Prometheus - Movie Review

Ridley Scott returned to science fiction with conviction in 2012, with the film Prometheus. Very few people would have the audacity to take on the Aliens franchise without apprehension. When a film becomes one of the defining works of science fiction, attempts to add to that work can easily fall short. With Blade Runner, Scott was already a pioneer in the genre of science fiction before Aliens ever haunted our nightmares. He is among the few people who could do this right. In my opinion, mission accomplished. Although plenty of science fiction fans disagree with me on that.

The following contains minor spoilers:

Prometheus is a prequel of sorts. Before we had Aliens, it appears we had Titans. The Greek mythology appears to be more literal than we have given it credit for. Our DNA is an interstellar strand that ties back to the Titans of mythology. Prometheus was said to have angered Zeus with his creation and empowerment of man. He was sentenced to eternal torture for his deeds. This theme is woven into the science fiction of Aliens as a precursor to a bastardized strain of our DNA. In a Darth Vader twist, it appears we are all related.

When scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and her significant other, Chance (Emun Elliott) unearth cave paintings in an ancient Scottish cave, their research into extraterrestrial intervention is confirmed. The pair hire on with Weyland Corporation to travel into a distant constellation several light years distant to gather information on alien beings. Their trip is monitored by an android, David (Michael Fassbender), who consumes a variety of data on the lengthy journey as he cares for the ship in-transit. The mission is managed by an uptight Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) who micromanages every aspect of the mission. The team intends to trace their roots back to a far corner of the universe where they discover far more than they bargained for.

End Spoiler Alert.

Prometheus serves as a prequel to the Aliens franchise, although not completely tethered to that series. It is a carefully constructed plot that creates a backstory to the ground-breaking series while charting new ground. While the story does not tie everything together into a neat package, it places the building blocks in place for an interesting series of prequels. Writers Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof give Ridley Scott a solid platform from which to build his story. The writers introduce a new set of characters that are interesting, although a few are a bit two-dimensional. While I enjoyed Theron as Vickers, her character was too easy to read. I felt a bit more depth to her character would have benefited the plot. I was also somewhat disappointed that Chance was a throw away character. He could have added more to the film. The plot itself is convoluted, but in a good, science-fiction sort of way. The concept borders enough on believability that I could allow myself to be absorbed by the action. Setting the film in 2089 gives the film enough distance into the future to make the leap in technology believable. I have read some complaints that the story does not maintain a pure connection to Aliens, but I was satisfied with the finished product.

Prometheus is clearly set apart from other space films with the art design. Arthur Max led the design team that, along with Scott, created a cold interpretation of space that you could feel from the audience. The dark often colorless landscapes conveyed a feeling of nearly barren rock only slightly displaced by a foreign life form. The visual aspects of Prometheus are Oscar worthy. The special effects in this film were nominated for several awards, winning the Oscar. The artwork was supported with a musical score that created the same epic feel. Scott worked with long-time collaborator Marc Streitenfeld on the music. The music included an interesting concept, where Steitenfeld had the orchestra play the music backwards and then digitally reversed it.

Aliens launched Sigourney Weaver’s career. Prometheus employs a host of Academy regulars. Charlize Theron is at her witchiest, playing the cold calculating character she does best. Michael Fassbender watched plenty of films to create his own composite interpretation of an android. He does an interesting job with the role, conveying his character visually in one of the first scenes. Rapace stunned me with her performance in Dragon Tattoo. She has been excellent in everything I have seen her in. She is rock solid in this film, as usual. She is a hard-body, too. Guy Pearce has almost a cameo appearance as the owner of Weylend. His make-up was a bit distracting and seemed overdone, but his performance was excellent. An all-star cast set this film on a solid course for commercial success, netting over 400 million dollars.

Prometheus earned an R Rating from the MPAA. The film has some intense fighting scenes and a very disturbing surgery scene that leaves very little to the imagination. That scene made my own stomach a bit queasy. The rating is a combination of language, imagery and violence, with the latter being the primary reason for the rating. The violence was contextual making the R Rating seem a bit harsh. The material is definitely the stuff nightmares are made of, so use your judgment. The film should be fine for teen audiences or older.

I was pleasantly surprised with Prometheus. The film didn’t try to hard to be Aliens, opting to chart its own course through the constellations. As science fiction, it is a stand-alone film with a definite nod to the Aliens franchise. The film provides an interesting perspective on the background of Aliens while introducing a new, interesting set of characters brought to life by an incredible cast. Scott does an excellent job of giving the film an epic feel through incredible special effects, a great music score and awesome set designs. I was a little disappointed with some aspects of the character development and found the make-up used to age Pearce to be strangely distracting, but overall, the film created its own niche within the genre. 7.5/10.