The
inventive and untamed imagination of Ridley Scott brought forth a landmark in
science fiction, and cinema in general, with his 1979 deep-space creature
feature Alien. Such a simple concept of space travelers being
stalked by a dreadfully disgusting monster had a certain complexity under the
surface of its basic premise. Its bloody share of memory-searing imagery
leaves viewers in a paralyzed state of fear, no matter how many times you watch
the film. We all know there isn't any coming back from the first time you
watch the Chestburster scene. Such is the power of the director's unwavering
eye for the genre.
The first
film in the Alien mythology was Scott's only one as
a director. Three decades later, he displays that his extended time away
from the franchise has not tarnished his adventurous spirit for the sci-fi
realm. Just like in Alien,
Scott's sort-of-prequel Prometheus has the director tapping back
into the dangers and harsh consequences that the characters' new discoveries
can bring to their futures, as well as diving into the enigma of life's
beginnings.
In the
late 21st century, a group of explorers, while searching through remains of
ancient civilizations, discover a star map that has the potential to lead them
to a distant moon that could tell them the secrets of humanity's creation.
Led by mission director Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), archeologists
Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), and
an android named David (Michael Fassbender), the team flies on the space vessel Prometheus to a distant moon to begin its
scientific search. After some time in their new environment, the group's
findings begin to pose some deadly threats that could very well bring an end
not only to them, but to Earth as well.
Much like
the other Alien films, Ridley Scott calls in a
female character with smarts and strength who shows the bravery and capability
of going through with a perilous journey for the pursuit of near-unattainable
facts of humanity's existence. Noomi Rapace fills that role just as
Sigourney Weaver did when she played Ellen Ripley in the previous installments.
She has a hunger for knowledge, but a sense of selflessness for her
fellow crew members. Being the more religious individual in her group,
the character of Shaw is an interesting combination of faith and
science. Shaw has quick decision-making skills when it comes to choosing
what is best for her team and for herself. Because of Rapace's petite
appearance, however, she doesn't come off being as physically strong as Weaver
was when she battled the aliens. But, where Rapace is different from Weaver
in physicality, they both match in scientific intelligence.
If Shaw
is in this quest for the good of humanity, Charlize Theron's character is in it
for her cooperate greed. Theron has an aptitude for playing characters
who looks as if they are cold to the touch. She plays Vickers' character
as a seemingly-emotionless ice queen with a her-way-or-the-highway attitude.
Right away, she is seen as a no-nonsense type of woman, staring into the
camera with a hard, concentrated look as she does a series of push-ups after
being in stasis for the duration of the ship's travel. She is another
tough female character, much like Shaw, but her plans for the voyage are highly
questionable, and might not be in everyone's favor.
Michael
Fassbender is an outstanding addition to the Alien franchise as the android,
David. He has an insatiable curiosity of the foreign moon and the humans
that he surrounds himself with. Much like Shaw, he has a want for
learning new things, which is seen first towards the beginning when he's
thoroughly studying the languages of lost civilizations. Because he is an
android and doesn't have any emotions, we have to listen to his speech, look at
his facial expressions and pay attention to how he operates in order to
understand why he does what he does. His desire to learn about the world
and those around him makes him almost like a human, driven by the want to
discover more.
On most
occasions, 3D doesn't do anything to enrich the viewing experience. In
the case of Prometheus,
however, the extra dimension works in its favor. The appearance of outer
space, the moon the crew visits and the futuristic construction inside and
outside the spaceship all have a justified use for 3D because there are a lot
of visuals to absorb. Since the film is science fiction and concerns
space travel and visiting far-away places, it helped me recall the first time I
saw Avatar and how this movie-making
technology assisted in telling the story. Instead of having random things
reach out to the audience, the 3D adds more depth and life to what's on screen,
using wonderful image quality to enhance the special effects.
With
cinematography by Dariusz Wolski, the opening scene offers some sumptuous shots
as the camera glides over landscapes of Earth from thousands of years
ago. Thanks to the 3D, the images are clear and look beautifully
realistic, as if we’re seeing them as they are in the natural world. Some
of the best shots of when the crew is on the moon are the long shots, since we
are able to see a small group of people positioned in a vast, unknown
land. The views we are given of space, the planets and stars have the
usual grandness that we see in shots that are in the cosmos. The
cinematography, from the low angle shot of the Prometheus spaceship landing on the moon, to
the long shot of the crew trying to outrun a sandstorm, have a splendor in
scope that help make science fiction movies magical.
In the
fun tradition of the previous Alien films, there are certain scenes in the
film that make you squirm, including Shaw being driven to perform a harrowing
surgery on herself in order to save her life, and two crew members having an
unfortunate run-in with some unsavory creatures.
Jon
Spaihts' and Damon Lindelof's screenplay has some fascinating philosophical and
religious ideas infused into the action-packed suspense of the crew’s
exploration. The questions asked throughout the film, particularly why we
are here, who created us and what happens after we die, are among the most
important. Those questions are the reason for this voyage in the first
place. With Noomi Rapace’s character being pious and Logan
Marshall-Green’s character being a skeptic, the two share a thought-provoking
conversation about the possibilities of the existence of gods and their motivations
for creating humans. While there are some questions that are answered,
there are more that are not. Those questions will more than likely be
addressed again in the possible sequel, and the extra ending will have
long-time fans, as well as newbies to the series, cheering and hoping for a
continuation of the story. You'll have to find out for yourself what's
included in that ending. The film doesn't require the viewer to have an
extensive knowledge of the Alien mythology to follow Prometheus, but it does help to
at least know the general idea of it.
After
many years of non-science fiction projects, Ridley Scott returns without having
any of his flair for the genre missing. Much like Alien, he has his latest film
not be just about the famous creature, but about deeper issues as well.
He continues to offer visions of a bleak and uncertain future that is
filled with advancements in both science and technology that could lead to
greatness, or to our demise. He can tell a story of a grand and hazardous
adventure in his deep-space canvas and fill it with interesting ideas. Prometheus begins a thrilling and scary new
chapter for the Alien universe, with a lot more that has
yet to be revealed to us. Until then, like the characters speculate where
they came from, we will speculate where they are going next.
Final
grade: A-
No comments:
Post a Comment