Prometheus

Chels: Justin and I had been looking forward to Prometheus for months now. Both of us being Ridley Scott fans, there was definitely some inflated expectations. I happen to be a HUGE fan of Scott's original Alien, with Aliens being it's more campy red headed stepchild. So, the news of a prequel to one of my favorite horror movies was expected to be one of the highlights of the summer movie season. Sadly, Prometheus failed to live up to what I wanted/needed it to be. It lacked the big-punch-jump-out-of-your-seat moments that make Alien so great. And the utter stupidity of some of the main characters is both infuriating and insulting (you're exploring a planet in deep space, KEEP YOUR HELMET ON YOU IDIOT). Space stupidity aside, I do think you should go see this movie.  But you have to know your Alien and Aliens respectively in order to fully appreciate it and grasp the movie's entire scope.  Side note: This movie keeps my horrible track record of instantly liking who ever will inevitably be horribly murdered first alive. It's a curse, if I like your character, you're definitely go to die in some terribly gruesome way, and I'll be bummed. Sigh.  (This happens most when watching Top Chef, or any cooking related show.  If I pick you as my main person, boom, you're immediately going home for using puff pastry dough or for doing shitty front of the house.)

Justin: Prometheus is a pretty decent sci fi flick. I had super high expectations for the following reasons: Ridley Scott taking the helm of arguably his greatest franchise, explaining the mystery of the alien in the cockpit of the ship in the first film, and finally the origins of one of sci fi's scariest monsters. Visually, this film did not disappoint. Massive in scale, painted in dark grey and steel blue. The technology created is really awe inspiring. Where this film loses me is the story. You've got your typical space gang of serious scientists and foul mouthed crew members. One thing that was missing was Sigorney Weaver's powerful acting chops, leaving much of the drama a little flat. I don't know how much I can say without spoiling everything, but the main thing that bugs me is that the franchise is called Alien, and if this prequel is canon, they should probably rethink that. This movie has been in the works for over a decade, changing hands multiple times and surviving multiple script revisions. The final twist was put together by none other than Damon Lindelof, who is know for writing stories that fascinate, but ultimately leave off with a resounding "huh?" This is a movie I would say is much better in a theater. We saw it in 3D, and it's got such an epic scope that it's really something on the big screen. The drama/horror aspects kind of work too, but will probably seem ho hum on the small screen. You can just feel the rewrites and revisions, the sewn together story elements from different drafts that feel disjointed and awkward. These are quibbles, really, but I was expecting a masterpiece. Some wasted potential, but it's still a pretty entertaining movie.