One of the most anticipated movie events of the summer, the MHB crew took a field trip to see Prometheus Friday, affectionately labeled Prom Night, and the No. 2 movie on the MHB Summer Big Board certainly didn't disappoint.
MHB Rating: 8 Hype Beasts/10
Although it was nearly impossible for Prometheus to live up to the hype and mental image of cinematic perfection the MHB staff had built in anticipation, the movie still almost managed to meet its lofty expectations.
In an era where quality sci-fi and horror flicks are both few and far between, Prometheus really is the best of both worlds. From the moment the crew steps foot on LV-223, the movie grips you and doesn't let go until the credits roll, especially fitting given some of the new and exciting creatures that Ridley Scott had in store.
Visually, Prometheus is as impressive and captivating as any movie in recent memory and while the MHB staff aren't huge fans of 3D, it does use the effects to its distinct advantage in certain spots.
The storyline and premise are wildly entertaining and overriding themes of self-sacrifice and creation intermingled with religion and mythos provide for a nice, tight package, but the movie, especially the script, isn't without its flaws.
Charlize Theron's character, Meredith Vickers, is basically pointless. Not much there in the way of development and definitely left something to be desired. Also thought Scott did not do enough with Idris Elba's Captain Janek character, who inadvertently threatened to steal the show at times.
Speaking of doing more, while the closing sight of the original xenomorph gives the people what they want (and we're all for that here at MHB), it's almost just as a courtesy and could have been presented in a more creative way.
In the end, although it was meant to be left open-ended (Scott has already copped to a sequel), it left too many things ambiguous and too many lingering questions for movie-goers. The MHB staff debated several of these in parking lot afterward without being able to draw really any firm conclusions.
But perhaps that's the point and if so, then bravo.
Maybe part of Prometheus' problem was the fact that Scott more or less pitched a perfect game with the original Alien. It has more or less set the standard for what sci-fi should be and was so far ahead of its time that not only is it still both relevant and watchable, it's survived numerous attempts on its life from subsequent cinematic money grabs by the franchise at the box office.
The Prometheus project was ultra-ambitious and by our standards, nearly was able to realize its full potential. Definitely a credit to and a redemption of the Alien franchise.
Very well said. For me the first Alien ranks very high, not only in the realm of sci-fi, but film in general. Once guys like Francis Coppola, Scorsese, Lucas, and Ridley Scott graduated film school and started making feature films, the gloves came off in the 70's. Movie-making got better. I think Ridley Scott proved with Prometheus that he still knows how to make beautiful, intelligent sci-fi and in my opinion this movie was worthy of its Alien relatives. Some characters were bland and Charlie's importance was pretty questionable but at the end of the day no finished product is going to please everybody. The promotional websites and videos also don't get enough credit for their adding depth to that universe and to certain characters like Weyland and David. I think that also helped Prometheus overall.
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