Prometheus

If I was to categorize this era of filmmaking I'd say it's a combination of progress, superheroes, and nostalgia. For instance, looking at the movie Life all I can think is that someone really wanted to make an Alien movie crossed with The Thing with a more immediate threat to human kind. While it remains to be seen whether or not Life is a good Alien knock-off, it's hard to forget what happened thelast time the creator Ridley Scott went to the Alien well: Prometheus. So as preparation for Life, I'll dive into why Prometheus underwhelmed audiences.

Taking place in the not so distant future, before the events of Alien, the movie follows a team of archaeologists and corporate grunts searching for the birth of human life. Though their first survey of the moon appears to be unsuccessful, the crew quickly discovers horrors lying within an abandoned alien craft that threatens to destroy them and possibly the rest of humanity.

So despite being maligned by fans, who likely set their expectations way too high, there are elements of Prometheus that work. The special effects are astounding, the performances by the cast are great across the board (special nod to Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, and ice queen Charlize Theron), and there's a couple of truly terrifying sequences. I also think a lot of the nitpicks about the film come from our current ability to watch and rewatch small sequences at will (i.e. Charlize Theron's insistence on a straight line vs. moving to the side). Still there's a number of reasons this movie didn't resonate the same way with fans. Here's my two cents.

Too Much Rehash

Ridley Scott and company kinda painted themselves into a corner when they announced that Prometheus was an Alien prequel. As such, fans would come into this movie looking for answers like: Where did the alien come from? What's with the giant ship we found them in? What happened to the first crew that went looking for life for life on that planet?

While that all has the possibility to be interesting it also means that the majority of your locations, setups, and even your di facto "villains." are going to be very familiar. The movie doesn't help itself by creating slightly different versions of the signature monsters. Instead of the facehugger we've got a water snake like creature. The facehuggers transfer method is replaced by something more infectious and viral. It's all variations on things we've seen before, which is especially troubling in a sci-fi horror movie because....

There's No Big Surprises *Spoiler Territory*

So who's the real villain in the original Alien movie? I'd argue that the xenomorph isn't truly the villain. The corporation that sent the Nostromo crew to their death and put a malicious android on board with them is. So what's the villain this time around? A corporation that puts a malicious android nearby and makes them meet vicious aliens and the "Creators." I actually kinda like the "Creators" angle, i.e. what if the being that gave you life was a jackass and hated you, but the standard Alien stuff gets far more attention and is presented like something mind-blowing when the entire target audience has been waiting for it.

Leaves The Most Interesting Ideas Alone

I have no problem with philosophical sci-fi movies. I enjoy them. I also enjoy sci-fi horror movies. I don't recommend trying to do both. The problem with the entire "Creators" angle for this movie is that is opens up an entire world of questions, but the entire movie is structured like an Alien styled survival horror epic. There's a lot of interesting questions like what are the responsibilities of someone who can create life, the sacrifices that come with discovery, do we truly want to meet "God"? the list goes on and on. So while all of these ideas are running through my head, I'm watching a movie about a small cadre of astronauts trying to not die. The intellectual conflict of interest means the movie can't hit either of its major interests.