PROMETHEUS is a stunning achievement, both in visuals and also in unfortunate dullness. It is an overall good film ruined both by being truncated and not being as interesting as it is smart. Ridley Scott needs to start insisting on making his final cut of a film to be the one screened all over the world. This movie is sure to be destined to join the ranks of BLADE RUNNER and KINGDOM OF HEAVEN as Ridley Scott films to achieve masterpiece status with a true director's cut on home video. However, if the movie in front of me for two very long hours was actually his true vision instead of the studio's, then that would increase the disappointment factor of it all even more.
Two archaeologists named Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) find their latest evidence of a peculiar star map that has been appearing in the art work of different civilizations. With the funding of the mega-giant Weyland Corporation, they board the titled spaceship along with an ample crew to journey to the exact coordinates to a very distant moon, in order to make contact with the possibly real Gods of human life, co-named "The Engineers". The excavation of a mysterious building on the planet only leads to a lot more trouble for the scientific expedition. Since there is no cats present at all in the film, human beings must be the ones to be killed for their curiosity.
The plot is often pretty fascinating, with many debates between the crew members about religion, the power of belief, evolution, and even the life of a family. It gets better once the cast heads into the site, which brings the major theme of contamination into the overall picture. Whether it is the sudden decaying of art murals or the many odd fluids and secretions laying all over the place, you will know that major infections are sure to be spread. These factors are further enhanced by Scott's expansive visual design. His mise en scene is frankly astonishing, most easily seen in the scenes aboard the ship. Long shots are often used, making the humans look even further smaller compared to their supposed creators. Couple that with the great art direction and impressive CGI effects, this hard sci-fi flick is surely to be an absolute epic.
However, the movie is both too short and too long. Rapace's Shaw gets the majority of the attention, with the android David, played by Michael Fassbender, a close second. These two actors give very good performances, especially when it comes to being soulful or soulless. The rest of the cast shockingly get nearly nil to work with, including the talented Idris Elba and Charlize Theron who both have important supporting roles. People often come and go with giant yellow name tag on their heads but with no presence or purpose. Once the bodies started to fly and pile up, I just didn't care for anyone except for Shaw and David. Not only does it seem that many scenes were cut out before release, but there is definite proof: A brief discussion between the two ship pilots over a running gag involving a bet literally stops right when one is about to say something. Even with the lame and shortened characterization of everyone, the film constantly creaks and stalls out in between its acts, allowing the formulaic plot structure and use of horror conventions to stand out in clear view. I can forgive those later problems but not when there is nothing else to peek my interest with, especially beyond the harsh overall color scheme of teal and orange.
Of course, this movie has been constantly tagged as possibly being a prequel to the popular ALIEN franchise, particularly Scott's own ALIEN. Without spoiling too much, I can say this fact is indeed correct. The presence of the Weyland Corporation is the true dead giveaway to the hardcore crowd but casual and current observers might not notice. Scott made sure to leave plenty of clues for everyone, whether it is an alien creature's unique blood type or a humongous but dormant room.
During the viewing of PROMETHEUS and even after it, I was plagued with the bad visions and memories of last year's THE THING. That film also was a prequel to a science fiction classic but far, far worse compared to this one. However, both crafted a story with a short-haired female lead, undistinguished supporting players, infection as a key component to the proceedings, many callbacks to its original source, and a crashing spaceship. I do hope PROMETHEUS will live on in a better form on home video, instead of the so-so theatrical release I've unfortunately partaken in.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
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