Directed by:
Ridley ScottCinematography:
Dariusz WolskiComposer:
Marc StreitenfeldCast:
Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Logan Marshall-Green, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall, Emun Elliott, Benedict Wong (more)VOD (5)
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Returning to the genre he helped define, Sir Ridley Scott has crafted the most unforgettable experience of 2012 in Prometheus. After scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) discover mysterious cave drawings that point to the origins of mankind, they soon find themselves aboard the spaceship Prometheus, sponsored by Weyland Industries and on a journey to uncover the secrets of humanity. Overseen by the imperious Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), looked after by the android David (Michael Fassbender), and backed up by a team of scientists Shaw and Holloway arrive on the isolated moon LV-223 to discover an abandoned alien spaceship and the truth... that not all is as it seems. (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment)
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Ridley Scott no longer knows how to come up with something new. He intensively copies from Alien and subtly quotes other masters of the big screen (Kubrick, Lean), but he doesn’t manage to put together a sophisticated mythology from a lot of enigmatic allusions. The more consistently straightforward, less ostentatious final third of Prometheus, when broken bones, flamethrowers and heroic gestures take the place of tautologies that go nowhere and the attempt at philosophical sci-fi rapidly morphs into an intergalactic variation on rape-revenge movies (by which Scott again shows himself to be a filmmaker capable of unusual feminine empathy and very clever use of gender stereotypes). The change of approach to the material is so sudden and unexpected that it gives rise to the hypothesis that perhaps the director was playing a cruel joke at the expense of the excited viewers. It’s as if he thought, “fine, they wanted something spectacular, so I’ll really prepare them for it at the beginning, but then I can more brutally bring them back to reality with a guilty-pleasure genre movie.” However, I rather see the reason for that in the necessity of cutting the film short than in the director’s sense of irony, which means that we will have to wait for the full-fledged Prometheus to arrive in the autumn, when the director’s cut will be released (after Kingdom of Heaven and Robin Hood, I’m starting to wonder if this isn’t actually a clever marketing move – to give viewers the feeling that a distinctive creative work was butchered by evil studio bosses and if they want to see the film as it was originally intended, they will have to spend more money on the DVD). Prometheus is a breathtakingly unstylish product with an unclear purpose. Because it doesn’t offer a satisfactory answer, both its suspense and its stumbling block consist in the prolonged uncertainty triggered by the advertising campaign. I’m afraid that the film’s “point”, which is very funny in its own way, will neither make anyone angry nor elicit a sly smile on the second attempt. If the aim of the film was to cause embarrassment, it accomplished its mission, but it doesn’t offer satisfying summer entertainment. By that, I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy it. I did, but similarly as I did with Pitch Black, in whose case the price-performance ratio was significantly different. 75%
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Prometheus has landed! The critics have spoken at length about the illogical behaviour of the characters and the unresolved jumps in the plot, so I will write something in its defence. Yes, those complaints are undoubtedly warranted and that’s a real shame, without those issues this film would be almost perfect, because everything except the script is very good. However, part of those flaws in logic could be excused saying that instead of a “team of methodological, 100% reliable and careful scientist” the expedition features “scientists driven by an inner desire for answers and discoveries”; some of the unresolved motifs can be easily guessed and some of the incomprehensible behaviour and weird details aren’t actually that impossible to understand, it’s just the viewers who don’t understand them (e.g. the behaviour of David or the settings of the medical equipment). And I also think it’s good that there are things left unsaid about the mythology, because thinking about a mythology on your own is A LOT of fun (BTW, the often used combo “Scott ruined the mystery around Alien” + “Scott didn’t explain anything” is logically contradictory). What’s left, and can by no means be excused (the scientists getting lost in the mapped galleries, etc.)… well, how you see it will depend on the type of viewer you are. If you demand films should be 100% coherent, with a clear theme that is addressed properly, and where all the questions are answered and all the motifs are addressed, tough luck. If, in contrast, you like a more open text, where the interpretations of and the musings over the meanings (or, rather finding the meanings, in this case :-D) are just as important, if not more, than the film itself, then you will know how to forgive Prometheus’s mistakes. Fortunately, I’m in the second group. /// The visuals are intoxicating, the ideas about the creator-creation relationship (because we can) are interesting, and the mythology, which only peeks behind the curtains, is even more interesting. 8.5/10 and relative satisfaction (!!!), though it certainly had more potential. PS: I want an extended version on DVD and in two years I want a sequel not written by Damon Lindelof :-D PPS: From a certain perspective, this film, together with its advertising campaign, is a brilliant package because it gives the viewers an experience very similar to the protagonist. Elizabeth joins the expedition to find answers to important philosophical questions. Her motivations are not mundane, she expects something like enlightenment (figure out who we are, why we came to be and what is our purpose). The campaign and the film’s first act prepare the viewer for sophisticated and uncompromising science fiction – a genre milestone. Elizabeth gets to the planet and, instead of finding satisfactory answers, she and the entire crew have “their asses kicked” by angry extraterrestrials. The viewer goes to the cinema and, instead of the intellectual sci-fi that was promised, they get brutal horror with notes of B-movie. It’s hard to jump in joy at this, but as a joke it’s good :-D
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Prometheus is a pretty decent sci-fi, but at times it has almost fatal sci-fi related flaws. It begins at an amazing pace. The story is timeless, imaginative and it has a great pace due to the strange atmosphere. The second half is much weaker, everything begins to be a routine and the worst of all is, spoiler alert, the alien finale. That really pissed me off. Prometheus was supposed to be pure sci-fi with everything it entails and not the prequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien. The whole time it made a completely different impression and in the finale he turns it into this and thinks I will fall on my butt… I feel really sorry for that. Visually, it is absolutely amazing, and that also counts for something.
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Pretend you’re going to watch Alien vs. Predator 3 without the Predators and you’ll be ecstatic. The first third is an absolute sci-fi orgasm – exciting, epic, atmospherically captivating, visually engaging, with attractive actors and a promise of great things to come. Everything here is so perfect down to every tiny detail that one wants to cry with happiness. Plus there are some nice ideas conveyed through the dialogue (and monologues). The second third slows the pace down and brings a more intimate tone when it tries to tell us more about the characters. The last third is hastily put together action horror with butchered editing and storytelling, which doesn’t elaborate on the originally outlined themes, and is ridden with genre clichés and Emmerichian heroism. Luckily, the closing scene setting up a sequel somewhat mitigates the disappointment. Fantastically shot piece of screenwriting crap. I feel cheated, Ridley.
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I think that there’s about an hour of film missing. An hour to work on the relationships, to say where they found out certain things or else somehow to show that these are just assumptions, to take their time a bit and not to hurry on ahead at breakneck speed. In some places I prayed to be have the time to rummage about in the environments presented. I have no gripes about the story, looking for an answer to the question that has no answer (that guy died immediately in the first scene) is just a catalyst for investigating possibilities and space. An attempt to go further. Visually, it’s top-notch, Ridley made sure of that. Similarly, he took great pains over the casting, each actor fits their role perfectly. Noomi is really fine, but Michael Fassbender easily dominates the picture. It’s a shame too that Guy Pearce made such a brief appearance. The ending was rather surprising the way it broke down into a regular massacre. I have the feeling that Alien DNA harms this movie, the same as the hype and trailers revealing too much. I look forward to the director’s cut.
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