Prometheus vs Alien, compare and contrast...

Rating: 3/10 (2 January 2014)

Much well-deserved vitriol has been poured upon Prometheus by so many reviewers, it is not necessary to rehearse these critiques. I would like to add a brief comparison with the original Alien (1979), which is revealing as to the relative qualities of the two films and the general progress of Hollywood zeitgeist. (spoilers for 'Alien' alert).
First some prominent similarities, not to say homages/re-hashes...

Rag-tag crew rocks up on Alien planet and snoop around

Alien'impregnation' and 'birth' central to the plot

Dodgy android getting his head knocked off, then having a chat

Now for some telling and unfortunate differences...

The Crew: The Alien crew are often foolhardy, panicky or misguided, but then they are a bunch of miners tossed into an unexpected and shocking situation entirely unprepared, so their behaviour is believable. What's more they have an easy familiarity with each-other and humour that makes them sympathetic human beings. In contrast, the Prometheus crew, despite being highly qualified professionals, if anything behave much more stupidly and inexplicably than the original crew - there is little evidence of protocol or scientific rigour, not to mention common sense. More importantly they lack any semblance of humanity and likability - they are an atomized group of plot-drivers playing pass-the-stupid-ball.

The Androids: Ian Holm plays the android in Alien as officious, dispassionate and if anything slightly irritable - the genius of the role and performance is that you believe him as a human, but you also totally buy it when you discover that he was a robot all along. His motivation for letting the alien on board against protocol is entirely explained - he is a machine, totally loyal to corporate interest and indifferent to the lives of the humans on the ship. Michael Fassbender's android is a crass and faintly ridiculous caricature, who despite frequent references to his inability to feel emotions constantly has resentment or amazement written all over his face. Like the original android he wantonly endangers the crew by bringing nasty unknown alien stuff aboard; however in the case of Prometheus the crew includes the owner and financier of the mission (and his only child), making Fassbender's actions entirely insane, unless we assume that he has malfunctioned and now wishes to kill his programmer.

Dramatic tension and pace: Alien takes its time establishing dramatic tension, introducing the crew without fanfare and with little sign of the horrors to come. Prometheus immediately shows us the beef, which although visually entertaining, completely destroys the sense of reveal about the deadly/creative effects of the black goo. In Alien, tension is established and broken deliberately, as when the crew laugh together just before the alien 'birth', momentarily lulling the viewer into a false sense of security which serves to heighten the shock of the event. In Prometheus tension is never established, and what little there might be is broken incessantly by accidental absurdities, like the enthusiastic determination of the biologist to touch the hostile alien snake, or the eager cheerfulness of the pilots upon learning of the necessity of suicide.

The Politics: Alien was enhanced by a powerful undercurrent of political commentary on the present-day society. The corporation - aptly represented both by the literally heartless ship's medic, and the abstract 'computer-says-no' protocols that force the crew's compliance - is the other great enemy in the film, and the android's admiring description of the alien is a subtle but powerful critique of the amoral competitive mentality that was increasingly dominating business and politics. Of course the message is even more resonant today. Prometheus loses any semblance of political commentary in a swirl of arbitrary events and cosmological ideas too big to possibly explore satisfactorily – instead of a coldly acquisitive company we have a delusional old geezer, and a cheap re-hash of tired Pandora's Box / Tower of Babel / Frankenstein / Curiosity Killed the Cat themes that frankly were much more effectively done in (for instance) the Indiana Jones films.

In conclusion, Alien is a darkly effective and relevant movie that hints at a much greater universe and mystery in a way that enriches the film, while the similar ambitions of Prometheus are thwarted by a convoluted plot, poorly described characters, and the simultaneous over-exposure and under-explanation of the enigmatic and 'profound' elements.