Prometheus (2012) 20th Century Fox/Sci-Fi-Horror RT: 124 minutes Rated R (language, sci-fi violence, graphic surgical procedure, icky creatures, intense moments, mature themes) Director: Ridley Scott Screenplay: Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof Music: Marc Streitenfeld Cinematography: Dariusz Wolski Release date: June 8, 2012 (US) Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Logan Marshall-Green, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall, Emun Elliott, Kate Dickie, Patrick Wilson, Lucy Hutchinson.
Rating: *** ½
NOTE TO READERS: The following is a review I wrote in 2012.
Where did life begin? Where do we come from? Is the book of Genesis accurate? What about Charles Darwin, was he right? These are some of the weighty questions posed throughout the course of Prometheus, a new sci-fi flick from director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner). Of course, the biggest question on everybody’s mind is whether or not it’s a prequel to Alien, the 1979 sci-fi classic that taught frightened audiences that nobody can hear you scream in space.
It takes place in the same universe as the Alien movies (the Weyland Corporation figures prominently into the plot), but as for it being a direct prequel … well, you’ll need to find that out for yourself because I’m not telling! You won’t mind finding out the answer on your own though.
Prometheus is that rare kind of sci-fi-horror film that doesn’t insult the intelligence of its audience. It’s much more cerebral than one would expect from a summer movie. However, when you consider Scott’s sci-fi pedigree, it should come as no surprise that it isn’t a no-brainer. I’d even rank it alongside Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey which is the highest praise I can offer any sci-fi movie. For me, the biggest question is just how much should I tell you about this movie. I want to give you an idea of what it’s about without ruining any of the film’s surprises, so I guess I won’t be spending too much time writing a detailed description of the plot.
Prometheus opens with a humanoid creature on a distant planet drinking a substance that causes him to disintegrate. His body drops into a waterfall and seeds the planet with his DNA. Cut to 2089 when two archaeologists, Elizabeth Shaw (Rapace, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Charlie Holloway (Green, Brooklyn’s Finest), discover a mysterious star map drawn on a cave wall in Scotland. It matches similar cave drawings found in various parts of the world and proves a connection between several ancient cultures. They also indicate that the inhabitants of a distant planet shown on the maps are the “Engineers” of the human race.
Peter Weyland (Pearce, Memento) finances a trillion-dollar voyage to the aforementioned planet which is so far out in the universe that the crew of the vessel Prometheus travels in stasis for nearly three years while the android David (Fassbender, Inglorious Basterds) monitors everything. He’s to this voyage what HAL is to Discovery One in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Upon awakening, the crew learns the purpose of the voyage – to locate and make contact with the Engineers. However, mission director Meredith Vickers (Theron, Snow White and the Huntsman) makes it clear they’re to avoid all contact with the Engineers … if they even exist. The ship lands and a team led by Shaw and Holloway sets out to explore a mysterious structure. Inside, they find a giant statue of a humanoid head and the corpse of a giant alien and…. the plot description ends here. What I will tell you is that Shaw does find answers, even to questions she didn’t ask.
Prometheus is the best movie that I’ve seen so far this summer. No, it’s the best movie I’ve seen so far this year. It restores my faith in mainstream movies a little bit, especially in a year that’s seen an unusually large load of cinematic garbage dumped into multiplexes. Perhaps the major studios still have the capability to release something other than the usual mindless crap (I’m looking at you, Battleship!) they inflict on the public. It’s an intelligent movie that’s genuinely intelligent, not the bogus kind of intelligence on display in a pseudo-cerebral sci-fi flick like 1997’s Event Horizon. It touches on some heavy issues and offers fascinating answers; that’s the kind of movie I’d like to see more of at the multiplexes during the hot months.
However, don’t be dissuaded by this description. Prometheus isn’t a two-hour lecture on theological philosophy. It also contains a fair amount of suspense, a few decent action sequences, some great “BOO!” moments, and plenty of icky creature effects. It has terrific FX; I think we may be looking at this year’s Oscar winner for Best Visual Effects. The production design is quite impressive as well. The act of looking at Prometheus can accurately be described as sheer cinematic ecstasy.
Scott chose an excellent cast. Rapace proves beyond any doubt her talent translates into English very well. Fassbender delivers a convincing performance as an android who bears a striking resemblance to the younger Peter O’Toole as seen in Lawrence of Arabia (a film David is partial to). For the second week in a row, Theron portrays an icy bitch and makes the viewer wonder what she’s really like in person.
Exciting, suspenseful, thought-provoking and a little bit scary, Prometheus makes for ideal entertainment on a hot summer night when you just can’t bear the thought of sitting through another crappy sequel or remake. Highly original, sci-fi fans will love it! Me, I can’t wait to see it again; it’s that great! It deserves to be a hit and I hope audiences will give it a chance. Do they really need to see Men in Black 3 again?
