Promethus (2012)

I can understand why so many people are disappointed by this film.  Ridley Scott returns to the science fiction genre and the world of Aliens and this is the film we get.  It's not a bad movie.  But it's not a really good one either.   The problem is that it's a great movie with a many really bad moments tossed in.   Those bad moments leave a bad taste in your mouth when the film ends and that's very unsatisfying.   I love mysteries and sometimes great mysteries aren't meant to have any answers, but just being ambiguous doesn't make something smart or provocative.  At the heart, this film tries to fool us into thinking it's about a "big idea" only it's really about nothing and that's very unexciting.  Still the film has some really great parts.  Noomi Rapace is a revelation as scientist Shaw and her "operation" scene is the highlight of the film.  Daivd is also a fantastic creation too played by Fassbender but I'm not sure if I understand his motivations.  Grade: B

Spoilers:  I have three big problems with this movie.  A) Why cast  a 45 year old to play a 80 year old?  Did Mr. Scott really want to work with Guy Pierce and he figured this would be a good role for him?   He looks like a robust 45 year old in layers of makeup.  Talk about taking someone out of an otherwise visually flawless film.  B) Charlize Thereon is so misused I don't know why she even wanted to be in this movie.  Her character doesn't do anything.  You could cut her character out of the movie and you'd not alter the story in anyway.  If you cast one of the best actresses in the business and you give her such a promising character: why would you not use her.  What a brain dead decision.  C) The Engineer is a great creation.  Why have him act like a blundering muscle bound idiot at the end?  He's supposed to be a superior being with great intelligence.  Yet when he wakes up he just rips an android's head off and punches an old guy across the room.  Talk about anticlimactic.