The Kind of Appreciation Prometheus Deserves

Article [b]Brilliant 'Prometheus' wasted on a generation that can't appreciate it[/b] [img]http://ath-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/editorial_featured_hor/11244918.jpg[/img] When it came up in conversation that my wife had never seen the original 1979 “Alien,” I nearly ran our car off the road. As her husband of more than 10 years, I felt like somehow I had failed her. Needless to say, we watched it as soon as we got home. And despite its age, despite years of sequels, despite all the innovations in special effects that have taken place since it was released, “Alien” still had the power to make us jump off the couch. Because like its peers — “The Exorcist,” “Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and “Rosemary’s Baby” — it remains one of the greatest and most iconic horror films of its time. Although it has not been explicitly advertised as such, “Prometheus” is a prequel to “Alien” that brings director Ridley Scott back to the genre he made film history in decades ago (Scott is also responsible for the sci-fi classic “Blade Runner”). But unlike the disappointing “Star Wars” episodes George Lucas cranked out at the dawn of the new century, Scott and his team of writers and producers had a firm grasp on what kind of movie they needed to make in order to follow up such an important and beloved property. The spaceships are boxy and functional, the sets look lived in, and the costumes wouldn’t have been out of place in a movie even older than the first “Alien.” It’s as if the people making the new movie wanted it to look great sitting right beside the old one. But it doesn’t stop there. Whereas James Cameron’s ’80s blockbuster “Aliens” took the series in a decidedly more action-oriented direction that set the precedent for each subsequent entry, “Prometheus” is a 100 percent return to the sci-fi horror category. The gooey, translucent creep factor that came about due to the involvement of Swiss surrealist genius H.R. Giger is brought back and extensively employed. Faces are melted, bodies are mutated, and there is even a scene that approaches the shock level of the “chest-burster” gag “Alien” is best known for. The film doesn’t just deliver all the things fans have missed in the years since the original was released. It tells a compelling, massive story that is impossible to turn away from, no matter how disgusting or suspenseful things get. And yet, as much as I wanted to stay seated and bask in the satisfying triumph that is “Prometheus” as the credits rolled, I instead couldn’t get out of the theater fast enough. While I know there are going to be like-minded people who realize just how great the film is, it is impossible to ignore the buzzing voices of negative criticism that typify the modern audiences genre fare now attracts. They pick, groan and smirk as a way of life because the majority of the entertainment they’ve grown up with has conditioned them to do so. My dad’s generation walked out of “Alien” with their collective minds blown. These kids walked out of “Prometheus” laughing and bellyaching. I don’t sympathize with the complaining movie geek masses who take to the Internet complaining that all they get are remakes and other uninspired dreck that plays like watching someone play a video game. They don’t deserve better because they can’t seem to appreciate better. Meanwhile, there still are some of us who know great filmmaking when we see it, and I’m endlessly thankful to Ridley Scott for caring enough about what he achieved to surpass even my highest expectations with his return to outer space terror. Article Courtesy: onlineathens.com Link to Article: http://onlineathens.com/entertainment/2012-06-13/shearer-brilliant-prometheus-wasted-generation-cant-appreciate-it