For Sci-Fi: 10, For Scares: 3

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2012)

This film is recommended.
Originally, in Greek mythology, Prometheus was a deity who helped mankind and was later punished by Zeus for his actions. ( Perhaps some fava beans and a nice chianti might have sufficed. ) His quest for scientific knowledge had its own share of risks. In Ridley Scott's latest sci-fi epic, Prometheus, a " prequel " to his Alien film series, the director takes his own share of risks as he again goes into this genre, using his mythological DNA as his guide. This time Prometheus is the name of the spacecraft that transports a team of explorers as they go on a journey to find the origins of mankind after an archaeological discovery of artifacts spurs their interests. Instead, they find other hostile lifeforms and enough terror to easily fill two hours in this visually stunning spectacle.
Scott's eagerly awaited and totally over-hyped film has its share of limitations too. Unfortunately, his latest venture simply cannot avoid comparisons to his classic predecessors, Alien or its sequel, Aliens, which are well-deserved classic films of the sci-fi / horror genre. This film never rises to that level of superiority, mainly due to its underwritten characters lost in a formulaic script that seems too caught up in the sci-fi plot mechanics while underplaying the horror film strands. Prometheus is a heady experience, but it rarely allows its characters to emerge with any semblance to real people and the film is in dire need of more scary moments to build to a satisfying climax for its movie-going audience.
However, Prometheus is still worth the trip, if only for its sumptuous art direction by Arthur Max ( widely inspired by the works of H.R. Giger ), its eye-popping CGI, and a delightful performance by Michael Fassbender as David, an android with some HAL 9000 traits and a strong admiration and physical resemblance to a young Peter O'Toole. With atmospheric cinematography by Dariusz Wolski, tension-filled editing by Pietro Scalia, and wonderful use of 3-D holograms creating the illusion of depth of field projections, the film fascinates on a strictly visceral level.
The year is 2093. And surprise...we are not alone! Onboard the spacecraft are our feisty heroine, Elizabeth Shaw ( Noomi Rapace ), his boyfriend Charlie ( Logan Marshall-Green ), a no-nonsense captain named Janek ( Idris Elba ), a businesslike woman aptly named Meredith Vickers ( an underused Charlize Theron ), and the aforementioned David ( Fassbender ), plus other crew members whose sole purpose is to become the main entrée. Of course, these supposedly intelligent adventurers will make foolish and illogical decisions as they go quietly to their doom. We know that they will be systemically picked off, one-by-one, as they encounter these foreign enemies. That's part of the genre, I guess. But does it always have to be that way?
The script, by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof ( of Lost fame ), is a bit of a muddle with its existential ideology, its faith vs. science arguments, and its heavy-handed motives of evil big business and capitalistic greed rearing its ugly head yet again. In fact, some of the characters' actions are never really sufficiently explained. The film tries to integrate these deeper issues with little success. After all, this film is suppose to be an action-packed sci-fi horror creature feature, isn't it? So why dress it up to be something more than it is? More separation of church and state-of-the-arts would have made an more satisfying film experience for its target audience of teenagers and sci-fi aficionados and kept the adrenaline rush at a feverish pace.
Still, there are plenty of thrills, if not genuine scares galore with the gore factor prominently in full view. ( It may not rival John Hurt's stomach popping scene in the original film, but there is one memorable moment that elicited enough squirms and audible groans from audience members, including myself. )
While Prometheus may not be the classic sci-fi fantasy film it strives to be, the film is undoubtedly a technical triumph for Scott and a fine example of stylish filmmaking from a cinematic master at work. GRADE: B
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