Prometheus is the most expensive low budget Alien rip-off ever made. It's nothing more than Galaxy of Terror or Forbidden World, only with 100 times their budget. I found this movie to be an entertaining piece of blood-drenched schlock disguised as a science fiction epic.
While it has been promoted to some extent as a prequel to Alien, it never seems to be that, if only because the technology on display is far and away more advanced than what is available in the first four Alien movies. It seems just as likely to me that the movie is actually a sequel, taking place decades after the events of the original "quadrilogy." Regardless, my feeling is that Ridley Scott wanted to make another Alien-like movie and did not want to be accused of ripping himself off, therefore added a few ambiguous nods to the original movie to make this at the very least a companion piece to the Alien series.
While there are plenty of the metaphysical ideas introduced in Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection floating around, and while the movie tackles some heavy philosophical themes regarding our origins (not a particularly original concept), it's obvious that Scott's intention is to create a gory freak show, with enough slime, blood, mayhem and creepy crawlies for a dozen horror movies.
That may sound like a criticism, but it isn't. Prometheus is a rich, fast-paced and intriguing thriller and is as entertaining, intense and scary as any other horror movie I've seen in recent years. It just isn't as deep as it's makers would have you believe.
While it has been promoted to some extent as a prequel to Alien, it never seems to be that, if only because the technology on display is far and away more advanced than what is available in the first four Alien movies. It seems just as likely to me that the movie is actually a sequel, taking place decades after the events of the original "quadrilogy." Regardless, my feeling is that Ridley Scott wanted to make another Alien-like movie and did not want to be accused of ripping himself off, therefore added a few ambiguous nods to the original movie to make this at the very least a companion piece to the Alien series.
While there are plenty of the metaphysical ideas introduced in Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection floating around, and while the movie tackles some heavy philosophical themes regarding our origins (not a particularly original concept), it's obvious that Scott's intention is to create a gory freak show, with enough slime, blood, mayhem and creepy crawlies for a dozen horror movies.
That may sound like a criticism, but it isn't. Prometheus is a rich, fast-paced and intriguing thriller and is as entertaining, intense and scary as any other horror movie I've seen in recent years. It just isn't as deep as it's makers would have you believe.