Making a prequel/sequel out of a horror movie is always a flimsy proposition. Alien, perhaps Ridley Scott's second best in his spotty filmography, was a no nonsense, tight sci-fi horror which was, if anything, atmospheric and thrilling. Prometheus then, is just an upscale version of the franchise, explaining pointlessly, the origins of that HR Giger backdrop of the original, at the expanse of the actors who are wasted here (especially Charlize Theron and Guy Pearce). There are inevitable plotholes, unexplained motivations, shoddy deaths. What Prometheus has though, are a gorgeous production design, Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender and Idris Elba.
Once upon a time, Ridley Scott was a visual and tonal lyricist. There were duelists in the Napoleonic era who duel each other throughout their entire life without any explanation. There were unicorns in slow-mo. He even took away silly (debatable) narration of Dekkard from Blade Runner. That man is dead now. Prometheus was entertaining and pretty enough, but nowhere as great as his older stuff.
