PROMETHEUS 3D (2012) Review

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Logan Marshall-Green

PROMETHEUS has been one of the year's most anticipated movies and I'm not quite sure where to start here. I actually poster earlier on Facebook that I was a little disappointed with the movie, but since then I've come to realize that my disappointment had more to do with myself mentally hyping up the film to an almost impossibly high standard than to do with the film's shortcomings themselves. It didn't help that I've been reporting on the film through this blog for months and months, being updated on the latest news pretty much every step of the way. Leaked trailers, set photos, promo shots, stills and TV spots, eventually it seemed that I was being bombarded with new stuff every other day. If there's one good piece of advice I can give you before seeing PROMETHEUS it's to try and avoid as much exposure as possible beforehand and go in cold, with not too many preconceptions or expectations.
Even though all of this probably makes PROMETHEUS out to be a bad film, rest assured it is most definitely not. And even though it didn't quite meet my personal expectations, it was definitely worth the wait.
I'll try to make this as spoiler-free as possible.

After a short and interesting opening sequence, PROMETHEUS kicks off on the Isle of Skye in Scotland where a team of archaeologists led by Elizabeth Shaw (Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Marshall-Green) are conducting a dig. Ancient cave paintings dating back thousands of years are uncovered along with something else quite mysterious which has the archaeologists very excited indeed. The reason for their excitement? This discovery could help them to unlock the secrets behind mankind's origins. The film then cuts to a couple of years later aboard the spaceship PROMETHEUS which has just arrived at its as yet unknown destination after a 2 year journey. The ship's crew which includes the two archaeologists Shaw and Holloway are awakened from suspended animation and debriefed by Meredith Vickers (Theron) on just where they are and why. It's not long before they stumble across a mysterious structure and decide to venture inside.
Will they find what they came for?
Will they finally have a answer to the age-old question; why are we here?
Will they make it out alive?
The only way to find out is to go see for yourself.

The first thing you'll notice about PROMETHEUS is just how amazing it looks. Visually it is incredible from the huge grandiose sweeping landscape shots to the action sequences and everything in between. Everything looks so crisp and clear and detailed and for once (pay attention because I will probably never say this again in my life) I actually think that going 3D was the right choice. Thankfully this movie isn't full of those gimmicky made-for-3D moments where things just fly toward the screen just because they can, the 3D here just helps to make everything on screen seem more tangible and real. In fact if you have the chance I would probably recommend you go see this in IMAX 3D.

The cast do a brilliant job and yes when I say that I actually mean all of them, although the stand-outs for me were definitely Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron. Although some of the characters' actions may seem a little questionable (due to an equally questionable script) all of the actors play their parts convincingly. I mentioned the script being questionable and I guess what I mean is that sometimes some of the characters act very out of character and also there are a lot of plot holes, especially if you're a big ALIEN fan. And speaking of ALIEN, a lot of people will be curious as to whether this is an actual prequel or not because there was some confusion before the film's release. I won't go into it, but suffice it to say that there are plenty links to the aforementioned film and ALIEN fanboys (and girls) will have fun spotting the references. Having said that, if you're not familiar with the ALIEN franchise you can still quite easily sit down and enjoy PROMETHEUS although you will miss out on the references and links and some things may not make a whole lot of sense.

PROMETHEUS looks great and it sounds great. The casting is brilliant as too is the acting. It has a nice mix of practical effects and CGI, there are some kickass action sequences and an interesting plot. On the downside the script is not too great and you will no doubt find a lot of plot holes. I can imagine how much hardcore ALIEN fans are going to pick this film apart, but I still think that PROMETHEUS is pretty damn awesome.