Ridley Scott’s Prometheus
is one of the finest sci-fi/horror films I have every seen. It hooked me from
the opening moments and didn’t let go until the end credits rolled. This is
because Prometheus has just about
everything going for it. The visuals are spectacular (no surprise coming from
Scott), the acting is superb, and the writing… well things get a little shaky
there, but overall the film is excellent.
Prometheus
is the long awaited Alien prequel
that answers some of that film’s biggest questions while raising some
frustrating new ones. The story follows a group of scientists on a deep space
expedition to find the origin of mankind. Their journey leads them to LV-223, a
seemingly lifeless alien planet that holds some deadly revelations for the
crew. What happens next isn’t much of a surprise, but Prometheus is able to keep things interesting thanks to the
combination of gorgeous visuals and terrific acting.
For Prometheus
Ridley Scott returns to the “cyberpunk” style he created on film with Alien and Blade Runner, creating a universe that is both sleek and dark. The
interior scenes of the spaceship are bright and claustrophobic, while the alien
world offers enormous vistas with underlying ominous tones. The world of Prometheus is both beautiful and haunting,
brought to life by the incredible acting of Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, and
Michael Fassbender.
Rapace plays Elizabeth Shaw, a scientist who argues
for creationism and parallels Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley character from the Alien films. Unlike Ripley, however,
Shaw is openly vulnerable giving her added emotional depth. Shaw’s arc from
weak to badass helps propel the narrative and makes her a compelling hero. On
the opposite end of the spectrum is Charlize Theron as Meredith Vickers, a
Weyland Corp. employee who isolates herself from the others and is all too
willing to light someone up with a flamethrower should the need arise (which it
does). Theron does an excellent job of making the unapproachable Vickers cold
enough without being off putting.
Then there is Michael Fassbender as the ship’s
android David. Fassbender, at the very least, deserves to be nominated for an
Academy Award for his acting in this film. Despite his character having no
emotions or soul the fact that Fassbender is able to create a character with
such complexity and depth is amazing. David is cold and ruthless with an
ironically genteel façade masking his ulterior motives. He commands every scene
he is in and quickly becomes the most interesting character aboard the ship. While
some of the characters and dialogue are of questionable quality, David
constantly provides memorable scenes and chilling exchanges with his crewmates
the entire course of the film.
Unfortunately Prometheus
is not a perfect film and falls just short due to the film’s script. With the
exceptions of Shaw, Vickers, and David most of the characters are
one-dimensional and the dialogue is often only so-so in terms of quality. The
script also leaves several questions frustratingly unanswered (no surprise
considering it was co-written by Lost
alum Damon Lindelof). The whole point of the film is that not every question
can be answered, but some of these questions relate to the canon of the Alien franchise making things a bit
murky for fans of the original film and the ending is dangerously close to
being a cliffhanger.
All-in-all Prometheus
is a great film with superb acting and great cinematography that make up for
the script's shortcomings. Fans of the Alien
films will get a lot of mileage out of the film and its many references to the series,
while newcomers will still be able to enjoy the great standalone plot. With Prometheus, Ridley Scott proves that he
is a master at the sci-fi/horror genre, understanding it better than most and
creating some of the most memorable and squirm-inducing scenes ever put on the
screen. Highly recommended.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
