Prometheus

Directed by Ridley Scott

R

***

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The director of Blade Runner and Alien has returned to science fiction with a “gorgeous and often haunting visual mood piece,” said Andrew O’Hehir in Salon.com. An unofficial prequel to 1979’s Alien, Prometheus “virtually thrums with the desire to become a classic” of the genre, and it comes close. As it sends a crew into deep space to investigate the possible creators of the human race, it’s at least “an enjoyable thrill ride, slicked up with a thin veneer of Asking the Big Questions.” Most of the passengers on board prove “rather generic,” said Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune. Noomi Rapace is a truth-seeking scientist, Charlize Theron an “unblinking” corporate baddie. Easily the most memorable performance is Michael Fassbender’s “meticulous and witty” turn as a suspiciously obsequious android. But the best reason to see Prometheus is for “sheer visual spectacle,” said Claudia Puig in USA Today. The story devolves into a generic battle for the survival of humankind, but “not since Avatar” have 3-D technology and other special effects “been put to such vividly mesmerizing use.”