Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I saw the two original Alien movies when I was young enough that they would forge my lifelong love of movies. These films transcended the science fiction I was used to seeing and offered a grown-up, more cynical and dangerous version of Star Wars, Star Trek and the like. So I was one of the first in line to get tickets to Prometheus which I hoped would reboot the franchise and erase the memory of the later inferior Alien films. Overall, there are moments of supreme cinematic greatness combined with a few gaffs of bad science and plot logic but largely it's a fusion of some of Ridley Scott's most brilliant themes. *** Potential spoilers ahead *** First, the weaker parts: scientists discover a drawing of 5 dots in a cave in Scotland which they've seen in other caves throughout history - they take the massive leap of logic to presume that not only did these come from aliens as a map, but these same aliens were the creators of humans. These scientists use this flimsy thesis to convince a death-obsessed rich guy to funnel one trillion dollars into developing the technology to reach the dots. The really bad science doesn't end there. Once we reach the alien cave, they continue to make one bad decision after another despite some very scary things happening. This is where it lurches more into the teen horror flick genre where characters disband, poke around the dark and inevitably meet their Alien-oriented grisly endings. There are also some weaker moments of dialog that seem like a tack-on from test audience screenings not understanding what's happening: one has Shaw discussing her infertility with her partner in a conversational segway that's really off. Later, Charlize Theron reveals her true relationship with Weyland which is a little tired. I'm probably being a little harsh because I expect so much from this film. But on the plus side, this is an excellent movie in any regular context but also a welcome addition to the Alien universe. There is so much overlap from Alien and Aliens that there is a sense of having seen much of it all before but large parts of the idea do stand on their own. There are some truly great horror moments that are simultaneously gripping, revolting, disturbing and original, and it's these handful of scenes that stand out after watching the whole thing. The visuals have never been better, featuring an alien landscape that's seductive, fluid and organic, supported by the invisible use of first class CGI - and it looks even better in 3D. Whereas Alien pulled back from the full sexuality of H R Giger's designs, this film doesn't pull punches in the creature designs and attacks of the face-huggers. The design of the engineers, the creative use of holograms and look of the ship are all extremely well conceived. This is also an exceptional cast. Noomi Rapace reminded me of how great Sigourney Weaver was and delivers ferociously in this role. Similarly Michael Fassbender crafts a delicate performance as the ship's android, treading the line between its appreciation of the beauty of life's designs and the psychotic nature of something that can think but not feel. His character is essential in connecting the themes of death being a part of life and the desire to meet and sometimes destroy your creator. This is all wrapped in a very, very complicated backstory about how the engineers spread life around the universe like space-travelling gardeners. There are mythical connections to Prometheus (wiki it to see) and some not-too-subtle religious parallels (Shaw is a barren woman made pregnant by God?). There are strong themes of selfishness and self sacrifice, natural death and immortality, and many many references to other science fiction works. It's worthy of five stars since it's a league ahead of anything else I've seen this year and it's good to see Ridley Scott at the top of his game.