I had a hard time deciding whether to give this movie a thumbs up or a thumbs down. I finally decided on the thumbs up.

You should know that I had INSANE expectations going into this movie. Though technically not an Alien movie, Prometheus takes place in the same universe and as a result it is difficult not to hold it up against Ridley’s original Alien movie from 1979 - which in my opinion is a masterpiece.

That’s not fair though. Prometheus and Alien are two completely different movies with completely different themes.

The scope of Prometheus is, in one word, huge. Not surprising considering Damon Lindelof wrote the script. Love him or hate him (I love him), Lindelof always asks very big questions BUT rarely answers all of them (see Lost). Depending on your taste you’re either gonna be okay - even excited - with that or you’re gonna be pissed.

Prometheus asks big questions but the answers...hell, maybe they’re just setting up the sequel, what do I know. It’s just that questions and themes of that magnitude come across rather shoehorned into what really is a very good sci-fi/horror/thriller.

Okay, here we go...

!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!

The movie starts off with AN ENGINEER (a large humanoid creature) who drinks something that turns out to very bad for him.

We then cut to two scientists (Noomi Rapace and Logan Marshall-Green) who have found these old drawing/carvings all over the globe from civilizations millennia apart, all of them showing the same pictogram (star constellation). A travel map or an invitation.

Two years later, the spaceship Prometheus arrives at the this planet in order to find/make contact with the Engineers. The mission is sponsored by the Weyland Corporation because - we later learn - Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) is dying, and if the Engineers can create life, they can certainly also save it/him.

On the planet, the crew quickly finds a large dome/pyramid shaped structure. Inside it they come across a fossilized and decapitated corpse of a SPACE JOCKEY (the same type of creature as seen in Alien). We later learn that the SPACE JOCKEYS and ENGINEERS are in fact the same, the elephant-looking face is actually a mask or helmet, and the exoskeleton is merely a suit (not entirely sure why the need the suit - the Engineers seem to function well enough without it).

Anyway, they find more dead Space Jockeys/Engineers - apparently all have been killed by...something. David (Michael Fassbender), a robot - like Ash from Alien - who has spent the two years it took the Prometheus to reach the planet learning all sorts of languages in a hope that he will be able to communicate with the Engineers - manages to open a door that leads into a large chamber. In the chamber the crew finds the floor covered with these large sealed vases and the big head from the poster.

(Anyone who has read Dan O’Bannons original Alien script will recognize this setting).

Two of the crew members, both geologists, decide to head back to the Prometheus because, while they LOVE rocks, they don’t know shit about huge fucking dead aliens.

As the remaining crew investigates the chamber the room starts changing - defrosting as a matter of fact - and this black oily substance starts to ooze out of the vases. Outside a storm is coming so they decide to head back to their ship but not before securing artifacts, Rapace’s character grabs the severed head of the Space Jockey and David takes one of the vases.

They (barely) make it back to the ship only to learn that the two geologists haven’t made it back.

Surprise, surprise.

We cut back to the geologists who have gotten lost inside the pyramid - I think everybody can guess what happens next. Yeah, while that scene is as predictable as they as they come, the scene is actually very funny - right up to the point where it gets really, really scary.

The two guys stumble into the head-chamber where this oily substance now covers most of the floor. Suddenly this strange looking snake thing pops out of the oil and instead of hauling ass (like everyone would’ve done) one of them actually goes: “Aw, that’s so cute”. A few seconds later, one of the guys’ face is melted and the other one has got a snake-thingy down his throat. Yummy.

Back on the Prometheus, the scientists play around with the severed head - until it explodes. They analyze its DNA and discover that Engineer DNA and Human DNA is identical. So in short, they’re our ancestors.

Meanwhile, David has opened the vase and retrieves a drop of that black oil. He then covertly slips it into a glass of Champagne that he then hands to Rapace’s boyfriend (Logan Marshall-Green) - oh yeah, Fassbender is a real piece of shit. Green later knocks boots with Rapace (who can’t have children by the way). The next morning he’s not feeling well and goes to check himself in the mirror only to notice this tiny tentacle sticking out of his eyeball. Another yummy moment.

Anyway, the crew suits up and heads back to the pyramid to find the two geologists. They find one of them and he’s fucked up beyond repair. Just then Green starts getting really ill, his skin starts to bubble and they rush him back to the ship. But Vickers (Theron) won’t let them back on because of the risk of spreading the decease. So she burns Green.

Shortly after, Rapace starts getting ill as well. David scans her and discovers that she is pregnant. Three months pregnant. However, the fetus is soooo not normal. Against her will, they decide to freeze Rapace and quarantine her but she makes a break for it and reaches a sort of auto-doc machine that can perform all sorts of surgeries.

What follows is an absolutely fantastic and disgusting scene in which the machine performs a cesarean on her and removes the fetus. And, no, it is not an Alien. Well, not exactly. It’s sort of a squid looking thingy.

While that’s going on, the other geologist shows up at the ship and goes fucking bananas on everyone he runs into. It was unclear to me why exactly he does that - whether he was “possessed”, changing into something else or simply just in a bad mood wasn’t exactly explained. He seems to have super human strength and an incredible tolerance for pain but in the end the crew manages to put him down.

Shortly after, we learn that hidden inside the pyramid is craft (the same Derelict type as seen in Alien).

Later, David returns to the pyramid (the craft actually) where he finds another chamber where a final Engineer is alive, albeit in cryo’ish sleep. He also discovers what would have been the Engineer’s next destination: Earth. Along with a shitload of those vases with the black oil. They were gonna wipe Earth clean of the human race.

Why?

Because the can.

That is one of the questions that is left unanswered, and one Rapace’s character is desperate to find an answer to.

After we find out that Peter Weyland has been a secret stowaway on the Prometheus, he, David and Rapace go back to the craft and awaken the Engineer. Weyland wants the Engineer to help him get well while Rapace wants the answer to why they suddenly hate the human race.

The Engineer looks at them for a few seconds then rips David’s head and kills Weyland. Rapace barely gets away as the Engineer fires up the craft’s engines.

While running back to the Prometheus, she convinces the Captain (Idris Elba) to stop the craft so it doesn’t reach Earth. He does. Turning the Prometheus into a missile he rams the craft. The Prometheus is destroyed and the alien craft crashes, killing Theron’s character. Rapace makes it to an escape pod that was jettisoned earlier (inside it is where the auto-doc is located).

David’s head, though detached from his body, is still functional and he tells Rapace that the Engineer is coming for her. Inside the auto-doc department, the fetus has grown BIG - I mean really BIG. Again, it resembles a giant octopus (not really scary, just weird). She releases it just as the Engineer attacks her. The squid goes for him instead and Rapace escapes to the alien craft.

As the squid and the Engineer duke it out, it sticks a tentacle into his mouth and the battle is over.

Rapace makes it to the craft and finds David’s head. He tells her that there is another alien craft and that he can fly it. Rapace tells him to fly her to the Engineers’ home planet instead of taking her home.

Is the craft takes off, we cut back to the escape pod where something bursts out of the Engineer’s chest.

Can you guess what it is? If you say “an alien”, you would not be entirely wrong but not entirely right either.

!!!END SPOILERS!!!

As a sci-fi/horror/thriller this movie is really, really good but if you’re going in there to see an “Alien” movie, you’re probably gonna be a little disappointed.

The visuals are great, Ridley’s attention to detail is freaky. However, I wasn’t crazy about the CGI Engineers, they just looked fake. Period. Also, I don’t know why they shot this in 3D. It adds absolutely nothing to the movie. Nothing.

The acting is really good as well. Rapace puts in an exellent Ripley'esque performance but the real star of the show is Michael Fassbender. That guy is an absolute monster. He steals every scene he's in. Theron doesn't really shine in this movie but I think that comes down to her character that is rather two-dimensional.

I couldn’t help but feel that scenes had been cut out here and there and there’s probably gonna be a special edition when it comes out on dvd/blu-ray.

Janek, the captain, for example goes from being an extreeeeemly laid back dude to a man who’s willing to sacrifice his own life in a heartbeat. I’m absolutely sure that there was a scene cut with him that sets up that decision much better.

Anyway, I’m rambling here. All in all a good, solid movie.

Not ALIEN though.

I was hoping to write the first review for this one.

Anyway, super stoked and proud that I didn't watch enough viral marketing to ruin the film for me (thanks for the SPOILER warnings, BTW). Got my ticket for the midnight IMAX screening next week, hoping to go in with reasonable expectations for a film more Alien-inspired than actual franchise.

Damon Lindelof did not write Prometheus.. Jon Spaihts did. By Lindelof's own admission he simply added color/flavor....minor embelishments. plot/character/mythology is all from the mind of Spaihts. i'd say 75%+ of the script is what Spaihts wrote.

the chief reason for Lindelof is the studio wanted an established "name" on the bill


ive glanced at some of the early reviews...

it seems character development outside of the main characters is a common gripe..

also ... unreasonable expectations will inevitably lead to some viewer backlash

Good lord! Almost another week until I can see this movie. I have read the spoilers and it still wont stop me from going. It sounds amazing to me. :]

Big things have small paper cuts...

Going Friday at 1pm! Stoked.

Watched this in the moviehouse (in stunning 2D) this evening.

No particular spoilers - but discretion advised for those that don't want to know anything...

Incredibly solid mainstream sci-fi blockbuster that I can't see disappointing any fans of the original Alien film. (any dissenting voices should probably sit through part 4 or the AVP films again and will think twice about slagging this baby off).

The movie looks stunning. I do agree with Sniper about some of the CGI looking a bit off in places (does it ever look totally on?). However, mere gripes.

There will deffo be a special edition - because even at just over two hours - the pacing feels a little off. You can tell there's chunks missing.

Fassbender owns this movie. It's essentially his movie. Rapice is good, but I felt she's a bit too 'Ripley' in terms of the parental aspect that was brought in for Ripley in Cameron's sequel. Her character arch is quite abrupt in places. Often rushed to get to the guts of the matter. There's also a sequence which actually made me think of recent Roger Corman cheapies, for some reason.

However, I'd give it 8 out 10. Compared to the other films I've seen on the big screen this year it's easily the best.

Also - I heard a radio interview with Ridley Scott last week and he said there would be two more films before it would bring the franchise upto the timeline of the first Alien movie. I say - I can't wait to see those. Considering the final image in 'Prometheus' (and for those who haven't seen it yet -- your gonna love or hate it), it's wets the appetite for more.

Quoted from B.C. Also - I heard a radio interview with Ridley Scott last week and he said there would be two more films before it would bring the franchise upto the timeline of the first Alien movie. I say - I can't wait to see those. Considering the final image in 'Prometheus' (and for those who haven't seen it yet -- your gonna love or hate it), it's wets the appetite for more.

While I hope he gets the chance I must admit I have my doubts. It's gonna be interesting to see the US box office result. I think it'll do well in the opening weekend (mainly due to the alien fanbase) but by week two I have a feeling the numbers will fall off a cliff. Most casual viewers will probably find this movie fairly entertaining but seriously disjointed while the fanboys (myself included) will accept its flaws knowing that it'll lead somewhere we wanna go.

It'll be interesting to see how other board members rate this movie. My gut feeling is lotsa love and lotsa hate.

I decided to read Sniper's review instead of seeing the movie. Sniper never lets us down.

So why did this Rapace go the Engineers home planet? Was it to find out why they were going to attack Earth?

And back to the beginning: the Engineers are our ancestors. And someone has left drawings all over the world that is intended to draw us out the alien trap. Yet the aliens are capable of travel on their own. Not sure I get it.

Let me try to guess. The scene at the beginning when the Engineer drinks something bad...are the engineers taking something like shrooms that lets them communicate telepathically with humans, and they use this contact to plant a map? And when we have the technology, we follow the map out there...so they can what, kill us? Follow us back to Earth? Attach themselves to us as parasites and follow us home?

This still leaves the question of how they are our ancestors, why they want to kill us, and why they can't just travel to Earth in their own ships.

The movie sounds cool. I'm a little lost. Maybe I better go see it. Thanks for the review!

Caught the midnight screening last night. Admittedly, I was not anticipating this nearly as much as the rest of the fanboys, my love for Alien not withstanding, but... I thought it was great. Basically, a highly entertaining sci-fi/adventure with some horror elements thrown in for good measure. Stellar performances, virtuosic filmmaking and a generally serviceable script, despite some clunkiness. It delivered on scope, concepts, nostalgia (naturally) and an astonishing amount of B-movie splatter (I expected something more cerebral, honestly). The 3D wasn't necessary but it accentuated the IMAX kinda nicely. Overall, a most satisfying "trip to the movies" made all the more satisfying by how little I'm able to say that nowadays.

Oh, and as for all the Alien hubbub...

SPOILERS!!!

I'm actually going to have to disagree with the majority and say that, much to my surprise (and delight), this was definitely an Alien prequel. The aliens in the film aren't exact replicas of the iconic xenomorphs from the Alien franchise but they are progenitors. To me, without a doubt. The similarities were just too great. I'd regard them as, to the xenomorphs, the veritable legged fish that crawled on land and became dinosaurs millions of years ago. I don't recall the timeframe between Prometheus and the first Alien but I definitely think it's substantial for these creatures to have evolved into the more refined beings that first appeared in the 1979 film.

If you disagree, I'd  simply point out the rest of the film. The Engineers were the Space Jockies. Their spaceship is is of the exact variety that Ripley and co. stumble across in Alien. Even the Prometheus's architecture. Just uncanny in similarity.

Different story, different themes... fair enough. But frankly, I felt Prometheus gave enough insight into the origins of Alien that any thoughtful fan would be able to connect the dots after walking out the theater. 'Nuff said.

James, what is your take on the worm/snake things we see in the head-chamber? As far as I can figure they do not appear to be part of the Xenomorph evolutionary cycle (unless they themselves are infact the black goo stuff or at least some part of it).

David feeds Holloway the goo, he then impragnates Shaw resulting in the squid-looking fetus. It then impregnates the Engineer which in turn results in the Xenomorph'ish creature at the end. Now, that creature is obviously not the final step in the evolutionary cycle and that's where connecting the dots come in (which I completely agree with). It's already been established that the Xenomorph takes on charateristics from its host so obviously the almost-alien creature will impregnate something/someone else and we will eventually end up with the "real" Xenomorph (for a lack of a better word).

What I got from the movie was that the result of taking the black goo was not predictable.  It's like a genetic crap shoot.  While this ship didn't contain the Alien we've come to know an love, there were other ships where that species might have evolved.

I thought the movie was a completely different animal than the movie it prequels (pun intended).  There isn't really much to complain about, while it wasn't a great movie, it was definitely a very good sci-fi flick.  Ridley and Co are skilled filmmakers and it shows.    

Quoted from sniper James, what is your take on the worm/snake things we see in the head-chamber? As far as I can figure they do not appear to be part of the Xenomorph evolutionary cycle (unless they themselves are infact the black goo stuff or at least some part of it).

Those creatures totally felt like prototype facehuggers to me. They had little wings/flaps that were ribbed and looked like they could have evolved to form the facehugger's more defined bone structure and hand-like appearance. They also had the whole phallic/vaginal thing going on like the facehuggers. And indeed what transpires in the scene could've easily transpired with a facehugger. I definitely think they were part of the prototype biology that leads to the classic xenomorph biology.

I caught this one at the back end of last week on IMAX and it’s fair to say I was really anticipating this movie.

Movies tend to never live up to the hype which in a way is my own fault as I expect so much when I shouldn't

This may not have lived up to my expectations but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. This is a solid sci-fi movie with some fine performances and gripping scenes

Prometheus obviously is not “Alien” although it’s set in the same universe and happened before the original movie and that it features the for-mentioned space jockey or Engineers as we find out.

I’m not going to go into a massive review, think that’s been covered and well covered let me add by Sniper.

I will just add that Michael Fassbender was excellent, I especially liked the scenes of him alone on the ship during the course of their journey which was well done.

Also that I agree with others about the feeling of missing scenes, the ending felt rushed to me and it will be interesting to see what extras will be on the Blu-ray/DVD when released.

A few characters fell flat for me, Fifield comes to mind who seemed like he was going to be a right bastard but turned into a wuss who loves rocks.

I will say that I enjoyed it immensely and mostly because I’m a massive Sci-fi film and this is where this film excelled, its visuals were stunning especially the ship itself and the planet LV-223 (think I got that right)

Definitely worth the watch on the big screen.

Caught this on the big screen first thing Saturday morning in a near full house.
Prometheus is the film with the lamest third act I'm going to say I liked overall.

I enjoyed the first two acts a lot. Solid 75 minutes on almost all fronts.
The Engineers looked meh, but tolerable.

Ridley Scott eyegasms aplenty.
The man delivers the goods. Period.

The film for me devolves into TV melodrama after that.
When Vickers goes all flamey until the ship crashes, it was an eye roll fest for me.

I'm not saying that's Lindelof's contribution to the script.
But there's so many WTFs in that stretch it does feel like a series finale gone awry.

Cranky Mohawk Guy gets more cranky and violent.
Vickers goes all Ripley on the crew. Her groan worthy filial reveal.
Come on, really? Was the f-word needed. Seemed obvious to me.
I would've liked her scene with Weyland so much better without that stoopid word.
The "What are you prepared to do?" beat with Shaw and Janek. Yuck. Really?
Right out of "The Untouchables". Classy.
Not to mention DePalma made it better by setting it in a church.

I wanted to get invested in that third act, but no such luck.
Honestly, I think there was a better way to carry out that crash...

Rearrange some bits and get Shaw on that alien ship taking off.
Because now her convincing Captain Skeptic to go ramming speed CHANGES...

It's no longer a wild plea to get Janek to off himself.
He was already pretty skeptical. I didn't buy for a second he'd do that. BUT...

If Shaw was on that ship... Suddenly, you've got a real hero present...
"Kill me to save humanity." Now that's something Janek can buy.

That's something that fires me up emotionally. And would likely make me cry.
Shaw can climb into the vacant sleep chamber and brace for impact.
Then continue from there on the surface.
You can even have Shaw in the ship alone before it takes off.
She's trying to disrupt the agenda... making HER the alien on their ship.
Shaw would be the alien being hunted on the ship. That's irony ripe for the taking!

Perhaps my brain is a tad genre minded for my own good.
But those basic trajectory changes make me much more excited about the third act.

Every bit as Fassbender is stunning, the score irked me to no end.
The soundtrack detracted from many scenes for me.
I don't know why they want with someone new, but what a clunky score.

All tolled, I'm glad I went to see it in theaters.
Prometheus deserves all the success it can garner.
And Kudos to Fox to rolling with the creative team and making this project happen.

E.D.