Prometheus - 3D (15) ****

Prometheus (15) ****

Dir: Ridley Scott

Starring: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender

Synopsis: After discovering the same pictogram in several ancient civilisations, a team of explorers go to the planetary system that is described to discover the origins of the human race. There, they find a terrifying secret and must battle the past to save humanity's future.

Verdict: The fan-boy in me just wants to splurge his guts out about how much he enjoyed the film, but the more sensible side of me has managed to shut him up for a while so this review can be written (be warned that in person I will gush a bit).

The story is great: relatively easy to follow but with moments when it leaves you feeling a bit stuck. The main culprit for this would be the way that, yes, a lot of the questions that are raised in Alien are answered but it then raises new questions to be answered. Possibly an extra for the DVD release to fill in some of the plot holes?

This said, Scott really takes the film back to its roots in the sci-fi horror genre that made the first film stand out and makes a film that didn't disappoint me even after all of the hype. He has also, somehow, managed to (in a way) discredit the Alien vs. Predator (AVP) films from the timeline of the franchise (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). 

The mix of being able to scare the audience and action that was used in 1979 works again here, though the tactics are somewhat different - where the franchise started with the fear being what you can't see, we already know what the alien looks like and we know (sort of) about the space jockey, which leaves them to come up with new ways of scaring the viewer.

The special effects are brilliant; from the details in the alien structures that matches so well with what I remember from Alien, the CGI, all the gory details and the fantastic scenery on the planet, Prometheus doesn't disappoint when it comes to delivering visually and, at first, the 3D looked promising but, as always, there were moments when it delivered, and others when it failed to do so.

The acting talent really helps to bring the story together. Rapace is brilliant as the main character Dr Shaw becoming, in effect, a new Ripley for the 21st century. Fassbender shines as David, becoming quite like his Magneto in X-Men: First Class - someone who is both sinister villain and a friendly face in one package.

With its special effects and great story, this film will have you reaching for your Alien box set when you get home - even if it's only to feed the desire to carry on where this left off or to help you double check and make the connections of how everything fits together, this is definitely a film that lives up to its hype.