My knowledge of the works of Ridley Scott is fairly limited. I was never into the Alien franchise, so I’m coming into Prometheus without any prior notion.
The film stars the original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Noomi Rapace, as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, an archeologist who, along with her boyfriend and fellow archeologist, played by Logan Marshall-Green, heads an expedition to a planet where they believe they will find the species responsible for the creation of the human race.
The crew is comprised of various characters including Dave the android played by Michael Fassbender, and Meredith Vickers, an employee of the Weyland Corporation who monitors the expedition played by Charlize Theron.
The performances in this film are top notch, even some of the side characters like Fifield played by Sean Harris, are made unique by how the actors inject life into characters that most other actors would phone in.
Given that this is sci-fi horror, it’s expected that we care about those that died, but the ones that stay alive don’t seem to get a lot of development aside from a scene or two. The only fascinating principle role that got a good degree of development was David. His development was in the vein of Isaac Asimov and serves as a good parallel for the human characters and their quest.
The visual aesthetic of the film is epic. Everything in the film is grandiose, imitating the impact seen in films like Avatar. However, this is more done with an eerie atmosphere rather than wonder.
While this film has many praises that can be sung, there are a few issues that arise in the third act. Simply put, there’s a great deal of exposition and dramatic reveals that are hastily given to the audience in a clunky manner, essentially trying to summarize things in the film that don’t really need it.
I still found this to be an enjoyable film. With its large scale and practical technological designs, it tells an engaging and thought-provoking story that doesn’t try to end on a clear cut message like other science fiction films. If you’re a fan of the more thought-provoking sci-fi stories, then this will probably be the film for you. I give Prometheus a 4.5/5.
