New Release: Prometheus (No spoilers)

Prometheus isn't one of those movies you should go in blind, but I do feel like overexplaining it could deprive you of the confusion and the thought provocation it gave me.   And I'm sure the thoughts it would provoke will be different for all.  First, Noomi Rapace and her fellow archaeologists discover a connection between various other sites that lead them to explore outerspace, specifically looking for a particular planet.  A really rich businessman funds this endeavor and puts Charlize Theron in charge of the 2-year mission to get there. There are also a few other scientists and the ship's captain Idris Elba.  While they all sleep the 2 years away, David (Michael Fassbender), an android with unclear motivations or intentions, has been keeping an eye on the ship.  Watching David prepare for their arrival by amusing himself with basketball and movies, the tone is set for just about anything to happen.  After everyone else wakes up, we're introduced to lots of characters that have to try to make us care a little bit about as you KNOW that not all of them are going to survive.
Noomi Rapace is an extremely worthy successor to Sigourney Weaver's "Ripley" taking bad-ass to a different place.  Watching her attempt to fulfill one dream while losing another made me actually care about whether or not she survives.  Charlize Theron, on the other hand, she's chewing the scenery and overacting so well that you can't wait to find out how or if she's going to die - the reward on that one is worth waiting for.  But the character that really steals the show is David.  Michael Fassbender is obsequious, sucking up to all the humans, which is a weird trait to see in an android as you'd think he wouldn't care what they think.  But his delivery of the lines agreeing to make a drink for Theron assures you that he's got motivations that no other android should have.
There are a lot of fairly obvious symbolic gestures in the film - from naming it Prometheus (the Titan who stole fire from the Gods and gave it to man who was sentenced to have his liver eaten out daily - symbolizing "be careful what do you pissing off those with more power than you") to Rapace's flashback to her father educating her about religion.  The idea of humans wanting to understand our origins and thinking that those can be sought on another planet was a bit of a stretch for me, but I loved the movie nonetheless.  The action is a bit nail-biting (and curious - I'm not sure I've ever seen a fire-thrower as a weapon chosen over a gun) and there are more than a few jump in your seat moments.  I really liked the complexity of the story - and I've never seen Alien so I have no idea what overlapped (though my movie partner definitely helped with that).  Overall, I would highly recommend this - though if you're looking for a horror movie in space, you'll be disappointed.  If you just want a great movie with a good story, definitely check it out.


10 comments:

  1. I really liked the philosophical and religious aspects of the film, but honestly felt the movie needed more oomph. Perhaps it was too lacking in action for me. And I also don't think the third act balanced out the rest of the movie--in other words, you have a slow burn leading to a climax that isn't quite worth the build-up.

    (SPOILERS)

    Also, there were only a few connections to the Alien franchise. The space jockeys themselves (the humanoid aliens)... the giant facehugger at the end... and, of course, the proto-alien that bursts out of the space jockey before the credits. It was all kind of an origin story for how the aliens themselves came to be. Oh, and I totally think the basketball thing was a jibe at Alien: Resurrection, where a super-human Ripley plays basketball and makes an incredibly difficult shot (which Sigourney Weaver actually made). A lot of fans apparently hate that whole scene.

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  2. Nick - I did like the way they tried to create a deeper story than required let's say, and I agree, the final action was too up and down to create a strong sustained intense mood like Aliens. Gotta see the first and third ones to be sure.

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    1. Eh... you wouldn't be missing much if you passed on Alien3. Not a good movie.

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  3. The marines in ALIENS used flamethrowers quite a bit as I recall. Ripley too.

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  4. Rich - yes they did. I'm surprised Ridley Scott keeps going with flame throwers. Just an oddity - potentially a topic for a "Riddle Me This" someday.

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  5. woah. Nobody has mentioned that you haven't watched ALIEN! I'm sure you should have more comments of the "why haven't you watched it!" variety. I'd like to think that it is on your to-do list at the very least. And, considering how much you liked PROMETHEUS, again, I'd be interested to see how you would find the rest of the franchise in comparison. Nick says you wouldn't miss much on ALIEN 3, I disagree - though flawed, it has some interesting themes throughout.

    Simon

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    1. I do agree it has solid themes. But the overall execution of practically everything was a big failure, at least to me. And I know none of that was really Fincher's fault, either, with all the behind-the-scenes issues going on. I just *really* didn't like it (and yes, I've seen the Assembly Cut, too). I actually prefer the train wreck that is Alien: Resurrection over it, just because it's vastly more entertaining.

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  6. Simon - I do intend to now that I've seen 2 of the 5ish in the series. I think I can handle it.

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  7. Rachel & I went to see this for her birthday. I didn't care about ANY of the characters. The fact that there was an extra person aboard the ship and what that person's relationship was to someone else was not surprising or interesting. "Visually interesting" is the only positive thing I can say about this film. I'm sure I will never watch it again. I will (and have) watched ALIEN and ALIENS multiple times.

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    1. I pretty much agree with Mom. I think the film thought it was deeper than it really was. The performances were great, but the characters were mostly blah, except for David, but there's still a lot missing from him too. The only person I genuinely liked was Idris Elba as the captain. He didn't have depth, but he was fun. In the end it was just an ok sci-fi flick.

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