Prometheus: A Return to Form or Another Flop?

I loved the first Alien movie. Who didn’t? It was scary enough to be exciting, but not so terrifying that it scared away those who don’t really enjoy horror films, myself included. Its sequel Aliens, despite a genre shift, a new director and a singularly uncreative name, was even better. It turned Ellen Ripley into one of the most beloved sci-fi action heroes in cinema, gave us some spectacular action, introduced us to a good cast of fun characters, and still managed to maintain the dark, spooky atmosphere of the original (it also gave us the infamous “Game over, man!” and “Nuke it from orbit” lines, which is a commendable feat in itself). This only makes the rest of the series more heartbreaking. Alien³ and Alien: Resurrection were insults to the first two films, and the less said about Alien vs. Predator series the better. The series drifted far, far away from Ridley Scott’s original vision of a dark, moody world where the villains didn’t need the visceral horror of guts and gore to be scary, and the heroines didn’t need to be sexy and half-naked to be interesting. This is why, when I heard Mr. Scott was returning to create an Alien prequel, I could barely contain my joy. Is Prometheus a return to the original vision of Alien? Or is the series so far gone that not even Scott himself can save it?

The movie just came out about a week ago, and so far reviews seem mixed. Some describe it as beautiful, haunting, and outstanding. Several friends of mine all agreed that it gave Avengers a run for it’s money as best movie of the year. Others, however, seem to be less enthralled. Some described it as ‘unsatisfying’, claiming it didn’t answer any of the questions posed by earlier movies. Others say that it relied to heavily on impressive visuals and didn’t give enough attention to details like characters and story. Even some its supporters aren’t exactly enthusiastic – the general opinion seems to be “Good, but not great”. The opinions seem to sweep across the board, and no two people seem to agree with each other.

So, who’s right? Impossible to say. It’s undeniably a great-looking movie, that much can’t be argued. It had some bright minds behind it, both in the director Ridley Scott, and in one of it’s two writers Damon Lindelof, who was a writer for Star Trek and Cowboys and Aliens. Despite this, when so many people share similar complaints, they can be hard to ignore. Weak characters, weak plot, no answers, these are all complaints repeated many times by multiple critics. Many people complained that Prometheus didn’t go far enough, or that it tries too hard, but just as many people proclaim that it was a brilliant piece that was simultaneously exciting and thought provoking. To be honest, all this debate just makes me want to see the movie more. Is it excellent? Is it awful? Somewhere in between? I’m anxious to find out.

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