Prometheus (2012) review

20. Prometheus (2012)

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Produced by: David Giler, Walter Hill, Ridley Scott

Screenplay by: Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof

Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Charlize Theron

When the “Alien vs. Predator” crossover films got announced, there were plenty of voices in Hollywood that spoke out against the idea; one of the most prominent was Sir Ridley Scott, who directed the original “Alien” and had considered returning to the series as early as 2002 before Fox opted for the crossovers. But the terrible response to “Requiem” led to them shelving plans for another sequel and eventually hiring Scott to direct “Prometheus,” initially planned as a prequel but in reality only vaguely connected with the mythology of the previous movies. There’s no hunt for Xenomorphs, although there is an emphasis on exploration and ancient interstellar cultures, culminating in a group of astronauts facing a threat from monstrous beings. It’s a movie with provocative concepts brought to life by beautiful aesthetics and committed performances, even if the story elements aren’t fully realized.

Taking place in the late 21st century—so roughly a few decades before “Alien”—we open with archaeologists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) discovering a star map on the Isle of Skye in Scotland that they interpret as an invitation to a distant moon from a humanoid alien culture they call “Engineers,” who they believe could be the originators of humanity. Elderly Weyland Corporation CEO Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) funds an expedition aboard the vessel Prometheus; Shaw and Holloway are joined by enigmatic android David (Michael Fassbender), gruff ship captain Janek (Idris Elba) and mission director Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), the latter of whom orders them not to make contact with Engineers. They don’t find any alive; however, David finds a mysterious liquid inside a pyramid, which spawns lethal squid-like creatures. How does this relate to the Engineers, and what does it mean for the answers these characters seek?

The idea of literally searching for humanity’s creator is an inherently fascinating idea, one that’s been presented in media like “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Star Trek” and “Contact” (yes, I’m one of those fools that defends “Contact,” fight me). We all go through life asking questions like “Where did we come from?” “Why are we here?” “Are there more of us out there?” and we’re not all satisfied with such a simple answer. Seeing the issue presented and dissected through the visual storytelling is really neat; my favorite scene features David in a control room looking at a holographic star map. Aided by Harry Gregson-Williams’s music, it perfectly captures the wonder and breadth of how infinitely big and mystifying the universe is. Unfortunately, for all the build-up and intrigue, the story never pays off; in fact, I think it’s cheapened by how most of the characters die, and who survives. The questions are immaterial; it’s just a backdrop for a lot of displays of bloodshed and explicit ferocity, or otherwise strange behavior just for the sake of it.

Speaking of which, David is one of the more puzzling characters in this franchise; he’s played with impeccable charm by Michael Fassbender, and I really like scenes that show him learning and understanding human behavior with an almost childlike sense of curiosity. But I don’t entirely get what he’s all about; he’s getting all this input from various sources on what his job on the mission is, but he also seems to have his own sort-of purpose that ranges from innocent prodding to blatant sabotage. Fassbender plays it well, but it’s pretty vague what David is trying to do other than just create tense situations. Meanwhile, Noomi Rapace—fresh off her star-making turn as Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish film adaptations of Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium” novel trilogy—starts off a little too mousy and awkward as Shaw, but eventually becomes a really invigorating character. It’s frantic watching her react to all these horrors; she’s not quite Sigourney Weaver, but she hits the intense marks as the movie goes on.

Aside from the two of them, I have mixed feelings about the remainder of the cast. Idris Elba gives Janek plenty of charisma, but the appeal is diluted because of his particularly bad Southern accent; I don’t especially like Logan Marshall-Green as Holloway, there’s a geologist named Fifield (Sean Harris) who gets a really random rant about the fact that he loves rocks, but one that I’m especially torn about is Vickers. Now for anyone who knows me, you know I love Charlize Theron in almost anything she’s in, and she gets a decent number of menacing lines, throwing her weight around as the stern authority figure. But in the grand scheme of things, Vickers has almost no relevance to the story; you could write her out of the movie, and nothing of value would be lost, including an out-of-nowhere scene where she and Janek come on to each other. Even the climax, which features Vickers’s connection to a twist with another character—which is a weak twist, by the way—gives her no real importance; she feels like someone who should have more ambition and drive, but instead is strangely without substance.

The production design is probably the best of the series since “Aliens,” and it again manages to differentiate from the other movies, featuring some wonderful on-set locations in scenic Scotland, volcanic Iceland and desert Jordan, all filmed in well-rendered 3D, in a time post-“Avatar” where so many movies were being converted to 3D just to make a little extra money. The alien designs have a nice mixture of practical effects and CGI, but I have to admit I’m a little underwhelmed by the designs of the creatures, dubbed “Hammerpedes.” They almost become an unnecessary part of the story, only really feeling like tools to emulate “Alien,” even coming down to there being a scene where Shaw has a foreign embryo inside of her; the only difference is she undergoes an emergency procedure to have it removed, probably the most disturbing scene in the movie.

I think the biggest fault of “Prometheus” is its unwillingness to fully execute the ideas it’s going for. Like I said, it really starts out like it’s diving into an interpretation of the meaning of life and existence, whether omniscient or character-driven. But it’s too saddled by the fact that it also wants to be a gory “Alien” movie, and even the symbolism gets heavy-handed when you really think about it. When this came out, critics seemed to like it, but fans seemed to despise it, and I didn’t entirely understand why. Granted, I don’t like it as much as I did when I first saw it, but I still don’t consider it nearly as bad as some people claim. I think they wanted something that definitively linked the movies together, or at least provided significant answers to what it was teasing. I can understand how that might make the movie feel like a letdown; however, I think in some aspects, the execution helps it come out in visually stimulating ways. It’s not a great movie, but I think there’s more to it than what’s given credit.

My rating: 7/10