“Prometheus” has the best use of 3-D technology since “Avatar.”
The visuals are stunning, the new worlds are spectacular; only one small problem — the characters are idiots.
That small problem quickly becomes a big problem as our intrepid, ragtag crew comes out of deep space hibernation after nearly 2 1/2 years, only to wish they should have stayed fast asleep.
Director Ridley Scott seems more determined to examine the origins of man than make a simple, compelling, tension-filled sci-fi movie. Surely, his evolving talents have brought him to these new heights of awareness and introspection, right?
Sadly, while trying to do a little bit of both, neither are executed all that well.
Right out of the gate, we are treated to what appears to be a traveling, human-like alien that has come to a primordial Earth to leave his DNA, but erases all traces of his person immediately afterward.
OK. Cool visual moment. Definitely begs a lot of questions and conjecture. Moving on.
We’re now years later into our own future, in 2089. Cave drawings are found corresponding to an arrangement of six orbs that have also been duplicated in other locations around the world.
Scientists believe this configuration denotes the location of a specific planet, LV-223 (btw, not the same one as in “Alien” and “Aliens” — that was LV-426). So creepy rich guy Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) finances a mission to the mysterious planet to see what’s shakin’.
While they’re all in deep slumber, an android named David (Michael Fassbender) keeps watch over them and plays “Lawrence of Arabia” over and over again to kill time. Why “Lawrence of Arabia”?
Let’s see. It’s the story of a British officer with “conflicted loyalties” in an unfamiliar land. Foreshadowing, perhaps?
Weyland insists, in a Princess Leia-like hologram, that scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) be in charge of the expedition.
So they don their spacesuits, enter an enormous extraterrestrial temple site, find the interior atmosphere to their liking, REMOVE THEIR HELMETS and start poking at stuff. Hey, why not? They’re idiots.
So imagine, when they come across their first tiny alien species, one of the disposable crew members wants to give it a hug. Really? The stupidity cascades from there, with people running and screaming, but with little precaution to any kind of danger — like when they bring back a giant head and start probing it with electrodes ...
This moronic dance continues, between this supposed search for our “creators” and this close encounter with deadly consequences.
Only a handful of characters are given any substance, and moments of intended terror are over before they start. Plus, the eventual plot twists are not surprising, only the reasons why they’re put there in the first place.
So, I was disappointed in “Prometheus.” It’s pretty pictures featuring some pretty stupid people doing some pretty stupid things.