Prometheus

Prometheus has been shrouded in a cloak of mystery (is it a prequel to Alien??) and has been so hyped that it was almost impossible to not be disappointed. With one of the hottest casts in recent memory (like, seriously, you guys - HOT), a crazy smart script co-penned by Lost scribe Damon Lindelof, direction by the sci fi master himself, Ridley Scott, and expectations that were so high you can barely reach them - how is it possible that Prometheus can be anything but awesome.

Well, for starters, the whole plot is just a little fuzzy. We start out with a prologue that makes little to no sense at all. Then we move forward and meet a scientist couple (Noomi Rapace and Logan Marshall-Green) who make a discovery that seems so miniscule that it's hard to believe anyone would give them millions, no, billions of dollars to travel into space just to try to prove their thesis. But that's exactly what a recently deceased billionaire (played by Guy Pearce - and the fact that they hired a 40-something actor just to put him in tons of make up and make him look like an old man is beyond me... why not just hire an old man actor??) does. So, Elizabeth (Rapace) and Charlie (Marshall-Green) wake up on a space ship that also includes a slimy executive type (Charlize Theron), the ridiculously sexy captain of the ship (Idris Elba) and a droll, mysterious drone (Michael Fassbender). [Do you see what I mean about this being the hottest cast of all time???] They arrive on a mysterious planet and begin to explore a mysterous cave and lots of mysterious stuff starts to happen. Some of it is intense and scary and genuinely enjoyable and some of it is cliched and redundant.

Yes, it is scary and creepy and intense to watch two random crew members get lost inside said cavern only to be attacked by a creepy, crawler. But, later, when a supposedly dead crew member comes back to life, it's just a little too horror / sci fi movie cliche for me. And, without giving too much away, probably the best scene of all features Noomi Rapace's character and a self inflicted surgical procedure. If you aren't left squirming while thinking about how this is the most bad ass female character in a film since, well, Ripley, then I don't know if you should be allowed to see movies anymore.

Speaking of Rapace, she is phenomenal. If anyone should be unfairly critiqued against Sigourney Weaver's iconic performance as Ripley, then it's good that it's the original girl with the dragon tattoo. Rapace is a total and complete bad ass. She is utterly convincable and a force to be reckoned with. However, there are good performances all around, with the other notable stand outs being Theron (who is playing at least her third mean girl / bad character in a row) who is a total ice queen and looks like she is having the time of her life and Fassbender who is hilarious and somewhat menacing as android David. The performances from this stellar cast help make the movie better, of course. I'm not saying Prometheus isn't a good movie already, because it is. Sure, it probably doesn't live up to the super high expectations (but what does these days... maybe I should dial the expectations down for The Dark Knight Rises), but Prometheus is still smart and fun. It's an utter joy ride of thrills and intense action sequences. Scott proves that he's still got it, with the dark and foreboding direction. My main problem is the script. When it's good, then it's oh so good, but the problem with it is that it's probably too muddled. I know, that sounds crazy since it's coming from one of the guys that used to write for Lost. Still, I think the problem is that the script mistakes being smart and sophisticated for being confusing. That's not to say it isn't a smart movie, because it totally is. It's just that I don't think it's quite as smart as it thinks it is. So, while Prometheus isn't quite the amazing experience I was hoping for, it's still an experience that ends up being well acted and well directed, and a hell of a lot of fun. In the swell of the brainless summer movie season, who can really ask for more than that??

Grade: B