PCP on DVD - Prometheus

Prometheus was a film I had circled on my calendar as soon as I heard it was coming out.  Unfortunately, circumstances conspired against me to prevent me from seeing it in theaters, so I had to wait until it came out on video.  By then, a lot of the outcry and controversy about whether or not the film was any good had died down and was forgotten, which allowed me to view the film with much lower expectations than I would have had were I to have seen the film when it first came out.  I'm glad I waited, I think I liked the film much better than I would have otherwise.

Prometheus - 2012, rated R.  My rating:  8 out of 10.

"But you don't understand.  You don't know.  This place isn't what we thought it was.  They aren't what we thought they were.  I was wrong.  We were so wrong."

The reasons I had circled Prometheus on my summer 2012 film calendar were primarily because of the people involved on the project.  First off, there was director Ridley Scott, making his return to science fiction.  Ridley is already one of my favorite directors, and since he directed the first Alien film, I was super excited for this film set in the same universe.  Secondly, Lost writer Damon Lindelof, a very funny guy to follow on Twitter, was involved in the script.  And last, I loved the cast assembled for this film, especially Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender.

As I mentioned, for those of you not aware, Prometheus is set in the same universe as the Alien films.  It is not a direct prequel to Alien per se, but it ties in some of the same mythology, especially primarily that of the powerful Weyland corporation.  It does take place some time before the events of the Alien films though, but it also shares those films' spirit of a strong heroine, with Rapace filling in for Sigourney Weaver, as well as those films' dark tone and mood.

The film follows the crew of the ship Prometheus as they travel to a distant world in search of a species of alien that was potentially responsible for creating life on Earth.  When they arrive, bad things start happening as they encounter weird and dangerous things on the planet.  I'd say more but I don't want to go into spoilers in case you haven't seen the film yet.  But the film raises a lot of questions and some interesting ideas, the only problem is that not all of them are resolved fully to the viewer's satisfaction.  A sequel is supposedly in the works though, with the promise of answering the questions this film leaves open.

Overall, despite some of the plot holes and unanswered questions, I thoroughly enjoyed the film.  The acting was outstanding from all of the cast, and the film is visually gorgeous and breathtaking, with some incredible vistas and shots of the ship.  In the end it is a pretty good science fiction film that stands well on its own, separate from the Alien films.  I already can't wait for the sequel.