Fascinating exploration of Human Desire

Rating: 8/10 (10 June 2012)

This is the one movie this summer that you need to go into without knowing anything that is to come. I thought the story did an excellent job in exploring the human need to connect with something greater... for some it is "god, for some it is eternal physical life, for some it is material and financial profit, for some it is the desire to know what is out there and for some... well, they were programmed to be the way they are. Human desire drives this film and it can take humanity to some very dark places before it is over. Prometheus is a cautionary tale about being careful in getting what you most desire. For fans of Alien & Aliens (like me) Ridley Scott provides the foundation of what is to occur in those films. The revelations were delicious treats for such fans and I know we appreciate them greatly. The writers of this story realized that a lot of the viewing audience would not know the Alien mythology so they wrote the story in such a manner that you can come in not knowing anything about the Alien franchise and being just fine. Actually, it would be even better to know nothing and see Prometheus and then watch Alien & Aliens to go in chronological order. I am really looking forward to the sequel to Prometheus because I get the feeling that payback will be a bitch. This is not a film for the young because it gets quite intense & it explores deeply philosophical issues that lead humans to some very dark places. Teens & adults will appreciate the serious storytelling while admiring the fantastic cinematography which is best appreciated in Real 3D. The cast is brilliant, the relationships intense and the discovery of the creators may not be as pleasing to the religiously faithful versus what they find in their holy books. - Now the part that contains spoilers. - I see where some have had a field day in picking the plot to pieces with criticism on how it wasn't scientific enough for them. I agree that the writers clearly had these humans do some stupid things if this were a purely scientific expedition to look for new life. NASA would do it much differently than the crew of the Prometheus. Instead to drive the story about humans on a search for their desires, some material and some spiritual, you have to suspend your connection to the rational world because this is mythological storytelling. You even get a miraculous birth thrown in but it ends a bit differently than the Jesus story. Dr. Shaw is looking for the Biblical Creator and she is the Ying of this adventure to the David/Weyland Yang of looking for the secret to eternal physical life. Weyland and his corporation have their own agenda which lives on in the evil found in Alien & Aliens. Now that everyone has had their hopes and desires crushed by what they found on LV-223 it will be interesting to see what Dr. Shaw and the newly liberated David find on the Engineers' homeworld when they find it & bring a dish of revenge which is best served cold... and it gets very cold in space. So go see this movie without dissecting every little thing that happens and just enjoy the philosophical exploration of the human condition.