Prometheus: Flawed, but functioning …

You know, I’m confused … but entertained … 

And I’ll be frank: I don’t know quite what I’ve just seen.

It’s good … 

And could’ve been worse … or better … 

Ummm … 

I suppose I’d best tell you what I’m talking about, hadn’t I … ?

~~~~~

Now, I mentioned — in this morning’s Teaser — that I’d had a very small tax rebate, hadn’t I … ?

I had, I think.

And it’s one I’d managed to spend on milk, sugar, a loaf: and the one thing I’ve been able to treat myself to, this year.

A movie, courtesy of iTunes.

As you’ve possibly guessed, the iTunes standard-definition version of a movie I’ve been itching to see since it came out, on the big screens.

Ridley Scott’s newest — and much talked about — release, the 2012 film, Prometheus.

And … 

Hmmm … 

It’s a slippery one … 

But let me try to sum up.

~~~~~

Set in 2089, Prometheus sees Drs Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway — Noomi Rapace and Logan Marshall-Green — archeologists who’ve uncovered that various human cultures have recorded a star map that points to the same place.

A small moon, orbiting a planet, around the star, Zeta 2 Reticula: and one that they’ve long assumed to be home to a race they dub “The Engineeers”.

A race both scientists assume have died out … just before creating humanity …

It’s only once they — and the very expensive expedition sponsored by the Weyland Corporation — get to the moon they realise that the Engineers are a lot less alien than they’d assumed.

And that the moon seems to be a military testing station that seems to have lost control of

something.

~~~~~

Now … 

The fact I was umming and ahh’ing, at the start of this post … ?

I’m thinking, here, that I potentially have good reason.

You see, I’m thinking that Prometheus has had some flak in the time it’s been available to the likes of you and me.

I can  appreciate why: some of the scenes don’t quite hang together as well as they could: there’s one between David (Michael Fassbender) and Dr Holloway that doesn’t quite flow properly into the next.

I also feel that — at 124 minutes — Prometheus was maybe a touch too short: possibly 20 minutes more could have allowed for more time developing the characters, to show us more of what they could do.

Saying that … ?

Messrs Scott and company have given us a beautifully shot and acted film: and one that is surprisingly better than the bad press would have you believe.

It’s ALSO one that manages to tie itself to the franchise it’s a spin off from — the final reveal of its take on Giger’s Xenomorph is VERY much on the mould of the latter — in a far better way than the recent re-take of The Thing.

Tie itself in … without being bound.

Personally … ?

If I were you, I go see Prometheus.

You won’t get a fantastic film.

For all that, you will get a very watchable one.

Prometheus.   
★☆☆☆