Prometheus

Prometheus (2012)

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron

*The following review is written by our guest editor, Stephen Spencer*

There’s nothing better than a film you want to watch again immediately after it ends.  Then there are films you never ever want to see again because they’re just so bad (the much hyped and disappointing The Watchmen comes to mind).  Ridley Scott’s Prometheus falls somewhere between these two extremes.  It’ll leave many viewers outside the cineplex groping for explanations and clarifications, but unfortunately, it doesn’t have many of the answers.  This isn’t to say that it’s a bad film, however; it is good on many levels but seriously flawed on others.

For the good, we need look no further than director Ridley Scott.  Like Blade Runner and Kingdom of Heavenbefore it, Prometheus is absolutely gorgeous and cements Scott as a living legend in terms of cinematography and visual style. From its lush intergalactic set pieces to its hideously bizarre monsters, Prometheus is a jaw-dropping adventure from scene to scene that engages viewers in its epic universe. Not for nothing, Prometheus begs to be seen in all its optical grandeur.

Many suspected that Prometheus shared the same universe as an earlier Scott film: the claustrophobically horrifying Alien.  As rumors turned to virtual fact, fans rejoiced at a fresh take on the iconic series from its original visionary, one that seemed to promise a hyper expansion of the Alien mythos.  But this is where the film makes its first mistake.  Fans watching Prometheus with Alien in mind will be sorely disappointed, not because of the lack of tie-ins (there is one overt tie-in, and it’s huge), but rather because they feel shoehorned in.  Prometheus could have stood on its own, but it chooses to stand on the shoulders of Alien to distracting and detrimental effects.  

Further hurting the film is it plot and characters.  Alien was so successfully captivating because it cultivated a low-key tone and organic pace through its realistic characters, with a plot punctuated at key moments by the Xenomorph.  Prometheus has the opposite problem: there’s too much room to breathe and not enough good breathing. Noomi Rapace and Logan Marshall-Green play Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway, fellow archaeologists/lovers that discover several interlinked cave etchings, leading to Prometheus’s intergalactic journey in search of the “Engineers” (the creators of the human race).  Rapace and Green’s on-screen chemistry never takes off, partly because the parameters of their characters’s romantic relationship is unclear.  Overseeing the Prometheus mission is Charlize Theron’s Meredith Vickers. Theron ably plays the role of the stern corporate suit, but it’s her skin-tight body suit that most (male) viewers will be interested in.  Commandeering the ship is Janek, played by Idris Elba, who is severely underutilized. The script can’t decide whether he’s a maverick loner or a born-and-bred leader, but one of these characterizations is forced on him without enough preparation.  Perhaps most disappointing character is Guy Pearce’s Peter Weyland, the aging billionaire CEO and financier of the Prometheus expedition.  Seeing Pearce in “old man” makeup is the film’s only visual gaffe; to put it bluntly, he looks ridiculous.  Why the filmmakers did not cast an actual senior citizen is beyond comprehension, and Pearce’s brief inclusion brings the film to the border of camp.  

Saving the best for last, Michael Fassbender plays David, the ship’s android.  David is idiosyncratic, super intelligent, and utterly emotionless, yet Fassbender imbues him with a unique type of humanity that alludes almost every other actor on screen (save for Rapace).  Scott is clearly interested in the concomitant themes conjured by the android archetype (Alien and Blade Runner), including that of creation, technology, and humanity.  Fassbender’s David is a new and interesting take on this character, and he ultimately provides the film with its existential and philosophic underpinnings.

Fassbender cannot, however, save Prometheus from its loose plot.  Looseness can be an artistic virtue, but this isn’t jazz; it’s more akin to a band student in her room with un-honed technical chops.  Many of the character’s decisions either go unexplained or are simply unrealistic; “reveals” are often dramatically unnecessary and confusing; and finally, some of the plot elements are downright confusing.  All this adds up to a film that begs post-screening discussion, discussion that does nothing more than reveal the shoddiness of its narrative.  

Prometheus does gain points for tackling the big themes: faith, family, and the pursuit of knowledge, among others.  But these should emerge from a well-structured plot and engaging characters, not the other way around.  InPrometheus, the thematic cart comes before the story-telling horse.  But the cart isn’t all that bad.  Prometheus is certainly worth a watch, particularly on the big screen, where its visuals and thrills are highlighted.  But don’t expect to be absorbed into a deeply layered universe -- it’s a black hole.

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