Tyler Perry, sci-fi fan & film critic: “I was very disappointed with ‘Prometheus'”
You guys know that I’m kind of a fan of Tyler Perry. I don’t think I’ve ever watched one of Tyler’s films from start to finish, but I’m a fan because I’m pro-Southern-artists, and because I like Tyler’s personal story (that of a man with little education or formal training becoming one of the most successful writer/director/actors currently working today). I like that he consistently hires actors of color, and I like that he writes meaty parts for women. So, I’m more likely to defend Tyler about anything, really, even if I didn’t agree with him in the first place. Of course, it helps when I already agree with him. A few weeks ago, I gave my half-hearted review of Prometheus, the “prequel-ish” offering by director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Damon Lindelof. I went into the film wanting to love it, and I came out of it extremely disappointed by the ineffective and meandering storytelling. My opinion: Lindelof really f—ked with the Alien franchise, and it was not good. At all. Tyler Perry agrees with me! In a new interview, Perry was asked about the kinds of movies he loves, and he name-checks the scifi genre in general, and the Alien franchise in particular. But he didn’t care for Prometheus:
What kind of movies did you used to watch growing up and how did they influence you?
TP: The first movie I ever saw was The Wiz and I danced all the way home. I was 5 or 6 years old and I danced all the way home from The Gallo Theatre down in New Orleans to my house. But when it comes to movies, I never really saw them in the theater. We didn’t have that kind of money so we would always have to wait for them to come on television. I love Sci Fi, I love the Alien movies and the Alien franchise. I was very disappointed with Prometheus, but I love that whole franchise. Those are my favorite movies. I’m actually working on a sci-fi movie right now.
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Can you tell us a little bit about that?
TP: No but I’m writing a sci-fi movie that I’m really excited about. But I don’t have any one movie that made me say ‘Ooh this is it’ but The Wiz was my first film experience.
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[From Blackfilm.com]
You know what I like? I like that Tyler just kept it to a one-word review of the film and didn’t pontificate on all the ways in which Prometheus sucked. It WAS “disappointing”. Now, is it disrespectful of Tyler to criticize Ridley Scott’s movie, especially considering that it’s not like Tyler’s films are critically acclaimed? Eh. I think Tyler kept his criticism so brief, and everyone’s entitled to their opinion. He didn’t like Prometheus. Neither did I. It happens. As for Tyler writing a sci-fi… er… I don’t know. Maybe it won’t be what we’re expecting?
Meanwhile, did you see that Tyler is doing a non-Madea, non-comedy drama? And not just any drama – an adaptation of one of James Patterson’s Alex Cross books. The movie is called, obviously, Alex Cross. Tyler plays Alex Cross. He’s hunting Matthew Fox’s psycho killer. Is it just me, or is Tyler incapable of doing a film without doing something funky with his voice? I swear, Tyler is doing Christian Bale-as-Batman with his voice here.
How does it look? I get the feeling my mom will want to see this (she likes Patterson’s books, and she likes Tyler Perry). There are worse things, I guess.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
