Man's tendencies to seek grandiose or quasi-religious answers to philosophical questions

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2012)

I think that many people missed the point. The movie has been criticized for panning to pseudoscience, for lacking clarity or even depth. By paying attention to the subtext of this movie it is plain that it does none of that.
The central theme of the movie concerns man's tendencies to seek grandiose or quasi-religious answers to philosophical questions, often when a much more profane answer will better reflect reality. This is stated openly, albeit somewhat obliquely, in a discussion between the android character and the scientist. When they are discussing why the aliens seeded mankind, why they "made us", the android compares this to why men built him. It is "because they can". While the reason for the journey was to discover some profound truth concerning the origins of mankind, perhaps the "Engineers" seeded earth because they could. This is often the reason why people undertake any number of actions, simply to experiment or for the sake of novelty.
This theme is pointed to again many times throughout the movie. For example, it is discovered that the place where they have landed is not something grandiose or exalted, it is a biological weapons factory. And that the "Engineers" are not some morally superior god-like race of aliens, they are simply technologically advanced and are either morally corrupt or else have an entirely different moral paradigm than us.
And the android character, whose motivational and moral ambiguity was brilliantly portrayed by Fasbender, may have simply wanted to kill his "parents" as he stated. His portrayal seemed akin to a highly intelligent and somewhat off-kilter child. This fit perfectly as the child who realizes that all the adults are somewhat deluded but he doesn't explain it to them because they would never listen to a mere child.
Even at the end of the movie, the heroine cannot face the profane reasons that have been provided. Rather than just accept that perhaps mankind was another piece of experimentation, or perhaps even another biological weapon, she decides she must seek out the "Engineers" to find other answers.
If viewed in this way it becomes apparent that, while the idea of mankind being seeded by aliens is certainly pseudoscience, it also points to the same tendency which the movie spends its time ridiculing.
Overall the movie was intelligent and very well made. Fasbender shone brightest with a thoroughly post-modern portrayal of the android. Of course the effects were mesmerizing and there was plenty of action to keep enthusiasm at a high level.
While the pseudoscience was initially was disconcerting, the discussion between the scientist and the android soon pointed to a deeper subtext that soon fully redeemed the film. The only problem is that one is left wondering about the intelligence of the film during its beginning. However, the viewer is presented with enough excitement, interesting characters and incredible special effects to hold their interest until then. One just needs to pay attention and give the film some thought to truly enjoy it.