To start with, the run time of this movie was much longer than it felt. Which is totally a praise for the film! It had great pacing, and lots of things are happening, making the time just fly by so your not staring at your watch or yawning. And since I went to the midnight viewing and came out of the theater just before 3am, it was a good thing I didn't care the film was long. I was so stoked over everything I saw that time had no meaning! Though there is so much going on, it never overwhelms you with action. It's just a decently paced film for the most part.
Secondly, it's epic in scope. Amazingly so! Sci-fi horror is so hard to pull off right, and as the first Alien proved, it can be done. but don't expect the first Alien when you see this. This film is more about exploration, about discovery, and finding things you probably should have left buried. The Sci-fi elements in this film are absolutely stunning. Not just the "alien-otherworldly" stuff. From the tech to the environments, everything feels vast, awe-inspiring, and spacey. One of the strongest elements of the film.
Third, the characters are totally believable, real people. I loved that. I loved that the multi-cultural crew is such without it having to be a big deal and thrown in your face. In fact, this movie is very good at NOT throwing things in your face. It never talks down to you. I find a lot of sci-fi stuff has this problem. That it spends a lot of time trying to explain to the plebe audience all the tech and fake-science and space stuff, which totally pulls me out of a story. The characters are just people. You can connect with them. They all have their own agendas, even the robot. (I loved the robot btw. One of my fav characters) We see things through their eyes as the cast we are taken into this crazy landscape with mystery after mystery unfolding before us.
And even though Charlize Theron is a total hawtie in this (I love her and think she's an under appreciated actress) her sexuality isn't flaunted. In fact, she plays a total bitch in this. There is a funny moment with her and the captain that when you see it, you'll know it will be my new pick up line for sure. *smirk*
Fourth awesome point: The special effects. They were just mind blowing. See it in 3D! It is just remarkable in 3D, and it really makes things come alive. There are some squick moments that really made my nerve endings cry out in sympathy pain. *shivers*
Some beefs: The plot itself isn't bad, but they could have explored some things more. But they did give too much away when promoting the film, which is probably why it feels like the plot is lacking. I tried to not let all the promotional stuff influence me as I watched this. I enjoyed it, it got me excited for the film, but I always kept my mind open so I could just enjoy the film for what it was. But that doesn't excuse the plot holes of course. I get a feeling a lot was left on the cutting room floor, and we wont see any of it until the special features come out on DVD. Which is a shame, but such is the business of filmmaking. They touch on some of the questions Sci-fi is famous for like, "Who created us?" "Why are we here?" but they don't go as deep as I would have liked. Also, it wasn't really tense. While horrific things happen in the film, (HORRIBLE THINGS) the tension aspect is left flat. Things are really interesting, really fascinating, but don't linger long enough to cause dread. The film moves too fast for the tension to build. That was a disappointment.
And I really dont think it can be compared to The Mountains of Madness Guillermo del Toro was trying to create. Yes, there is a strong H.P. Lovecraft influence, (as H.R. Giger's artwork is famous for) but it is totally it's own thing. It's just influenced, where what I was reading on Guillermo del Toro's project was he was taking the actual H.P. Lovecraft story and making it a film. Different things! I want to see Mountains of Madness made, and it pained me when I read he was giving up on it because Prometheus was too similar.
It's only similar on a shallow level.
And those are my thoughts. Would I see it again? HELL YES. It's a soild B, but sadly not an A movie one hoped it would be. I'm okay with that, but I know many people aren't.
I love when a sci-fi movie is properly immersive; you're absolutely right about many sci-fi outings talking down to the viewer by way of world-building. As Heinlein said, allow your gimmicks and move on to telling your story!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a blast. I'm probably gonna have to wait 'til it's out on DVD to see it, though- money's an issue, and I blew my gift-card wad on Avengers. (I regret nothing!)