Prometheus

Rating: 10/10 (11 June 2012)

Prometheus is a prequel to the 1979 film Alien also directed by Prometheus director Ridley Scott, and according to Scott, both films take place and are set in the same universe. The 1979 film Alien, has always been one of my favorites. It works as both a great science fiction film as well as a horror film as well. When it came out in 1979, Alien was nominated for two Academy Awards, and won one for Best Visual Effects. The film was well received by critics and audiences and proved to be also a major hit at the box office. It has also been credited as being one of the scariest films ever made. What worked so well for the original Alien, was it was a great looking film with it's sets and production design and keeping special effects very minimal, which could have also been because of the time it was made, but how they managed to pull it off was brilliant. The film was very affective at both keeping your interest as well as putting you in a feeling of dread and terror. Everything about the film worked and was successful at being a class act horror film. The music, the claustrophobic feeling you get from watching it and of course, not knowing what exactly is going to happen, or if it will, or when. The film launched the career of actress Sigourney Weaver, and showed that a woman could be a leading heroine and also be extremely tough, yet vulnerable and carry a movie all on her own, without needing the likes of Stallone, or Arnie to help her. The film looked great, had a great atmosphere and feel to it and plus it really was effective at creeping you out and keeping you entertained as well. The film because of it's success was followed by numerous sequels, some being quite good and others not. Now we come to Prometheus, done by original Alien director, Ridley Scott and also giving us a somewhat new story, but trying to make it connect somehow to events that we would later see in Alien, and the above mentioned sequels. When, I first saw the theatrical trailer for Prometheus, I thought that it would either turn out to be a great film, or a huge flop. It had the potential to be both. Luckily, I gave it a chance and went to see it and it is certainly no flop. With, Prometheus, Scott is again able to capture the style, mood and atmosphere of the original Alien. It's a fantastic looking film with it's sets and production design giving it a very futuristic yet believable and fascinating look to it. Much to my delight the special effects were kept at a minimum and what we got instead was top notch makeup and costume design people as well as some of the best technical artists in the business making everything look and feel great and it's affect is quite impressive. I did not see the 3D version of the film, but there is so much still that you can take in and take away from the 2D version of the film. The new worlds and places these characters take you to are so breathtakingly beautiful, yet haunting and mysterious at the same time that it almost has an overwhelming affect on you while watching it. The film's cinematography also made everything looked great and heavily contributed to this feeling. The story for the film did borrow some elements from the original Alien film, that I think a lot of fans of the series will also quickly pick up on, but there is also a lot of new stuff to absorb and take it as well as enjoy as well. The film's script is actually quite philosophical and intelligent and to say I totally understood everything with just one viewing, I would be lying. This is a film that requires you to pay attention and just devote your mind and your senses to the film for it's two hour running time and just let yourself go with it. I think on repeat viewings the film would still hold up terrifically well and I think it is one of those films that you will understand more as well as also appreciate more on a repeat, or several repeated viewings. The feeling of dread and terror is also in this film. I don't think it's affect was quite the same as the original Alien, but nevertheless still quite affective and using major skills and talent in delivering the scares including great music, timing, atmosphere and just building up the tension and surprises while keeping the gore at a minimum and not going overboard with fake looking gore, or special effects. The performances from Noomi Rapace as well as Michael Fassbender are terrific here and they really carry the film along with it's good supporting cast and it's very talented crew behind the camera. Really for me there was nothing not to like about this film. The advertising and marketing of the film was done in a great way to not give anything away, but to make us want to see it anyway. The film is epic and grand in the scale of 2001: A Space Odyssey, or even last year's Tree of Life. It is extremely affective and is certainly a thinking person's science fiction film, but also for the horror film fan as well. This is certainly a worthy prequel to the original Alien, and one day I think it will be held in the same regard and grow with it's stature and reputation over time. One of 2012's best films.