Prometheus (2012) Review

I remember watching Sir Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) on the tele a few years back thinking it was a 90's release. Yes, the film is that advanced in its screen aura. And Prometheus fits the same criteria.
  The sci-fi venture is made by the same director mentioned above. With a screenplay by Jon Spaihts (2011's The Darkest Hour) and Damon Lindelof (Lost TV series writer). Alien was written by the late Dan O'Bannon and it's a mournful that he is no longer with the desolate H-wood industry. But the designs were influenced by still-alive H.R. Giger who is the creator of the original Alien treatment. This time around Arthur Max led the production design and in respect to this era, he has outdone himself. Max has won two Academy Awards for Gladiator and American Gangster.

Scott's latest feature is brilliant. The plot is far from simple: a group of explorers must find the clues to the beginning of mankind in the darkest corners of the universe. Set in the late 21st century Prometheus delivers what the trailer promises.
  The film incorporates its own mythology and is more of a psychological and philosophical venture which is rare for science fiction. Thus, Scott markets its own USP. Besides that another pro is the design and layout. You will be stunned by the effects and they have the same uber-generation effects as Alien. So this was no doubt directed by Scott. I also felt a nostalgia of Joss Whedon. The latter's 2005 film Serenity shares a similar theme and dialogues. Whedon's debut is crap. Prometheus is far from that.
  Furthermore, the acting is better than included in Serenity. Believe me the only good point of Whedon's first feature-film was the role-playing. The thespians in Prometheus showed their full acting prowess. If this were a Broadway play it would've won hearts by the cast alone. Michael Fassbender has already garnered universal critical/commercial acclaim for his role as a cyborg - wonder if he actually is one. Fassbender is a fine actor acting such charisma in movies where there was non (X-Men: First Class, Haywire). My fav. critic Roger Ebert commented that Idris Elba (Thor, Ghost Rider 2) acted the best. I rate Fassbender above all but all are worth mentioning. Noomi Rapace (Sherlock Holmes 2) showed immense female impact in her performance and Charlize Theron showed why her comeback matters. Logan Marshall-Green did well too for a largely unknown actor. And I just have to concur that the dreary scenery was out of this world.
  Scott is perfect at timing. Action and horror scenes occur when least expected. Also, they really get to you. The moods of the characters complement well with the type of scenes depicted. Conversation is 2nd best to Marvel's The Avengers. Characterisation is top-notch and applause to the writers for no stereotyping.
  However, there are notable cons. Unlike Alien, the film is not intended for every R-rated viewer. To be blunt, Prometheus is slow in the beginning and in most parts of its entire running time. Alien also had the same features like horror, action and suspense in one. But Prometheus being more of an exploration film doe snot fully extend the adrenaline rush like Scott's legend. Though it does lure the audience into the suspenseful world of the filmmaker but it should've been spent more time exploiting the dark areas in thriller-mode. So Prometheus is not a thriller/mystery for everybody like Inception or the two Sherlock Holmes features. It is more of Nolan's The Prestige and to some extent Shutter Island (not a recommendation).
  Prometheus' earnings have been mentioned in my earlier post. And they are about my estimates. Though it should've done better financially speaking. Watchers with a high threshold for slow thrillers should definitely check this out.
  The following justifies its outlook to every type of theatre-goer. Prometheus classifies as a sci-fi mystery in contrast to sci-fi thriller (Alien), or sci-fi horror (The Thing, 1982 of course).

RT: 73%.
IMDB: 7.6/10.
BO101: 2.5/4.
BO101 sci-fi rank: 3rd after The Thing 1982 and Alien.