Sci-fi - Sci-fi
A Realistic Review of PROMETHEUS
Prometheus
The fact that it's directed by Ridley Scott and the original design elements are credited to H.R. Giger may have a large part to play in the similarities.
The film however does not hold a candle to the plot or story of Alien. So with that said, I'll now focus on the film as it is.
This film looks excellent. The special effects / modeling and cinematography (for the most part) is excellent. The story and plot are very thin and bordering on the ridiculous once you start to analyze its progression through the movie.
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A More Indepth Analysis of each Section.
)The opening sequences and all those shot outside are fantastic. The panning / tracking is very smooth and there is no evidence of shaky camera work. Overall everything looks extremely smooth and is a pleasure to watch.
The aerial tracking shots of landscape and the ship in flight look excellent.
Unfortunately most of the movie is not shot outdoors. It's all in caves and caverns, so you can guess the outcome of that. DARK DARK DARK. This movie starts out set in the year 2089, where they have developed all this new technology and yet the humble torch has not seen any progress with its development, yet it is the foundation on which every team member relies on? That's stupid.
I do not know why they spoil films by being so dark. It's as if they want the dark to increase the intrigue or to help advance the thriller concept, yet all it does is detract from the visual pleasure in my opinion.
)There is not a whole lot to say. The story is easy to follow and the plot is very thin.
The story is very basic and does not evolve into anything remotely interesting. There is one small twist, but quite frankly that stands out like a deer in the headlights, so it's hardly a twist. Members have alterior motives and just like Aliens so the main enemy comes from within.
The plot is bordering on ridiculous and the story is not much better. For example IMDB description of this movie is listed as this.
A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
Now without giving away any of the story for those that wish to watch it, that just doesn't make sense. For starters the threat is not imminent. The signs on earth they dated to 35,000 years old (year 2089), then in 2093 they launch a ship to travel to that location. Sure sounds like a threat is just around the corner doesn't it. The battle did not need to happen (as they initiated it) and they did not save the human race as the ending of the movie shows, the threat is still there (if you listen to the dialogue).
When you put that into perspective of what happens at the start of the movie (before the title is even introduced) it just does not make sense.
One of the most ridiculous aspects are the two geologists get lost? HUH How is that possible. Firstly one of them is the person which owns/manages the PUPS (which map all the terrain). He has access to their data. How the heck could he of all people get lost in the caverns? Especially later on when they get a radio transmission of what their current location is, he provides an exact location. So it's just not possible for him to be lost. Also the strange part about that request is in the ship they have a holographic display which shows the exact location of every member in the survey team within the mapping that has been generated by the PUPS. Just ridiculous.
)Nothing out of the ordinary stands out. Expect the typical characters to act a typical way.
The cast were ok, however Charlize Theron an Guy Pierce were not really exploited to their full potential.
)Interesting to watch, but not very believable. They find a symbol of 6 planets in sequence and eventually find that in a galaxy, then locate a sun and a single planet that has a moon which could sustain life. How did they make the assumption that these Engineers require the exact same conditions for life as we do?
There are so many issues with this movie and the concept that many things just don't make sense or are completely contradictory. So lets list a few of the key ones.
As I mentioned in Cinematography, most of this movie is shot underground, so in the dark. This movie starts out set in the year 2089, where they have developed all this new technology but the humble torch has not seen any progress with its development, yet it is the foundation on which every team member relies on? That's stupid. I would have expected everyone to have IR torches that provide full illumination of the surroundings, like their flying pups can do (definitely an idea they have adapted from Stargate Atlantis). Once again just a contradiction.
Charlize Theron has her own lifeboat on the ship so she can be completely self sufficient from the ship. Quote "Anything Miss Vickers would need to survive a hostile environment". We are introduced to this early in the movie. One crew member points out she has a Pauling Med-Pod which can do bypass surgery. However later in the movie when someone goes to use it, the Med-Pod reports "Error. This Med-Pod is calibrated for male patients only.." HUH? this is a piece of equipment privately owned by the highest ranking female on the ship and is in her room yet it is not calibrated for females? OMG!
So moving along in the story. They arrive at the planet in question, after spending 2 years in transit and a trillion dollars, yet they land at the first structure they find? Why not fly around the planet and survey it further. Where they landed didn't even look developed. Why not look over the whole planet for cities or signs of a developed race? That just seems absurd.
Once inside an underground structure their robot knows how to open doors and knows exactly what he is looking for when he finds it?
What is the motive of the robot. In Alien it was clear what the Robots task was, but in this it's not evident at all because everything it does seems counter productive.
When they do discover a threat they do not defeat it, nor do they attempt to understand it, nor does that threat correlate to what we saw at the start of the movie. The ending of the movie is even more strange because it has clearly been designed to provide a sequel than it did actually resolve any of the issues. That is fair enough, but you can't say they fought a battle to save the human race, because the threat was no where near neutralized.
I won't say much more as I'm not interested in spoiling the story (what little there is), but there's just so many issues, that it does border on ridiculous.
)There's bucket loads of special effects as you would expect and they are all excellent.
Special effects (and CGI) are a crucial part of the movie.
)Special effects and sounds were all of neutral balance, so the dialogue was easy to hear and the sound effects were not deafening.
Nothing unusual to report.
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This Review was Last Modified on : 20th of October, 2012