Prometheus, Are You Seeing This In 3D? Cuz You Should!: Our Review of "Prometheus" (2012)

Directed By: Ridley Scott

Starring: Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Logan Marshall-Green, Idris Elba

Rating: R for sci-fi violence including some intense images, and brief language

Synopsis: Funded by the Weyland Corp., Elizabeth Shaw (Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Marshall-Green), a pair of archeologists, venture to an alien planet aboard the spaceship Prometheus to try and find our creators. But upon finding what they were looking for, they also may have accidentally found the end of mankind as they know it.

REVIEW

Andrew: Hello readers! Late last night (or very early this morning) Sarah and I saw the latest film from acclaimed director Ridley Scott – his long-awaited Prometheus, starring Noomi Rapace (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class), Charlize Theron (Snow White and the Huntsman), Idris Elba (Thor) and Guy Pearce (Memento).

We were both very excited to see this movie because all along it’s looked like it was a prequel to Scott’s 1979 classic Alien, despite Scott’s protestations that it wasn’t a prequel but did take place in the same universe.

So first and foremost, Sarah, let’s say this: Prometheus is most DEFINITELY a prequel to Alien.

Sarah: Oh yeah. It really brings a little more of the answers to the mystery as to where the aliens come from while also realizing that they’re not the only ones. It was very interesting picking up on things that had been left out of the original movies because they weren’t a part of those particular stories per se. But it was decidedly a prequel.

I thought the movie was amazing. What did you think?

A: Purely on its own merits I thought it was a fantastic film. Definitely one of the best we’ve seen this year. And compared to the other Alien films it’s probably my second favorite behind the original. Why did you think it was “amazing?”

S: A number of things. I thought the acting was good, I thought the storyline was tight, there really wasn’t any time during the film that I was bored or that I thought it was slow. There was always that element of “Oh my god, what’s around the next corner?”  Last but not least it had an ensemble cast of Hollywood A-listers that didn’t disappoint.

Holloway (Marshall-Green, left) and Shaw (Rapace, center) search for the answer of where humans actually come from in Prometheus 

A: Yeah, I thought the storyline was really good. I know some of the criticisms of this film so far is that Ridley and the writers, Damon Lindelof and Jon Spaihts, brought up these big questions, like “Where do we come from?” That’s what Elizabeth Shaw, Rapace’s character, is searching for, and we kind of get the answers but they also bring up some more that go unanswered. Some critics don’t like that, or feel that the movie could have stood on its own as a film about those questions and not have dealt with any of the Alien stuff, but I was ok with it.

I liked where the film went - how it started, where it led to, and I’ve read other reviews that said the last act felt rushed or didn’t jive with the rest of the film and I didn’t feel that way at all. I felt that it all ramped up in to this ending and it paid off in a great way if you’re a fan of the franchise.

S: I would agree. I felt that it all built up to this climatic last act, and if it hadn’t delivered it would’ve been a huge disappointment. But it did pay off.

Here’s a big part of the film for me: the 3D was amazing. As we’ve mentioned before, I didn’t get to see Avatar in 3D when it was in theatres, so I was not prepared for what kind of 3D it would be like. It was perfect. It was crisp, it was clear, there wasn’t any blurry movement during action scenes…

A: And this is what 3D movies are SUPPOSED to be like. Ridley Scott did it right. It gives you depth to the film, and seriously, it feels like you’re actually THERE. Like you’re watching a stage play because of how the visuals fall back. Right from the first scene we kept chuckling because we couldn’t believe how great this film looked. It looked like you were at the waterfalls that are in the opening scene. You felt like you were in the rooms with the characters. That’s what 3D is supposed to be.

Scenes like this one make it incredibly worth it to see Prometheus in 3D.

S: I think that also is a big credit to the cinematographer Dariusz Wolski. I mean it was beautifully set. It would be a waste of time to see it in regular 2D. It was a great movie, don’t get me wrong, but the 3D brings a whole ‘nother element to the film.

A: Acting-wise, for me personally, I was skeptical about how Rapace would do. She did fine, I wasn’t blown away by her, but I kind of wish Theron had played her character. I thought Theron did a great job in Prometheus just like she did in last week’s Snow White and the Huntsman. But for my money my favorite actor and my favorite character was Fassbender as the android, David.

S: Oh, without a doubt he was the best character in the movie. Very much “Data-esque” from the Star Trek TV series, he’s this android almost yearning to be human. He was great. We’ve met a couple of androids throughout the Alien anthology and he falls right in line with Ash and Bishop.

A: You asked me coming out of the theatre, “What’s up with all the androids being evil?”

S: And I don’t think that it’s so much that they’re evil but that it’s just the way they’re programmed. They can’t FEEL evil, they can’t DO evil because they’re not actually human. So it’s the way they’re programmed and if they’re programmed to be manipulative they’re going to do things without question because it’s what they’ve been told.

A: I think you nailed it right there. They’re not evil, especially David. He’s not evil, he’s just curious. He does these things in this movie that might come off as evil but he’s not doing them with malicious intent, he just wants to see what’s going to happen. And I think Fassbender portrays that amazingly well. Last week you said you thought Charlize might get some Oscar buzz for her performance in Snow White, I think Fassbender might get it for this film.

Next question I have for you: Did you think it was scary?

S: It wasn’t scary as much as it was just incredibly tension-filled. It had me wondering at every single turn what was going to happen, and I think that’s more so because we’re fans of the Alien movies, so we know something’s coming, something’s going to get ya. But at the same time it wasn’t horror scary, it didn’t have that horror aspect that Alien had.

Michael Fassbender as David the android is the highlight of the film, especially his excursions into the unknown

A: That said it is gory at times. It may not be scary but you get your horror elements in that there are some grisly things going on. I think if you’re a fan of the franchise, and especially of Alien and Aliens, you’ll enjoy this one. It fits in perfectly with the canon. You get some answers and it’s a return to form for Scott. It’s a breath of fresh air in regards to sci-fi movies.

S: I was going to mention that. It brings sci-fi movies to the next level. I mean we’ve had our Star Trek, we’ve had our Star Wars…this takes it to a whole new level. It re-establishes my faith in sci-fi.

A: Real quick, if I have any critique of the film it’s some minor things. There are some plot holes every now and then but they’re not huge, and characters do some stupid things to drive the plot forward but overall the movie as a whole makes up for that.

Also, I wasn’t a fan of Guy Pearce as Peter Weyland, the founder of the Weyland Corporation. His character looks like he’s 100 years old, and he’s in this makeup that just doesn’t look very good, I don’t know why they didn’t just cast someone like Christopher Plummer.

S: Someone who’s actually old. Plummer would’ve been perfect. Because now we have this Benjamin Button effect and it just didn’t’ fit in.

A: His character’s not in the film much but it kind of throws you off knowing that Guy Pearce is really as young as he is.

S: It is what it is, but maybe they’re hoping in the next film to maybe go back and we’ll see him younger and see why the Weyland Corporation started.

A: Ok, so overall we both enjoyed Promethus very much, so what’s our final verdict?

S: It’s definitely worth seeing in theatres and in 3D, don’t see it unless you’re going to see it in 3D.

(Out of Five Clapboards)

Photo Courtesies: MTV, Teaser-Trailer.com, Collider