Review: Prometheus

Ridley Scott gave us Alien more than 3 decades ago and it went out to become an Academy Award winner with other directors using the same character in their movies.

In 2012 Director Ridley Scott made a come back with Prometheus, which is being propagated as a prequel of Alien.

Noomi Rapace as Elizabeth Shaw, an archaeologist and Logan Marshall-Green as Charlie Holloway discover that throughout the existence of mankind different civilizations have worshiped a particular constellation in space that leads them to believe that somewhere near that space lies the secret to mankind’s beginning. This expedition is funded by a Trillionaire, Peter Weyland played by Guy Pearce. The always beautiful Charlize Theron playing Meredith Vickers, the captain of the ship and Michael Fassbender plays a super-advanced robot that looks after it. Along with other members of the group, they're on a mission of finding the origin of mankind on Earth. It’s the spaceship that’s called Prometheus in the movie which lands on the surface of a deserted planet, thus beginning the discovery of the existence of life.

The story line reminds you of Alien but the journey in Prometheus is quite different with breath taking special effects and great cinematography. Releasing the movie in 3D and IMAX 3D only adds more life to this magnificent science fiction film. You have the same elements of thrill: an alien infection, a difference of opinion amongst the characters, women portrayed as tough fighters and alien horror. In the climax there was a common similarity between the prequel and sequel. The performance stealer without a doubt is Noomi Rapace with the delivery of a scene to remember.

The tag line of the movie "The search for our beginning could lead to our end" is well justified with flaws that are always excused in this genre. 

An ambitious project from Ridley Scott who left no stone unturned to promote this epic after his previous mega project, Robin Hood bombed at the box office. Alien fans all over the world would expect answers to questions that were left unanswered in Alien, but unfortunately in the end, the mystery continues. Could it be that Ridley Scott is already thinking about number three? If so, hopefully there will be more of a logical plot behind the amazing effects. Then again, it's science fiction.

Prometheus will not get the same response as Madagascar 3 when looking at the entertainment value of the film, which released along with Shanghai in Indian multiplexes last Friday.

Review: Shanghai

It all started years back when our honorable chief minister declared that he wanted to turn Mumbai into Shanghai, a world class city. Soon the vision was ridiculed by the media and later by the city. Till date, The city's infrastructure is in an apathetic condition, let alone transforming the city into a world class one.

Dibakar Banerjee successfully picks up that theme and projects it on the silver screen. He goes further in conveying when dreams are envisioned by our political clad, what it takes to make it successful and how far they can go to achieve it.

The movie starts with local goons’ planning of assassinating an activist who is opposing a mega-scale slum redevelopment plan. The movie then takes us through a journey on how political and bureaucratic people control situations involving 3 protagonists and ends as a thriller that leaves a smile on the audience's face along with a sense of relief; finally it’s over!

Both lead actors in the past have stuck to singular style of their own; in Shanghai they rediscovered their versatility.

Prosenjit Chatterjee, an acclaimed actor from West Bengal, has already made a mark in Bollywood with "Chokher Bali". He could've had a larger role in the film but the given part didn't do justice to his capabilities as an artist. Thus, the 3 protagonists got the chance to light up the screen with a fine performance.

Abhay Deol, who has mostly portrayed a Delhiite in his past flicks for a change plays a South Indian high ranking bureaucrat. He justifies his character by adopting the accent which is charmingly delivered.

The director plays it safe by being tight with kalki koechlin's dialogues but as usual she managed to give a powerful performance by emoting her feelings through her expressive face.

Emran Hashmi plays an interesting character who is a photographer by day and a pornography cameraman by night. He has gradually broken out of his shell with the roles he has recently picked up and has been doing an excellent job with them. In shanghai he steals the show with his hatke performance that is sure going to be appreciated by all. In fact Emran is the character who gives us comedic moments in this serious political thriller that make you smile.

The story is hard hitting and thought provoking and matches with the current scenarios of Indian politics. Music is okay, with 2 songs already received well by audiences across the nation.

Dibakar Banerjee is sure to get critical acclaim.

At the end, this movie exercised the versatility of each actor. If you are a fan of serious political dramas, then this movie is for you, but if you are looking for a typical masala flick, you can afford to miss it or rather catch it up on the World Television Premiere ;)