Prometheus

New Movie Release

Umm....sorry. 

I kinda didn't get it

Let met start off by saying that I have followed the careers of both Ridley Scott and his brother Tony...and for the most part I am a huge fan. 

An example of Ridley's genius can be seen quite clearly when you place the first Alien - filmed in 1979 - up against the later Aliens, directed by James Cameron. 


Alien still works, right now in 2012, scary as hell and very fresh to the eye.


Aliens, or Alien 2, has not aged well in my opinion, however, and looks rather dated. 

I liked this movie. The acting, set design, direction and effects are all top-notch. And it plain to see that a lot of effort went into the script. 


But this film did have it's problems.

I guess my biggest complaints about Prometheus are twofold...... 

A: The film was very slow. Period. 

I can't really complain too much, though, because Alien was a rather slow movie as well. But Alien was constantly building tension over the entire period of the film, while Prometheus just left me wondering what was going on.

B: There were a lot of unanswered / open-ended questions. Period.

What was the black goo? Was it an out-of-control biological weapon? 

I wasn't sure...I kinda thought it was liquefied alien brain matter for a while there. Ridley, in case you are wondering, in the master of story-telling. 

I myself have borrowed his techniques - namely keeping the bad guy off-screen until the last possible moment. 

It's an incredibly effective plot device. 

Also, ratcheting up the tension while the moviegoer is wondering if the bad guy is waiting around the corner out of sight. Ridley is a master of this as well. 

Prometheus, because of it's confusing elements, seems to have lost these techniques....at least to me.

I know what you are thinking. Sean is an idiot. Sean doesn't understand great film-making. But the truth is...I do. 

I really admire the great directors and their vision. I put a lot of effort in trying to understand what they are attempting to deliver. 

It seemed, at times during the second half of the movie, that Ridley was trying to tell an original story while still paying homage to his Alien fans. 

This may have been a mistake.

You handsome man, you

Ridley Scott is still bitter about the fact that the Alien sequels - all helmed by different directors - are of poor quality when compared to his original movie. 

I don't blame him a bit for that. But please don't take it out on me by making a film that's so deep and thoughtful it can't be understood. 

I like deep and thoughtful, but we go to the theater to be entertained as well. 

That's what a good movie is - escapism. I really don't want to spend 2 hours scratching my head, wondering what I missed and why I'm confused.

By all means, see this movie. Maybe you will get more out of it than I did. 

What bothered you about this film?