Prometheus made big headlines, there was great anticipation, fine viral marketing, great teasers, and Damon Lindelof as a writer... after the hype is gone I believe that the story sucks, alien-prequel-anticipation looks like a spinoff, and the movie leaves you stumbled, or if you've got a great sense of humor, you feel amused :)
So, the story is stupid, you are wide open to make guessess and build your own interpretations of everything. And that really sucks. Some movies (for that sake even Inception is great) leave you debating, and arguing, and talking about it afterwards. Movies like Inception are a treat, they really give you food for thought, while Prometheus doesn't really "feed your brain." We've seen stuff like that before, nothing new at all. Search for eternal life, search for "creators," "engineers" in this case, etc.??? Been there, done that before. (However, must note, I watched it in Russian in a movie theatre. Still how bad can you translate that?). So, big F for the story. Some may argue with me on that, and Prometheus may easily be likable by teens (R-rated by the way), yet there are more powerful stories on that very topic.
Let's talk about visual effects. Now that stuff is great. There's no complaining about that. And there you've got a problem as it turns out in movies like this one: hey, we've got bad story, let's make great visuals, find star cast, add sex with Charlize Theron, and we've got a hit. And that's exactly what they did.
Now the actors in Prometheus are great. Even though they have to say those stupid lines, and act in weird story arcs, they do their best. How about that ridiculous scene when Charlize and Idris talk about having sex? Absolutely stupid, served no purpose at all. Sometimes such scenes are necessary to build a character (in this case with Charlize), but it looked so artificial and so unnecessary that it rang no bell. Still Mr. Elba could make it look decent, thanks to his talent.
Noomi Rapace acted decently, and looked good in "Ripley's shoes," but even Ripley couldn't be superhuman! I understand that it's the future, everything's evolved and progressed and the technological advances blow your mind... But, please explain it to me, how can a woman give birth to an alien creep, staple her belly, and run around like Rambo? That's no sci-fi, that's a fairy tale. I bet we'll see more of her in her Hollywood career. She's one of those actressess that can really play different roles easily due to her looks. I mean that she can easily be a badass (Lisbeth Salander) or the hero (Elisabeth Shaw). Two completely different, yet strong characters. We'll see her next year in Passion directed by Brian de Palma with Rachel McAdams (Rachel is a charming one).
Sean Harris, an assasin and right-hand of Cesare Borgia, and band leader in 24 Hour Party People, is a pleasure to see. However, they didn't give him much time, which is a pity. His talent is far beyond that nervous asshole he played. I'm sorry he died so early in the movie. He could've saved masterfully a few more meaningless scenes just by being there...
Charlize Theron was ok, but that's not her fault. Her character was actually unnecessary. And that's true, you could easily erase her character, and the story won't change much. She was the one brought for box-office success, and she did her job well. (Of course, that argument may sound weak since her other movie The Snowwhite and the Huntsman didn't do as well, although she was the main antagonist there).
Idris Elba was also fun. He could've been boring, for he is the captain of the ship, and what could you make out of it (Unless you're Mel Reynolds created by Joss Whedon). Why on earth would he give his life up just because Dr. Shaw told him something quite incomprehensible? That was very uncovincing... It made me cry.You really have to make your case, before someone agrees to die for anything. At least for us: the viewers. And if their small ship - not a battlefield one - could easily destroy "engineers' " ship, why couldn't those people on planet Earth do it just as easily without sacrificing anybody's life? Shouldn't they have a big Bomb there in 2089?
Now the two most interesting characters and two most notable roles here are of Guy Pearce as Peter Weyland and Michael Fassbender as David. I've always loved Guy Pearce. The first time I saw him in LA Confidential I loved his acting. The second time I saw him in Memento I was confident that he's one of the most talented actors of his generation. It's a pity that he's not on screen that often. And the way he played Peter Weyland is beyond any praise. Although Weyland's desires are cliche, Mr. Pearce was more than convincing in such desires. His acting was quite powerful, and due to makeup, he's done his best by acting with his eyes. Watch the scene with him and Charlize Theron as they talk. You'll know what I mean.
As for Michael Fassbender as David he easily became a center piece of Prometheus. All the weaknesses of the movie are somewhat reimbursed with his character and the way he portrayed him. He is probably the only character you sympathize with, or even more, empathize... What is more fun, he's an android. It's always a problem with androids. You're not really sure if they are half-human. First anroid in Alien was pure evil! But he was programmed to do so. Second android was a good guy. But he was programmed to be so! Here not everything is as clear... I'm not sure why writers had to mess with that idea too... Can he feel, does he understand he's AI, is he angry, did he poison Charlie Holloway out of spite, or because he was programmed to do so, or because it's both? Why did you mess with that kind of shit? He is an android who looks like an android, his facial expressions were limited, then why did you add that stupid emotional side to him? Nevertheless Michael Fassbender did a great job. Even though his character is dubious (or may be because of that) he looked more real than any other character there. And once his facial expressions were limited here, he was able (just as I said about Guy Pearce) to act with his eyes only. You could read hate, disgust, arrogance - all in his eyes!
Resume: Shity story, Alien looks like a spinoff, a certain side-effect (if you erase any mention of Alien it would even be better!), great Pearce and Fassbender. The only reason you decide to watch it is for actors like Pearce and Fassbender, for anything else it's a waste of time. If you wanna look for the meaning of life, eternal life, "creators" and "engineers" watch other movies that make more sense and will leave you in a philosophical mood... This one will not. Even Dogma has more sense, creativity, and is more controversial!
So, the story is stupid, you are wide open to make guessess and build your own interpretations of everything. And that really sucks. Some movies (for that sake even Inception is great) leave you debating, and arguing, and talking about it afterwards. Movies like Inception are a treat, they really give you food for thought, while Prometheus doesn't really "feed your brain." We've seen stuff like that before, nothing new at all. Search for eternal life, search for "creators," "engineers" in this case, etc.??? Been there, done that before. (However, must note, I watched it in Russian in a movie theatre. Still how bad can you translate that?). So, big F for the story. Some may argue with me on that, and Prometheus may easily be likable by teens (R-rated by the way), yet there are more powerful stories on that very topic.
Let's talk about visual effects. Now that stuff is great. There's no complaining about that. And there you've got a problem as it turns out in movies like this one: hey, we've got bad story, let's make great visuals, find star cast, add sex with Charlize Theron, and we've got a hit. And that's exactly what they did.
Now the actors in Prometheus are great. Even though they have to say those stupid lines, and act in weird story arcs, they do their best. How about that ridiculous scene when Charlize and Idris talk about having sex? Absolutely stupid, served no purpose at all. Sometimes such scenes are necessary to build a character (in this case with Charlize), but it looked so artificial and so unnecessary that it rang no bell. Still Mr. Elba could make it look decent, thanks to his talent.
Noomi Rapace acted decently, and looked good in "Ripley's shoes," but even Ripley couldn't be superhuman! I understand that it's the future, everything's evolved and progressed and the technological advances blow your mind... But, please explain it to me, how can a woman give birth to an alien creep, staple her belly, and run around like Rambo? That's no sci-fi, that's a fairy tale. I bet we'll see more of her in her Hollywood career. She's one of those actressess that can really play different roles easily due to her looks. I mean that she can easily be a badass (Lisbeth Salander) or the hero (Elisabeth Shaw). Two completely different, yet strong characters. We'll see her next year in Passion directed by Brian de Palma with Rachel McAdams (Rachel is a charming one).
Sean Harris, an assasin and right-hand of Cesare Borgia, and band leader in 24 Hour Party People, is a pleasure to see. However, they didn't give him much time, which is a pity. His talent is far beyond that nervous asshole he played. I'm sorry he died so early in the movie. He could've saved masterfully a few more meaningless scenes just by being there...
Charlize Theron was ok, but that's not her fault. Her character was actually unnecessary. And that's true, you could easily erase her character, and the story won't change much. She was the one brought for box-office success, and she did her job well. (Of course, that argument may sound weak since her other movie The Snowwhite and the Huntsman didn't do as well, although she was the main antagonist there).
Idris Elba was also fun. He could've been boring, for he is the captain of the ship, and what could you make out of it (Unless you're Mel Reynolds created by Joss Whedon). Why on earth would he give his life up just because Dr. Shaw told him something quite incomprehensible? That was very uncovincing... It made me cry.You really have to make your case, before someone agrees to die for anything. At least for us: the viewers. And if their small ship - not a battlefield one - could easily destroy "engineers' " ship, why couldn't those people on planet Earth do it just as easily without sacrificing anybody's life? Shouldn't they have a big Bomb there in 2089?
Now the two most interesting characters and two most notable roles here are of Guy Pearce as Peter Weyland and Michael Fassbender as David. I've always loved Guy Pearce. The first time I saw him in LA Confidential I loved his acting. The second time I saw him in Memento I was confident that he's one of the most talented actors of his generation. It's a pity that he's not on screen that often. And the way he played Peter Weyland is beyond any praise. Although Weyland's desires are cliche, Mr. Pearce was more than convincing in such desires. His acting was quite powerful, and due to makeup, he's done his best by acting with his eyes. Watch the scene with him and Charlize Theron as they talk. You'll know what I mean.
As for Michael Fassbender as David he easily became a center piece of Prometheus. All the weaknesses of the movie are somewhat reimbursed with his character and the way he portrayed him. He is probably the only character you sympathize with, or even more, empathize... What is more fun, he's an android. It's always a problem with androids. You're not really sure if they are half-human. First anroid in Alien was pure evil! But he was programmed to do so. Second android was a good guy. But he was programmed to be so! Here not everything is as clear... I'm not sure why writers had to mess with that idea too... Can he feel, does he understand he's AI, is he angry, did he poison Charlie Holloway out of spite, or because he was programmed to do so, or because it's both? Why did you mess with that kind of shit? He is an android who looks like an android, his facial expressions were limited, then why did you add that stupid emotional side to him? Nevertheless Michael Fassbender did a great job. Even though his character is dubious (or may be because of that) he looked more real than any other character there. And once his facial expressions were limited here, he was able (just as I said about Guy Pearce) to act with his eyes only. You could read hate, disgust, arrogance - all in his eyes!
Resume: Shity story, Alien looks like a spinoff, a certain side-effect (if you erase any mention of Alien it would even be better!), great Pearce and Fassbender. The only reason you decide to watch it is for actors like Pearce and Fassbender, for anything else it's a waste of time. If you wanna look for the meaning of life, eternal life, "creators" and "engineers" watch other movies that make more sense and will leave you in a philosophical mood... This one will not. Even Dogma has more sense, creativity, and is more controversial!
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