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Rated
R (Sci-Fi Violence including some Intense Images, and Brief Language)
Running
Time: 2 Hours & 4 Minutes
Cast-
Noomi
Rapace-Dr. Elizabeth Shaw
Logan
Marshall-Green-Dr. Charlie Holloway
Charlize
Theron-Meredith Vickers
Michael
Fassbender-David
Idris
Elba-Captain Janek
Guy
Pearce-Peter Weyland
Kate
Dickie-Dr. Ford
Rafe
Spall-Millburn
Sean
Harris-Fifield
Benedict
Wong-Ravel
Emun
Elliott-Chance
Patrick
Wilson-Shaw's Father
Ian
Whyte-The Engineer
Directed
by Ridley Scott
 |
| Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), and David (Michael Fassbender) explore humanity's origins in Ridley Scott's "Prometheus." |
Note: This review may contain some unintentional spoilers.
‘You
still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? A perfect organism.
Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility. I admire its
purity. A survivor...unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of
morality.’ Thirty-three years ago in 1979, director Ridley Scott unleashed one
of the most memorable and terrifying menaces we hope to never encounter in
space with his science fiction/horror masterpiece “Alien.” Although the film was
initially met with a mixed reception from critics, it went on to achieve
lasting critical acclaim and rocketed then-unknown actress Sigourney Weaver to
superstardom. Roger Ebert stated in his review that ‘one of the great strengths
of [the film] is its pacing. It takes its time. It waits. It allows silences. It
suggests the enormity of the crew's discovery by building up to it with small
steps.’ Seven years later in 1986, the sequel “Aliens” was released with James
Cameron at the helm. In contrast to Scott’s focus on a slow-burn atmosphere
seeped in suspense and dread, Cameron opted for all-out action instead.
“Aliens” holds the rare distinction of being more critically acclaimed than its
predecessor, with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately, the franchise began
to lose its way by the third installment and constant interference from 20th
Century Fox led to David Fincher outright disowning “Alien 3,” which was
released in 1992. I honestly found it to be an underrated film and the
‘Assembly Cut’ alleviates many of the problems that plagued the theatrical
version, which was edited without the participation of Fincher. 1997’s “Alien
Resurrection” proved to be the death knell of the franchise and the iconic
Xenomorphs would lie dormant until 2004’s “Alien vs. Predator” and 2007’s “Aliens
vs. Predator Requiem,” which did little except damage the brand even further.
Development of a fifth “Alien” film stretched as far back as 2002 with Scott expressing
interest to return to the franchise he created in order to explore the origins
of the Xenomorphs and the mysterious ‘Space Jockey,’ a deceased
extraterrestrial being who briefly appears in the original film as the pilot of
a derelict spaceship. Announced as an untitled prequel to “Alien” in 2009, Scott
initially had no interest to direct and hand-picked Carl Erik Rinsch, whose
work was primarily in commercials, to helm the film while he would serve as
producer instead. The project stalled as 20th Century Fox was adamant that
Scott direct and he finally relented after a few months of hand-wrangling. The
initial script from Jon Spaihts was more-or-less a straight prequel but once
Damon Lindelof was hired to perform rewrites, it ‘evolved [into] a new, grand
mythology and universe in which this original story takes place.’ “Prometheus” finally arrives into theaters after such
an agonizing wait and while its expanded scope leads to a somewhat clumsy
narrative and marginalized characters, the film remains a fine return to form
for Ridley Scott thanks to its haunting visuals, philosophical musings, and
compelling performances—especially from Michael Fassbender as the mysterious
android David.
In the distant past, a pale humanoid alien consumes a strange
compound that causes its body to disintegrate, seeding the planet with its DNA
while a spaceship hovers above. Fast forward to the year 2089, an archeologist
couple, Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan
Marshall-Green), discover a 35,000 year old cave painting of a star map on the
Isle of Skye, Scotland. This star map was also found among several unconnected
ancient cultures, leading to Shaw to theorize that it as an invitation from an extraterrestrial
race she dubs ‘Engineers,’ the forerunners of humanity. Using the star maps as
a guide, Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce), the elderly founder of Weyland
Corporation, funds a scientific expedition to the distant moon LV-223. The
starship Prometheus, with a crew of
seventeen led by Captain Janek (Idris Elba), arrives at the moon in 2093 to
search for any signs of the Engineers but mission director Meredith Vickers
(Charlize Theron) explains to Shaw and Holloway to not initiate any contact if
they are found. Accompanying the crew is an android named David (Michael Fassbender)
who attends to the ship’s day-to-day activities. Prometheus lands near a dome-like structure and a team that
includes Shaw, Holloway, and David is sent out to explore it with the aid of
small drones to map out the interior. Inside is a mausoleum filled with strange
murals, several stone containers, and a monolithic statue of a humanoid head.
The team also finds the decapitated body of an Engineer and retrieves its head
to bring back to the ship. As the crew further investigates, it soon becomes
clear that the intentions of the Engineers were far from benign and that their
discovery not only has deadly repercussions for Earth, but for all of humanity
as well.
There has been much confusion about whether “Prometheus” is a prequel
to “Alien” and while there are several references to Ridley Scott’s own 1979
classic, it is largely a stand-alone affair. Scott took a minimalist approach
to the story in “Alien” and focused on building suspense in what was
essentially a battle of survival between a starship’s small crew and a
parasitic life-form that only lived to further propagate its own species to
destructive effect. While some of those elements have been retained,
“Prometheus” aims bigger to avoid being a simple retread and functions as
Scott’s own version of “2001: A Space Odyssey.” In fact, both films begin with
effectively the same shot and explore similar existential concepts on creation,
evolution, and humanity’s place in the universe. There’s even a scene where
David goes about his routine (riding a bike and playing basketball) while the
crew of the Prometheus are in
hyper-sleep, a homage to Frank Poole enjoying a jog on Discovery One. “Prometheus” functions as a tale of children
(humanity) meeting face-to-face with their maker (the Engineers) and the antagonistic
relationship they share but the question is why.
In Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus stole and gave humanity the gift of
fire but was subsequently punished by Zeus, who bound the Titan to a rock and
had an eagle consume his liver every day. Representing the unintended
consequences of exceeding one’s grasp, the Engineers’ hatred of humanity may
stem from a fear of their ‘children’ surpassing them one day. It is also
interesting to note the parallels between the crew’s cavalier attitude toward
David and the Engineers’ anger at humanity. Of course all this is speculation
but while the film’s philosophical musings are welcome, very few concrete
answers are provided and this will prove to be the most frustrating aspect for
casual audiences who were expecting a straight-forward science fiction film. In
trying to explore as many themes and ideas as possible, the narrative in
“Prometheus” ends up being somewhat jumbled with character development being
marginalized. Yet as flawed as the script may be, I admire the fact that Scott
and his writers took a chance rather than play it safe, something that is
sorely lacking in Hollywood right now. These issues fall by the wayside once
you begin to take in the film’s haunting visuals, with one of the highlights
being the holographic star map that David finds deep within the bowels of the
Engineer’s ship. Scott’s use of digital effects serve as a reminder of the
difference a talented director can make compared to a hack like Michael Bay,
who bombards the viewer with an incoherent mess of CG. The cinematography from
Dariusz Wolski combined with the impeccable production design of Arthur Max
creates this incredibly textured world that offer hints of the horror that lies
underneath the ruins of LV-223.
Scott hasn’t forgotten about the horror aspects
that made “Alien” a classic and there are several scenes that will leave you gripping
your seat, including a gruesome surgery performed on Shaw that gives new
meaning to Caesarean section. Many of the classic creatures in “Alien” have
been reverse-engineered for “Prometheus” but they retain the fetishistic sexual
imagery found in the work of Swiss surrealist painter H.R. Giger, who designed
the murals glimpsed in the beginning of the film. As for whether an actual
Xenomorph appears in the film, the answer is no but something does appear at the end that left my jaw hanging. The
score from Marc Streitenfeld isn’t as memorable compared to Jerry Goldsmith’s
but it helped enhance the foreboding atmosphere of the film, especially during
the more suspenseful scenes. I was initially very skeptical of the 3D despite
“Prometheus” being shot with Red Epic 3D cameras as much of the film takes
place in dark environments with minimal lighting. Fortunately, Scott
compensates for the dimming effect that comes with wearing 3D glasses as the
film retains a stunningly bright clarity yet it never feels artificial as the
darkness actually feels dark. The
amount of depth that fills every scene is amazing and really makes the sets
come alive despite the fact that this is the first time Scott has used 3D. He
doesn’t engage in any gimmicks by having objects ‘pop out’ but this subtle use
of 3D is perfectly balanced: it immerses the viewer but does not distract them.
The performances are believable and Noomi Rapace (the original girl with the dragon tattoo) makes for a fine heroine.
She’s no Ellen Ripley but she instills Elizabeth Shaw with indomitable survival
instinct that comes in handy during the second half of the film. Most of the
characters aren’t developed beyond their basic personality traits such as
Charlize Theron’s icy turn as corporate lackey Meredith Vickers or Idris Elba’s
world-weary Captain Janek. Scott also throws in a few bickering crew members
with Rafe Spall’s Millburn and Sean Harris’s Fifield, a nice nod to Brett and
Parker in the original “Alien.” The standout is Michael Fassbender, an actor who
continuously delivers one excellent performance after another, whatever the
genre may be. On the outside, Fassbender’s David feels stiff but there are a
lot of emotions underneath. There’s both a vulnerable and a treacherous side to
his character, one who wants to help his human creators but also prove to them
that he is superior. I know his fans were disappointed that he was snubbed for
an Academy Award nomination but you know what, Fassbender does not need some
statue to validate his talent as long as he keeps delivering performances like
these.
“Prometheus” was released on June 8, 2012 to positive reviews with 74%
on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics found that ‘Ridley Scott's ambitious quasi-prequel
to Alien may not answer all of its
big questions, but it's redeemed by its haunting visual grandeur and compelling
performances—particularly Michael Fassbender as a fastidious android.’ I saw
“Prometheus” at an advanced screening (strangely sponsored by Coors Light Beer)
and most of the audience was absorbed with the film, although there were some
hecklers who couldn’t keep their mouths closed. Some of the reactions I’ve been
reading have been mixed and opinions are largely divided. To inspire such
fervent discussion is both the film’s main strength and weakness; it keeps it
in the public consciousness longer but will frustrate many, and some will
likely just throw up their arms and give up. While “Prometheus” can be too ambiguous, I enjoy films that make
you think about what you’ve seen and what type of meaning the director is
striving for. Keep in mind that the original “Alien” was not well-received upon
release as well. As for the box office, I have feeling that it’s going to
settle for second place given the R-rating but it is tracking for a debut of at
least $50 million and has already earned $46 million internationally.
“Prometheus” has its flaws but the film remains thought-provoking and visually
striking, serving as a reminder that in the vast coldness of space, no one can
hear you scream.
Final
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
“Big
things have small beginnings.”
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