Movie Review: PROMETHEUS

PROMETHEUS
US 2012
Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof
Starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, Charlize Theron


SYNOPSIS:  In this prequel, of sorts, to Sir Ridley's 1979 sci-fi/horror masterpiece ALIEN, we follow a team of archaeologists, biologists, and geologists in the late twenty-first century on their quest to discover the origins of mankind. . .  IN SPACE!!!   Dun dun dun.  Things go awry.


THOUGHTS:  What I love about this film is exactly what most people are going to hate about it.  It's tonally inconsistent.  Supposedly intelligent characters do lots of stupid and reckless things (a classic "Idiot Plot").  And instead of casting an old man as an old man, we get Guy Pearce in extremely goofy make-up for no particular reason.


And I get why these things are disconcerting; as a general rule, we, as people, love symmetry.  Disjointed elements seem to add clutter and distraction.  I think the people who will really get behind this film are ones that aren't bothered by a bit of mess.


While it does, as mentioned, serve as prequel to Alien, you need to get that archetype out of your head before stepping into the theater.  There are scares, and there are gooey monsters, but this has a wholly different rhythm and feel to it.  In terms of Scott's resume, it's much closer in tone to the dreamlike nature of LEGEND or BLADE RUNNER; another reason why the characters seemingly contradictory behavior didn't irk me.


The dreamlike quality is further enhanced by the spectacular use of 3D.  I would highly recommend seeing this film in that format, and even further, to see it in IMAX.  The 3D is never obtrusive, it looks as gorgeous as any well-shot 2D film (Courtesy of masterful DP Dariusz Wolski, who previously shot DARK CITY.  I guess he's a fan of giant head statues.), and apart from the credits, I noticed no "ghosting" whatsoever.  I'm not a pushover for this kind of thing, but this was some quality work; probably the best I've ever seen.





Anybody else love the movie EXPLORERS?  It's a movie about a group of kids who begin telepathically communicating with an alien race.  The film seems to build towards a transcendental intergalactic meet and greet, but the kids come to find out that the aliens are just as much beer-swilling coach potatoes as we are.  This movie kind of feels like Ridley Scott's remake of Explorers.  Or maybe STAR TREK 5.  I'm not really selling this, am I?


Here's some other random stuff that I really dug:  Michael Fassbender as the mercurial robot David.  Rafe Spall and Sean Harris as the Scooby Doo and Shaggy characters.  Idris Elba as the Stephen Stills loving captain.  Squirmy, tentacly (Fuck you; it's a word.), vagina monsters.  Big, oafish, Jason Vorrhees wannabes.  The delivery of the line, "I was watching your dreams."


Love it or hate it, I'd say it's worth seeing this in the theater for the mere experience of the whole thing.  Event films don't often feel this BIG, and it's best to grab hold of it in a big way.


REVIEW:  8 (LOVE)