upÂ… this critic had long since tuned this series out! But now with Prometheus, we are able to go back and see where this story may have begun. Only this time, it is not just a story about a doomed crew of a deep space freighter. This time, the origins and fate of all humanity are at risk.
Our story begins somewhat ambiguously as we see some sort of humanoid drink something and essentially cause himself to disintegrate into a river here on earth, presumably setting the wheels of DNA in motion countless years in the past. Fast forward to the 21st century, and some scientists uncover a cave painting that seems to indicate this alien race is inviting us to come and find them somewhere out in the vast reaches of space. The painting didn't look like anything worth sinking in trillions of dollars into with the hopes of building a big ship and sending out a crew to hopefully find the people that inspired it, but if a corporate tycoon wants to find the key to halting his advancing mortality, then it looks like the mission is a "go". We cut straight to the mission where our crew is being awakened from a long sleep to investigate a moon below them that might be the source of human existence. From here on out, the film is largely a series of clichÃ©s and ideas we have seen in other films. The skill at which this is made, particularly from the director's perspective, is what makes it so watchable. The acting is also quite good. The sets and creatures will look familiar to those who grew up on the Alien films, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. At least now all understand who that gigantic humanoid in the big chair was, and what his purpose was going to be. To me, the most fascinating thing about Alien was that doomed ship, and its fossilized passenger. Even if it was only a brief part of that film.
Although this is a deeper and more philosophical film than any previous Alien movie, none of these ideas seem terribly cutting-edge. Some of these same ideas have appeared in good films (2001) and bad films (Stargate) of the past. Perhaps the most compelling question is posed to us like this: What would we do if we found out the person who made us only did it because they could? But then we could ask, who made that person who made us? In addition to the more intellectual side, Prometheus is also filled with graphic violence and all manner of gruesome goings-on. And of course at least one of the crew is really a robot who seems outwardly pleasant, but most likely is doing the evil bidding of the Weiland Corporation. All things considered, Prometheus is more than worth a look. 8 of 10 stars.
The Hound.