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Ok so these are my thoughts on the much awaited "prequel" to the Alien saga.
I'll try to refrain from direct spoilers but consider this as a spoiler alert in case anything can be gleaned.
First of all, I had probably unreasonably high expectations, it's was a solid marketing campaign and a great cast. Almost inevitably, it didn't live up to expectations but that's not to say it was bad, in fact a second viewing may help me see it with adjusted preconceptions. The cast, as mentioned, were all great, Fassbender, Rapace and Theron in particular; the others were all ancillary and pretty much fodder. The film would have instantly benefited from less characters and more focus on the main ones, much like Alien and Aliens, they worked so well based on the individuality of the characters. Many in Prometheus are interchangeable and irrelevant to proceedings. Idris Elba is particularly wasted as the Captain who seems to serve only to deliver a chunk of exposition about the nature of the exploration and take the suicide mission we see (sadly) in the trailer. Though, without his character being developed his decision doesn't hold the weight other characters sacrifices in the series have had.
It's a consistent complaint, the lack of characterisation which seems to be mainly due to the characters being spread too thin and also lazy writing. One of the most frustrating elements was the twists they introduce towards the end, instead of being game changers or altering the dynamic and momentum of the film, they don't. It leaves the film feeling very A to B, without a middle. The film is continuing situation of cause and no effect. A lot of things happen but we never see any reactions to it or the effects. Fassbender's android David continues in a tradition of the Alien films but also Scott's Blade Runner. At points, he seems very much the focus, with a Pinnochio relationship between him and his creater/'Father'. Yet the discussion is never explored to it's full potential, likewise, David's motivations seem very uneven and at times his decisions seem confusing considering his 'mission'. The interplay between company characters David and Theron's character served an interesting element, the conspiracy/shady company element another long standing feature, however this neither develops into much more than a few lines.
It's a shame small things seem to have such a big impact on my experience but the structure of the plot itself didn't do the film any favours. There's never any escalating tension or build of dread and fear as the pace treads fairly leisurely. And without the depth of philosophical discourse that there was the potential for, i.e. David getting more chance for reflection or defined goals that would compliment the over arching theme of creation of life; it felt empty. In terms of incorporation into the Alien saga, the final scene is very indicative of it's place in canon and as a direct prequel; however it feels shoe horned somewhat. The genetic evolution of the zenomorphs doesn't seem to really make sense based in what we've seen and what they show, likewise some of the behaviour of the 'virus' - why does one infected character fall apart and another become a super freak? What happened to the character who had a facehugger attached? He just disappeared, when you'd expect that to be a Kane-esque change in equilibrium. And if someone can explain if the projected holographs from 1000s of years ago was anything other than lazy writing to get them to go/learn/do what was needed.
It's seems like a negative review but it's not a bad film. It looks and sounds incredible in LieMax and it's got some great performances particularly Fassbender, which is what's come to be expected of him now. There's a nice throwback to quarantine procedures on the original and pragmatism but yet again, this action yields no effect. It's worth seeing, maybe a second viewing will alleviate a lot of my gripes. That said, it's a shame the development of characters couldn't have been more of a focus.
I'll try to refrain from direct spoilers but consider this as a spoiler alert in case anything can be gleaned.
First of all, I had probably unreasonably high expectations, it's was a solid marketing campaign and a great cast. Almost inevitably, it didn't live up to expectations but that's not to say it was bad, in fact a second viewing may help me see it with adjusted preconceptions. The cast, as mentioned, were all great, Fassbender, Rapace and Theron in particular; the others were all ancillary and pretty much fodder. The film would have instantly benefited from less characters and more focus on the main ones, much like Alien and Aliens, they worked so well based on the individuality of the characters. Many in Prometheus are interchangeable and irrelevant to proceedings. Idris Elba is particularly wasted as the Captain who seems to serve only to deliver a chunk of exposition about the nature of the exploration and take the suicide mission we see (sadly) in the trailer. Though, without his character being developed his decision doesn't hold the weight other characters sacrifices in the series have had.
It's a consistent complaint, the lack of characterisation which seems to be mainly due to the characters being spread too thin and also lazy writing. One of the most frustrating elements was the twists they introduce towards the end, instead of being game changers or altering the dynamic and momentum of the film, they don't. It leaves the film feeling very A to B, without a middle. The film is continuing situation of cause and no effect. A lot of things happen but we never see any reactions to it or the effects. Fassbender's android David continues in a tradition of the Alien films but also Scott's Blade Runner. At points, he seems very much the focus, with a Pinnochio relationship between him and his creater/'Father'. Yet the discussion is never explored to it's full potential, likewise, David's motivations seem very uneven and at times his decisions seem confusing considering his 'mission'. The interplay between company characters David and Theron's character served an interesting element, the conspiracy/shady company element another long standing feature, however this neither develops into much more than a few lines.
It's a shame small things seem to have such a big impact on my experience but the structure of the plot itself didn't do the film any favours. There's never any escalating tension or build of dread and fear as the pace treads fairly leisurely. And without the depth of philosophical discourse that there was the potential for, i.e. David getting more chance for reflection or defined goals that would compliment the over arching theme of creation of life; it felt empty. In terms of incorporation into the Alien saga, the final scene is very indicative of it's place in canon and as a direct prequel; however it feels shoe horned somewhat. The genetic evolution of the zenomorphs doesn't seem to really make sense based in what we've seen and what they show, likewise some of the behaviour of the 'virus' - why does one infected character fall apart and another become a super freak? What happened to the character who had a facehugger attached? He just disappeared, when you'd expect that to be a Kane-esque change in equilibrium. And if someone can explain if the projected holographs from 1000s of years ago was anything other than lazy writing to get them to go/learn/do what was needed.
It's seems like a negative review but it's not a bad film. It looks and sounds incredible in LieMax and it's got some great performances particularly Fassbender, which is what's come to be expected of him now. There's a nice throwback to quarantine procedures on the original and pragmatism but yet again, this action yields no effect. It's worth seeing, maybe a second viewing will alleviate a lot of my gripes. That said, it's a shame the development of characters couldn't have been more of a focus.