Movie Review: Prometheus
Prometheus is directed by Ridley Scott, who was made famous when he made Alien in 1979. Since then he’s directed such hits as Gladiator, American Gangster, Thelma & Louise, and one of my personal favorites, Matchstick Men. Although he was made famous by science-fiction movies like Alien and Blade Runner, it’s been decades since he’s directed a science-fiction film. Now in his mid-70s, he’s finally gone back to his roots with Prometheus, which a prequel to the 1979 film that made him famous.
There are a lot of big ideas in Prometheus, and perhaps too much time is spent on those ideas and not enough time devoted to overall entertainment. Still, Prometheus is very interesting and fun to watch. The film follows a crew on a voyage across the universe to discover the meaning of life, and meet their makers (referred to as “Engineers”). Two scientists have discovered evidence which suggests an invitation by the engineers to meet them in another galaxy. When the crew finally arrives on the planet, they discover that the invitation was really more of a trap. I don’t want to give anything else away, but there are a lot of twists along the way.
A lot of plot threads go unresolved, and many questions are not answered by the end of the film. Ridley Scott did this deliberately to set up the possibility of sequels, but I doubt any will be made because Prometheus was an expensive movie to produce and didn’t make as big a splash as hoped at the box office. That’s too bad, because Prometheus really is an interesting movie and has plenty of thrills for the average movie-goer. There are also huge pay-offs for fans of the original Alien movie. The cast is good, most notably Michael Fassbender as David, an AI robot who is not all he seems, and Noomi Rapace as the film’s heroine. I hope that this movie finds life on DVD, because I’d love to see another one made.
Prometheus is probably more interesting to Alien fans, but there’s something here for everyone. There is a lot of gore and some bad language, so it’s not for everyone, but if you like science fiction and can handle the content, Prometheus should be on your list.
Grade – B+