Movie Review: 'Prometheus'

by Brian Kesler
Rating: 4/5

Ridley Scott is hit-or-miss for me. Two of his films have moved into the realm of greatness, particularly for their visual appeal: 'Blade Runner' (the Director's Cut, of course) and 'Alien.' His newest movie is a prequel of sorts to the latter and though the film isn't quite an instant classic, it's right up there with the visuals.

'Prometheus' starts right away by utilizing modern visual effects in order to heighten the impact of certain ideas. In fact, more so than most movies from the past several years, this film is particularly good at pushing bold effects with flooding imagination. In the opening, following a sequence of images of lush and beautiful landscapes played against the triumphant musical fanfare of life's wonders, we witness a strange - almost human - man poisoning himself. The camera takes us into his veins and we travel with the poison through his blood stream, seeing his DNA strands burst and snap before our eyes. This artistic freedom is a great tool. It's so easily (and frequently) abused. But once in a scattered while, a director's imagination coupled with this tool makes way for greatness.

The photography is some of the best of the year thus far, with dark indirect lighting and pops of florescent colors illuminated from strategic points, reflecting on the actors' faces as they maneuver through the shadows. It's particularly successful in the first fifteen minutes or so as David, an android, walks through the empty corridors of the spaceship Prometheus amidst scientists in hibernation. His steps ring out and become muddled echoes in the dark hallways. He observes the sleeping humans with - is it jealousy? Curiosity? He sits in the darkness, with the light of Lean's film 'Lawrence of Arabia' projecting across his face from a monitor. He idolizes Peter O'Tool and pays close attention during his favorite scene: Lawrence extinguishes a match between his fingertips and a fellow soldier does that same, not realizing it would hurt. "It damn well hurts," "Certainly it hurts," says Lawrence, "What the trick, then?"  "The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts." David arranges his hair to be just like O'Tool's - blonde locks and all. He walks through the silent corridors and repeats O'Tool's line, "The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts. The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts. The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts." 

The film might give Noomi Rapace - of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' fame - first billing, but it is Michael Fassbender's performance of the bitter and longing android David that makes the film. Ridley Scott's direction soon gets sloppy, and the script is not perfect in the least, but there are moments of greatness, mostly to do with David's relation to the other characters. He is pushed around and used as a tool, and he resents it enough to get revenge on the biggest offender. I won't spoil the fruit of the vengeance, but it is quite horrifying. By the end of the film, David is decapitated, but still alive and in working condition. His motionless, bodiless head talks with the same coolness as ever. Noomi finds him and stuffs his head into a duffel bag, not willing to leave him behind. As she zips up the bag, she says, "Sorry." His eyes light up and he smiles, his head being closed in with the zipper and says, "It's alright."

The film deals with the the battle between Darwinism vs. Creationism as the scientists believe, not just that they have found life outside Earth, but the very creators of Earth and the human race. Who knew meeting our creator could be so terrifying? There are plenty of movies with the same story structure: Scientists discover artifact, study alien body, alien body turns out to be alive, alien terrorizes and multiplies. The difference between the rest of those films and this one is this movie's joy at the prospect of the discovery of our roots and the reasons for existence and the mysteries of the universe. A scene in which David watches a holographic simulation of the creation of the galaxy is particularly awe inspiring. David walks directly into the midst of the hologram and revels in its brilliance, almost dancing among the stars and moons that move through his body.

There are many places to find faults with 'Prometheus.' The music - aside from the fanfare - is overpowering when the tension would be better built in silence. A scene in which one character performs a Cesarian on herself to rid an alien parasite from her womb is a roller coaster ride, but would be even more powerful with no gimmicky score to tell us what we're supposed to be feeling. The middle section of the film is sloppy and places horror/action above paced storytelling. Also, the film is disinterested in following through on the many questions it asks, but that doesn't much hurt the effectiveness of the thematic elements.

'Prometheus' may not be as good as 'Alien,' and may make some in the audience squeamish in its relentless gore, but it is more intelligent than the average monster movie. It asks its audience to question the reason for our existence, features bold performances from Fassbender and Charlize Theron, and has a glorious orchestration of photography, visual effects, and production design. It is worth it to see in a theater where its visual glory can be appreciated.