Prometheus Review

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Alba, Logan-Marshall Green, Guy Pearce

Running time: 124 minutes

Certificate: 15

Synopsis: Dr Elizabeth Shaw (Rapace) leads the crew of Prometheus to an uncharted planet in search of man’s creator. But what she finds there may prove the end for not only her team, but mankind itself…

The life of an ALIEN(S) fan is one of bitter disappointment. It’s been 26 years since the last solid entry into the franchise, a time in which fans have suffered several unsatisfactory sequels and spin-offs. This may be partly why Ridley Scott has distanced his belated prequel from the other films. The director was quick to stress this was not an ALIEN film, though it would contain strands of ‘ALIEN DNA’. Scott believes he has a more interesting story to tell this time around, one that deals with answers. And as brilliant as his original ALIEN is – and it remains one of cinema’s finest 33 years on – the film has left questions hanging in the ether, questions that remained mercifully untouched by the inferior sequels. Who was the Space Jockey? Where do the Xenomorphs come from? And how does ‘The Company’ fit into all this? But, as the characters of PROMETHEUS soon discover, searching for answers comes with risks. Can any film 33 years in the making ever live up to expectations? Or will this be the bitterest disappointment of all? And it is true that some questions are best left unanswered?

On face value, there’s no reason PROMETHEUS should disappoint. Not only has Scott directed some of modern cinema’s most revered works, he has accrued a talented cast, and the production design – in the vision of H.R. Giger’s original conceptual art – is stunning. But we forget: Scott’s output since GLADIATOR has been ropey at best, a cause for concern in his long-awaited return to the ALIEN universe. Fortunately, Scott is on form, and his steady direction echoes the original film; once again, he demonstrates a masterclass in building tension and isolation. This is particularly true of the film’s early stages, and by the point at which the characters’ expedition takes a dark turn, both they and audience will be suitably unnerved. It’s a slow burner, but guided by a confident and experienced hand.

Scott’s cast also live up the expectation. Whilst some are saddled with stock characters and clumsy dialogue (most notably Sean Harris), they rise to the occasion: Idris Elba and Charlize Theron both shine as the likeable ship captain and ice-cold corporate presence respectively. Though overall the film should belong to Noomi Rapace – who remains very good in her lead role – it’s Michael Fassbender who predictably steals the show as android David. Here lies one of the film’s major questions: which of the series’ previous androids will David most resemble? In other words, can he be trusted? Whatever the answer, Fassbender brings something unique to the role; childlike and inhuman, but with an identifiable personality. He’s the franchise’s best ‘artificial person’ to date, and Fassbender shows why he’s currently the industry’s finest male talent.

Not only the most intriguing character, android David also plays a central role in the script’s core themes. It is indeed a film about searching for answers, best demonstrated in its exploration of the nature of creation. Rapace’s Dr Shaw seeks the truth as to why the human race was created (if in fact it was at all), and it’s a question that lingers over many of the story’s characters and threads. One character suggests Weyland Industries created android David just because it could – though who knows? Perhaps there are more sinister motivations at play – inviting the audience to question if the same is true of the human race.

Writers Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof have aimed high with PROMETHEUS, and attempted to tackle big questions. Thematically, it’s thought-provoking stuff; but the writing also proves to be the film’s weakest link and ultimate undoing. Once the film passes the halfway mark, moving from cautious build-up to more conventional genre plotting, it falls apart. The second act moves characters from one place to the next, pulling out all whole manner of horror and science-fiction tropes; the reasoning and consequences of events become unclear and therefore inconsequential. Whatever it is the crew encounter on the alien world, it appears to have a variety of effects on them, none of which sit comfortably, and are little more than cheap and easy scare tactics.

As the film picks up pace, plot contrivances are piled on (though Scott often makes the most of these, including one scene of particularly affecting body horror, despite the crudity of the set up), and in its search of answers, PROMETHEUS manages only to ask more questions. In ALIEN, we accepted what was left unsaid because there was a self-contained story, satisfactorily concluded. Whilst some of the original film’s loose ends are addressed, PROMETHEUS also opens up far too much; posing questions is perfectly fine – particularly in a series with a mythological scale such as this – but Spaihts and Lindelof’s script lacks the direction and courage to draw a meaningful conclusion. Perhaps most frustrating is that Scott himself did not recognise how inherently muddled his long-awaited prequel is.

PROMETHEUS, it seems, is not necessarily a film about searching for the truth, but more about the search itself. Whilst this is relatively interesting, after 33 years of waiting, it’s not nearly enough. However, this long period of time is significant; there was little chance Scott’s film would marry up with the audience’s expectations, and or their own imagined version of the events leading up to ALIEN. For this, we must give Scott some leeway. It’s also important to acknowledge the flashes of brilliance here, particularly from Scott’s direction. The film also looks amazing, though after 30 minutes you’ll be wondering why they bothered with 3D. As Ridley Scott claimed, there are strands of ‘ALIEN DNA’, though this can be attributed to not necessarily the original film’s most intriguing elements, but the overall disappointment that has followed each entry into the series since 1992’s ALIEN3. It is unfortunately true that some questions – the Space Jockey, the Xenomorphs, ‘The Company’ – are indeed best left unanswered.

  PROMETHEUS arrives in UK cinemas 1st June.