Prometheus

This needed a second viewing, just to see if not being awestruck was my fault. Sir Ridley Scott's unintended (but obviously linked) prequel to his 1979 classic, 'Alien' is a hugely ambitious film; but is, in a word, meretricious.

The story is profoundly compelling, and is an example of why sci-fi can be the most noble of all genres. It's not afraid to ask the big questions – Where do we come from? What is our purpose? What happens when we die? – but cowers into the nearest black hole when it comes to answering them (or at least the last two of those). No film I have seen has handled analogous material better than Kubrick's '2001', and 'Prometheus' could have ensured similar stardom if it chose epiphany over escapist entertainment.

The year is 2093. Discovery of a recurring ancient cave painting has prompted a space expedition. A vessel called Prometheus carries a crew of 17 to a destination where it is believed the answers to human origin lie. Interweaving an alien story with the central plot is a major strength, a double-whammy concept. But the delivery is all devilry; pure Hollywood compromise.

Despite the voluptuous visuals, stunning production design and preference of manual over computer effects (including a memorable alien abortion sequence), what ruined it for me was the handling of this precious material. Perhaps it was inevitable. Between them, the two writers (Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof) have a limited repertoire which has space for the execrable 'Cowboys and Aliens' and equally distasteful 'The Darkest Hour'.

Discoveries are anti-climactic. When the crew discover something of importance, i.e. everything, they are remarkably insouciant. The effect on me was a mutual disinterest. All the elements for suspense are here: dark passages, inexplicable noises, prolonged moments of inactivity; yet there is a lack of the kind of suspense which gave Scott's 1979 film its reputation.

One saving grace is Michael Fassbender's David, the onboard android. He gives everyone an acting lesson; one that ship captain, Janek (Idris Elba) doesn't heed, choosing instead to remain impassive throughout. Guy Pearce (in heavy make-up) cameos as the CEO of the company funding the venture. He has only a few days of life left and presumes they will find a merciful rather than noxious God, and further presumes that he will be able to barter for an extension.

Other principal players are Doctors Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), and expedition manager, Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), who raises her voice to remind everyone who's boss (an interesting discussion point, evoking Scott's 'Blade Runner', is whether she's another android).

Once Darwinism has been negated, the crew, particularly Shaw, desperately seek other answers. This is where I felt cheated. Yes, speculation is often more enticing than revelation, but this film is fuelled by its revelations. We're not given the answers, ostensibly to add mystery. But I feel that the script writers had no more to offer. David asks Shaw why she so badly wants to know more. Her response is risible: 'Maybe it's because I'm human and you're a robot'.

The conclusion is impetuous and insipid. It is not too distant in tone and style than – I'm serious – 'Armageddon'. The best bit of the film probably won't even be talked about. It's established that Prometheus has actually landed on an installation, where aliens were being manufactured by our 'Engineers' (Gods) to create WMD. Their intention was to use these weapons to destroy Earth, but the aliens escaped captivity and massacred them. What a concept! If you were going to compromise, which this film does, why not show that story? Maybe they will in another prequel.

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Prometheus is one of the most underrated and misunderstood science fiction movies in recent memory. Do NOT view this as a prequel to Alien. It is part of the same universe, but while the first 4 are action/horror films, Prometheus is a sci-fi adventure that explores the origins of mankind. This concept is something I've always wanted to see put to screen, and Prometheus delivers so well that I'm enthralled by it no matter how many times I watch it. The cinematography and score are Oscar worthy, and the direction and visuals are near perfect. I believe Prometheus would be much higher rated if more people went into it with an open mind. The first Alien did have mixed reviews upon initial release, and now it is an all time classic. I really think that one day Prometheus will have the same status, and I hope the sequels are more appreciated.

Don't get me wrong. It's gorgeous to look at, and I'm definitely going to go and see it again. It's really impressive.

But... It's stuffed with scenes without any payoff. Again and again it sets stuff up and then just... walks away from it.

In at least one unforgivably stupid scene, someone *literally* just walks away from an antagonist and leaves it there. And then doesn't tell anyone about it. Some of it's really effective. There are some scenes that are absolutely gripping. But so much of it doesn't make any sense...

Having said all that I think it's very clear that what I just saw was Prometheus part 1. It's very definitely supposed to have a sequel and I will certainly go to see the sequel. I think both movies taken together might score a 10.

But this movie by itself doesn't.

I just rewatched Prometheus after watching previously the four Alien movies and I enjoyed more than the first time. The reason is because the extended version of 2 hours 31 minutes it's far better that the theatrical cut. More answers are shown and overall the movie script is better. So, if you want to give it a second chance to this, go for it. You won't regret.

It is hard to say too much about Prometheus without spoiling it. First of all, those expecting to see the original Aliens are not seeing this movie for all the right reasons. Yes, it is part of the Alien universe and set before the first movie, but it doesn't feature those Aliens and instead tells a brand new story of merging the two worlds together.

With Ridley Scott back to directing, Prometheus used the similar setup of making researchers explore an alien world, only this time there is a longer setup and more suspense driven to events unfolding. The ship in this movie is very reminiscent of the one in Alien, although it is different in design and has some new interesting gadgets and pieces of technology we haven't seen before. There's no denying that there are things people will pick up relating to Alien, and I'm really glad they didn't tone down the violence for 12/PG-13 rated audiences. Either way, you can watch Prometheus first before the other Alien movies.

On the acting side of things, I found Michael Fassbender's Android character David to be the standout for the movie. I also liked the protagonist Noomi Rapace and the supporting cast of Logan Marshall-Green, Charlize Theron, and Idris Elba. All strong performances, but perhaps if there's only one small complaint I could think of, is that maybe the supporting characters didn't get enough development time. Thankfully, Scott and the team keep the movie going at a very good pace with emotional depth at the right moments.

Overall, Prometheus on first viewing was what I expected, a movie using it's original base movie Alien as a structure to produce a new story with new characters/lifeforms to lead up to other Alien story lines. It is highly likely the references will become more obvious in sequels to this, but Prometheus manages to bring a story that works as a standalone but also a prequel at the same time, which is good for all viewing audiences, and I think Scott was trying to bring the grisly/dark atmosphere movies of Alien without being too in your face, which I thought was the right direction for this movie.