Expectations can be a huge problem when making a film. This is especially true of films that are part of a series. I think the antithesis of this was the 'Star Wars' series. Episodes 4-6 were so highly revered that when George Lucas made Episodes 1-3 and they did not meet the high expectations that the fans had and so they were highly derided. I tend to think that the problem is time. Give people enough time to love something and they will come to love it so much that nothing else will come close. That is one of the problems with this film.
I found it interesting that when 'Prometheus' was in production Ridley was trying to distance the film from being associated with the 'Alien' series. I thought that might have been a legal issue so that they would not have to pay Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the writers of 'Alien' for use of their characters. Now I think it was done to try and lessen the impact of the high expectations people had. We have had some really bad 'Alien' films recently, especially the cross over films with Predator, that people were hoping for something spectacular. I don't think that anything Ridley made was going to live up to the hype. I also liked the many references that were made to other 'Alien' films. I'm not sure if they were deliberate but I had fun spotting them.
I really liked 'Prometheus' but it is not without its problems. Visually the film is stunning. I saw it at an Imax cinema and it looks spectacular on the huge screen. Ridley has also managed to make good use of the 3D with the extra dimension. Ridley also manages to keep the film incredibly tense. We are constantly on the edge of our seats waiting for the alien to arrive. In some respects that can be a bad thing because it takes so long to arrive but I did not mind that.
I think the plot and some of the themes and issues that it raises is also one of the films stronger aspects. But there are some details which are left out, I assume because they are going to be explored in later films. Others have criticised the lack of character development and I tend to agree. Charlie Holloway is one of the leads but I think his motivation for being on the mission is not fully developed. Unlike his partner Elizabeth Shaw who we know is there for religious reasons.
Ridley has assembled an excellent cast. Noomi Rapace has certainly distanced herself from Lisbeth Salander the character that made her famous. I admire her for taking on such diverse roles. I thought she was excellent here and makes a very convincing lead. Logan Marshall-Green is not very good as her partner. It is probably the character but he does not come across as all that interesting. Charlize Theron is excellent as always as the cold-hearted bitch. It suits her here because of the corporate role her character has. I did not realise until towards the end of the film who Guy Pearce was playing that is how good his make-up is. His performance is excellent as well. The best performance in the film is by Michael Fassbender. I think his character is the one the writers loved the most as his seems to be the most developed. Michael's deadpan delivery is brilliant and he gives a nice menacing touch to make him seem more creepy.
Perhaps if you forget that the film is associated with the 'Alien' films then you should enjoy it. You just need to lower your expectations.
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