Prometheus User Reviews

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As with a fair number of people I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Prometheus since the early talk of development back into 2000 when both Ridley Scott and James Cameron were attached to the project. Well, after 12 years the film is here and being a big fan of Scott as a director and the Alien series this was easily my most anticipated film of the year. Now that I have seen it I can say that I very much enjoyed the film but not as much as I should have.

The plot follows the crew of the scientific research vessel Prometheus as it carries out its mission to investigate a far off planet that may hold the key to answering the question of where the human race comes from. After Dr Elizabeth Shaw discovers a star map in ancient civilisations on earth the mission is launched to track down the beings depicted there, and once they arrive of the planet they begin trying to answer the questions they have. However it soon becomes apparent that not all is as it seems, both on the planet and with the agenda of the company that sent them.

When discussing the films strong points the first stop has to be the direction of Ridley Scott. As a big fan, he is one of my top two directors, I am quite aware of his previous work and his ability to present gorgeous visuals. That being said I was not quite expecting them to start from the very beginning and run to the end, simply put the film is stunning. It is quite clear the every sequence in the film has been well thought out and every shot has been composed to be perfectly framed and give the viewer the best visual. For example the opening of the movie is just of some landscape but it immediately grabs your attention, and the sequence it goes into is the same as it sets up this film. On top of the visuals he also brings with it a great sense of pace and timing. There is nothing about the film that I think drags and every scene feels to be the right length, keeping the plot moving without getting bogged down allowing Scott to prove again that he is one of the best directors working today.

The other key element to the film is the cast and in this department there are no faults or complaints. Everybody working in front of the camera gives a fine performance as is to be expected but as always some people stand out more than others. While Noomi Rapace is the central character and she holds the viewers interest well, most of the scenes end up getting stolen by other members of the cast. Charlize Theron is great as the company overseer who really knows why they are there, she comes across as both cold and calculating but also human looking at the greater picture. Idris Elba was solid as the ship's captain and realist of the crew, he brings a great presence and also some light humour to proceedings. While he does not have much screen time I did very much like the always great Guy Pearce. Finally when talking about the standouts there is one that is far above the rest and that is Michael Fassbender as the android David. I cannot stress how good he is in the role, he is charming and steals every scene he is in and is quite unnerving in his portrayal of the character and you are never quite sure what he is up to.

As mentioned above the visuals are stunning from the landscapes to the sets, everything looks great. This partially due to Ridley Scott's ability to frame a shot but also due to some superb special effects and CGI. The design work is impressive on all aspects, which is to be expected when you hear that HR Giger was brought in to help back engineer the look of the Alien creatures and world. The film also makes good use of practice effects that allowed the film to avoid a lot of the weightless situations other films that rely of CGI have, but this is not to say that when it is used the CGI is not fantastic as it is. Finally the last piece to mention is that I found the orchestral score to be very good at setting the tone and mood, I am not saying it is something I am going to rush out and buy to listen to, but in the context of the film it adds to the overall package greatly.

Unfortunately the film does have some disappointing aspects, the most noticeable being that I found parts of the film to be very predictable. Without going into too much detail there were a couple of twists that is spotted long before the revelation arrived leading me to know what was likely to happen later, however there were still some parts the caught me completely by surprise, such as a particular characters ability to cope with the situation. The biggest issue I had with the films was down to the script, and that was that it brought up questions but never provided answers to them. While this will clearly be explored in a sequel that is bound to come I would have much preferred to have the answers now in this film. I read elsewhere that this is a throwback to earlier sci-fi but when a films sets out to answer a question I should answer it, but perhaps that is the point to make the viewer ask the same question.

In conclusion I very much enjoyed Prometheus and was worth the price of admission for Fassbenders performance alone. If you are a fan of the Alien series then this is a must see, just don't be expecting a film about the Alien's origins as this is concerned with our own.