Throwback Thursday Review: 'Prometheus'

I apologize for yet another delayed review but this week's Throwback Thursday is over Prometheus to coincide with the release of its sequel Alien: Covenant. If you happened to miss any of my Alien Anthology series of Retrospective Reviews, you can find those at the subsequent blue hyperlinks: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, and Alien: Resurrection. Next week I'll be finishing out my series of Pirates of the Caribbean reviews as I review Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides to tie in with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Other reviews you can expect to see over the course of May and June include Throwback Thursday Reviews over Cars, The Mummy (1999), Cars 2, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and Despicable Me 2 and new reviews for Alien: Covenant, Baywatch, Wonder Woman, The Mummy (2017), Cars 3, Transformers: The Last Knight, Baby Driver, and Despicable Me 3.

'Prometheus' Review

Nominated For: Best Visual Effects.

Prometheus follows an expeditionary team to the far reaches of space as they believe they've discovered a hint towards the origins of humanity. The team arrive to planet LV-223 (not LV-426, the planet shown in Alien and Aliens) and soon discover the answers they seek will lead them to horrifying conclusions.

At the time of Prometheus's release, it was ambiguous exactly how Prometheus fit into the Alien-universe. Since then, it's been given the distinction of being a quasi-prequel to Alien. This essentially means Prometheus certainly exists within the Alien Anthology but isn't a direct setup to Alien. After 33 years, Ridley Scott returned to his roots to helm Prometheus and thankfully delivered one of the Anthology's most coherent creative works in quite some time, for more on this read my reviews of Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection. 

Even when accounting for Prometheus' flaws, distinctive and persistent philosophical ponderings surround the story. From beginning to end, Scott and his terrific technical crew paint a pretty picture using space as their canvas. Scott and cinematographer Dariosz Wolski capture exceptionally breathtaking images of the hushed, lovely landscape while the vfx team create resonant renderings that pair perfectly with the immense, spectacular sets constructed by the prime production designers. Marc Streintenfeld's sumptuous space score bodes well as accompaniment, filling the vacuum of space with ethereal tones played by a swelling, harmonious orchestra.

However, Prometheus is easily one of the most frustrating movies I've seen in recent memory because it poses plenty of questions but doesn't ever get around to granting any clear-cut answers. I'm not particularly bothered by a few dangling threads but screenwriters Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof leave Prometheus' monumental mysteries to be ill-defined, only painting broad strokes but never retracing their steps to refine any blemishes. I'm sure this was intentional incorporation into the grand scheme of Prometheus' philosophical nature but it's not fortuitous that they didn't fill in any gaping plot-holes. I will say that turns things around with a thrilling third act but up to that point you'll be peeved by the dumb decisions the expedition team partake in. This team is made up of intellectuals so their brainless behavior on the planet's surface is inexcusable.

Unfortunately, many of the crew members feel vaguely characterized as only the prominent players are given substantial depth and corresponding complexity. This in turn detracts from the supporting ensemble's subsequent portrayals but magnifies the principal characters. Noomi Rapace offers an excellent portrayal of devout archeologist Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, playing into the frantic uncertainty Prometheus provides. Rapace's Shaw isn't quite up to par with Ripley as a fascinating female lead but she's superb nevertheless. On the other hand, Emum Elliott showcases a steel-faced wooden portrayal of Shaw's partner and love interest Charlie Holloway. Guy Pearce also has an odd arc as an aged Peter Weyland. Charlize Theron and Idris Elba are sufficient as mission director Vickers and charming captain Janek respectively, each adding a dosage of star power to the mix. Elsewhere the crew composed of Logan Marshall Green, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall, Benedict Wong, and Kate Dickie are fine in their distinctive roles but none of the bunch bring anything particularly memorable to their characters.

On all accounts, it is certainly Michael Fassbender who steals the show. Fassbender's intricate android David is the most interesting character among the bunch as he demonstrates unconventional, individualistic autonomy. Fassbender brings a clout of gravitas that melds well with David and projects an ominous and unsettling disposition that plays out perfectly.

In conclusion, Prometheus boasts proficient performances, tremendous technical work, a splendid space score, and accomplished aesthetic but gets dragged down by presenting weighty philosophical questions and failing to conjure an adequate answer to any of them.

Film Assessment: C

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Iron Man 3'

First of all, I apologize for the delayed review but I've been busy at work on the latest podcast for my Youtube channel in which me and some friends discuss our favorite and least moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and work and school of course as finals are fast approaching. Another reason for the delay is that it took me a few days to finish my review of The Huntsman: Winter's War and I prefer to work on one review at a time so my thoughts don't become muddled. But any who, this week my Throwback Thursday is over Iron Man 3 completing my reviews of the Iron Man trilogy. Although I may revisit some of them later for my newer "Triple-R" format of review where I basically re-review a film with updated thoughts an opinions. Next week I will continue my series of Marvel reviews with a Throwback Thursday Review of Captain America: The First Avenger and a Recollection Reflection Review of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The latter of which will probably be posted before the former since Triple-R's don't have a specified date. Also, if you want to marathon some Marvel films to catch up before Captain America: Civil War but don't have 24 hours to spare, you can check our Road to Civil War podcast I mentioned earlier at this link: https://youtu.be/bj_BnjCCO_g. 

'Iron Man 3' Review

Nominated For: Best Visual Effects.

Iron Man 3 is one of the most divisive Marvel films to date. This is in large part to being Marvel's first film post-The Avengers. The Avengers really raised the bar for everything to come from the studio now that the shared universe had taken shape. It was going to be nearly impossible for Iron Man 3 to meet these heightened expectations as it's difficult to tell a solo story right after a huge crossover event. In order for me to dissect my feelings about the film, I feel some spoilers are necessary so be forewarned, there will be spoilers in this review. Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black, who had previously worked with Downey in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and takes the reigns from Jon Favreau. This gave Iron Man 3 a vastly different feel to it's predecessors, Iron Man and Iron Man 2, as there wasn't any ACDC to be found, which I view as a creative decision symbolizing Tony Stark's character arc across the Marvel Cinematic Universe as he becomes more responsible (something that was further explored upon in Avengers: Age Of Ultron and looks to be a prominent part of Captain America: Civil War). Black and his creative team set out to bring Stark's story full circle putting him back in a metaphorical cave with a box of scraps and giving him some personal issues to overcome along the way. When it comes down to it, Iron Man 3 is a character driven story focused on Tony Stark. And that's the thing that I appreciate most about Iron Man 3 that I'll dive into more when discussing Downey's performance. Those expecting lots of action scenes with Stark sporting his armor were disappointed as there's only three major action sequences. While the action is relatively scarce in comparison to the entirety of the film, all the action is wildly entertaining. This includes the destruction of Tony's Malibu house, an incredible heroic sequence in which Tony must save about 15 people falling out of a plane, and the final fight between Extremis soldiers and Tony's vast Iron Legion. There's some fun scenes where Tony must use his wit and resources to fight Extremis soldiers and infiltrate the Mandarin's domain that were cool as well. The visual effects are wonderful as is to be expected from the studio at this point and it wouldn't be an Iron Man movie without some snarky sarcasm and quick one-liners, to which this film has many that still have me dying of laughter. I also really love the original score composed by Brian Tyler that I personally prefer to the inclusion of ACDC that's been a staple of the character in the previous films. When it comes down to performances, everyone across the board nails it for the most part. Robert Downey Jr. is definitively both Tony Stark and Iron Man at this point and never ceases to impress me. Downey gets to explore Stark's post-Avengers psyche where we learn he's now suffering from anxiety attacks and the Battle of New York left him with PTSD. Some complain about this but I think it was a logical step to make the character more compelling. I also like how it's left him in a place that's picked up well in Avengers: Age Of Ultron where he wants to "build a suit of armor around the world" and should be taken even further in Captain America: Civil War. Stark's new armor, the Mark 42, was visually an awesome experience. I enjoyed seeing the components individually latch onto Stark and culminate into a grand suit of armor, although it was too mustard for my taste. Gwyneth Paltrow is back as Pepper Potts and finds herself to be a deceptive damsel in distress at moments. Her chemistry with Downey is par to none and is a relief to see her kick some butt this time around. One thing that bothers me about her character is that there was a fake-out where she's presumed dead and survives due to the extremis in her blood stream. I think her death would have had greater ramifications as opposed to her survival since it doesn't seem keeping her alive has done the Marvel Cinematic Universe any favors. Don Cheadle returns as James Rhodes and this time around has been rebranded from the aggressive War Machine to Iron Patriot, a cool looking red, white, and blue suit of armor that isn't used much in the film. Cheadle's terrific in the role as we know from Iron Man 2 and has a fun buddy cop dynamic with Downey that keeps the lightheartedness alive in spite of the huge stakes present. Ty Simpkins is known by many as the "kid from Jurassic World" and is far less annoying in this film as an odd pairing to Downey that surprisingly works. Sir Ben Kingsley plays a more modern incarnation of the Mandarin or so Marvel wanted audiences to believe. With a huge twist no-one saw coming it was reveled that this supposed terrorist leader Mandarin was actually just a amateur British actor with a drug addiction. Fans were outraged by this twist and I was bothered by it upon first viewing but must admit it was a hilarious twist nonetheless. My frustrations with this have been significantly eased with the revelation that a real Mandarin does in fact exist as revealed in the Marvel's One-Shot All Hail The King. Yes, Guy Pearce is ANOTHER poorly executed Marvel villain as the suave Aldrich Killian, but I'd say he ranks among the upper half of the spectrum in comparison to others. Iron Man 3 is a nice resolution of the Iron Man Trilogy that goes full circle and functions as a great continuation to The Avengers and a decent launching pad for Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When it comes down to it, I personally enjoy Iron Man 3 despite the twists that drove fans bonanza. And while I'll admit it was a huge disappointment the first time I watched it in theaters, I've come to like it more and more with each successive viewing and can recommend it for those that temper expectations. 

Film Assessment: A-