Prometheus

I thought long and hard about what should be the focus of my first post and decided that it had to be a film. Film has been one of the great passions in my life. Ever since I saw Disney’s Aladdin in the cinema as a child, film has captured my imagination and continues to fascinate me. Once upon a time I studied film critically and had thoughts of entering the film industry in some capacity. However, I found that I far preferred to simply watch films and enjoy them for what they are. Therefore, if from time to time films are the focus of this blog, it will not be in the form of a critique but simply a discussion. I don’t claim to know what makes a film good or a bad, I’ll just talk about what I liked.

For my first post I’ve chosen to discuss Ridley Scott’s latest sci-fi epic Prometheus. I chose Prometheus for several reasons; it’s currently the topic of much critical debate, it’s associated with Alien which is one of my favourite films of all time and it features Michael Fassbender who is currently one of my favourite actors.

Let’s face it, Prometheus was destined to disappoint to some extent. Any film mentioned in the same breath as Scott’s seminal sci-fi/horror pic, Alien, is never going to measure up. In my opinion, Alien is one of the most expertly crafted films in cinema history. Some will argue that Aliens (the sequel to Alien directed by James Cameron) is the better film but for me Alien wins hands down. From its masterfully claustrophobic atmosphere to its brilliant character development (Ripley has to be one of the greatest film heroes of all time), Alien is a cinema classic whose success will probably never be matched, by prequel or otherwise. So why compare them? If you get over the fact the Prometheus was never going to be Alien, Prometheus is a fascinating film in its own right.

Prometheus begins with Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and her partner Dr. Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) discovering a series of ancient cave paintings pointing to a distant planet (LV-223) that they believe holds the truth about the origins of mankind. Shaw and Holloway lead a crew, including the android David (Michael Fassbender), aboard the spacecraft Prometheus to explore LV-223. However, it soon becomes apparent that this mysterious planet is not what they thought it was.


I used to read as many critical film reviews as I could but I found it took away a lot of the mysticism of the films I really enjoyed. I find that critics often get so wrapped up in analysing a film that they forget to enjoy them. After seeing Prometheus I allowed myself to seek out quite a few critical reviews, as I was interested to see how others had interpreted the film. Prometheus has been received with very mixed reviews and I actually agree with most of them, the good and the bad. However, I feel that the bad ones have gotten so caught up in Prometheus’ shortcomings that they’ve missed its hidden depths, which is where Prometheus really shines.

Many of the negative reviews claim that the problems with Prometheus lie in its script. Largely this is true; yes it has pacing problems, yes there is little character development. Many of these reviews also claim there are too many unanswered questions. They’re right, there are a lot of unanswered questions but that’s what makes Prometheus so interesting. We’ve gotten so used to Hollywood films laying out all the answers for us that we’ve forgotten the joy of looking for answers ourselves. Alien itself was full of unanswered question, which is why it lends itself to a prequel in the first place.

Alien played upon the ‘mother’ motif to deliver its unnerving concept of ‘the host’. This motif was then developed further in Aliens, only to be lost in later sequels. In Prometheus, Scott returns to this original premise but takes it further. Prometheus explores the notion of ‘creation’ leading to questions of faith and the human condition. The title, for example, is not just the name of the ship but refers to the whole idea of Prometheus. Prometheus was a Titan in Greek mythology who created man from clay. He also stole fire from the gods and gave it to the humans, enabling the humans to develop. Prometheus also embodied the quest for scientific knowledge as well as the risk of overreaching and unintended consequences (funny they should name the ship after him then). This idea is the main theme of the film. what happens when your creation is not what you thought it would be? What happens when your creation turns on you? We see this not only in the Engineers whose own bio-weapons have turned against them, but also in David, mankind’s creation whose motives become more and more questionable. Not only this, it also becomes apparent in the film that these engineers who created us changed their minds and planned to destroy us. Why? What was wrong with how we turned out?

In one of the films best pieces of dialogue David asks Holloway why man created artificial intelligence. Holloway responds ‘we created you because we could’. David replies coolly, ‘can you imagine how disappointing it would be to hear that from your own creator?’ This epitomises the philosophy behind Prometheus; not all questions have answers, some questions just lead to more questions. Prometheus is full of great moments like this and, whilst I agree that it’s a shame that these moments aren’t supported by a sturdier framework, I can’t help but feel that those who were disappointed with Prometheus where too focused on getting answers rather than enjoying the search for them. I went to see Prometheus with a group of friends and after the film was finished we could not stop discussing it. The general reaction that I’ve gotten from people is that, whilst Prometheus is not without its faults, it is without a doubt fascinating. From its spectacular cinematography to its grandiose themes and nagging questions, Prometheus is nothing if not interesting.

Fassbender delivers another magnetic performance as Prometheus’ resident android, David. In a film lacking character development it’s ironic that the most developed character in the film is in fact a machine. David is played superbly by Fassbender. He is innately likeable as we watch him taking care of the human crew during their cryo-sleep and we feel sorry for him when he quietly takes their underhanded taunts. However, we soon begin to distrust him as he becomes coolly malevolent, single-mindedly pursuing his own answers. Fassbender doesn’t miss a beat. He delivers more of the ominous brooding he delivered in Shame and X-men: first-class mixed with the sly wit he displayed in Inglorious Bassterds. This combination proves to be one of the most intriguing characters I’ve come across in a cinema since Heath Ledger smudged his lipstick. Fassbender has quickly become my favourite actor currently gracing our screens and from what he’s shown us so far I think we can expect great things.

Rapace too offers a fine performance. However this doesn’t really show through until about half way through the film when her character is thrown into some tricky situations. Rapace particularly shines in what is easily the films best scene involving some … aah, ‘gut wrenching’ surgery. Rapace shows just how underutilised she was in the mediocre summer popcorn flick Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Rapace too is another actor from whom I think we can expect to see good things.

If I had my way, there would been no sequels to Alien and it would have been left to stand on its own as the great work of cinema that it is. The Alien franchise took a steep decline after Aliens, firstly with the troubled Alien3 and ultimately resulting in the downright shameful Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (I’m loath to even mention it as I don’t really consider Alien vs. Predator to even be part of the Alien franchise). Considering the trajectory that the Alien sequels took after Aliens, I think any addition to this franchise that may return some of its credibility is welcome. If nothing else, I respect Scott for what he has attempted to do with this film. Scott watched as one of his earliest and most acclaimed works of art was degraded time and time again by underwhelming sequels. What Scott has done with Prometheus is say ‘I’m taking back my creation and I’m going to at least attempt to restore some of its former glory’, and I commend him for that.

It seems to be a trend of late to take cherished franchises and attempt to reboot them (undoubtably due to the guaranteed returns they generate despite the actual quality of the films). I found that generally with these films you leave thinking ‘should’ve left well enough alone’ (e.g. Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the Crystal skull). However I don’t believe Prometheus is in the same vien. Prometheus isn’t a sequel; it’s not even really a prequel. Prometheus is an entirely new story that simply takes place in the same universe as Alien and this allows the film to go in entirely new directions. It’s not the masterpiece many where hoping for but if you let go of all those expectations and go into Prometheus with an opened mind you’ll leave with plenty to think about.