Ridley Scott’s flair for visually exuberant genre filmmaking saves Prometheus from drowning in its overblown science fiction about the origin of our and other species.

For all of the mythos that has spiralled from the 1979 sci-fi classic Alien, many forget that the film itself worked because of its simple premise and structure. Alien was also a ground breaking film because of Scott’s style. The man has proved time and again to be a master of the visual, yet his handling of story is another matter.

Thus we come to Prometheus, the highly anticipated release which features Scott’s return to the sci-fi Alien universe which made him an A-list director.

Set in 2093, the film focuses on archaeologists Elizabeth (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie (Logan Marshall-Green) who come across the find of the century that points to mankind’s origins in outer space. With the backing of billionaire entrepreneur Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) the pair along with a crew featuring a Weyland employee (Charlize Theron), a rag-tag captain (Idris Elba) and an android (Michael Fassbender) look for answers in the deep corners of the galaxy on their mighty ship, Prometheus.

Much like Alien and its sequel Aliens (directed by that other sci-fi genius James Cameron), Prometheus follows a rather stringent structure: They arrive, they explore, they find more than they bargained for, and then they try to survive.

While Scott’s return to sci-fi brings with it an overwhelming sense of the familiar (no doubt a heaven send for some), he also asks big questions such as why are we here? And, who is our maker?  

As interesting as these age old concepts of intelligent designers (be it alien or theistic) and the slippery slope of whatever it takes scientific exploration, under Scott’s direction and Lost scribe Damien Landelof (he re-wrote an initial script by Jon Spaihts) screenplay, Prometheus falls under the weight of its heavy themes as story spirals out of control with third act revelations not able to live up to its two act set up.

But boy does Prometheus look great while doing so. With its incredibly impressive design, special effects and 3D visuals, Prometheus is a movie made for big screen consumption. The addition of some terrifically intense scary monster moments and Michael Fassbender’s brilliant performance as a creepy android also makes the film a sporadically entertaining genre piece.

But one set to become a classic like its Alien predecessor? No chance. While the search for answers is the core theme of Prometheus, Scott’s attempt to add a backstory to his most important achievement in Alien has marred the simplistic mystery of that universe. For that Scott can’t be forgiven although his effort should be applauded.