Prometheus relies upon hype instead of scares. Director Ridley Scott decided during the eleventh hour to throw the audience a curveball. His picture apparently does not fall in line with the Alien saga. This completely contradicts the design and execution of every frame. Even the title at the beginning smacks of the 1979 shocker with the text appearing gradually in disjointed forms. There are visual references to that film as well, namely the so-called “space jockey.” All this exploration into deep space to discover the creators of mankind feels like an excuse to revisit familiar territory. It’s like writing an abridged version of a classic text, minus the craftsmanship.

Actually, there’s not much plot. A humanoid appears next to a river. He drinks some dark substance and then disintegrates. Flash forward to a cave excavation which has no connection with the opening scene and before you know it, we are in space. The title refers to a ship, the occupants of which are keen on investigating a distant planet. They land and get more than they bargained for.

Scott seems confused here. Using disparate horror elements and flimsy dialogue, the veteran filmmaker dodges logic in favour of highfalutin ideas. If Naomi Rapace believes she can fill the shoes of Sigourney Weaver, she’s vastly mistaken. She comes across as an inferior character due to weaknesses present in the script by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof.

Pietro Scalia’s normally formidable editing work renders every performance impotent through conventional choices. In particular, Michael Fassbender’s robotic delivery makes both Ian Holm and Lance Henriksen look like genuine, bona fide geniuses.

A detestable music score by Mark Streitenfeld caps off the list of reasons a viewer needs in order to avoid this sci-fi offering. In the presence of such talented artists here, I expected more craft and less art direction. For me, Prometheus emerges as one of the worst creature features in modern times.

(Released by 20th Century Fox and rated "R" by MPAA.)