Prometheus [Blu-ray]

I won't bother reviewing the actual movie itself here. Others have done a fine job and there's nothing else I could add to it. This is just a simple praise for the product and packaging.

What you get here is a 4 disc set:

1 3D Blu-ray
1 2D Blu-ray
1 Special Features Blu-ray: It took me 3 nights to get through the exhaustive but captivating documentary and tons of bonus features. It couldn't be any more complete. You even get over 30 different trailers @_@. Excessive but it's all here. My favourite bonus features are Noomi Rapace's screen tests. Not done like other screen tests you've seen.
1 SD DVD with Digital Copy.

And you get all of this for $24.99!!! A friend of mine bought just the DVD the day it came out and paid $19.99. 5 bucks more for this and look at all you get!

VIDEO (2D):

Prometheus arrives at blu ray with MPEG-4 AVC 1080p 2.40:1 encode. This transfer is simply stunning. Using Red Epic digital cameras mounted to 3ality Technica Atom 3D rigs, the film was shot almost entirely on Pinewood Studio's famed—and enormous—007 lot, allowing Ridley Scott and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski complete control over the lighting of the magnificently detailed sets. The combination of a great camera system, high-quality Zeiss lenses, and precise manipulation of the direction and degree of light makes for an image that is terrifically sharp. The level of clarity is exemplary for a live-action film. Fine detail is ever-present in the textures of the actors' faces, the fabric of their clothing, and the intricacies of the props and set design. The film's distinct colour palette is also outstanding, including the inky depths of the pyramid, the yellow LED lights inside the explorers' helmets, the cool fluorescence inside Prometheus, the spatters of blood. (5/5)

AUDIO:

Prometheus’s DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio lossless track is spectacular, like the video. From start to finish, it delivers room-quaking dynamics, pristine clarity, and polished, realistic, puts-you-right-in-the-middle-of-the-action sound design. From the opening scene on the barren planet Earth we get deep sub-woofer engagement, the lapping, crashing, and bubbling of a massive waterfall, and the thunderous rumble of an alien ship overhead. The sense of all-surrounding immersion puts you right in the middle of the action. The actors' voices, which—besides being well-balanced and easily understood—always reflect the acoustics of their surroundings, flatter aboard the ship, slightly muffled inside their helmets, echoing and wet inside the pyramid. All this is backed up by Marc Streitenfeld's enormous-sounding orchestral score, which alternates between quiet uneasiness and sheer bombast. (5/5)

MOVIE:

A team of scientists travels through the universe on the spaceship "Prometheus" on a voyage to investigate alien life forms. The team of scientists becomes stranded on an Alien world, and as they struggle to survive it becomes clear that the horrors they experience are not just a threat to themselves, but to all of mankind. At the end of the movie, Dr. Elizabeth Shaw and David went to investigate the origin of life and why our Maker changed His mind to destroy mankind. Do I smell a sequel to this prequel coming? After checking some websites, my hunch is correct. Prometheus 2 is in early discussion with return of Noomi Rapace and robot David
(movie 4.5/5)

TRIVIA:

Prometheus has an estimated budget of $130 million, but grossed $302 million worldwide.

Prometheus was originally conceived as a prequel to Ridley Scott's Alien, but Scott announced his decision to turn it into an original film. Some time later it was confirmed that while the movie would take place in the same universe as Alien and greatly reference that movie, it would mostly be an original movie and not a direct prequel.

Director Ridley Scott named the film Prometheus, seeing the name aptly fit the film's themes: "It's the story of creation; the gods and the man who stood against them." In Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus was a servant of the gods, who stole and gave to mankind the gift of fire, an immeasurable benefit that changed the human race forever (for better AND worse).

Did you know that the androids' names in the Alien films follow an alphabetical pattern: in Alien it's Ash, in Aliens and Alien³ it's Bishop, in Alien: Resurrection it's Call and in this film it's David.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

Being an experienced obstetrician, I thought I was pretty fast in doing a Caesarian section: from skin to skin in 10 minutes. But in this movie, the robot beat me by a whopping 9 minutes. Wow! What more can I say!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Any movie directed by Ridley Scott or starring Charlize Theron is good enough for me. Our heroine Noomi Rapace (as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw) is also outstanding. Plus, it has top-notched audio/video. It will be grouped next to my Alien Anthology box set. At $24.99, this is of great value. Get it before the price will definitely be going up. Of course, it is highly recommended.

Prometheus, the long awaited "prequel" to Alien. I quote prequel because can we even call it that? It sure has many things that can be related to Alien, specifically the Weyland Corporation, but it's a movie entirely on it's own.

The movie itself is excellent. The characters, some of them dull, were interesting to watch, and it was almost like the first Alien all over again. The film start's off slow, and when it picks up, it never lets go. It draws you in, with relatable information (which is hard to do in a sci-fi action movie, in my opinion) and it never really lets you breathe. The next scene comes in, and the next, and before you know it, the characters are running for their life. The extended scenes (in the special features tab on the menu) give additional spikes in your hearts beats per minute, that is without the commentary. The scenes that are in the movie don't seem to live up to the extended versions of the scenes, but due to time, makes sense why they cut it out. The movie wasn't as scary as the first Alien, but it was just as disturbing, and more so in my opinion.
The video quality is really good. The scenes I dreaded in the theatre (Med-Pod anyone?) because of people spoiling things for me looked fantastic on the bluray, that is assuming you could actually watch that scene without curling up into fettle position. The bluray looks clear and crisp, and dark scenes are not overly dark, and is well lightened. The 3D presentation is really cool. The bluray and the 3D bluray bundles both being the same price, I don't know why you would pick up the normal version (even if you don't have a 3Dtv, you could build your catalog for when or if you do.) besides the cover art.

The audio is chilling, and it is really something with the surround sound kicked in. The audio presentation is nearly perfect. I don't want to say perfect, because I don't know the "perfect" audio presentation, but if there was one, this would be it.

The special features are extensive, with a 3 and a half hour documentary that covers everything that you need, or want, to know about the production, from the first draft to the movie in your hands.

Overall, the movie is fantastic. The story is a little lopsided, but the video presentation, and the audio presentation, top of expectations. The special features are extensive, and are really interesting to watch. The movie is a definite pick up for fans of the Alien franchise, and I think everyone should pick it up. If you're thinking about picking it up, do it. If you haven't seen it, blind buy it, but remember, there is very disturbing imagary in the film, and is rated R for that very reason!

***** - Phillip