Prometheus (Blu-ray 3D/ Blu-ray/ DVD/ Digital Copy)

It's an easy movie to criticize, but it doesn't deserve it. I'm not giving the fifth star because it's absolutely perfect. But, given the way it fits with the Alien films, but goes in new directions, this really is one of the great recent science fiction films.A lot of people have criticized a number of the "campy"/bonehead plot devices the film contains. I think the funniest is the one about the worst direction to run if a giant rolling, round spaceship is about to crush you (hilarious).But it's easy to criticize some of the shallower holes or weak links in the plot and not acknowledge the healthy condition of the broad bones of the plot structure. What made Alien (and the Alien series) great was plot structure and concept (and Ridley Scott's skillful execution of it). The thrills and chills were there because of the combination of realism and symbolism in the plot--because it was good science fiction. Science fiction has always been a lot more symbolic than scientific, and it was the ability of the creature to hold so much symbolic weight that made it so frightening, not just the art and special effects.Prometheus builds on this symbolic complexity by looking out into space (the divine unknown) not for the supreme anti-human force this time (Alien's alien), but for the "divine" origins of human beings. It's interesting. Scott makes the puzzle about these divine-human creatures (the engineers in Prometheus) as compelling as the creature in Alien. A little more intellectual and less visceral--but pretty similar.It is structured as a brainy science fiction film. Science fiction has always been about heavy symbolism in a high-energy, pulpy package. So I'm fine with unexplained spider zombie characters, and blatant, thin, pulpy, gore-y plot devices (in fact I enjoy them, think they're essential for the genre and overall effect, and would miss them if they were gone), as long as the backbone of the film is solid. And it is. Naomi Rapace's character is solid, and Michael Fassbender's. And guess who's left at the end of the film? Only the characters that mattered.Plus it's visually beautiful. And the way Scott weaved in so many Alien concepts into an original story in a way that built the whole thing up into a broader and still consistent world-- instead of dragging it down --is also extremely impressive.This movie will be appreciated a lot more a few years down the road. And even more so if a good sequel follows.

Where do I start? Do I praise the visual effects and amazingly detailed sets? Do I call out the haters and point out that the bulk of their complaints were based on the movie not being what they thought it'd be? What about the epic 7.1 soundtrack and score? The ferocious Noomi Rapace? The synthetic David? The fact that the Prometheus ship looks like a Firefly on steroids? There are a few hundred reviews that wrongly wax on plot elements and acting. Here's the film AND the BD review:This IS an ALIEN movie. We are watching the start of it all. While the film takes place in the same meta-plot, it is easy to see the creatures presented being some how related to xenomorphs... maybe with a dose or two of Cthulhu mentality - tentacles a plenty. The BD release has some great features by way of deleted scenes (some that might have done better to have been kept in the film), commentary tracks (Ridley Scott pretty much narrates the film, but it's not as bad as it sounds; he gets really excited about this film), and a background featurette that focuses on Wayland. The visuals are amazing on an up-to-date BD player, and as I said, we get the treat of 7.1 (which shook my apartment, literally, at normal volumes; so be mindful of the volume unless you want your photos and whatnots to get shaken off the walls at what you might consider a 'normal' volume). It's overpowering at points, but it sounds great despite the heft of it.Enjoy this for what it is - a long awaited reunion to the Alien epic universe. We're just going to be experiencing some elements that were never covered in the Alien franchise. Where does that leave us?Where else, but in the trusted hands of Mr. Ridley Scott. It seems this new trilogy is going to answer more than the questions left open by the film Prometheus. We're getting to see some answers that have gone unanswered for over 30 years. Key word there - some.I've waited this long; the promise of two more films in this series have me waiting, hopeful, that Mr. Scott can deliver the next movies on the same level that is Prometheus. Beautiful. Epic. Eerie. And more than a little... alien.