Prometheus is bound to please

Rating: 9/10 (16 June 2012)

If someone had to make a quasi prequel to Alien, I'm glad it was Ridley Scott. This dark, energetic, and unnerving thriller takes us to the purported point of human creation. It's as epic as the hype made it out to be, backed by a fluid, mysterious mythology and a passing nod to not only Alien itself but also to 2001: A Space Odyssey.
It's 2093, and man has discovered the same cave painting (predating known human existence) in remote locations across the globe. They take it as an invitation to visit other planets, although you or I may take it another way. They've pinned down where they think the creators of these drawings and have zoomed off on a long, long, cryogenically enhanced journey to meet their Makers.
Like the Nostromo in Alien, the Prometheus is populated with an array of interesting characters. The scientific expedition is led by Drs. Shaw and Holloway (Noomi Rapace and Logan Marshall-Green) and includes engineers, biologists, and geologists. The captain of the ship is Janek, played by Idris Elba. The commander is Charlize Theron, and - as with most Alien movies - there's a nonhuman, David, played by Michael Fassbender.
We join the crew as the ship arrives at its destination, an unnamed moon in a far-off solar system. This, they think, is where those long-ago visitors originated. They plan to, uh, talk to them. You know, sort of rap with them to find out why they abandoned them and so forth.
Almost nothing goes right. The mission is funded by the Weyland Corporation (its long-dead owner gives the crew a message via hologram), but it's possible that its agenda and that of the scientists aren't a complete match. I guess it's safe to say that everyone finds more than they bargained for.
Shaw and Holloway desperately want to be right - one for the sake of scientific bragging, the other because of more spiritual, internalized reasons. Personally, if I were in their shoes I'd be questioning why I was on the mission (even if I had discovered all the cave paintings) and if my benefactor had any ulterior motives. These are some trusting scientists, is what I'm getting at here.
The movie is dark, which begs the question of why anyone in his or her right mind would pay money to see it in 3D. 3D absorbs light. If you have a dark scene shot in 3D, it will be even darker. And you're in a dark room. Poor foolishness. That's why I saw it in plain ol' 2D. The movie looked terrific, from the bulky, craggy surface of the moon to the tight-fitting chambers within it, mimicked to some degree by the interior of the ship itself.
The best sci-fi includes answers that lead to more questions, and Prometheus is no exception. We know about as much as the scientists know and almost nothing of what Commander Vickers knows. The plot takes some twists that are both plausible and unexpected, and the action scenes are impeccable. Everything adds to the mythos of the Alien universe, but as soon as we learn something - something else doesn't quite add up. Not in the illogical sense but in the sense that there is so much more that our characters (and we) just don't yet know. And that's good storytelling. We identify with certain aspects of most of the characters, even the cyborg David, and that means we manipulate with and are manipulated by them in turn.
It's a majestic movie, especially for one with so many scenes set in confined quarters. Technology, innovation, and creativity, with scarce use of CGI, are on display here. There may not be a scene that's quite the equal of the notorious chest-bursting scene from the original, but trust me when I note that there are plenty of close substitutes, including a couple of pulse-pounding death scenes.
The acting is universally excellent. Theron has a tough role as the icy commander with a lot on her mind, but she pulls it off without seeming too detestable. Elba makes for a fine paradox, a laid-back daredevil. Rapace is a truly wonderful find as the gritty heroine. Guy Pearce shows up, although you won't recognize him. But they all take a back seat to Fassbender, who follows quite expertly in the shoes of Ian Holm; in fact, he surpasses Holm's fine earlier work. Fassbender's David is both intelligent and empathetic, even though he lacks feelings himself. He is at the center of all the subterfuge in this film, circles around circles of deceit.
Prometheus is certainly one of the best in the Alien series, surpassed perhaps only by the second one (Aliens plural). It includes stunning visual effects, a taut, brainy storyline, humanized performances, and an eye-opening denouement.