By Alvin Starks, NDG Contributing Writer
Religion, suspense, a trillion dollar expedition, a spacecraft, a crew of 17, extraterrestrial beings, and a planet shrouded in mystery are the sum of the parts of Ridley Scott’s latest sci-fi thriller Prometheus. After witnessing the epic Prometheus trailer, I was fascinated by the visuals and intrigued by how great the film could potentially be. News started to buzz across the net revealing Prometheus is possibly a prequel to Scott’s 1979 Alien. I made the conscious decision not to view Alien before seeing Prometheus because I wanted to experience the movie without any expectations.
Isle of Skye 2089, the film’s protagonist Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and her partner Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall Green) discover a pictogram on a cave wall that is 35,000 years old. The painting portrays men worshipping giant beings who are pointing to the stars. The same images have been found throughout time among various cultures. Since man lacked the technology to communicate with each other thousands of years ago, it is not a coincidence the paintings are being discovered across the world. The paintings do indeed mean there is life among the stars. Shaw, who is deeply religious, deciphers the painting as an invitation to meet our makers.
Fast-forward two years, the Weyland Corporation has funded the voyage to the coordinates that were decoded through the paintings. Prometheus, which is the name of a spacecraft, embarks on a journey to LV-233 in an optimistic effort to make first contact with the alien creatures that created mankind with 17 crew members aboard.
The Prometheus crew is comprised of a talented group of actors. Charlize Theron, fresh off of her recent film Snow White and the Huntsman, plays another ice queen, the steely Meredith Vickers. Vickers is the brutally cold, Weyland executive who only cares about the bottom line. Her emotionlessness intertwined with an icy exterior makes the character seem as robotic as the ship’s resident android.
It is no surprise that Michael Fassbender steals another show. He delivers the film’s best performance as the ship’s bleached-blonde android named David who is tasked as the crew’s caretaker as well as offering support in their mission. His monotonous voice and lack of facial variations juxtaposed with his eagerness to offer guidance to the crew, becomes unsettling as the movie progresses. While watching the movie you will constantly question if David has free will or not.
The rest of the crew are all one dimensional, genre stereotypical characters ranging from a trigger happy security guard, a geologist only concerned with his work and an off kilter ship captain. Despite playing a one-dimensional character, Idris Elba does a terrific job as the cynical ship captain.
After Prometheus reaches its destination, the ship quickly finds and scans a massive dome-like structure full of tunnels. The crew’s mission is to search for signs of life and evidence that would lead them to the alien beings depicted in the cave paintings. Shortly after entering the catacombs, artifacts are discovered, a mysterious black ooze is uncovered, crewmates are predictably separated and all hell inevitably breaks loose.
Noomi Rapace offers a memorable performance as Dr. Shaw, who ultimately makes a seamless transition from a tenderhearted scientist to tenacious warrior. She is involved in the films most gripping, grotesque, and mind numbing scenes that pays homage to its Alien roots. I did find it ironic that Shaw’s deeply religious character, who wears a cross necklace throughout the film, is so quick to disregard God as the creator of man to search for alien beings who supposedly created the human race based off a 35,000 year old cave drawing.
Moreover, Ridley Scott does a tremendous job directing the movie. The film looks breathtaking, superbly designed and the world looks very realistic. The movie was filmed in 3D. It is worth spending the extra money to view the film the way it was intended to be seen. Scott does a masterful job of creating suspense and building tension as the crew investigates the catacombs. As the film progresses, its abundantly clear that certain crew members aboard Prometheus have their own agendas, some more sinister than others. As I watched the movie, I felt like I was the 18th member of the crew, which is a difficult feat to accomplish.
Prometheus features strong acting performances, also offers tremendous visuals that rival Avatar, and has a thought provoking plot to boot. The characters could have been developed a bit more. Questions are answered and even more questions are asked. I may have enjoyed the movie even more if I had screened Alien beforehand. It is clear that Alien’s DNA is all over this film. Nevertheless, Prometheus is definitely worth the price of admission with or without screening Alien beforehand.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
