PROMETHEUS: WHO MADE WHO?

PROMETHEUS REVIEW

Ever since 1982’s Blade Runner, Sir Ridley Scott has kept his distance from science fiction motion pictures, content to apply his masterful gifts to other projects.  As if in an answer to the prayers of many genre enthusiasts, Sir Ridley has returned to both the director and producer’s chair to helm Prometheus, a definite but loosely connected prequel to his 1979 classic Alien.  The film has opened to mixed reviews, the majority of which have been positive.  The few reviews that have been negative have had one thing in common—a preconceived notion that Prometheus would carry the same plot DNA and feel as Alien.  It does not.  These two films are diametrically opposed to one another.  Alien was a claustrophobic, deep space nightmare that introduced one of the most frightening monsters in cinematic history.  Prometheus, on the other hand, is a gruesome yet philosophical adventure that offers up clues to the mysteries that underscored the first film without outright answering them.   The viewer must be savvy enough to piece the puzzle together for themselves.  Of course the film also offers up a whole new set of questions that look to be answered in the next installment of Prometheus. 

Warning—Spoilers to follow:

As far as positives are concerned, the film itself is a visual spectacle.  If you want eye candy, this is the film for you.  From the intricate design of the Prometheus space craft to the powerful beauty and menacing stature of the Engineers, there is no visual aspect of this film that is not perfected.  Additionally, the use of 3D is nearly flawless.  Unlike other films that use this cinematic technique, Prometheus is smooth throughout, even in violent action sequences that usually fall victim to the shudder effect (the image falls apart and is hard to focus on).  After a short while, you forget you’re wearing the dorky yellow glasses and become totally immersed in the film.  It’s especially impressive when watching it after the 3D previews for the new Amazing Spiderman, which is not only choppy, but the rendering of the effect is tantamount to a child’s pop-up book.  Not very impressive.  Prometheus is the best use of the new 3D technology to date, surpassing Tron: Legacy and Avatar.

While most of the characters in this film (there are upwards of seventeen crew members aboard the Prometheus as opposed to the seven crew members aboard the Nostromo in Alien) are shallow and otherwise fodder for grisly deaths, there are a few standout performances from the characters we are meant to care about.  The most impressive/memorable is Michael Fassbender’s portrayal of David, the Weyland predecessor to the Ash and Bishop android models.  We are given a few glimpses of David’s daily routine while the crew rests in cryostasis and are left to wonder for a short time if he is harboring deadly, secret programming or if he is more childlike in his curiosities and views, much like Data in Star Trek: TNG.  We quickly learn that he is a blend of the two.  He portrays the role to perfection.  Even when his choices lead to the demise of certain characters (who we don’t really like because they are gigantic a-holes), we are glad that he survives, albeit in pieces, to help the lone human crewmember continue her search for answers across the cosmos.

Lastly, the plot is ambitious.  It offers several complex themes that we are forced to grapple with over the course of the two-plus hours of footage.  Most of them are dealt with in their entirety.  A few are left open-ended with the hope that they will be resolved in the next installment.  This is where a few of the plot weaknesses appear.  The biggest weakness comes from the Engineers themselves.  There is some confusion as to why they were looking to return to Earth and destroy the very life forms they created.  Now did they have this plan when they met their own demise at the hands of the cargo they stored in the primordial ampules?  If so, why did the last Engineers go into cryostasis instead of launching the craft to finish their mission at that time?  Why did only one Engineer survive stasis?  And what the Hell was the convenient video replay system utilized by David to watch the Engineers operate the bridge of the horseshoe spacecraft?  Some of this will be answered later, I hope, but some just seemed like convenient planning to help cover up plot holes. 

Additionally, when the crew first opens up the ampule chamber where the giant head statue stands, they somehow “disturb” the atmosphere in the room, causing a massive windstorm and the ampules to bleed genetic-altering material.  Now I get how this might happen, but then why does the same thing not happen later on when David opens the sealed cargo bay of the spacecraft?  Those ampules remain unchanged by the unsealing of the chamber.   Seems like an oversight to me.

Generally, Prometheus is a strong film that held up its end of the bargain, for the most part.  Some of the film’s shortcomings are due to vital information being left on the cutting room floor in order to trim the film down to a more reasonable runtime and plot elements meant to be dealt with later on in the next film.  But one thing is for certain--Prometheus is powerful, engaging, and forces the audience to grapple with questions of both our origins and how far we might go to meet our makers.

Four out of Five stars. 

STARRING: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, and Guy Pearce

WRITTEN BY: Damon Lindelof and Jon Spaihts

DIRECTED BY: Ridley Scott

STUDIO: 20th Century Fox

RATING: R

RUN TIME: 124 minutes