Country:
USA
Starring:
Noomi Rapace
Michael Fassbender
Charlize Theron
Idris Elba
Guy Pearce
Logan Marshall-Green
Directed By:
Ridley Scott
Synopsis:
Two archeologists find different cavern paintings, in unrelated places and time period, showing the map to the very same galaxy. They sell the idea to a corporation that this map would lead to our makers or "the engineers" as they call them, so they find where to go and are promptly shipped up in space to get answers to mankind's deepest questions. Along with the other fifteen dumbest people on Earth.
Creativity is slowly dying in Hollywood. Fewer original movies are made each year, because it is less lucrative than rebooting an establish franchise or straight up reshoot an old film (think STRAW DOGS or soon enough...*sigh*...POINT BREAK). PROMETHEUS only has one foot in this trend, though. It has one foot in many trends, but doesn't really commit to anything. I was very angry after viewing the movie last Saturday. I thought it was a terrorist attempt on my intellect, but I've been doing a lot of thinking since then and my feelings have mellowed out. I still think PROMETHEUS has inexcusable flaws, but it's obviously an intriguing movie. About twenty-four hours after viewing, writer-friend Mike Offutt and me put our geek hats on and discussed the movie at length via email. So it has something to offer. The problem is that Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof seem to bother about their movie's legacy, rather than the movie itself.
There are cool things about PROMETHEUS. The mythology is really interesting. It seems a bit of an overkill to craft such a complex movie about what was basically a slasher movie in space, but the original ALIEN left out many unanswered questions to its fan base. In that regards, PROMETHEUS is a valiant effort to go over them. Yes, it gets awfully philosophical with the questions of creation of mankind, but I dug the way it was done. After reading a few articles about the movie and how it was originally supposed to be, it was meant to be clearer than the final product, but it did a decent job knowing there was a second movie planned from day one of the production. We were given pieces of the puzzle, but the two main questions remain intact: "Who are the engineers?" and "Why did they create us?".
But that script...
Oh that script was so terrible, it ruined the viewing for me. "The Engineers" are terrific and intriguing subjects, but the people who find out about them are the dumbest, most insipid character cast I've had the displeasure to see in a movie. Little to no effort has been put into the script. I'm a huge LOST fan, so of all people, I can take Damon Lindelof's style. He created some of the most endearing characters in television history, going through the wackiest adventures, but he has yet to create a good character since. Shaw (Rapace) and Holloway (Marshall-Green) behave like horny teenagers in a Jason Vorhees flick and somehow seem to be in charge of a deep space expedition with absolutely zero experience. Vickers (Theron) is the ship commander, who commands absolutely nothing. There doesn't seem to be any definite roles onboard and everybody does what they want. Sometimes I wondered if the characters were actually aware they were in a science-fiction movie. Here's an example.
X and Y are dating. X is ill with a mysterious disease. About all the crew are outside on the planet and X falls on his face. He's not doing well.
Y radioes Z on the ship.
Y: PREPARE A MEDICAL TEAM, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY. X IS SICK
*Now, at the beginning, it's mentioned there are seventeen people onboard. Most people are on screen or accounted for...WHAT MEDICAL TEAM IS SHE TALKING ABOUT? The only medical supply there seem to be onboard is that pod thing. Plus, surgical manipulations were done earlier...by the same characters that need help right now. There's no medical team.
Z: He's sick with what?
* Bitch, you're stranded on an alien planet, who the fuck knows?
That's just one example. My friend Bo pointed out to me a video made by Red Letter Media highlighting all the corny decisions and the plot holes (spoilers). They get most of it, but there are still more. The acting is unequal at best and reflects this movie very well. Michael Fassbender is absolutely stellar as David-the-android. Logan Marshall-Green, also known as the-dude-who-looks-like-Tom-Hardy-but-doesn't-act-as-well is mortifying. Idris Elba is going a great job with a smaller, almost useless part. But Idris Elba's always good. Kudos to the art direction and make up crew for making Noomi Rapace ugly. That mop hair and those odd shots of her cheek bones really busted my bubble about her. Oh and what was the point of having Guy Pearce in the move again?
I can't say PROMETHEUS is a good movie. It has its moments where it tickles your intellectual curiosity, but Damon Lindelof single-handedly made this movie stupid by giving it the dumbest, most unlikeable character crew of the franchise. It's too bad, because visually speaking PROMETHEUS is beautiful, gorgeous even. But it wouldn't been better as a silent movie. With a good script, this would've went down in history as one of Ridley Scott's best films. Rent it if you're curious, I suppose. Just don't expect to be swept away by anything it has to offer.
SCORE: 51%