This film is bigger on ideas that it is action. It forces the audience to contemplate things more than the characters on-screen do. (In fact, this film may have some of the stupidest "advanced" scientists in movie history.)

On its surface, PROMETHEUS is your basic, slow-burn survival horror flick. It doesn't have the ingenuity or freshness of ALIEN, though it does contain 2 or 3 great "scares." But the opening scene and the fact that the general storyline is similar to the great HP Lovecraft's "At The Mountains of Madness" give the film a larger than expected shelf-life. It's interesting to think about well after the film has ended. (While the threadbare ties to the ALIEN franchise feel tacked on, even they are open-ended enough to make you go "hmmm." And I'm definitely re-watching ALIEN tonight, so the ties actually WERE pretty effective.)

The 3D works because the film feels so larger than life already and the extra visual depth is a nice touch. But, I don't think it's necessary to see in 3D.

Don't go in expecting as revolutionary a film as BLADE RUNNER or ALIEN, and definitely don't go expecting a thrill-a-minute horror flick. This is a more cerebral, psychological horror film, but it leaves the audience to fill in the blanks if they want to. If you don't want to think about this movie and just want a popcorn thriller, stay away from this one. You'll be sorely disappointed.

I actually recommend watching some of the viral videos (especially the one with Pearce as a young Weyland)