Plot
Direction
Performances
Visual Effects
Musical Score
A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
- IMDB
Plot
Archaeologist Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) uncover a star map that links various unrelated ancient cultures to the single theory that the human race was created by an alien civilaztion. The archaeologist decode these maps and see them as an invitation to find the “Engineers” of the humanity. The Weyland Corporation, owned by a dying Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce), funds the expedition to planet LV-223. During the two year transport to LV-223 an android named David watches over the crew of the vessel Prometheus. Upon landing on the planet LV-223 the crew discovers a structure presumably created by the Engineers. The expedition proceeds under the watchful of Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), who’s agenda appears to be a bit self serving. The team begins to explore the structure and suspense attempts to ensue.
“Prometheus” as referenced from Greek culture:
Prometheus (Greek: Προμηθεύς) is a Titan, culture hero, and trickster figure who in Greek mythology is credited with the creation of man from clay and the theft of fire for human use, an act that enabled progress and civilization. He is known for his intelligence, and as a champion of mankind.
In the Western classical tradition, Prometheus became a figure who represented human striving, particularly the quest for scientific knowledge, and the risk of overreaching or unintended consequences. In particular, he was regarded in the Romantic era as embodying the lone genius whose efforts to improve human existence could also result in tragedy: Mary Shelley, for instance, gave The Modern Prometheus as the subtitle to her novel Frankenstein (1818)
Prometheus attempts a deep convoluted plot that falls short of what is to be expected from a Ridley Scott film. The story structure felt insanely predictable and by the numbers. Even though these fractures existed the plot of the film still felt exciting and muddled up moments that were suspenseful and gave some merit to watching this film.
Direction
Most of the characters in Prometheus were dry and predictable, but for some reason were needed in order to give the film an expendable cast. Stereotypical character arcs left you feeling cheated and allowed the film to be easily predictable. To be honest, we have all watched static characters, in other films, progress into characters that we manage to care about when aid character is put to death. Prometheus left me in a place where I could hardly give half a shit about most of the characters and their trials & tribulations. On the other hand the action in the film is unmatched and rare for a Sci-Fi film of its caliber. Gore does not make a movie great, to some extent it can cheapen its quality and more often than not feel unneeded and forced. Prometheus gave us a sense of gore that did not go overboard but was perfect for the mood and essence of the film. Scott paid attention to such aspects of the film and in turn delivered a decent vision and story.
Performances
The shining light in this film’s otherwise shallow existence is Michael Fassbender. ( I’ll gett this off my chest now, Michael Fassbender plays a better C-3PO than Anthony Daniels. ) His character, though transparent at times, manages to be the most cryptic aspect of the film. Michael plays an android named David, who’s reason to exist is to serve the Weyland corporation and watch over the crew of Prometheus. The innocence and deviousness of David is the strong selling point of this film. David longs to attain knowledge and meaning at any cost. I wont spoil the film for you, so sadly I cannot get any more descriptive with Fassbender’s ultimate role in the film. The one thing I can say is that Fassbender’s performance is outstanding and well worth the $15.
Noomi Rapace manages to pull off the heroin role but with little more than a spark of champion. I know that comparing Alien and Prometheus is strictly forbidden but its really hard not to. Sigourney Weaver’s character, Ripley, in the original Alien film was compelling. She was everything that a woman wants to be, and everything that a man fears in a women. Noomi ether failed at her performance, was poorly directed, or her character was shallowly written. Dont get me wrong, here performance was good, but she is no Sigourney Weaver and Elizabeth Shaw is no Ripley.
Visual Effects
Prometheus is insanely reminiscent to Alien for all of the right reasons. It’s dark, gritty, and unique. The interior of the ship is everything you want it to be and throws back to the original vessel in Alien. The clean steril environment of the Prometheus vs the stark valley and dank dark cave like structure of the Engeniers brings variety to the backdrops of Pormetheus. The creatures of the film, though sparse, were fantastic and managed to give the same suspense of the original Alien. The final moments of the film are worth the watch.
The gamer in me experienced moments that recalled the atmosphere of Dead Space. Specifically the organic feel of its level design and the dark unwelcoming set pieces.
*Possible Spoilers*
The final fight sequence is a fanboys dream come true as Ridley finally exhibits the answer to the question that has plagued our minds: >> “Where do the “Aliens” come from?”
Musical Score
They say that the best musical scores are the ones that go unnoticed. Prometheus has a rude, abrupt, and sometimes silly score that manages to break most of the tension that the story hardly builds. There are at least two moments in the film where the score slapped me in the face and reminded me that I was watching a film that was not as great as it predecessor.
The Good
- Michael Fassbender as an Android.
- The creatures in this film look fantastic.
- Set pieces and production design are fantastic.
- The film actually takes you to another world.\
- Whats next alien sex?
The Bad
- An obvious and shallow storyline.
- The shallow storyline attempts to be deep and convoluted.
- Dry and predictable characters.
- A terrible scores that breaks important moments in the film.
