I have to admit that while I am a fan of the Alien films and of Ridley Scott, the man who directed Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and Kingdom Of Heaven, this film left me with some very mixed and contradictory feelings.
First of all, it is beautiful to look at, Ridley Scott can command a large budget and it is easy to see where the money has been spent. Everything from the costume and technology design to the sheer scale of the project has been applied with great skill.
The film has some excellent acting talent in the shape of Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce and Michael Fassbender. All of these actors provide believable performances particularly Fassbender who plays the Android David to creepy perfection.
The CGI and special effects are all cutting edge and the 3D was well done and easy to watch. The Blu-ray transfer is faultless with a sharp crystal clear picture and sound. In fact there is nothing to gripe about concerning the production and technicalities of the entire project.
But, despite all I have already mentioned, the story just does not work, at least not for me. You really have to suspend your disbelief in order to watch it. I dont want to spoil the film for someone who has yet to see it so I wont mention anything specific, but some of my problems with the story are as follows.
The engineers choose a very strange method of seeding life on a planet. I would have thought an advanced civilisation would have developed a less destructive method.
There are dates mentioned that do not stand up to scrutiny concerning cave paintings and the remains of dead bodies.
Our origins on earth have been scientifically pieced together from the discovered remains of Australopithecus, Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus, Neanderthal and eventually Homo Sapiens. Prometheus suggests that this and in effect all evolution is wrong.
No one would be capable of running around minutes after major surgery.
Davids motives are highly questionable, right up until the end we are never given any clear idea whos side he is on or what he is really up to.
While I am possibly contradicting myself here, I saw Prometheus 3D in the cinema and pre ordered the steel book edition as soon as it was available, plus I have watched it a couple of times since it arrived. It is possible that all the unanswered questions and plot holes will be explored in a sequel but for the present, Prometheus seems to be a very disjointed film.
Again, mindful that I am being contradictory, if you have not yet seen Prometheus, It is worth seeing, but I would advise renting it before considering a purchase.