I am a fan of Ridley Scott, since ever. Some of his movies are among my all-times favourites, so I was looking forward to watching the much anticipated "Prometheus".
PLOT - It is year 2089. Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway, a couple of archaeologists, discover a star map connected to the signs present in many archaeological artefacts of ancient cultures. They seem to match a group of planets that have LV-233 as a moon. There are indications that life on Earth might have had an exogenous origin and that the engineers of it could come from that moon. The leading couple, teamed up with a a group of scientists and funded by the dying CEO of the Weyland Corporation, start a trip of exploration to LV-223 on the spaceship Prometheus trying to discover whether the Engineers hypothesis is true, and if true, why they created the human species.
THE MOVIE - Prometheus wants to be a prequel (or at least connect) to the "Alien" saga, including the stories narrated in the two "Alien vs Predator" movies, so the story, in a way, has to fit the bill.
Prometheus also wants to move away and go beyond those movies to create a saga and mythological world in which all the stories are included and embedded, but it has its own autonomy.
Prometheus also wants to pose some philosophical, theological and ethical queries about human nature, the soul of androids, and the origin of life, very much in connection with many of the themes explored in "Blade Runner".
To put in simple terms... Prometheus wants to provide the viewer with a science-fiction teleological mythology infused with philosophical and metaphysical queries... it sounds pretentious, no? Well, it is pretentious.
The start of the movie is very promising and intriguing and subject to interpretation, a promise that, however, is never fulfilled. I love action movies, but if you want to mix action with metaphysics, you better work hard on putting together a story that links well all the elements, and creates engaging characters that have an emotional background, are well connected, and have a purpose within the story. Most importantly, show respect to the viewer who is willing to believe anything if that something has an inner logic and makes sense.
The film is very sleek, and some of the scenes are wonderful, grandiose and spectacular, as well as the special effects, especially those filmed inside the departure chamber, which are utterly gorgeous, if that can be said. The blue, golden brown and white-ish tones of the film are perfect for the story and create and convey the right mood, both physical and emotional, of the different scenes. The cinematography, mostly shot in Iceland and Spain, is beautiful, and the landscapes chosen really look prehistoric, raw, beautiful and out-this-world. On the contrary, I did not find Marc Streitenfeld's original soundtrack especially inspired, and it sounds like hundred of other science fiction movies' soundtracks.
THE ACTING - The male and female characters are unevenly treated by the script and the result is that the actors who play them shine or not depending on it. Naomi Rapace is completely wasted as Elizabeth Shaw. She does her best at doing what is requested of her naive passionate and a-scientific scientist character - no acting would have saved it. The same can be said of Charlize Theron, whose talent is wasted in her role of Meredith Vickers, the intriguing ice-cold beautiful manager of the expedition; not much is demanded of her, beyond wearing stylish super-tight clothes and moving like a supermodel on a catwalk.
On the contrary, Michael Fassbender is brilliant as the quirky witty android David. David is the best drawn character in the movie because it has a sense of purpose, a background, an inner logic, and a well-defined "psyche" and a soul that is missing from the other characters. Fassbender really brings his character to life, and gives him both mechanical and human colour in movement, facial expression and performance. What a great actor he is.
Guy Pearce is good and almost unrecognisable in his role as Peter Weylan, the patron and sponsor of the expedition. The rest of the supporting actors are just OK in their respective roles. They do what is requested from their roles, which is not much at times.
THE WHOLE THING - Prometheus is a super-production that does not deliver what it promises. This is an action movie with amazing visuals and interesting premises that gets lost in itself. It is hedonistic at times, superficial and preposterous most of the times. The movie feels like a blockbuster made to utter wows; yet, the wows are never uttered because there was no previous thinking, the story and characters are just sketched, and the viewer is expected to disregard ridiculous events, completely unscientific behaviour by scientists, and even the laws of Physics. Furthermore, Prometheus seems anchored in old philosophical queries that, despite still being valid. are presented as if the world had not changed much since the 1980s, science and technology were far less developed, their impact on Society was less profound, and new queries were needed for the film to feel contemporary in that regard. There is a lack of focus in the project, and the result is a chaotic film that is enjoyable at times, ridiculous and annoying others. Visuals and style are never enough to make of a movie a good one, even though they can be wow.
The movie ends with unanswered questions, on purpose, as a sequel has to follow. Oh dear. We just can hope that the sequel supersedes the original and we utter, finally, a sincere wow. What a task.
