Star Trek: Renegades Review

Written by Stu Cooper

Ever since Star Trek: Enterprise left the air, trekkies have been dying to see another series hit the airwaves. From petitions to kickstarters, fans have been rallying behind various projects trying to get them made. Unfortunately Star Trek: Renegades hasn't made it to the airwaves yet, but it was released on YouTube, DVD, and Blu-ray. Fans of the original canon universe finally got another edition to the mythos, and it comes in the form of an epic 90 minute fan film. The film is written by Ethan H. Calk, Sky Douglas Conway, and Jack Trevino. The film was directed by Star Trek Voyager alumni Tim Russ who served as the promotional mascot for most of the film's appearances at various conventions. I actually first heard about the film when Russ and Walter Koenig appeared at Space City Con here in Houston to promote the film. The film was created by the makers of another famous fan-film Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, and serves as a sequel in some ways. Jack Trevino apparently came up with the idea for the series on the last day of Of Gods and Men. Thanks to campaigns on IndieGoGo and Kickstarter that have been going around since 2012, the project finally saw the light of day.

Star Trek: Renegades takes place ten years after the finale of Star Trek: Voyager which featured the crew of Voyager returning from their epic journey across the Delta Quadrant. The film picks up in the middle of a crisis revolving around a dilithium crystal shortage as the result of a mysterious alien race who is apparently folding space and time. The folding is causing entire planets to disappear, which is obviously bad for business. The Federation is unsure how to react to the situation, so Admiral Chekov (Star Trek: TOS) and Tuvok (Star Trek: Voyager) decide to get together with the ole Section 31 and put together a crew of misfit toys. The crew is ordered to investigate the madness and stop it before it reaches Earth. The crew consists of several sci-fi and Star Trek alum including Blade Runner's Sean Young, Alien Nation's Gary Graham, Terminator 2's Edward Furlong, Star Trek Voyager's Manu Intiraymi returning as The Lone Borg Icheb, Voyager's Robert Picardo as Dr. Zimmerman, and many more recognizable faces. Leading the crew is Captain Lexxa Singh (daughter of Khan) played by the stunning Adrienne Wilkinson, whom you may recognize from her run on Xena: Warrior Princess. The crew is essentially a sci-fi version of the expendables, which is consistent with the “Renegades” name. There are TONS of actors in this film, and if you blink you may miss some of them. The film also features several stunning females such as the crewman Ronara (Chasty Ballesteros), Andorian bombshell Shree (Courtney Peldon), and the Vulcan T'Leah (Larissa Gomes). It's certainly a crowded film and I'm not even mentioning the OTHER crew on the other ship that follows the Renegades around.

Despite the massive cast, the film manages to tell an incredibly riveting and tense story. The new aliens in the film seem to be a hybrid of Klingons and Hirogen, which makes for a rather intimidating race. The race is seeking revenge against the federation for inadvertently sabotaging their planet 300 years ago. The aliens use some kind of stone artifact to screw with time and space. The Renegades go on a mission to figure out exactly what is going on, and they are pursued by federation loyalists led by Captain Alvarez (Corin Nemec). Alvarez's crew strongly resembles the new look displayed in the JJ Abrams films, which leads me to believe that the film acknowledges both universes. There is also a lot of character ties to the other Paramount series, so there is a bit for everybody to enjoy. The film is about 90 minutes and you can tell the writers were trying to cram as much story as possible into that time-frame. Pretty much every scene is important to the plot, and if you take a break to get a snack or go to the bathroom, you may get a little lost.

The main focus is on Khan's daughter Lexxa, who is quite the bad-ass. She displays strong leadership qualities and some killer martial art skills. Not only is she beautiful and strong, but she is also poetic. The character often recites a beautiful little poem that streams throughout the film and serves as kind of a beacon for the story. Adrienne Wilkinson is perfectly cast in this role and I'm glad she is given a chance to shine. The writers could have easily focused on Chekov and Tuvok the entire time, but they take a chance and give a lot of screen time to the new characters. You can tell this film was intended as a pilot of sorts, as it has a real big series pilot feel to it.

The star of the film has to be the amazing special effects on display in the film. The film looked beautiful displayed on my HD television and I found myself absolutely speechless at how great the ship and space sequences looked. I dare say the ships looked better than they did in Voyager and Deep Space Nine (though there is a 15 year gap). There are a few awkward green screen shots throughout the film, but considering it's a fan film the quality is way beyond anything I could have expected. Whoever did the ship effects deserves a serious pat on the back. Another impressive effect that I noticed was the arm of the Borg Icheb. Since Voyager Icheb received a series of upgrades which include a shape shifting weapon arm. The arm effects are totally seamless and caused me to say “WHOA” out loud every time he used it. The make-up on most of the aliens is also top notch, especially the Andorian and the Cardassian characters. The only ones that were questionable were T'Leah the Vulcan whose eyebrows looked off in most scenes, and some of the villain aliens who suffered from bad wig fit.

Another aspect of the film that really shines is the soundtrack. The sound design is on par with most modern action films and greatly improves the tension of the film. There are pretty intense drum sequences during the action scenes that greatly elevate things to another level. It adds to the professionalism of the project and really makes you feel like you are watching a real full fledged Star Trek series.

Overall Star Trek: Renegades is a pleasant surprise that features TONS of tributes and fan service for all those loyal trekkies out there. Not only do you get to see a lot of familiar faces that you probably grew up loving, but you get to see a lot of young talent like Adrienne Wilkinson, Corin Nemac, and Chasty Bellastros who all knock it out of the park. The only downsides to the film would have to be the intense pacing, which can sometimes cause a lot of confusion, and the poor acting performance of Sean Young. I found myself cringing during all of Sean Young's scenes, but thankfully her character is not a focal point of the film.

If you can keep up with the story, the film serves as a terrific launching off point for more beautiful fan films. I was a little disappointed with how little Robert Picardo and Tim Russ showed up in the film, but Walter Koenig has quite a bit of screen-time and hasn't lost a step. If it got turned into a series, I imagine they would have returned to do a bit more. When the film ended, I found myself hoping that this isn't the last time we see this crew together. I certainly think this production has what it takes to support itself on something like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime. If you'd like to check the project out, visit the official page startrekrenegades.com or simply click the YouTube links below which will take you to the actual production.

31 Days of Monster Mania: Day 17: Star Trek Enterprise "Impulse"

Written by Stu Cooper

It's time for yet another entry in the Monster Mania countdown! Today I'm going back to the vast Trekverse to discuss another creepy Halloween themed Star Trek episode. The episode I will be discussing isn't exactly Halloween themed, but it's the closest thing we will ever get to a live action "Night of the Living Trekkies". For today's entry I'm discussing the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Impulse" which is essentially about Vulcan zombies!

For those who aren't familiar with Star Trek: Enterprise it's the last Star Trek series to air on television, but timeline wise it's the first. It's a prequel to all the other series, so this is before Picard, and before Kirk. It's essentially about the first group of Starfleet people to explore space. This makes for a pretty interesting series that people seem to either love or hate. The look and feel of the show is far different from it's predecessors. Since it's a prequel a lot of the technology and costumes look different than what we are used to. That rubs some people the wrong way, but I'm pretty neutral about that factor as long as the storytelling is good. The captain of the Enterprise in this incarnation is Scott Bakula who plays Captain Archer. Some of the other crew members include the insanely beautiful Vulcan T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), Engineer Trip Tucker (Connor Trineer), Dr.Phlox (John Billingsly), Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating), and the always smiley Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery). The crew experiences all sorts of first time adventures while in space, but one they couldn't have possibly predicted is an encounter with zombie Vulcans!

The episode starts with Captain Archer looking battle damaged and he is hauling an irrational acting T'pol into sickbay. There is something seriously wrong with T'pol. She's acting like she is losing her Vulcan mind! Cue Rod Stewart theme tune. Flashback to one day earlier. The crew of the Enterprise receives a distress signal from a Vulcan ship called The Seleya (beautiful name) which was a ship lost in the expanse over 9 months ago. The crew follow the distress signal which leads to an asteroid field full of a rare mineral called trellium. Trip seems to think the Vulcan ship went out into the asteroid field to collect this mineral and something happened. Archer wants to investigate but realizes the Enterprise is too big to navigate through the asteroid field. Archer decides to take the shuttlepod over to the Seleya, he is joined by T'pol and Reed. T'pol reveals that she actually served on the Seleya for over a year as a science officer before joining the Enterprise. She had already left the ship by the time they had gotten stuck in the expanse. The Seleya appeared to become a victim to a "subspace eddy", never to be heard from again. Any ships sent to retrieve them were never heard from again either.

The shuttlepod makes it to the Vulcan ship, and Hawkins joins the crew as well. Reed, Archer, T'pol, and Hawkins all board the Seleya. T'pol and Archer are investigating some odd biosign readings. After Reed finds trellium and Vulcan blood covering some of the bulkheads. This is obviously not a good sign. Soon after this Archer and T'pol are confronted by a Vulcan who appears crazed. He charges at them with a weapon and takes several phaser shots to dispose of. The Vulcan also appears to have warped skin, as if he has some kind of virus. The crew continues to be attacked by Vulcans throughout the ship, all with the same crazed virus. The Vulcans seem to have lost all sense of reality and logic, bent on killing the crew. The crew uses the stun setting and continues to take out every Vulcan they see. Reed decides to set his phaser to kill, which causes a dispute between him and T'pol. T'pol believes he has no issues killing her people, despite the fact that they could be saved. Archer agrees and orders the crew to continue stunning the Vulcan zombies instead of killing them. The crew realizes that there are 147 Vulcans on board, and they are going to have a serious fight on their hands.

After battling through several decks, T'pol begins showing signs of the same Vulcan virus the crew of the Seleya have. It becomes Archer's priority to get her help before it's too late. Meanwhile Tucker and Mayweather are using another shuttlepod to mine trellium from a nearby asteroid, which isn't going so well for them. Archer and the crew eventually reach the sickbay of the Seleya where they run into a Vulcan that T'pol knows. The Chief Engineer of the ship, but unfortunately he gives into the madness and is unable to give them any answers. T'pol begins getting irrational and angry, and Archer knows her time is running out. The crew decide to continue battling their way through the Seleya, fighting off Vulcan zombies one by one.

Meanwhile back on the Enterprise Trip and Mayweather are able to gather the materials they needed from the asteroid, but as a result of their messing around a giant asteroid is now heading directly for the ship. Two asteroids collide in front of the ship and cause a serious delay in any kind of rescue. It's up to Archer and his crew members on the Seleya to save themselves. As they continue battling the zombies, T'pol begins to turn crazy. She starts making lots of snide remarks towards the crew members, including a remark to Archer about his father's failed work. She soon convinces herself that Archer just wants to kill the Vulcans and get revenge against them. She sets her phaser for kill and holds the crew hostage. Thankfully the crew are able to disarm her and subdue her. Archer realizes the only way to free themselves is to override the ship, which would lead to a warp core breach. Archer sends Dr.Phlox some bio information that will allow him to treat T'pol and the crew are rescued at the last minute by Trip and Mayweather. The Seleya explodes. T'pol is treated afterwards but is still haunted by the memories of the zombie Vulcans and feels a bit betrayed by her crew. She felt that it was not necessary to kill all of the infected Vulcans, but they had no choice.

"Impulse" was a Season 3 episode and by this point we had gotten to know the characters quite well. The crew was actually in the middle of a big story arc with an alien race called The Xindi, but it's not a factor in this episode. The episode originally aired in October 2003, just in time for the Halloween season! The episode itself is pretty one dimension but it's a lot of fun. If you ever wondered what "Night of the Living Vulcans" would be like, this does it justice. It's basic zombie movie scares, but in a Star Trek universe. The one interesting layer of depth to the story would be the psychotic breakdown of T'pol. We get to see T'pol become very emotional, which for a Vulcan is rare. She ends up expressing her true feelings regarding some of the crew members and says some things that can't be taken back. This issue reaches such a heated point that she actually requests that the Captain leave her on the next habitable planet. It provides a pretty interesting element to the bland zombie story we've seen 1,000 times. If you're looking for a good Star Trek Halloween episode, you can't go wrong with "Impulse", even if you aren't an Enterprise fan!

Top 5 Godzilla Villains: Number 5

Written by Stu Cooper

With the upcoming release of Godzilla I figured I would countdown my top 5 favorite Godzilla villains. As a life long Godzilla fan, I love thinking about this kind of stuff. The villains in the Godzilla franchise are often what makes the films so memorable. It was always amazing seeing Godzilla mow down a city, but introduce some weird alien monster and you have an extra added bit of entertainment. Over the course of 5 days, leading up to the release of the new Godzilla film, I will be counting down. Today I start with number 5...GIGAN!

GIGAN first appeared in "Godzilla vs. Gigan" in 1972. "Godzilla vs. Gigan" is considered one of the worst entries in the Godzilla series, mostly due to it's slow pacing and bad effects. I on the other hand, love this film. I am slightly biased because as a child my local Blockbuster only had two godzilla films, "Godzilla 1985" and "Godzilla vs. Gigan". I grew to love Gigan and Ghidorah because of this. In the film, Gigan is sent to earth, along with King Ghidorah. The monsters are used as tools of destruction for yet another alien takeover on earth. This time the attackers are weird cockroaches that live inside human skin, and did I mention they live in a giant statue of Godzilla?!

Gigan then later appeared in "Godzilla vs. Megalon" in 1973. Gigan appeared to help Megalon try and defeat Godzilla. This film is also considered one of the weaker entries and I don't really remember much about Gigan's role in the film other than the fact that it was small. Gigan would not appear in another Godzilla film until 2004's epic monster rumble "Godzilla: Final Wars". In that film he actually sported a brand new look and ended up being the most intimidating monster in the movie. Fans reacted positively to the makeover and many consider Final Wars to be the perfect final entry to the TOHO Godzilla series. It's unclear if we will ever see Gigan again, but if the new Godzilla film is successful then anything is possible. Gigan did appear one other time, on a show called "Zone Fighter" in which he fought the star monster of the show. I just recently discovered that series so that is something I may have to revisit on here. Gigan has also appeared in a number of Godzilla video games. I remember him most in the NES lost gem "Godzilla". He was one of the bosses, which was great for me as a kid since he was one of the few monsters I was familiar with at a young age.

Gigan comes in at number 5 and it's because of his unique look, deadly weaponry, and frequent appearances in the Godzilla universe. The guy has a chainsaw in his chest and hooks for arms. Do you really need to think about how badass that is? Gigan is a deadly combination of awesomeness. Check back tomorrow to see what monster comes in at number four! At the end of the countdown I will be posting a review of the NEW Godzilla film!

Space City Con 2013

Written by Stu Cooper

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd annual "Space City Con" in Houston,Texas. This convention is based around science fiction and space (obviously), also playing on the idea that Houston is the Space City, because of NASA. I was not able to attend the con last year, so I was not sure what to expect. The first day of the con was a bit hectic, the registration lines were pretty long and the volunteers were scrambling to get it together. Thankfully this passed, and Saturday/Sunday seemed to flow a bit better. I think the staff was not expecting the con to be as big as it was. The Saturday crowd was shoulder to shoulder! I got my 3-Day pass early on Friday, so thankfully I was able to come and go without much of a problem.

On Friday I had the pleasure of meeting one of my all-time favorite Star Trek characters, dare I say my absolute favorite...Robert Picardo aka The Emergency Medical Hologram. He portrayed the Holographic Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager. He was known for his pompous attitude and opera worthy singing voice. He also starred on Stargate, Gremlins 2, and several other film and television shows. He was a true class act. I even got the chance to re-enact one of my favorite Voyager scenes. WARNING...I have the voice of an angel:

Actual Scene:

Space City Version (I warned you about my beautiful voice):

On Saturday I really got into some cool stuff. The crowd was absolutely nuts, so I didn't get to take many pictures, but I did however arrive just in time for the Gowron and Martok Q and A, which was more like a stand-up comedy routine! If you aren't familiar, Gowron and Martok are two Klingons from the Star Trek Universe. Gowron has appeared in several TNG and DS9 episodes, while Martok was a central character in the latter half of DS9. The actors themselves do several conventions a year, but as an extra tribute to the fans they often do the conventions in full klingon attire and make-up! It's absolutely amazing and something that has to be seen to be believed. These guys are so high energy, it's very contagious. It's so nice to see two actors who are so humble and proud to be a part of the Star Trek mythos, and the fact that they take the time to endure the heavy make up and costuming proves that they love their fans. The Q and A was no different. The two talked about klingon rituals, let out a death cry for a fallen conrad, told some klingon jokes, and took pretty much every question imaginable from the fans. It was a nice little get together. Immediately after this, The Doctor (Robert Picardo) took a few questions and horsed around with the fans, then he was followed by The Green Ranger (Jason David Frank). JDF was full of energy and love for his fans, just like the others. You really couldn't have asked for a more loving group of celebrities.

As Sunday rolled around you could tell the attendees of the convention were running out of batteries, and everyone slowly started heading home. I participated in a Trivia competition, goofed around with some of the Power Rangers, and made some new friends, then unfortunately had to pack it up myself. There is always a sad little come down at the end of these things. This convention was all about the community. The nerd/cosplay community in Houston is evidently a strong one, and it was proven by the attendance at this con, along with the party like atmosphere that took place between the cosplayers. I didn't mean a single person who wasn't ready to party! It really gives you a nice dream state feeling to be in the middle of all this. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Amazing Space City Con video (Credit: Samaze.com) :

Star Trek Theater 3000: Power Play (TNG Season 5, Episode 15

Written by Stuart Cooper

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5 Episode 21 "Power Play"

If you know me personally, or if you've ever seen me at a comic convention or nerd related event, it's usually pretty evident that I am a Trekkie. I've been a Trekkie for about a decade and I love it more and more every time I watch it. I think the show holds a lot of merit in terms of storytelling and underlying themes. The show can speak to you on a lot of different levels, and that's why I believe it has endured all these years. I decided to start reviewing one Star Trek episode a week. This will be coinciding with something I'm doing with my friends. My friends and I recently decided to randomly choose one Star Trek episode a week, watch it at the same time, and share our thoughts/and or riffs. This week's episode was “Power Play”, a gem from Season 5 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The plot involved possession, ghost machines, a reserved Worf, and some pretty intense fighting. Let's dive into it.

In the episode “Power Play” the crew of the Enterprise intercepts a distress signal, which usually in science fiction means certain death, and of course they choose to pursue it. The crew arrives at a baron planet and Troi says she senses life on the planet, so an away team is sent down to investigate and possibly save whatever being is down there. This ignorant move results in Troi, O’Brien, and Data being possessed by orbs on the surface that are apparently the souls of a lost crew that was stuck on that planet. You still with me? I know that last sentence was heavy. After the orbs enter the bodies of the 3 crew members, they get back onto the ship and organize a mutiny of sorts. Troi, O’Brien, and Data hold crew members hostage in Ten Forward. It's soon after this that we find out the orbs from earlier were souls, and they are now possessing the crew members. One big question that has to be asked tho, how can a ghost possess Data? He has no organic matter to control, do souls have power over technology? This is never explained. I think it was merely a plot device that would give Brent Spiner another chance to act goofy and different. One cool little tid-bit. This episode featured Patricia Tallman (Night of the Living Dead 1990) as one of Worf's Security Officers! She unfortunately does not speak, and is only on screen for a few seconds.

After some tense hostage scenes, there is a confrontation between Worf and Data. A fight between the two is teased, but Worf backs down. Worf appears to be very weak in this episode, but at the end of the episode he implies this was only because he was “being reserved”. If you watch enough TNG, you know who would have won that fight. Another highlight in the episode was Miles snapping at Keiko and their crying baby. Data also threatens the baby at one point, just to emphasize how evil these ghosts are. Towards the end of the episode there is a huge moment of tension when Data picks up Picard and chokes him, then picks him up off his feet and holds him in mid-air by his throat. Just shows you that Data could really kill anyone he wanted, if he needed to. Soon after that scene the ghosts are hit with some type of wave and forced to leave the bodies of the crew members.

Overall the episode was a lot of fun and full of tension. The acting was spot on and tight. There were moments where main cast members really became vulnerable, and the villains proved to be rather menacing. I think this was a very effective story. It was also nice being able to see some of the actors act differently than they did normally. I'm sure Spiner enjoyed letting loose a bit. I would definitely recommend this episode to anyone who wants to watch a good one and done TNG episode. You get to see Evil Data, Evil O’Brien, and Evil Troi, what's not to love?

PROMETHEUS Review

Written by Stuart Cooper

PROMETHEUS (2012)

Starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, and Ibris Elba

One of the most iconic franchises in film history is back! Well kind of. “Prometheus” hit theaters this past weekend. Without a doubt this was one of the most anticipated films in the past couple years. Definitely qualifies as a summer blockbuster. Ridley Scott returns to the director’s chair to once again direct his baby (or face hugger) and in my eyes it did not disappoint. The first thing you must do before seeing this film is to separate yourself from the ALIEN franchise you know prior to this film, because I will tell you now it has elements of the franchise, but if you are looking for wall to wall gun fighting and acid blood, you will be disappointed. The film centers more so on the origins of the xenomorphs and the “space jockey” character from the original ALIEN. Now I will try my best to avoid any major spoilers because I want everybody to go see this film and judge for themselves, but I will discuss some basic plot details. Don’t worry I will leave plenty for you to discover on your own.

The film stars Noomi Rapace as the main protagonist Elizabeth Shaw. Her husband is played by Logan Marshall Green, and together they make up a couple who have devoted their entire lives to researching the origins of humanity. The couple travels the world examining artifacts and caves, examining signs of what could only be referred to as Ancient Aliens. If you watch the show on the history channel, you will know exactly what I’m talking about. The film immediately ties itself to a real life theory that is more popular and acceptable now, than ever. I myself am actually a believer in the Ancient Alien theology (to an extent) and if you are open minded in your beliefs; the film may actually hit home on certain pre-existing theories. So the film immediately makes the situation in question, a relatable one.

The couple, along with Weyland (of Weyland Industries from the other Alien films) opts to form a scientific expedition with the purpose of seeking out this alien life they believe to exist. As far as actual plot details, that is as far as I can go without spoiling anything important to the story. But we can at least talk about some of the characters in the film. Charlize Theron, sexy as always, plays a stern corporate representative for Weyland named Vickers. She is responsible for making sure the money spent on the expedition is worth the effort, and she also monitors the activity of the crew and can give orders if needed. Theron was very effective in this role and I thought it was perfect casting. Another notable cast member is the android David, played by Michael Fassbender. I’ve been a fan of Fassbender ever since he popped on the scene, and he is perfect in the role of David. He does a very good job of playing a cold emotionless android. David is not as two dimensional as some of the other androids in the previous films though, he actually seems to have a childlike curiosity and hunger for knowledge. David is really there to seek out answers, and assist the crew. But as you know with the previous ALIEN films, the android’s behavior is questionable, and the true motives are hard to predict given the emotionless character. This makes for quite the interesting contrast in comparison to other characters on board. The other cast member worth noting is the charismatic captain played by Idris Elba. Elba definitely has some good acting chops and he fits the role quite well. There is just something very badass about his attitude that he brings to a lot of his roles. There is a few other crew members as well, each seem to be from some type of scientific background, while others are there for security purposes. Together all of these people journey to the unknown planet, in search of answers to the burning question that we all have “Where did we come from?”. The film makes a habit out of answering one question with another question. Some people seem to have taken issue with this, but I am fine with it. I don’t expect a director or writer to spoon feed every aspect of a story to me, so I really enjoyed the way things are laid out. You learn a lot about the space jockey and the alien race behind the space jockeys, whom are referred to as “Engineers” in the film. You see several things that will remind you of the things you love in prior ALIEN films, but some of these ideas are slightly altered, implying that they will evolve into things you are familiar with. This is also something people seem to take issue with, but again I see this as a pointless complaint. I think that is part of the reason why Ridley Scott told people it was not a prequel, so they would not bring a heavy handed bag of nostalgia with them to the theater, but people did that anyways, and as a result had unrealistic hype and expectations. For those that didn’t do that, they seem to have loved the film.

Now getting on to the one thing I definitely wanted to discuss, the breathtaking visuals! This film is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! The world that Ridley Scott created in the previous films is expanded even more so, and in ways you couldn’t even imagine. The ships in the film are incredibly unique and detailed; the look of the interior inside the Prometheus is similar to that of the Nostromo from ALIEN, with a few tweaks that set it apart. The look of the aliens in the film are also quite unique, not exactly what I expected but I was not let down in that respect. The eerie feeling that you get from the other ALIEN films is also very present in this one. You will definitely feel like you are watching a part of the ALIEN mythos, without being beaten over the head with xenomorphs. There are also a few nods to 2001: A Space Odyssey which I really got a kick out of. I can’t really talk about them without giving away details of the plot, but I think if you are a fan of 2001, you will spot these similarities immediately.

The one thing I always found creepy about the original ALIEN was the feeling of isolation. That is what made the film so eerie. You can run, but you can only run so far and at the end of the day, it’s just you and whatever creature is following you. No back up, no police, no family members, no safe house, it’s just you, space, and whatever occupies that space. In space no one can hear you scream…never rang so true. Another aspect of the film that seems to be discussed quite a bit is questions it provides concerning evolution, religion, purpose, all of these big issues that every human thinks about. Some find the fact that these things are discussed unnecessary, but I think it is a vital part of the story. These questions being posed in the film are good. These questions make it more than a space thriller; it makes it a deep, multi-layered universe that is thought provoking. So if you like movies where you can turn your brain off and let the characters explain everything for you, you may not like this film. A lot of things in the film are open to interpretation and I loved that about the film, but some critics find this aspect challenging and dismiss it as “plot holes”. I think the film may have a few things here and there that could be done better, but overall I enjoyed the storytelling and the questions posed. If anything it gives you more reason to care about the universe that the story takes place in, as opposed to just watching people shoot aliens. Something “Battle: Los Angeles” could have used.

Overall I think “Prometheus” is a unique and thought provoking film. If you are a fan of the ALIEN mythos and the style of Ridley Scott, this film is worth your time. If you enjoy the art style of H.R. Giger and the eeriness that exists in the previous films, then I would recommend this film as well. If you like your films cut and dry, black and white, without any questions, then you may dislike the film. So I think it’s really up to the viewer as to how they interpret the film. Don’t let the unrealistic hype train known as the internet ruin this film for you. Go into the theater with a clear head, no expectations, and enjoy the ride. Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace give powerful and enjoyable performances, the visuals are stunning, and the storytelling is bizarre and unique. It’s everything I wanted and more.

Bonus Video: ALIEN trailer done in the style of PROMETHEUS...very cool.