REVIEW: Prometheus (2012)

The following is a short review of Prometheus – Directed by Ridley Scott. For more Alien reviews, check out this category.

Ridley Scott’s long-awaited return to the Alien-franchise – Prometheus – offered up several surprises and was ultimately deemed a ‘let down’ by many fans of the franchise. The premise of the prequel film was, to an extent, at odds with fan expectations, but was nevertheless an admirable and ambitious attempt at rebranding a franchise that needed to feel fresh again.

Prometheus takes place in the late 21st century and follows the crew of the space ship the Prometheus, which is traveling towards a star map discovered on ancient drawings found by archaeologists Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (played by Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (played by Logan Marshall-Green). They hope to find the race of ‘people’ called the ‘Engineers,’ who the archaeologists believe to be the creators of the human race.

I ultimately quite enjoyed Prometheus even if certain things about it were admittedly relatively disappointing. While I, ultimately, really appreciated the fascinating and ambitious prequel story, various character elements were the film’s biggest problems. I still think that Prometheus is, ultimately, hurt by poor character decisions. Many of the major character decisions that propel the story forward and move the plot along are sometimes illogical. Characters that are meant to be fairly intelligent make dumb decisions over the course of the film, and, even though that isn’t new to this franchise, this crew of experts maybe should be more intelligent.

Many of those characters are also tough to distinguish from each other, and really only one or two of these characters are at all memorable. Sometimes it even feels to me like it is a crime to modern cinema that Prometheus basically wastes both Charlize Theron and Idris Elba — they both deserve much better roles than they are given. But, for many, the disappointing thing about Prometheus was obviously that there was barely any alien action in it, and, while I really enjoy the ambition of the film, I can understand why many fans felt this film needed a Xenomorph. That said, you have to meet the film on its own terms and evaluate what is actually on-screen, and, frankly, a lot of this is glorious.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Prometheus actually is the visuals. The visual effects are stunning and the alien planet is spectacularly shot. It features breathtaking cinematography, outstanding visual effects, and sci-fi production design of the highest order. Nevertheless, whenever I rewatch Prometheus the main thing that I am fixated upon is Michael Fassbender’s performance as the android David. The Alien-franchise is known for having great android characters — like Lance Henriksen’s Bishop and Ian Holm’s Ash — but I don’t think I’ve ever been as fascinated with a character in the franchise as I am with Fassbender’s blond-haired android.  The performance is so well-measured and fascinating, as Fassbender carries the perfect amount of precision of movement, curiosity of humanity, and, frankly, an undercurrent of resentment.

Prometheus is an ambitious Alien-prequel that I really admire, which raises many fascinating questions about the origin of both the human race and the classic Alien-movie monster, but it does have some issues relating to the writing of characters. But if you are willing to overlook those character deficiencies, then you are met with a brilliantly made and thought-provoking film with more on its mind and more to say than 90% of modern blockbuster films.

8 out of 10

– Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.