Review: Prometheus
Prometheus
Starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, and Logan Marshall-Green
Directed by Ridley Scott
There is the potential for a great movie hidden deep within Ridley Scott’s newest film Prometheus, but just like the characters in this (sort-of) prequel to Scott’s 1979 sci-fi classic Alien, what the audience finds within the film is not exactly what they were looking for. Scott and his screenwriters, Jon Spaihts and Damon (Lost) Lindelof, have crafted a story that hoped to expand upon the universe of the Alien franchise, and while their ambition is admirable, the final product does not entirely work as a prequel or as its own story. The movie ultimately fails because it tries to be too many things at the same time, which results in an ultimately unsatisfying film experience.
Prometheus follows a small crew of a research vessel of the same name headed to a seemingly deserted planet to conduct research on an alien life form that they feel has some connection to the origins of human life on Earth. The expedition is led by Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Dr. Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) and financed by the wealthy industrialist Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce, in some awfully unconvincing old-man makeup), all of whom hope that what they discover on this planet will answer the ages-old question of where the human race actually came from. Every other human on the ship, including the liason from Weyland’s company (Charlize Theron), do not share Shaw and Holloway’s enthusiasm about what they will find on this trip. The crew is aided in their quest by an android named David (Michael Fassbender), who seems overtly curious about the ways of humanity. The crew’s first major discovery on the planet is the dead body of an alien creature who has the same features and DNA as the human race, while David makes a different and more grotesque discovery that inspires him to conduct an experiment of his own that results in great danger for everyone.
The overall plot of Prometheus is similar in many ways to the original Alien in that it tells the story of a small group of humans who are quickly overrun by an extraterrestrial force of some kind, and it’s that very comparison that leads to its ultimate weakness as a film. At its core, Alien was a straightforward horror film with science-fiction elements, while Prometheus quickly establishes itself as something deeper at first before it ultimately devolves into a straight-ahead thriller in its second half. It’s as if Lindelof and Spaihts wanted to write something along the lines of 2001: A Space Odyssey or, more recently, Moon, but then gave up halfway through the script and decided to turn it into a creature feature. The connection to the original Alien is more aesthetic than thematic for most of the film…that is, until the very final shot, which to me felt shoehorned in by the studio in order to drive home the connection to that earlier film and its sequels.
One of the aspects of the original Alien that made it such a special film was in how it made us care for the majority of the characters, even though it didn’t spend much time developing them. The crew of the Nostromo had an infectious sense of camaraderie that made their situation all the more dire because we were emotionally invested in them. The crew of the Prometheus, however, all seem to have nothing but disdain for one another, so their deaths don’t seem to affect us in any way other than to see the cool special effects on display. The only characters we really feel anything for are Dr. Shaw and, to a lesser extent, the ship’s captain Jariek (Idris Elba), whose easygoing demeanor provides some much needed comic relief and contrasts greatly with everyone else on the ship, all of whom seem to have a stick up their ass. Theron’s company liason is portrayed as nothing more than a cold bitch for the majority of the film, which makes the big reveal about her character late in the film all but inconsequential because we simply don’t care about her. Ironically, the most interesting character in the film is Fassbender’s David, because he is the most active character. Nearly everything that happens in Prometheus stems from his actions, while everyone else reacts to the horrifying results of these actions.
This lack of emotional investment in the characters wouldn’t be as much of a detriment to the film if the plot was interesting enough to distract us, but sadly we’re left with a lot of questions within Prometheus that are never really fully answered. This is no doubt the result of Lindelof’s involvement in the script, but while that method of storytelling worked beautifully for the most part during six seasons of Lost, it doesn’t work very well within the confines of a two-hour movie. At some point, the audience is going to get tired of waiting for answers that become more elusive and will mentally check out, which I eventually did with Prometheus.
There is a lot to admire about Prometheus from a visual standpoint. The sets and props are all gorgeous to look at, and the creature effects are effectively creepy, if not a little too obviously CGI at times. There are a handful of tense moments within the film, including one particular scene near the middle involving Rapace and a certain piece of medical equipment, that are wonderfully thrilling. Overall, though, the plot reminded me of the midichlorians in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in that it answered a question about a well-known movie franchise that no one asked. The ending of Prometheus is frustratingly open-ended and is obviously meant to be explored further in a sequel, which made me think of it as more of an extended prologue than as a movie itself. The way this film was pushed by 20th Century Fox by playing up the mystery angle was a shrewd way to get people interested in seeing Prometheus, but the final product does little to satiate the curiosity that the ads established. 2.5 out of 5 Antique Accordians.
Very good review and almost word for word how I felt.
I don’t necessarily disagree with your comments, but I still enjoyed the movie. I saw it in IMAX 3D, so like you said, parts of it were just visually beautiful. I also thought it was cool to see the primitive versions of the xenomorphs.
I think the only part of the movie that had me scratching my head was how quiet the crew was about the things happening to them, particularly with Shaw and Holloway.
***SPOILER***
She birthed an alien baby, isn’t that something you might share?
I will be back after I see it. Right now I’m excited to see it. Lets see if I feel the same after seeing it.
While I agree there were some brief story issues about 2/3 of the way in, I must disagree with your assessment, Ben. Not only did I find Prometheus to be jaw-droppingly gorgeous, I thought it was an excellent science fiction story. You make mention of the movie not answering its own questions, but for me the best sci-fi raises questions without providing answers. It’s about exploring ideas about science, religion, and humanity and giving the audience the cues to discuss them without handing us the answers. While some of the ancillary characters could have been fleshed out a bit more, I found myself plenty interested in what happened to the crew. My biggest complaint is when the movie, after having built a lot of good tension, gets a little too over-the-top in terms of horror action. The “surgery” scene and the reanimated corpse happening congruently did lessen the tension for me, particularly when both are completely glossed over or ignored by the entire crew. It’s a small gripe though, as the movie quickly regains its balance and gives the audience a hell of a ride. Top it off with beautiful visuals, a haunting musical score, and effective practical creature effects and I found one of the better sci-fis we’ve had in recent years.
Also, it was a concertina, not an accordion
I’ve got to agree with Joshua here. He’s summed up a lot of my views.
And as far as answering a question no one asked – I disagree. This movie did address some particular stuff people have been asking since Alien.
I also agree with Joshua, it was a concertina
I pretty much echo what Josh said.
I agree that the ideas raised by the film are interesting. The overall execution of those ideas just didn’t work for me at all. I know Scott likes to release Director’s Cuts. If one exists for this movie, I’d be curious to see if the narrative problems I had with the movie are fleshed out in that.
I thought it was decent. Not sure what all the talk about “unanswered questions” is about. What questions were left unanswered?
Also, it is ABSOLUTELY a prequel to Alien. Not sure how it can be seen as anything but. Even without the final scene, it’s apparent that this all leads to the events of Alien.
Not to spoil anything, but I wanted a bit more information about the Engineers and their motives. As far as it being a prequel, I was personally dissatisfied with the apparent origin of the Xenomorphs. It’s an interesting idea, to be sure, but not the one I would have gone with. Then again, I’m not a screenwriter. Just a personal judgment call.
I think David was right in that the Engineers created humans because they could. Obviously, a sequel is set-up which would delve further into that reasoning, but I was content with that explanation.
Considering the design of the Engineers and the various face-hugger type creatures, it was only a matter of time before the two made sweet love and created a wee baby xenomorph.
I mean…for a time there, it was very hush hush as to what Prometheus was about, but as recently as the beginning of 2012, I knew it had something to do with Alien(s). Then, in the lead up to the film’s release, even the TV spots suggested the connection touting “before Alien, there was Prometheus”. I think the ending would’ve been a much better pay-off if NONE of us had any clue it was related to Alien.
***SPOILERS***
I actually think the creation of humans was a mistake on the Engineers part. I think they were testing out their biological weapons and accidentally altered the existing DNA forming on the planet, thus creating humans. Once they realized the mistake, they were going to eradicate humans with their new biological weapon (the xenomorphs). Enter: Prometheus
Interesting point of view. I could go along with that.
Also, I think they had a number of biological weapons on that ship not just the xenomorphs.
It’s clearly a matter of personal taste. Like Patton Oswalt said, “I don’t care where the stuff I love comes from.”
And that’s absolutely what Prometheus is and presents. It shows you how sausage is made.
Really boring movie. Another “Hugo”, if you will. People want to be entertained when they go see a movie–on this point alone Prometheus fails miserably. The worst part of this movie is that the story is so stupid and riddled with plotholes that it insults your intelligence and just kills your suspension of disbelief.
Ridley Scott hasn’t made a good movie since Black Hawk Down. I think part of the problem is that he has not chosen good scripts lately. Visually, Ridley Scott is a genius but movie audiences want a story and characters they can relate to–Prometheus is such a huge disappointment in this respect. Nice visuals but no heart. Prometheus never connects with the audience at any point, and this is a real problem. Even the corny Dances with Smurfs by James Cameron was miles better than Prometheus because audiences could relate to some aspects of the story and characters.
Honestly, since 1986′s Aliens, there hasn’t been a truly great sci-fi movie. Aliens just hit all the right buttons–great characters, solid plot, great suspense and thrills, and great action. Who can forget Ripley in mum mode kicking the alien queen’s ass? It just connects instantly with audiences–there was no need for tons of meaningless semi-mysterious dialogue like in Prometheus. Everyone understands how ferocious a mum can get when defending her child, people get this instantly. There is nothing like this in Prometheus, just emotionless dialogue and characters doing stupid irrational things.
Wish that movie directors in general would study Aliens and get back to basics. Seriously folks, this is not rocket science–people just want to be entertained. If you’re going to spend hundreds of millions on a movie, (1)don’t insult the audience’s intelligence and (2)make sure the movie is entertaining. Look at Avengers 2012, not a classic by any means but entertaining and it cleaned out at the box-office.
Heck, even The Artist 2011 was way more entertaining and thought-provoking than Prometheus–and it was made on a $15 million budget in black and white! If Blade Runner 2 is going to be more drivel like Prometheus, seriously Scott–don’t bother.
The best science fiction movie in the past 3 years remains District 9–made on a small budget yet was superbly entertaining and thought-provoking. Even “Moon” by Duncan Jones (another sci-fi movie made on a small budget) kicks Prometheus’ ass bigtime.
Part of me wonders how much of Ridley’s $200 million+ budget was used to pay movie critics to give good reviews for this movie. It’s obvious the movie sucks and it’s mind-boggling how some top critics can openly write reviews that praise Prometheus to high heaven.
If it sucks, tell them it sucks. Otherwise they are going to keep giving us more of the same shit and wasting our money. People ain’t stupid you know and no movie is TOO BIG TO FAIL.
Hugo is great!
Agreed on that.
A few different blogs/articles postulating theories about Prometheus. All great reads worth your time:
http://cavalorn.livejournal.com/584135.html#cutid1
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/what-is-going-on-in-prometheus-a-universe-of-questions-answers-and-theories/
http://io9.com/5917448/all-of-your-lingering-prometheus-questions-answered?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_twitter&utm_source=io9_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow
That Livejournal entry is pretty mind-blowing, indeed.
Mostly because someone still uses LiveJournal.
I really liked it and look forward to a directors extended cut of the film. There were some gaps that I would of liked filled in.
I did see it in 3d, and while I know that most everyone is with the “Fuck 3d” attitude, it looked great in 3d. My only problem with it and this goes for all films in 3d is that I wish they would get better at doing 3d without diluting the brightness of the movie.
As much as I didn’t like most of the narrative aspects of Prometheus, I would be open to viewing it again on Blu-Ray, especially if it’s an extended Director’s Cut. The visual aspects alone might make it a purchase.
I’m interested in seeing it again just because I’m still thinking about it. That fact alone, whether I liked it or not, makes it a damn good movie.
im surprised nobody is talking about the opening scene! it’s quite the mystery and i think immediately set the tone for the movie. Cryptic, mysterious, open for interpretation, and drenched in symbolism. that 60 second preface to the movie could be disected and talked about just as much as the movie and i think that’s the point. Had this movie given us all the answers people would have hated it or quit talking about it a week after it was out. but with so much not defined or given to us, fans can draw their own conclusions and nobody can say they are right are wrong, because nobody knows, and thats how they wanted it im sure. to me this is how movies give us the opportunity to use our imagination to fill the gaps, and heighten our movie experience. the same way everyone always says that books are better than movies because you can use your imagination (and screw you because thats bullshit) this is how movies compete with that. i liked the movie in that it gave me an opportunity to think and be entertained, but i do agree they tried to mesh a lot of themes and homages to other films that didnt translate, and that the character development was weak and uninteresting, except of course for the robot guy. Best sci-fi horror to come out in a while that wasn’t campy.respect
I touched on the beginning of the movie with this post:
“I actually think the creation of humans was a mistake on the Engineers part. I think they were testing out their biological weapons and accidentally altered the existing DNA forming on the planet, thus creating humans. Once they realized the mistake, they were going to eradicate humans with their new biological weapon (the xenomorphs). Enter: Prometheus”
But you’re right, otherwise that beginning hasn’t gotten many comments, which is odd. So with that said, what’s your take on the intro?
I have more or less the same ideas. I have a few wild theories, but honestly the details are a little fuzzy about that beginning snippet making my assumptions just a guess. Was the Engineer who drank the ooze wearing a white robe? Was there anything in the scene that made the planet it was taking place on identifiable as earth or not, like two moons or something like that? Did they give a year of when that was taking place? Honestly I don’t remember and the answers may shoot some of my ideas down. Things that do stick out are this, the Engineer that drank the ooze was not forced, did it with reverence, without being forced, and without hesitation. Second, he did it next to a massive water source, insuring that his carcass would end up inside said water source. Third, he didn’t try to flag down the leaving ship, he knew he was being left behind, he had purpose to be there even though his fellow Engineers were leaving and didn’t wear a space suit. Was he some type of symbolic Christ sacrifice to give life to a new planet, drinking ooze that alters DNA, and doing it next to a massive water source so that his DNA would splice with the beings of the world. A friend of mine brought up a good point; he asked if the ooze that seeped out of the canisters transformed the Grub worms they showed briefly in the chamber with the giant head into the snake-like infecto-worm. The floor was covered in black ooze…primordial ooze??huh?maybe? we know that black juice will zenomorph anything it touches quick. That one chick was 3 months pregnant after one night of sex. And Mohawk guy came back super human after the same amount of time(what the hell was that about anyway?) so one theory is that they found earth and decided to test out the juice spliced with their DNA and just see what happened. Another theory is that he was on the Engineer planet that Prometheus landed on and decided to unleash the plague his people created, on his own kind, because he decided he didn’t like what his race had become, perhaps he was sympathetic towards the human race and decided he would try to stop our eradication by unleashing the very monster they created. A type of terrorist if you will. Perhaps a competing group of the same race of alien, the same way we have massive global wars with each other here on earth. Think Engineers who support leaving us alone and those who see us as a science experiment or a place and people who match DNA enough to the Engineers to test weapons of war and cures and effects of stuff and nothing more. After all the Engineer who drank the juice was wearing a diaper and the one in the ship was covered in armor. I could be way off, but that was my interpretation. I lean more towards they left one Engineer there to give himself up to create life on earth, and periodically they would return to teach the human race advancements like how to make fire and use tools and whatever because all the cave drawings had one of the Engineers in it pointing towards the sky, so we know they have been around every millennium or so.ummm, yeah, so if that mindless ramble makes any sense. Anybody see anything else or make any other connections not mentioned or have another take?
Hmm.. interesting stuff. Going with the fact that they’ve been revisiting earth, perhaps the Engineer sacrifice is how they colonize planets? Sacrifice one of their members to jumpstart a civilization?
Another question that remains unanswered is what killed all the Engineers on that ship? The hologram playback shows them running away from something, but what could it have been? The xenomorphs weren’t created yet, so was it just some other random experiment gone wrong?
The xenomorphs totally exist. There was a bas relief of them in the chamber that housed the canisters (when Halloway comments “This is just another tomb”). And later, when Millburn (biologist) and Fifield (geologist) come across the pile of bodies, Millburn notes that at least one had a hole in his chest, like he’d exploded outward.