Prometheus–It’s An Alien Prequel

 

Warning, spoilers lie ahead.

Ridley Scott is a liar.

During the months (and even days) leading up to the release of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic Prometheus, the mercurial director repeatedly denied rumors that his newest cinematic endeavor was a prequel to his 1979 smash, Alien. His vehement dismissal of such whispers came even after the preview showed Space Jockeys and Noomi Rapace running around in white underwear. Not only did Scott deny that Prometheus was a prequel to Alien, he also dispelled rumors that the Xenomorphs would even show up in the Promtheus universe; in December 2011, Scott was adamant in an interview, saying: “They squeezed it dry. He (the Xenomorph) did very well. He survived, he’s now in Disneyland in Orlando, and no way am I going back there. How did he end up in Disneyland? I saw him in Disneyland, Jesus Christ!”

I went to the midnight showing of Prometheus at an I-MAX 3D movie theater, and the line of fellow nerds waiting to see Scott’s newest creation spent most of the wait arguing over whether or not the movie was going to be a prequel. I was on the pro-prequel side, arguing that the visual parallels would be too coincidental to not be at least part of the same universe as Alien. Some people chose to argue against me, citing Scott’s interviews as fact.

I was, in fact right, and Prometheus was a prequel to Alien that delved into the origins of the Xenomorphs. And yes, it took over two hours to get to that conclusion, but Scott knew what he was doing. During the entire movie the audience was on the edge of their seats, anxiously awaiting a glimpse of that wedge-shaped Xenomorph head. When it finally came, the believers in the audience were standing up and shaking hands, while the nonbelievers sat with their mouths agape.

What is there to say about Prometheus other than the fact that Ridley Scott is a sneaky, sneaky man? Well, the visuals were breathtaking, Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender were absolutely brilliant and it certainly did the suspense genre justice. While it may have been a bit too long, I barely noticed the length and enjoyed it the entire time.

The 3D aspects were woven well into the visuals of the movie and did not detract from the quality of the film at all, in fact, I dare say they enhanced it. And that is rare thing to say about 3D.

Alien purists may not love it, but then again, purists never love anything. Just ask me, I have major, irreconcilable issues with the Harry Potter movies.

Either way, Prometheus is a must-see, and it has stirred the desire within me to watch all four Alien movies in succession and then run out and see Prometheus in theaters again.

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