Prometheus (2012)

Review: written October 2012

Welcome return of Ridley Scott to grown up sci-fi

Watching Scott's re-entry into the world of “Alien” reminds you that there just aren't enough filmmakers around who really believably create philosophically interesting movies, in painstakingly created universes, designed to both entertain and make you think. It's a treat to see him back in the genre. Here, his original Alien movie has been used as a kick off point only. Although, as he puts it, the `DNA' of that movie can be found here, this is not a direct prequel. It simply happens in the same world, and has some fanboy satisfying nods to the original. Here, the tone is markedly different, setting out a larger question on a more epic scale... how were we created? If life can be created in a lab, who then is the god?

We start briefly on Earth, where a couple of scientists have found common themes in petroglyphs around the globe, persuading them that these are a map, an invitation if you will, to come visit. And so this movie is that deep space expedition, now funded by Weyland Corporation represented by the icy cool Charlize Theron. Of course, things don't work out for the scientific expedition quite as expected once they arrive. Soon vials of black goo are infecting the crewmembers and creatures start to appear in which the sharp eyed will see links back to Giger's original designs. Don't go expecting the same claustrophobia of the original, however. Here the canvas is much more open, with sweeping vistas and grand set pieces. Scott's eye for design is as evident as ever, and the effects uniformly satisfying, not least due to his penchant for creating real sets and props as much as possible, limiting the uses of cgi to areas you might not even realise. Ultimately though, the movie is most satisfying in its almost arthouse beauty and grandeur in the first half.

As it lurches into elements of action and horror, the tension is never as vivid and the action beats never as shocking as you might expect, with the philosophising nature of the movie not marrying well with the action / horror aspects of the original. Crucially, some plot elements are just a little fuzzy, and it takes the captain of the vessel to walk in to one scene and in a few sentences of exposition suddenly explain out of the blue what is happening, for things to start to come together. The nagging questions at the end are mostly deliberate creation of mystery, but there are a few things that are not obvious that perhaps should be, and so the end is not wholly satisfying.

A fascinating, though far from perfect movie. Even where it doesn't work completely, the ambition and vision is laudable.