Re: Ridley Scott Prometheus: NOT the Alien Prequel Details
Well, the news isn't at all good for true Alien fans. Just read the Empire review and was VERY surprised by the average 3 stars they gave it after their considerable build up and support for the film. Go read it if you want though there are a few spoilers, but if you've been following this thread for months or watching all the trailers since Feb there are no shocks.
Reading between the lines in the reviews and there are a few in now that are english speaking (not translations) it seems to boil down to these points:
On the positive side it is a stunningly well designed film and the art and effects work are beyond question magnificent. Coupled with the effective use of 3D this makes it one of the most immersive and convincing sci fi films ever released that literally take you to another world. Everyone agrees on those points, it looks superb and Sir Ridley did a brilliant job of shooting it.
There are scenes of horrible mayhem , monsters and stomach churning events in it EVENTUALLY, and they are pretty graphic.
The acting honours seem to go to Fassbender for his android David, everyone is taken with his charcter and performance and his star is definitely rising.Rapace is well regarded in her role but with the inevitable comparissons to Ripley she's coming in second best, but then she IS up against a role changing icon of the genre so thats no surprise. At worse she holds her own.
And the negatives? They really seem to depend on how much of an Alien fan you are. Prometheus suffers mightily when compared to its predecessor (or is that progenitor?) and just how well the critic concerned knows and respects that film. For a new generation well used to MAINSTREAM big budget 3D films the feeling is they will not find too much to complain about, it is entertaining and VERY horrible in places.
However the main point that most agree on is that very,very few are buying into the "Chariots of the Gods" premise ( No chestbuster of a surprise there then, those theories were old and ancient when I was a boy!! ) and the story and script suffer badly because of it.So little is eventually explained and so unevenly that far tooooo much is left open ended (thank you ,Mr Lind-LOST, stick to writing for TV in the future please), the obvious feeling generated is that this prequel is all about a sequel!
For the die hards out there, of which I am most definitely one, most seem to feel this is NOT an Alien film at all ,more a big bucks reboot of the ideas cut from the original classic and thus taken in a VERY different style and direction well away from the original . Sir Ridley WAS NOT kidding at all when he said the beast is dead and predictably alot of us are not going to like that.
Seeing it tomorrow. Downgraded expectations to C+.