Greatest Science Fiction Film of All Time, and Even Before

Rating: 10/10 (5 August 2012)

What most creative teams in the business forget is that engaging science fiction requires wonder, not preaching or tidy answers. This film provides a rich tapestry of ideas, ambiguity and visceral thrills that probably should be left as a stand-alone, as it does not seem likely that anyone in Hollywood would have the creative chops to produce a satisfying sequel. This movie is less a prequel to Alien, than a brilliant sequel to Angels and Insects. Appropriating the ideas of Darwin, spiked with a Wagnerian grandeur and the narrative genius of the Odyssey, Prometheus makes all the Alien movies, from best to worst, seem to be trivial sidebars. It does this in a most ingenious way. The particulars of the Alien movies, which were at best tales of infestation, are given magnificent cosmological scope here, where everyone and everything might turn out to be be the result of a monstrous lab experiment. Like our own race which strives for eternal youth and perfection (whether for ourselves or our android charges), the other-worldly Engineers have been at genetic improvements for so long that, by the time they head for Earth, 2,000 years ago, with an unknown sinister purpose, they themselves bear a striking resemblance to the idealized sculptures of Herakles found in Flavian bathhouses. Is that really a look that happens in nature? Two mysterious iconostases are found in the chapel aboard the spaceship of the Engineers, one an idealized godlike human head, the other a precious high relief of the Xenomorph, whose first cousin went on to wreak havoc in the Alien series. Which of these is the deity is not clear. So lots of fun unanswered questions remain. Did the Engineers develop this silicon and hydro-sulfuric acid survival machine as their ideal of nature? Or was it a misstep during millenia of unchecked eugenics? The writers are careful to include the story of humble earthworms that get jacked up on the black DNA goo to become indomitable phallic cobras. No, the canisters do not contain just one result. A vodka cocktail with dingy DNA makes an archaeologist transmogrify after begetting his own octopus that has a nasty resourcefulness similar to the creature in Alien. Some of the casting is bad, as are many of the performances. Most of the scientific staff could have used a few lines in the patois of their fach to be taken seriously. The oil-rig worker mentality and bavardage of Alien is wrong for this crew of elites. The male archaeologist, Charlie Holloway, is someone you wouldn't expect to pass a driving test, let alone earn a Ph.D. And Charlize Theron's wonderful talents are wasted on a character who is unnecessary here. Maybe she is more pivotal if she is scheduled to be resurrected in later installments. The movie is amazing because all these shortcomings don't matter. The big ideas are wonderfully actor and writer proof. The action is spectacular, including one of the most dramatic collisions in cinema history, registering as powerfully as Donner's hammer in Das Rheingold. I hope there are three more Prometheus movies planned, as there are three more operas in the Ring. But if they are not as good as this one, we are better off without them.
The production values are high: art direction, cinematography, special effects. The photography is heroic and breathtaking. The part of the soundtrack that has a memorable hook was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams. That for the creature is a reprise of what Jerry Goldsmith wrote for Alien.
The tantalizing questions posed by the film might lead to greatness. David, the android with coconut milk blood and a fetish for blond movie stars, is an analog for the Xenomorph. Does he feel hurt at the indifference of his human creators. Is his status as a sub-human and the pain that causes him meant to echo our relationship to the Engineers, who appear to have been responsible for our genesis?
The fountain of youth enriches this story of eugenics. Are the canisters of DNA key to Weyland's regeneration? If he is about 100, how is it that his daughter, Theron's character, looks only 30? Again, the curious moral implications of this angle make the story so much more interesting than a mere alien invasion.
What was the motive of the Maverick Engineer at the beginning of the film. Did he populate the earth with his DNA to evolve a species capable of saving his own race from the seemingly indestructible Xenomorphs?
Did the Engineers evolve the creature as a biological planet cleanser, a deity or a flawless survival machine?
If the answers to these questions can be handled intelligently, we look forward to more in the saga.