Prometheus is about creation: who created us, who created our creators and why?
It’s the year 2089 and Elizabeth Shaw (Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Marshall-Green), both archaeologists obsessed with ‘creation’, have discovered a set of pictograms from different civilizations that all point to the same planet. Convinced that the planet in the pictures is the one from which our creators hailed, they decide to go and meet them. They set off on a spaceship called Prometheus with a crew that includes Janek (Elba), the captain; Meredith Vickers (Theron), the boss; and David (Fassbender), a top of the line android. Their arrival on the planet triggers events that could affect the entire human race.
The two main problems with Prometheus are to do with casting. Pearce, who is generally a great actor, plays an old, dying man and is barely discernible under the barrel of makeup that he’s been coated in. The kicker is he doesn’t even look that old, just severely made up. The second problem is Rapace’s accent. She doesn’t sound English at all so they shouldn’t have tried to pass her off as that. It’s distracting and could easily have been avoided since Shaw’s nationality has zero effect on the plot.
The bigger issue with Rapace, however, is her acting; she doesn’t hold a candle to either Theron or Fassbender who, in comparison, are mesmerising. She does do really well with the action/horror sequences though. Despite being an android, David is the most complex character on the ship. He’s a slave to his creators despite being superior to them; he’s disdainful of their desire to meet their engineers who he imagines will care as little for the humans as the humans do for him – Fassbender is both fascinating and chilling in the role. The way he moves alone conveys that even though he may look human, he isn’t.
Visually, Prometheus is a beast. It will probably give you a slack jaw for the entire two hours. It takes the established sci-fi visual vocabulary to the next level. It’s filled with flashy tech, rubber jumpsuits, platinum hair, freaky aliens and is drenched in blue tones; all in all pretty regular stuff for a film set in space. But the film doesn’t look pulpy, kitschy or over the top in the way that many sci-fi films do. It encompasses classic beauty as well as a sense of tension, wonder and danger. The opening scene, which was shot in Iceland, is spellbinding and slightly reminiscent of The Tree Of Life.
Prometheus is supposedly a prequel to Alien though it doesn’t require any prior knowledge of the film nor are they directly related. However, if you haven't seen Alien, you will lose the jolt of recognition that comes with the numerous references to it.
The film is huge in scope but unfortunately the ending doesn’t have the same sense of grandeur; parts of the plot are left hanging and the result is more irritating than thought provoking. However, what the film does right, it does spectacularly. This is one production that deserves to be seen on a cinema screen. Also, Michael Fassbender is awesome.
