Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Prometheus 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 23, 2017

It can be downright confusing to watch things out of order, as I recently discovered when due to various reasons I reviewed Prison Break (Event Series) before Prison Break: Season Four. All sorts of supposed drama and intrigue that cropped up in Season Four of the series had “already” been dealt with if not outright solved in the Event Series (which, again, I had viewed first), making this “backwards” watching an exercise in a kind of dyslexic aspect where a problem was solved and was then created. While I had in fact seen Prometheus several years ago when it was first released on Blu-ray, I ended up revisiting it after having watched Alien: Covenant, since Fox got the new 4K release of Prometheus to me after the 4K release of Alien: Covenant. This was another case of “backwards viewing”, but perhaps comically, there was actually less consternation than I expected to confront, for a couple of reasons. Neither Prometheus nor Alien: Covenant are exactly models of narrative clarity, and both traffic in such large, arguably metaphysical, questions that traditional “answers” may be well nigh impossible. But it simply has to be accepted at face value that Alien: Covenant kind of willfully avoids answering some of the big unanswered questions which lingered long after Prometheus had left the building and/or planet (so to speak). Even taking into account the relative dearth of resolutions that Alien: Covenant offered with regard to issues raised by Prometheus’ stuffed to the gills plot, Prometheus itself, while head scratching a lot of the time, is also often quite viscerally exciting, filled with the kind of visual virtuosity that has long been a hallmark of director Ridley Scott.

I’m going to let my colleague Casey Broadwater attempt to explain Prometheus to those of you who haven’t already seen it. Casey’s thoughts on the film can be read in his Prometheus 3D Blu-ray review. Please note, however, that I personally evidently didn't like the film quite as much as Casey did, hence the somewhat lower overall score, though I concur with Casey's scores for the video and audio quality of the Blu-ray disc.

Prometheus 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Prometheus is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. Digitally captured and finished at a 2K DI, Prometheus exhibits some of the same uptick in detail levels and cooler grading appearances that I described in its sibling Alien: Covenant 4K Blu-ray review. That said, I'd have to say my personal opinion is that Prometheus is at least slightly better looking than Alien: Covenant in 4K, with an absence of any of the quasi-noisy look of elements like steam and mist, and similarly without some of the artificial ambience that can creep into some CGI aspects. The uptick in detail levels is apparent from the get go with long aerial shots over various landscapes, where, even with the desaturated palette in play, crags on mountains are precise looking and foliage has real nuance and separation. Both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant are swathed in gray tones, but the interesting thing about Prometheus in 4K is how isolated pops of color (like a yellow lit visor in an otherwise gray environment) pop with a new and really quite remarkable immediacy. Over and over again selected scenes have a largely monochromatic look to the bulk of the frame, with just a discrete element within the frame providing some real hue, and in the 4K UHD version those differences are much more manifest and almost provocative looking. There are still some deficits with shadow detail in the many dark scenes, though some new elements peek through at times. Other brief moments, like the pixellated flashback that takes place early in the film with David gazing at Shaw in her cryogenic tube have a slightly more digital look now. Close-ups on faces offer a considerable uptick in detail on elements like pores or (in some instances) wounds.

Prometheus 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While this 4K UHD disc ports over the same excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track Casey assessed in his Prometheus 3D Blu-ray review, as Fox tends to do with these 4K UHD re-releases, the audio and subtitle specs on the 4K UHD disc don't necessarily mimic those of the 1080p Blu-ray disc. The specs on this review refer only to the 4K UHD disc. Look at Casey's review, and specifically some his additional information contained in the audio portion, since Fox in all their wisdom (?) also provided different specs for the 2D and 3D versions of the film on Blu-ray.

Prometheus 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K UHD disc ports over the two commentary tracks Casey describes in his Prometheus 3D Blu-ray review. The Blu-ray included in this package is the 2D disc, and so all of the supplements listed by Casey in his review for the 2D disc are of course included on that disc in this package as well. There is no 3D Blu-ray disc or bonus disc included in this package.

Prometheus 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Prometheus and Alien: Covenant can be such a mind boggling duo that it may not make much difference what order you choose to watch them in. Revisiting Prometheus after having watched the ostensible "explanations" of Alien: Covenant was an instructive if not revelatory experience for me, and the film looks spectacular in 4K UHD. Whatever one thinks of Ridley Scott's narrative excesses (and/or deficiencies), he is regularly one of the most awe inspiring visionaries working in film currently, and there is probably no better example of his visual virtuosity than Prometheus. That visual acuity is given a really excellent presentation on this 4K UHD disc. Some persnickety audiophiles may complain about the lack of a new Dolby Atmos or DTS:X track to similarly upgrade the audio element, but the fact is the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track is itself an onslaught of expertly designed and delivered surround activity. Recommended.