Prometheus
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron
Rated: 14a
Running time: 124 minutes
Prometheus starts big with breathtaking scenery that takes full advantage of huge screens and sound. Then comes the big "why are we here" ideas when two scientists (Noomi Rapace and Logan Marshall-Green) discover several ancient markings depicting a common constellation cluster. The drawings are taken to be an invitation to come meet the beings that created humans. No time is wasted as we cut to a spaceship hurtling toward dark, eerie music.
When we're introduced to the crew, we find that the scientists may have found the directions but those who run the company bankrolling the trillion-dollar exposition have ideas of their own. The ideas are hidden behind the tightly wound corporate representative (Charlize Theron) and the suspicious robot (Michael Fassbender), both of whom ooze ulterior motives.
Slow pacing and tense setups start the film with great potential. Then comes a turning-point self-surgery scene that pretty much throws any sort of realism or big ideas out the window and gleefully runs and shoots itself to the end.
Apparently Ridley Scott says this movie started as an Alien prequel before if became a stand-alone film. That seems odd since this is film most certainly follows the Alien playbook pretty closely. I'm certainly not complaining, since it's always nice to see blockbuster money spent on H.R. Giger-inspired sets.
It's been a while since we've had a decent sci-fi flick on the big screen. If that's your cup of tea, now's the time to enjoy it with a bucket of popcorn.
Sci-fi nerd bonus: If you haven't already, check out the video game series Mass Effect. It's like an epic great sci-fi movie that you can control.
