By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
With the exception of "Men in Black 3," alien/sci-fi movies surprisingly haven't fared too well at the box office this year. That could change with director Ridley Scott's ambitious, new movie,
"Prometheus."
Although a prequel of sorts to Scott's 1979 movie "Alien," Prometheus," does incorporate some of its own ideas and mystique. The film also benefits greatly from an exceptional cast, intelligent, well developed script courtesy of Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof (TV's "Lost") and stunning 3D imagery thus making it one of the must-see summer movies.
Set in the 21st Century "Prometheus" opens with a bizarre scene of a chalky white looking humanoid creature—with ripped abs--who is standing on the precipice of a waterfall. He's chugging a container of brown liquid and after his last gulp, he immediately starts to disintegrate. His ashes fall into the water.
Who is this strange being and where did it come from?
These are questions archeologists and lovers Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (original) and "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows") and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green, "Devil" and "Brooklyn's Finest") believe they may have the answers to. They have discovered an ancient cave drawing which features a gigantic being pointing to the stars. This has also been seen in different caves around the world.
They believe it's a sign that some beings—which they call "engineers"-- have visited Earth and that they want to be found. All Elizabeth and Charlie need now is a few billion dollars to continue their research and make their findings official.
They convince multi-billionaire Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) the founder and CEO of Weyland Corp, a green and environmental friendly company to fund their mission.
They embark on this exciting journey on the "Prometheus" with 15 other brave souls; among them their captain, Janek (a serious and humorous Idris Elba), David, an android (a fabulous Michael Fassbender), who serves as the ship's right hand robot and Meredith Vickers, (Charlize Theron) a tough as nails Weylon employee who is aboard to monitor the expedition and get on most everyone's nerves.
While much of the crew is eager to boldly go where no one has gone before, that changes when they land on the planet and discover these beings are a threat and destructive. Now it becomes a race against time for the "Prometheus" crew to save mankind.
Casting is everything and "Prometheus" gets it right. Much like Sigourney Weaver in "Alien," Rapace shines as the fearless, gritty woman who knows how to take command of a situation; although the "C-section" she gives herself to take out the alien that's growing inside her, will make you squirm.
But the action—aided by the 3-D—in "Prometheus" works seamlessly and gives audiences all the jolts and eye-popping moments that a creepy, sci-fi thriller should. It's not "Alien," but it's still quite an intense ride.
Editor's Note: You can also catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment by tuning in to the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 6:40 p.m. on radio station KFBK 1530 AM and 92.5 FM. Or you can log on to www.kfbk.com.
Take a look at this video for
Prometheus.
