I've decided to write two blog posts about Prometheus. This first one will be a straight-up review of the movie in which, like always, I try not to give the whole thing away. The second one, which I hope will not take too long to get to, will be a spoilerific dissection of the movie wherein I attempt to explain what I think it all means.
It's difficult to write a review of a movie that you've labeled your most anticipated film of the year. It's hard to talk about anything other than expectations, which makes discussing this particularly movie even more difficult because, after seeing it twice the one thing I know I can say about Prometheus is that it didn't match my expectations, and that's both good and bad.
Vague enough for you?
Prometheus is an ambitious movie, far more ambitious than your typical summer blockbuster. But, that's precisely the problem -- the movie bites off a lot more than it can chew. It raises questions and establishes themes while providing very few answers and not a lot of payoff. This is not just a minor flaw, it seriously detracts from the viewing experience.
Yet, despite these complaints, I've given it three and a half stars. That's because what it does well, it does very well and, even though the movie's far from perfect, I enjoyed it immensely.
That actually makes it all the more frustrating. This is a movie that comes within just a hair's breadth of being a bona fide masterpiece. An added explanation here, a couple lines of better dialogue there, and we'd be looking at a new modern movie classic. Indeed, a little more care and it would have been on par with it's predecessors in the Alien franchise. Instead, it's a movie that shoots for greatness, but falls far short.
Still, it's pretty damn good.
The movie opens with some magnificent footage of an icy, desolate landscape. It looks other-worldly, yet it was apparently shot in Iceland. Eventually, a giant spaceship appears and, at the top of a waterfall, we see a human-looking figure. As the figure disrobes, we see that he's not quite human -- he's white, hairless, and in far better physical shape than anyone we know. After looking over the landscape and watching as the spaceship sails off into the atmosphere, the albino Superman drinks a cup full of a strange black liquid. Shortly thereafter, his body disintegrates into the water. In a closeup of his cells, we see his DNA break apart and join with that of the surrounding environment, which leads to the formation of new organisms.
This figure -- whoever he is -- has just sacrificed himself in order to create life.
Next the film cuts to an archaeological dig in Scotland wherein two scientists -- Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) -- discover some prehistoric cave paintings with a large figure pointing to a pattern of stars in the sky. Apparently, this same figure has appeared in the paintings of multiple ancient civilizations all over the world.
Fast forward four years and our scientists are on the spaceship Prometheus headed toward what they've concluded is the planetary system depicted in the cave paintings. They are on a trillion-dollar mission funded by the late Peter Weyland (played by Guy Pearce in a holographic introduction) to discover the origins of human life. The cave paintings, you see, were an invitation from beings whom Shaw and Holloway believe were responsible for creating life on Earth. They've dubbed them the Engineers.
Among those joining our two scientists on this expedition are Meridith Vickers (Charlize Theron), an authority figure from the Weyland Corporation, Janek (Idris Elba), the ship's captain, and David (Michael Fassbander), a well-mannered android. They arrive on what appears to be the Engineer's planet and set off to find what they're looking for.
Needless to say, things do not go as planned and all kinds of horror ensues.
So, right away, we're introduced to some of the difficult questions Prometheus tries to explore: Where do we come from? Why are we here? The movie tries to give us differing perspectives on these questions. Shaw is a devout Christian who wears a visible cross around her neck. She believes that what they find will somehow vindicate her faith. Charlie, her lover and fellow scientist, is not a believer and simply wants answers. Others, we learn, have different motives entirely, including the mission's deceased benefactor.
The movie also explores the relationship between creator and the created, whether it's as complicated as that of the Engineers and humankind or as comparatively simple that of a parent and child. With this question, it is David who struggles the most. As an android, he is, in a general sense, a descendant of all mankind. As such, he tries to emulate Peter O'Toole from Lawrence of Arabia as Lawrence is, in some respects, an idealized version of a man. But, he's also the "son" of his inventor, Peter Weyland. And, as we learn, that relationship comes with its own set of complications.
And, of course, there is the whole question as to how Prometheus fits in with the mythology of the whole Alien universe. At times, the connection is telegraphed with heavy-handed imagery and discussion. Yet, in the end, the connection is never fully spelled out.
Indeed, the same can be said for all of these questions. Few of them are fully explored and none of them are given a satisfactory answer. On one level, that's just fine, the audience should be free to draw their own conclusions about what the movie is trying to say. Yet, on a more basic level, refusing to address these questions undermines the narrative because the motivations of certain characters aren't well explained and the audience can only guess why they do what they do.
This is the case with the human characters, but it's especially true with regard to the alien (small "a") characters as well. In some ways, the entire plot depends on what motivates the Engineers and their overall inclinations. Yet, that is the one question the movie explicitly refuses to answer. Apparently, they really want to make a sequel.
But, in the end, unless you're one of those people who can't stand lose ends and ambiguity, this shouldn't keep you from enjoying Prometheus. Unanswered questions and story issues aside, this is one of the most well-made movies you will ever see. Ridley Scott, who directed the first Alien movie, returns to science fiction after 30 years of mining other territory and he's brought his A-game.
The movie is simply gorgeous to look at. It makes very, very good use of 3D, demonstrating once again that, in the hands of competent filmmakers, the technology has more to add to the movie-going experience aside from the surcharge on your ticket.
Every set piece in the movie, whether its on the ship, on the surface of the planet, or in an underground cave, is just spectacular. The special effects are incredible as well. The movie relies on a lot of computer-generated images, yet they mix seamlessly with the rest of the film. There will be multiple Oscar nominations for this movie in the technical categories, you can bet on it.
Also, despite problems in the story-telling, there are some very compelling characters. Michael Fassbander nearly steals the entire movie with his depiction of David. Ultimately, it is David's actions and David's choices that drive much of the story and Fassbander is always just a fascinating performer.
Rapace's Shaw ends up being the main protagonist, which automatically invites comparisons to Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in the Alien movies. Needless to say, neither the character nor the performance stack up all that well, but that's not to say she's not good in the movie. She carries herself well and overcomes most of the bad hand her character is dealt by the script simply by being likable, which is pretty remarkable given her turn in the original Dragon Tattoo movies.
Charlize Theron and Idris Elba, two of the best actors working today, are both very good as well. Sadly, the movie doesn't find all that much to do with them.
Anyway, I don't want to delve too much more into this. I want to save it for the more in-depth discussion in a later post.
Ultimately, this is a fantastic movie. While I've lodged some complaints here, the only real problem with Prometheus is that it fails to be transcendent when it could have been. There are some who have derided it. But, in most of the negative reviews I've come across, the critics either had unrealistic expectations or just plain didn't understand a few obvious points. While I won't say this is the best movie I've seen this year, it's the one I've most enjoyed thinking about.
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