Prometheus (2012) review

Directed by: Ridley Scott
Written by: Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof
Released: May/June, 2012
Running time: 124 minutes
Wikipedia: Prometheus (2012 film)

[ Spoiler alert! ]

As a prequel to the popular classic Alien series, the film has a lot of expectations to live up to. Sadly it falls short. All the horror, suspense and charm of earlier installments is sorely lacking in lieu of a whirlwind of dizzying action.

Here's the scene: two enthusiastic archaeologists discover what they believe to be a star map in an ancient cave painting, the oldest depiction among the art of many ancient civilisations. The discovery earns them a place on the mission to visit said star system to uncover the secrets of the ancient race. While the couple believe the paintings are invitations from the ascendants of the human race, their fanatical belief is not shared by the rest of the crew, whose reasons for the voyage are never really clear among the myriad of plot potholes you'll have to ignore to make it through this ordeal.

It's clear that this 2-hour movie has been crammed with enough ideas to fill a movie twice as long, and a lot had to be sacrificed to make room.

The character development is woefully poor; back-story, emotional depth and sound dialogue are luxuries than cannot be afforded admist all the superfluous plot twists. Every character is afflicted with the common bane of action movie victims: total inability to think. You have little idea of the motivation for each dangerously idiotic decision -- or indeed any character's motive -- nor will you care as the whole host of uninteresting characters are predictably whittled down.

The visual effects are stunning, as you might expect from the phenominal $130 million budget, and are really the saving grace here. The vast, haunting alien architecture is nothing short of epic, and the atmospheres are bolstered by the fitting, but still unremarkable, soundtrack.




The 'aliens' themselves are disappointing. Unsurprisingly, as the ancestors of human beings, they look almost indistinguishably human. Tall, bald, creepy... but humanoid. This would be anti-climactic if the fact hadn't been revealed within the first few seconds of the film. Even the characters don't maintain any awe or wonder to the fact that they are encountering such a huge piece of anthropology. Nobody seems terribly excited that they're making the first recorded contact with life on another planet.

The real tragedy is that the movie touches on some fascinating concepts, without ever truly engaging with them: the meaning of life, ownership of life, immorality, immortality, and the value of faith and religion amidst science.

The key concept is in the creation and ownership of life. The human race's creators, the 'engineers', are likened to gods who choose to create life on other planets for a greater purpose, though the purpose is never proven. They are expected to not only know all the answers to the big questions of life (why are we here? what were we created for?), but are also expected to hand them over as if we somehow deserved them. In fact, the mission was funded by a dying man in hopes that he would be able to extend his life by the knowledge they possess, and the crew pays dearly for his desire.

Plenty of ideas are fostered by the lifelike AI android on the crew -- David -- who, after his creator dies, becomes 'free' and without purpose, but still continues to operate. He carries out some morally questionable actions throughout, but it is unclear whether they are a direct result of his orders, whether he has fashioned his own moral compass to operate against, or whether he is working on his own agenda. Ultimately, as the only crew member able to converse in the alien tongue, the fate of humankind lies in his hands. Ironic that he can only simulate humanity himself. We never do find out how the conversation goes, but we are left with the possibility that David intentionally incites the alien to tear the human crew to pieces.

The protagonist's faith is shoehorned into the plot on several occasions; the strength of her faith is represented by her reluctance to remove the cross from her neck (even when it may be contaminated with life-threatening alien goo... what kind of scientists are these?). Her belief in the omniscience and generosity of the alien species is analogous to her relationship with God. Upon judgement, the crew are met with death and destruction. Far from believing her faith in the engineers misplaced, she continues with the blind conviction in their benevolence, and hopes the next meeting will provide more answers. The only reason and justification ever given of her faith is the downright insulting summary, "It is what I choose to believe". It is no wonder that in an age of atheism, religious believers are condemned as unreasoned, illogical beings.

As the film draws to its end (an ending that can't strictly be considered an end, since the writers were clearly banking on a sequel), you will find yourself lacking the answers that this film promised and spectacularly failed to deliver and wanting the last 2 hours of your life back.


In summary: overly ambitious waste of time that does NOT deserve the second installment it's getting in 2015.

/ [kittykittykitty]

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