Is Prometheus a first (or a fifth) cousin to the film that put its director, Ridley Scott, on the map? The answer is tucked away in the final frame, and it’s an emphatic yes. But even earlier, we have been given reminders of the Alien movies – from the appearance of the title like an un-eclipse to the space explorers who awaken from hyper-sleep and go unwisely where no man has gone before; from the android (Michael Fassbender) leaking white fluid to the seed pods spilling over with slime; from the doughty heroine (Elizabeth Shaw, played by a wan Noomi Rapace) to the callous company executive (Charlize Theron). There are even superficial allusions to specific installments of the (so-far) quadrilogy, like the Christian allegories David Fincher tacked on to the third movie (at the end of which Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley died in order to save mankind) and the maternal/reproductive concerns of the fourth film, Alien: Resurrection. And yes, the sinister (and extremely wealthy) Weyland Corporation makes a return.
And yet, this handsome production is not quite Alien 5 (or Alien: The Beginning, for that matter). For one, it withholds its scares (for the sequels perhaps?) and pushes forward, instead, a host of heavy questions. What is soul? Where do we come from? What is our purpose? What happens when we die? The plot kicks off when scientists on earth discover that all ancient civilisations – Egyptian, Sumerian, Mesopotamian, Mayan – incorporated into their art the same pictogram, which appears to represent a faraway galactic system. And now, in the year 2093, the eponymous spaceship is headed to that system, ostensibly to search for those who “engineered” us. Shaw is convinced that this expedition will give her the answers. “How do you know?” asks a skeptic. “I don‘t, but it is what I choose to believe,” says Shaw, who wears her father’s cross around her neck. Over three decades ago, in the prime of his youth, Scott wanted to make us scream. Now, older and presumably wiser, he wants to make us think.
That’s his undoing. Prometheus is a perfectly serviceable piece of entertainment – I enjoyed the scanning orbs that map out uncharted terrains, and the conceit of a surgery-performing machine – but even the most underwhelming Alien films were filled with a frisson that this film simply doesn’t possess. The quasi-philosophical tone (which comes off, at times, like Robert Zemeckis’ take on Carl Sagan’s Contact) cancels out the horror effects, and the genre underpinnings nullify the high-mindedness – there isn’t a single decent scare. After about three-quarters of the running time, you may still find yourself wondering where this is all headed. (One guess is that Prometheus is essentially ground-laying work for a series of sequels.) And not single character stands out. We remember, from the earlier Alien movies, not only the heroine, but also Charles Dutton’s reformed criminal, Paul Reiser’s slime-ball company representative, Lance Henrikson’s android Bishop, Carrie Henn’s lost little girl, and – not least – the aliens, those drooling, double-mouthed creatures. All we have here is a faint promise that the future films will be better.
An edited version of this piece can be found here.
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rameshram
June 9, 2012
You’re misreading the film(not a first for you either
) its not a horror filled sequel to the Alien seies(although many seem to think it is, it is trying to be all those things Avatar wasn’t- a meaningful scifi film. Its Philosophical core is empty but it makes plenty of points on its own and succeeds in being the elusive pimpernel of a meaningful summer scifi flic.
Where it loses is when ridley scott seems to trust the steven speilberg memes – the Indiana Jones and kingdom of the crystal skull styled alien/ship resolution to scott’s own existential issues , raised very effectively in the film (faith vs robotic pursuit of science, patricide, the nature of “ailen” specially if someone has the same DNA as you…) Instead of exploring these honestly (like his efforts in Gladiator….or Blade Runer) he falls victim to an Avtar style triumphalism to end his film in foolish optimism.
Still , It’s the best summer scifi film yet.
rameshram
June 9, 2012
As an aside , This is the fourth filmmaker who I can see that has sufferred by hollywood’s corrupting “lifestyle bubble”. often George lucas, Speilberg, Robert rodrigues …and now scott…begin with some quite a bit of complex messages and issues, but their early movies make so much money that their “issues” become non issues, and their going back to the same themes(eg: speilberg’s issues with his parent’s seperation, which in ET was oh-so-real felt like a drug induced sham narrative written by someone else for him, in “Catch me if you can”)..
There’s one or two – James cameron, Tarantino(although I loathe much of his work) Cronenberg(ditto) who keep their fire burning. maybe these guys are on enough powder coke that they blot out the meaningless party pleasures that comes with Hollywood prosperity…
Rangeesh
June 10, 2012
Brangan : What did you think of Viswaroopam trailer? Between reviews please?
chronophlogiston
June 10, 2012
Just watched it this afternoon. I agree, I was waiting for the big scares to happen (I was misled by Gitesh Pandya’s unnecessary warning of blood and gore on his Friday CNN review) whereas the movie was tame by today’s horror standards. This is an R-rated film that could have just about squeezed in a PG-13. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt that it actually ended to soon (2 hours goes by pretty quick). As you said, it definitely leaves the viewer expecting more from a sequel, but I suppose that’s better than leaving the viewer saying “please, no more”, isn’t it?
Alpesh Patel
June 10, 2012
There is one part of your review that I disagree with “Over three decades ago, in the prime of his youth, Scott wanted to make us scream. Now, older and presumably wiser, he wants to make us think.”
I maintain that Alien is not a horror film, it is a sci-fi film with a few scary bits in, and Scott has gone back to the sci-fi element of the universe he created which had been lost in the subsequent sequels.
My problem with Scott has always been that I have found him to be a vacuous film-maker, someone who superficially talks about big ideas, but does so in the most uncompassionate way that the big ideas get lost in the heap of boredom that I am feeling.
There are some big problem Prometheus faces, if you take it as a stand alone film, then your comments regarding the characters is true. Aside from the characters, the whole film is so unremarkable that the sequel set up fills one with dread rather than anticipation.
If you take Prometheus as a prequel, then there in lies another problem, because people are expecting a direct prequel (e.g Star Wars Episode III – Revenge of the Sith) what we’re actually getting is a prequel going further back (e.g. Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace) and so the inability to tie everything back to Alien leaves the audience with a huge disappointment akin to the disappointment people felt when watching Contact – you’d hope to see a really cool alien but all you get to see is the dad
brangan
June 10, 2012
Rangeesh: Saw some stills. Not sure what to say. Looks to be another double role, with one gallery-playing character (the dancer) and the other a more traditional hero. But the most interesting aspect of the film has been its title font. Brilliant design, whoever did it.
chronophlogiston: I too was surprised at the number of cautionary reviews — watch out for the blood and gore etc. Did we actually see the same movie?
Bala
June 11, 2012
@baradwaj: Found this piece on what Prometheus was actually about rather interesting – http://cavalorn.livejournal.com/584135.html
vijay
June 11, 2012
Viswaroopam so far has the makings of another Aalavandhan-same bilingual effort, big budget logistics, double role, S-E-L for music, non-Tamil heroine and so on..I hope the BO results are’nt the same too for this time Kamal is producing it.
rameshram
June 11, 2012
“The trick , william potter , is not minding that it sucks”
Bingo! Absolutely.!
rameshram
June 11, 2012
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=458499387511383&set=a.206138056080852.56660.205876559440335&type=1&theater
Raj Balakrishnan
June 11, 2012
The megalomaniac Kamal hassan is back. Viswaroopam trailer sucks, will probably be tacky rubbish.
rameshram
June 12, 2012
let me guess. first half about some monstrously high concept designed to impress some north indian chick who doesnt know kamal’s rep as a womanizer. second half a bunch of character actors spouting crazy mohan dialogs, after money runs out and kamal refuses to show up for filming , because maybe he has had his way with said north indian chick…
brangan
June 13, 2012
Sometimes you have to love the www. ROFL at this infographic.
Suganth
June 13, 2012
Baradwaj,
Reg the title font, I feel it is a variation of what Kamal had used for the mirage named Marudhanayagam… http://bit.ly/M1ZIjH
Mambazha Manidhan
June 25, 2012
hehe.. Have you seen this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFYmv6t_Xyg
Sanjay Raghunath
June 26, 2012
i havent watched the film yet. but is the movie as good as it has been written over here http://clapsandboos.com/w/#review/20024fe1e8975a5579_11127223_01 ?