The new benchmark in film- making

Rating: 9/10 (8 June 2012)

Prometheus left me speechless, it also left me feeling cheated, here's why.
There is something about science fiction that brings out the best in Ridley Scott, fires up his imagination to deliver spectacles of epic proportions- first it was Alien, then Blade Runner, and now Prometheus. With the Alien franchise having moved into B movie territory with the AVP series, and the need to satisfy the billions of Alien fanboys, Prometheus fuses two sci-fi classics- 2001: A Space Odyssey and Aliens into one- man's search for his creator leading to the encounter with its most insidious enemy, thus creating a feature that not only serves as a prequel of sorts to the first Alien movie, but also on its own emerge as a genre defining, standalone feature overflowing with visual splendor.
"Who does not want to meet his maker"-the starting sequence of the movie sets an appropriately majestic tone-in an apparently lifeless world a long time ago, a humanoid alien sacrifices himself- his body disintegrating and flowing in with the water, and then later forming the first living cells. Is it blasphemy to believe an alien is our creator? The film fast forwards to the year 2089, where archaeologists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) discover a number of drawings from different ancient cultures that depict the worship of a set of planets that are about 500 billion miles, or 2 years away from the earth. A few years later, a trillion dollar discovery mission is launched, sponsored by Peter Weyland (Guy Pierce), of Weyland Industries. Because he stole fire from the Gods for man, Prometheus is often toted as the link between man and god. Prometheus, the titular exploratory spaceship in the film is aptly named as the vessel that aims to unite man with his God, his 'Engineer"- as they call the alien species.
While the astronauts are in cryosleep, they are watched over by the star of the movie- an android who knows or can figure out anything, named David, played by the guy- who-can-do-nothing-wrong Michael Fassbender. Early in the movie his creator claims that David is his son, but pity he cannot feel anything as he has no soul- there cannot be a wrong-er statement than this one. He is inanimate, but he seems to have more soul than anyone else in the cast. With or without his head, Fassbender plays his android with subtlety, wit, charm and humor Upon landing on the planet, the visitors find out that all but one of the Engineers that they have been seeking are long dead, and that the planet is inhabited by a reptilian parasitic species that spews acid, likes to hug faces, do mouth to mouth (literally), and of course, do the iconic chest bursts. Predictably, one by one the crew members of the Prometheus meet their gruesome deaths. Even though this one is more of a scifi thriller than the slasher horror that Alien was, i loved the gore content, wished there was a bit more too. 'Stop the ship or there won't be any home to go back to- says Shaw, as the sole surviving Engineer sets out to launch the infested alien ship towards earth. Heeding her, the pilots of the Prometheus collide their ship in an electrifying climax. Speaking of Noopi Rapace as Shaw, hers' is a gutsy performance. She is particularly effective in one of the most harrowing scenes in recent movie history- where she conducts an impromptu c-section on herself to take out an alien fetus. However unforgettable this scene is, she still cannot carry a film on her own like tough girl of yesteryear's Sigourney Weaver did.
Why the Engineers are set upon destroying what they created is never explained, as is the presence of the lovable face hugging/chest bursting xenomorphs. David says "who doesn't want to kill their father"- does that mean the Engineers were fearful of their creation, of man coming to destroy them? But then in a different tangent, David muses that sometimes it is necessary to destroy first and then create- so were the Engineers again trying to start a creation cycle by destroying all life on Earth? Does Armageddon consist of chest bursting aliens? Was it necessary to get the origin of man angle?
That is the unforgivable thing about Prometheus - that it provokes many questions, but holds back all answers for the sequel. On one hand you have arguably the most gorgeous movie ever made. The attention to detail is fantastic, the direction mostly mesmerizing, and the grandeur of it all is unparalleled. Watch this in the best 3D you have got around you, because like Avatar, in the hands of an intelligent director, 3D morphs into an experience rather than a few tacky shots that come all around you. Ridley Scott literally transports you to new worlds, you can smell it, feel it, fear it even. It has an incredible sense of occasion- the planet and dome exploratory sequences are downright awe-inspiring. There is human on alien, alien on alien and robot on alien action, and of course the fan favorite Alien Queen makes her presence felt. But there are plenty of plot holes and unanswered questions, and however it may try to breakout as an independent franchise, it will always have billions of pounds of expectations.
On its own, Prometheus is millions of dollars spent in the right direction to give a maximum cinema experience. Prometheus is all at once entertaining, thrilling, and spiritual and asks thought provoking existential questions- whether all that is too much to absorb from one movie is an individual choice. After a spate of duds, Ridley Scott is back with a bang with a compelling story, and fascinating film-making. He has opened new doors in addition to creating a flow to his original epic, I just wished it answered a few more questions. 9/10- DO NOT MISS!