It’s quite something. That a film can be both deep and dumb. That it can begin to answer some of the biggest questions we have as humans whilst tying into a well-known franchise. But also contain a group of clever people who do outright dumb things. There’s pushing the limits and accepting risk, and there’s ignoring all sense and trying to touch an alien cobra.
At release I did not like Prometheus. The return of Ridley Scott to the series he created was big news! A new Alien film! But that’s where I made the mistake.
This isn’t an Alien film.
Prometheus links to its parent story in large ways, giving us some answers to big questions from the first Alien. But it always feels like those links are there because it must do rather than it wants to. You can feel that tug of war as it answers big questions and then feels the need to throw in a load of other stuff.
It’s a stunning looking film, from the opening vistas of Earth to the planet we visit for the much of the story. The cast is ridiculous too. Theron, Elba, Rapace, Fassbender, Pearce. It’s bonkers how many big names there are.
Ugh. I want to really like this film. I want to appreciate the bigger swings, and to some degree how it’s a big middle finger to expectation. But…it’s OK. I do like that it elicits strong emotions, so it’s weird that I’m so firmly in the middle. I wouldn’t mind the different questions it wants to dig into if it either was its own thing, or wasn’t trying to do everything.
And I know it’s said to death but damn it. If a thing is rolling towards you and there is the space…run sideways!
Yep! I’m pretty much with you on all of this. I think I did like it a bit more than you did but like by a tiny bit by the sounds of it 😀
Twelve years ago I would have been far less kind!