In the beginning, there was Alien...

Rating: 7/10 (31 May 2012)

Prometheus was always going to be a double-edged sword: on the one hand, you have Ridley Scott returning to the genre (and the franchise) that made his name, and pre-release info - be it trailers or the riveting viral videos hinting at important plot elements - suggested it would be a most welcome return; on the other, the Alien franchise has had a rather difficult life for the best part of two decades, due mainly to the disappointing Alien: Resurrection, which, ironically, killed the official series, and the mediocre Alien vs. Predator films, which tarnished the brand's legacy in much worse ways. In other words, this prequel (which isn't really a prequel) has a tough job to pull off.
After a spellbinding prologue, we find ourselves in the year 2093, on the scientific exploration spacecraft Prometheus. The ship is headed to a planetoid called LV-233, based on findings by archaeologists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), who believe the human race was created by an alien species they refer to as Engineers (i.e. the creature Alien fans call the Space Jockey). With funding provided by the presumed dead Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce), the expedition's goal is to find evidence of the existence of the Engineers. However, problems arise on two fronts: given the Weyland Corporation's involvement, company representative Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) and android David (Michael Fassbender) may have a hidden agenda; and the Engineers might not be as peaceful as expected.
Originally conceived as a straightforward prequel to Alien, the script of Prometheus was subsequently reworked into a standalone effort that remains set in the same universe. This is the film's smartest idea, as it ditches the usual prequel shortcomings (namely knowing exactly how it's going to end) and establishes its own identity, whilst retaining references to the larger franchise, and Scott's original contribution in particular. It is also, however, the movie's biggest flaw, in that the screenplay, credited to both Jon Spaihts (who wrote the first, more prequel-like draft) and Damon Lindelof (who revised the story and mythology), is an uneven affair. The general plot structure is solid, but occasional snippets of dialogue are cringe-worthy, one scene in particular is dramatically pointless and some characters are underdeveloped. Forgivable in a run-of-the-mill monster movie, perhaps, but less so in a film that downplays the horror angle - the tag-line "In space, no one can hear you scream" would feel out of place this time around - in favor of bigger ideas and themes.
This isn't to say, though, that smarts and scares can't coexist. In fact, Scott, ever the talented visionary, constructs imagery that is both breathtakingly beautiful (the aforementioned prologue, which is among the finest sequences in the director's career) and quite shocking, notably a much talked-about surgery sequence that is every bit as intense (and somewhat disgusting) as one would expect from the original Alien man. Prometheus may look more polished than its predecessors, but that doesn't reduce the film's stark visual impact, which is a suitable complement to the deeper themes at play, combining leftover ideas from the established franchise (the deleterious role of corporations) with a new, bold look at the essence of human nature.
Which leads to the movie's greatest achievement: the character of David. A mixture of Pinocchio and Roy Batty, childishly curious and inhumanly lethal at the same time he's a gratifyingly complex and intriguing creation, played to unsettling perfection by Fassbender, who is the standout in the cast. The other performances are a bit hit-and-miss (due to the writing), but equally deserving of mention are the most un-Ripley-like Rapace, the delightfully cold Theron and a remarkable Pearce, whose extended cameo requires him to play a man more than twice his age. In the end, though, the real star of the show is Scott, whose untarnished cinematic eye, enhanced by a clever use of 3D, ensures that the journey will be worthwhile. There are a few bumps (including a final scene that is little more than gratuitous fan-bait), but overall this is a decent rebirth for the Alien saga, laying the ground for what could be an interesting extension of the franchise.