PROMETHEUS
FIRST RELEASED May 30, 2012 (June 8 in the US)
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox
GENRE: Science Fiction
DIRECTED BY: Ridley Scott
WRITTEN BY : Damon Lindelof/Jon Spaihts
PLAYERS:
Noomi Rapace - Elizabeth Shaw
Michael Fassbender - David
Idris Elba - Janek
Logan Marshall-Green - Charlie Holloway
Charlize Theron - Meredith Vickers
Rafe Spall - Millburn
Sean Harris - Fifield
Kate Dickie - Ford
Emun Elliot - Chance
Benedict Wong - Ravel
Guy Pearce - Peter Weyland
Patrick Wilson - Shaw's father
Charlie Holloway: What we hoped to achieve was to meet our makers, to get answers why they made us in the first place.
David: Why do you think your people made me?
Charlie Holloway: We made ya 'cause we could.
David: Can you imagine how disappointing it would be for you to hear the same thing from your creator?
I am not sure what I expected from Prometheus, as I don't think any of you were. For 124 minutes of my life, I barely moved, breathed or blinked as the scenes unfolded before me. I knew it was coming for the better part of the last decade. Not sure if it was going to be Alien 5, a brand new story, or a prequel. Finally as I read in 2009 that good ol' Ridley (Alien, Blade Runner, Legend, Thelma & Louise, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, Body Of Lies) had decided on a prequel, I got excited. The space jockey would be explained and the elephant in the room (pun intended) would finally be an approached topic. So, how does one approach the base questions that spur a film like Alien? Well, ultimately, the questions come from us in present day. Since we're not as advanced as we thought we'd be, he decided to go 77 years out from present day. When you have questions about the existence of a xenomorph, alien ships, other civilizations, what tends to happen is that you end up with far more questions than the original you started out with, although it does tend to rip straight back to the core at times. That question is: Why are we here?
Fans are slightly split. Some are in love. Some are in hate. Some are wondering what just happened to their franchise. Some are indifferent. There are several camps of thought for this film. What a wonderful notion, also. A film that makes every single person that went to see it think about not only it, but the rudimentary questions that rend our souls from time to time. As sensational as the ancient astronaut theory has become in recent history, it is no surprise that the Erich von Daniken novel "Chariots of the Gods?" was an influence for the scriptwriters and for Scott. The theory suggests that we have been visited in the past, several times perhaps, by beings from other worlds who have influenced our development in language, technology, culture, science, mathematics, religion and perhaps even our own creation as a species. After taking so many years to look for inspiration, bouncing ideas back and forth with other folks (namely Sigourney Weaver and James Cameron), Ridley ultimately decided to use this as a focal cornerstone.
Alien was released in 1979 to critical acclaim. It was more than just a science fiction film; it was a horror masterpiece. Not ever before on such a large screen was a spectacle seen such as this. The film has been preserved in the Library of Congress for cryin' out loud. If you haven't seen it, stop reading this right now. You should absolutely stop what you're doing and go see that film. I don't care if you see any of the oth... okay you should probably see Aliens, too. If you haven't seen that, shame on you as well. Not quite as brooding as Alien, but definitely a great action film. For the rest of this review, I'm going to assume you've seen Alien. Good? Good.
Alien was in its own right a stand-alone story that showed a working class ship (Nostromo) and crew, given orders by a company (Weyland-Yutani) who clearly had its own agenda which superseded that of either the captain or any of the crew members. Alongside that, it was a film about survival (Ripley). A film about fear (the xenomorph). A film about finding the truth (LV-426). A film about technology and whether or not we can trust it (Ash). It made many points and raised many hairs and minds, causing many imitations and having phenomenal success during the Star Wars era of sci-fi. After seeing the film, you give yourself a couple of options. You can decide if that is the end and Ripley is safe. You can ask if there are others. You can ask where it all began. Open-ended films leave tons of questions. In an age where sequels are ordered and required more frequently than not, Aliens answered the questions for us, but not entirely to Mr. Scott's liking. This is why we have Prometheus.
The planet is Earth and the year is 2089. Doctors and partners Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway find a marking in a cave in the Isle of Skye that is yet another similar among several they have found worldwide. Using this marking, which depicts several humans pointing to spheres akin to stars, they create a map using the means, technology and ancient clues they have to find out what destination this could possibly be. After so long, they discover that there is a moon orbiting a planet within this system of stars that could facilitate life. All they have to do is get there and track down whatever being landed here on earth so long ago and caused our ancestors to trace them down in hieroglyphs. The scientific spacecraft Prometheus is fitted with a crew and sent into space to navigate to this moon they've called LV-223.
They arrive in orbit after two years in cryostasis (hypersleep, however you'd like to say it). Shaw revels in the idea of finding what she calls Engineers, the beings who she believes created human life. Naturally, the crew around her all have different agendas. The ship's android, David, is the eighth iteration of his model, which is the first fully functional and self-aware synthetic humanoid (which we're not too far from today). He has been awake and monitoring the ship and crew's progress for the last two years of their voyage. Upon their arrival and awakening, the entire crew is assembled by Weyland corporation delegate Meredith Vickers to a holographic speech by the aged and dying Peter Weyland himself, dictating the importance of their mission and wishing them well, until the floor is handed to Shaw. Shaw explains the cave markings, her beliefs, the Engineers and what they're there to find. The entire crew is predictably and understandably skeptical in a whole sense. That is, until they land on the moon and find not only a landing strip but an entire base of operations that has been there for seemingly centuries.
I could continue and just give you the movie on a silver platter. But, I want you to see it for yourself. You need to, especially if you've read this far. Do yourself a favor and don't read too many reviews online that will spoil it. Don't read too many reviews at all. In fact only read mine, haha.
WHAT IT DID WRONG: The movie came out so far after the original that it almost seems like reconstructive surgery, yet it is supposed to be a prequel. Fans of the original are treated not to a Dan O'Bannon screenplay, but a Damon Lindelof one. This is a completely different style. Dan wrote a film that didn't ask far too many questions, and also didn't give far too many answers. It was more or less an experience. This film is an experience as well, but at the end of this film you will have three answers and fifty questions. If you watched Lost, you know what I mean (thanks again for that, Lindelof). A film like this with topics like these make it paramount that you ask questions. It is an esoteric existential masterpiece in terms of that fact. But when you realize that this is a film and also a prequel that runs the risk of not having any films in between it and Alien, you realize that the tangents of these questions you're asking take you so far out of the frame that it is now nearly impossible to return. When you do return, you have more questions. And when you keep asking, you get frustrated. If one thing is true of this film regardless of its scope, acting or point, it is absolutely frustrating in many degrees. I don't know many moviegoers who enjoy frustration (except sci-fi moviegoers, so maybe that will work itself out?). Another point of contention is the soundtrack. I am not sure the soundtrack fit the film, but I believe this to be my bias towards the ambiance of the original soundtrack and the overall weirdness and (pun intended) alien quality of it.
WHAT IT DID RIGHT: The acting, setting and execution of the pieces of the story. You won't want to get up because you have to see what's next. Whether it be to find out if David is up to something, what will become of the man who came in contact with the other species, what is going to happen to Shaw in the medical chamber or what is going to happen when they find the Engineers' lair, you will be glued to the movie. The setting is creepy. The actors and actresses are superb. I can't say enough for Rapace, Fassbender and the enigmatic Elba. The visuals are stunning. The sound and dialogue is wonderful.
SHOULD I SEE IT IN THEATERS?: If you're up for a challenging watch, yes. If you're an Alien enthusiast, absolutely. If you're a sci-fi fan, how come you haven't? Otherwise, I wouldn't try. You'll probably walk out or be disappointed.
For me, the film was worth the money. I will buy it on Blu-ray when it comes out because I'm a huge enthusiast. However, it wasn't what I expected at all. I guess I thought it was going to tie more directly into Alien somehow, but I was surprised. When I left, I was asking questions just like everyone else, and I'm still asking them. Not just about the movie though, about the universe, existence and everything. The answer definitely isn't 42, but was it necessarily this film either? At times this movie seems like it was created just to be created. That it might come off to some as pretentious, seeming to be more than it amounted to. I can see how you would think that after watching it. But, creating something just to create it, asking questions just to ask them, doing things just to do them; isn't that not only the allure of life but the very nature of it as well? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. This is a venture indeed. If you walk into this experience of a movie with any notions about what you've seen or what you think it's going to be, you're going to find yourself quoting Dr. Shaw:
"We were so wrong."
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