Moms on Movies Movie Dad, John, says “Say what you will about Prometheus, but remember that both Alien and Blade Runner received mediocre responses upon their releases, and that Ridley Scott apparently makes science fiction films that get better with age. Already, the ammunition Prometheus provides for intellectual debates is promising, which is why I suspect it will survive the test of time and find a comfortable home in the shared universe of Scott's two previous science fiction masterpieces. Regardless of all its flaws, Prometheus is still a beautiful and ambitious film tackling some of the big philosophical themes humankind has been struggling with since sentient thought was even a possibility.

“While these themes are explored with far more grace and rigor in Blade Runner, the attempt Prometheus makes at bringing some philosophical weight to the Alien storyline is nothing short of admirable. Alien is no longer a simple horror film about a creature serving no other purpose than destruction; it's about an advanced humanoid race that supposedly created humankind only to decide later that it was a mistake. The xenomorph from Alien is just one of the weapons with which we were meant to meet our gruesome, apocalyptic end, before some unknown event prevented it from happening. This shift in focus, from horror to science fiction, is the main reason I praise Prometheus. It’s also the main reason why I criticize it.

“Alien is a good horror film with mediocre science fiction elements. Prometheus is a mediocre science fiction film with similarly mediocre horror elements. The only thing that rescues it from being an overall mediocre film is its relationship to its two thematic prequels, Alien and Blade Runner. The only thing will elevate it to greatness is a sequel that answers some of its lingering questions.”