FrontRowGeek

I haven’t done a review for a while, because I’ve been thinking about my format and how I want it to look, and what I want to say. I suppose being honest is the best way to go.

I saw Prometheus on opening day at the IMAX. I followed all of the marketing for the past two years, leading up to the release, looked at all the pictures, watched the trailers over and over again, and was way over hyped for it. I was looking forward to it. As the film began I remember thinking that I was experiencing something that I had not experienced in many many years. A film was actually delivering on its promises. The cinematography is gorgeous, the 3D is prevalent but not gaudy and in your face. The effects are breathtaking and masterfully rendered, the score is engrossing and meandering, and the acting is honest and for the most part ‘unhammy’. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and by the time Shaw is having the surgery I was wincing and gagging but smiling from ear to ear. This was disgustingly satisfying. And as we all emptied the giant IMAX theater I left thinking that everyone leaving with me had just had one of the great movie going experiences of our lives. Boy was I mistaken.

Much to my surprise the majority of the people hated it. Had I missed something? Did my cinema I.Q. drop sometime between walking into the screening and walking out? How could I have had the exact opposite reaction to a film than seemingly everyone else in the world? And it was not just the general movie going public that I disagreed with, it was critics and cinephiles, and film geeks just like me. Was I wrong? Was the feeling in my heart, that child like feeling that Prometheus had given me, was that somehow wrong? This had never happened to me before. Usually if a movie is bad but I still enjoy it, I will admit that it is not really a good movie, and I can understand the majority of the world hating it, but I still enjoy it for my own personal reasons. But this is not the case with Prometheus. It is technically well made, in every aspect, and the script is clear cut and efficient. No fat, no extraneous storyline or overreaching themes. Its a straight up Science Fiction horror film. Some kind of strange Frankenstein monster in reverse. And I love every minute of it.

This past weekend I showed my girlfriend the movie for the first time. (She dodged it while it was at the theater, she thought it looked too scary for her). But i finally got her to watch it, and she said she really enjoyed it and thought it was scary, which is what I thought she would say. But then she provided some interesting analysis. She said she did not like how Holloway died. She said he should have lived until the end and sacrificed himself to save Shaw. Is this the answer? This tiny bit of subverted story telling? Is having the “love interest”(as sparingly as the love story is utilized in this film) die too early and in an unromantic and quite startlingly abrupt fashion the reason that this film was so criticized and poo pooed as light summer blockbuster fluff? Obviously many people have cited the many many questions raised by the film that go unanswered, to whom I say this is a movie not a text book, either you enjoy it and go for the ride or you don’t. The fact that the storytellers chose not to explicitly define every cryptic moment and spoon feed us every answer to every question should be celebrated, not derided. I suppose my question is if it had ended in this more conventional way, would general audiences have enjoyed the film more?  I still think the film is spectacular and looks gorgeous in Blu-Ray, and I marvel at the achievement accomplished by everyone involved. I think history and public opinion will change on this one upon repeat home viewings. FRONTROW

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