Despite lukewarm characters, the explosive effects and ambiguous philosophizing make Prometheus an intriguing adventure
Having been in development for over 10 years with the largest budget to date for a movie in the Alien series, producer and director Ridley Scott has again jumped on board to produce the long-awaited fifth installment of the franchise.
Prometheus takes place in 2089, with devoutly Christian researcher Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and her partner Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) discovering a 35,000-year-old star map that proves humans were created by an alien species. Through funding from the Weyland Corporation, the pair embarks on a two-year space journey to a distant moon in order to find the “Engineers” who created them.
The film borrows many ideas from its precursors — Scott stated that Prometheus is not necessarily a prequel to Alien (additional films are needed to bridge the gap between the two), despite their dual existence in a universe where the Weyland Corporation exploits their employees in the name of scientific advancement. Androids are regular crewmembers, and humans are inferior, expendable commodities to the alien race.
The characters in Prometheus are similarly expendable. Excluding Elizabeth, who doesn’t quite surpass Ellen Ripley from the first four Alien movies, and a subtly condescending android played by Michael Fassbender, the characters are dull and remain stagnant as the film progresses.
While Shaw’s creationist beliefs provoke philosophically heavy, centuries-old questions of the origin of life, the film leaves the answers up to viewer interpretation. The Alien series suggests the presence of Engineers, but otherwise leaves them shrouded in mystery. Prometheus provides concrete evidence for their existence, but continues to conceal most details of their origination, motivation, and whereabouts, hence leaving Darwinist and creationist views unchallenged. Because of the hype created through viral campaigns like the 2023 TED talk featuring Peter Weyland, this unspoken message may disappoint viewers looking for an ending with all ribbons tied.
The special effects in the film are exceptional. Scenes including a dazzling holographic projection of outer space, high-tech spaceship simulations, the dark interior of the moon’s caves, and massive mid-air explosions are exemplary of the effort exerted to produce an eye-pleasing flick.
The movie, despite its minor faults, is still a great science fiction film worth watching. The shortcomings of Prometheus may make it pale in comparison to its predecessors, but as a stand-alone piece it’ll be worth every cent that you spend at the theatre.
