PROMETHEUS AND THE WORLD OF ALIEN

If you had told me ten years ago that Ridley Scott, the prince of science fiction horror cinema was planning a prequel to Alien I would have punched you in the face, called you Nancy and told you not to spread such blasphemous lies. I mean, we’re talking about Alien. One of the most beloved sci-fi/horror films ever made. It launched the career of Sigourney Weaver and gave us a peak at Ian Holm’s talent (who would later go on to portray Bilbo Baggins in the “Lord of The Rings” films). Furthermore, “Alien” introduced us to some of the most badass man-in-an-alien-suit action we’d ever seen. Stan Winston was at the height of his game.

But alas, Mr. Scott did eventually announce that a prequel to Alien was in the works. He also mentioned, and this is something that most reviewers seem to keep forgetting, that it would have little or nothing to do with the Alien movies and would instead focus on the story of the infamous Space Jockey from the first film. Prometheus certainly doesn’t disappoint in that respect, but we’ll get to that.

So, now that I’ve waited over three years for this movie and finally had a chance to see it, the question remains whether or not I was impressed. The answer may not be so simple. The short answer is “yes”. But this wouldn’t be your typical self-serving, highly opinionated blog if I just left it at that. ;)

WARNING!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Visually, “Prometheus” is over flowing with pretty landscapes and convincing characters. The world that Ridley Scott paints for is so full of realism that you often forget you’re looking at CG enhanced environments which is exactly how I like it. More often than not, filmmakers rely too heavily on CGI to sell the fantasy world they’ve created but it always seems to fall short because they use too much of it. I can tell that Scott pushed for the real environments mixed with CGI enhancement as opposed to going straight CGI which works brilliantly. Despite the often violent nature of the unnamed planet, I am still left with a feeling of wanting to visit this strange new world. I want to know more.

Performance wise everyone was spot on. Noomi Rapace (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Sweedish version) proves once again why she is both a phenomenal performer and the best choice for playing a strong female lead. It seems like nowadays everyone leans towards Kristin Stewart to play every “strong” female character and you think they would learn by now that she is NOT a good choice. At least Noomi Rapace knows how to shut her God damn mouth!

But I digress…

Rapace’s performance is rock solid and truly believable. There is one scene in particular in which Rapace’s character has to perform an emergency C-section… on herself!! While the scene itself comes off as being a little farfetched, Noomi manages to pull it off and it is easily one of the tensest moments in the entire film.

Michael Fassbender is a treat as the precursor to Ash – or the better known Bishop from Aliens – and he plays the part with such disturbing accuracy that I now find myself wondering if Fassbender really is an android. Can I just say that I love this actor? Because I do. I would cast him in any movie as any character because I’m certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I asked him to play the part of a wild monkey on acid banging a coffee can, not only would he pull off, but he’d do it so well he’d probably win an Academy Award for it. The can would be useless, but worth it in the long run.

Charlize Theron is in the movie too… Yeah that’s about it. She’s good. As usual. But nothing great. I kind of felt like her character was underplayed and after everything that happens to her and her crew you would expect a slightly different outcome for her… But you don’t get it. Okay, I’m giving it away now, but her character dies and she does so in such a way that makes you feel like it wasn’t even worth suffering with her through the adventure. Part of me wouldn’t have minded seeing her carry on to the eventual sequel, but alas it is not to be. She was great for the part and if there was a character in the film that most closely resembled Ripley from the Alien films it’s the mission director Meredith Vickers. She takes charge, doesn’t put up with anyone’s shit, and if they had just listened to her in the first place when she tried to quarantine the ship nothing bad would have ever happened.

Guy Pearce also has a small part in the film. I emphasize small because the marketing crew on Prometheus talks up Pearce’s involvement on the film as if he plays some hugely significant role. He doesn’t. The part is good and necessary to the plot, but not large enough to mandate a top billing slot. Yet another great actor who gets underplayed.

And, of course there are a bunch of other characters played by a bunch of actors who may or may not be worth mentioning, but they all die in the end anyway and you know they’re going to die fifteen minutes into the film. No. Seriously. There’s no way you couldn’t see it coming. I’m not ruining anything here, just saving you from the five minutes of thought it would take you to figure it out for yourself.

This brings me to the story…

I’ve heard some people complain that they just didn’t get it or couldn’t understand what was going on. Honestly, I had no trouble following the story because it was somewhat predictable. For a film that Ridley Scott claims he didn’t want mimicking Alien in any way, shape, or form it certainly feels like we’re watching Alien. Right out the gate the opening title sequence has the letters of the title slowly appearing on screen piece by piece just like Alien. Then, the first fifteen/twenty minutes of the film is almost a beat-by-beat replay of the first twenty minutes of Alien all the way down to our introduction to the characters who are only “in it for the money.” Also like Alien, the ship Prometheus becomes damaged while entering the strange planet’s atmosphere, a massive storm is ripping through the land, and the ships mission director Meredith Vickers is vehemently against the idea of being anywhere near this shit-hole planet.

Within a few more minutes a small crew goes to explore the Alien ruins and eventually discovers a room full “canisters” which conveniently resemble the look of the “alien face hugger pods” from the “Alien” film. Wait just a few more minutes and one of the crew suddenly becomes “infected” with some nasty virus thing which he then accidentally transmits to his girlfriend, which then impregnates her with an alien life-form, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Plain and simple… It’s Alien. A dumbed down version of it, but at its core this movie is a retelling of Alien if the aliens were still nothing more than single cell organisms waiting for the opportunity to evolve.

After that, the story branches out on its own and it isn’t afraid to take its time either. Part of what makes a Ridley Scott movie worth watching are the visuals. He tells his stories slowly and allows you to take in the world around you. Prometheus is no exception. Scott is one of the few directors I can think of capable of creating tension even when there’s really nothing going on. And that’s pretty much 80% of this movie. Nothing really happens when they get to the planet except for an excessive amount of talking and walking. You learn a little tidbit of information here, a little there, but still no real action. The tension comes from being on this foreign planet with these people you barely know. That’s the magic of the first Alien movie and it is somewhat revived here. You feel like you’re just as much a part of this alien expedition as the characters on screen and find yourself waiting in eager anticipation to see what’s around the next corner.

Then, after spending what seems like forever doing nothing, the film starts heading towards its climax and you didn’t even know you were ready for it. The second Elizabeth Shaw discovers she has an alien creature living inside her and proceeds to cut herself open to get it out, the movie becomes almost non-stop action from there on out. The next thing you know the credits are rolling and you’re left wondering what the hell just happened. I can certainly understand the confusion some people have about the story, but it really wasn’t that complicated.

However, that doesn’t mean the story is without flaw. There were a couple parts that left me scratching my noggin, but not because I was confused. Instead there were a couple moments that seemed to fuck with the origins of the first Alien movie that left me worried. The only one worth mentioning is the Space Jockey, especially since he was supposed to be at the center of the stories plot. I know Ridley Scott wanted to explore the origins of the Space Jockey from the first film, but I’m not entirely convinced that the Space Jockey we see in Prometheus is the same one we saw in Alien… Which doesn’t make much sense. It’s tough to explain without going into the details of the ending so I’ll spare you that one and instead leave you with my final thoughts.

Prometheus is a good movie. The plot leaves something to be desired and it has certainly been left open for a sequel (duh), however, I do wish they would have taken a little more time with it and maybe given us some mid-film action so the ending didn’t hit us so hard so fast. Other than that, Prometheus is a fun little sci-fi flick that shows us Mr. Scott hasn’t lost his touch… He’s rusty. But the touch is still there. Here’s hoping he uses Prometheus as a good warm up for the “Blade Runner” sequel.