Prometheus

Ridley Scott.  I’d say something like “there’s not a more misunderstood genius” or “a sage of the medium of film” but that’d be a lie.  Scott is a filmmaker that has made some great movies and also some very forgettable ones too.  It’s not that Scott really has tangible strengths or weakness, it’s rather more that his weak films stand out considerably when you see the stronger works he’s done.  Granted I’m one of the weird people that like his more low key and personal movies like “A Good Year” (a actually quite fun movie)  or “Matchstick Men” (fix that if you haven’t seen it.)  but for the most part Scott seems to get the most praise when he does big, world building type projects, like one of his most praised works “Blade Runner”.  Not to mention that things like “G.I. Jane” or “White Squall” are just mediocre and forgettable.  I wouldn’t even go so far as to say he’s polarizing, he’s just a fairly talented film maker with great movies and not so great movies dotted through his resume.  One example of his great movies is actually only his second movie and it is one of the high water marks of the sci fi genre, “Alien”.
I love this movie.  I have such love for this movie that my girlfriend might get jealous.  It’s a pitch perfect example of atmosphere, the pacing is tight and well done, the acting superb and I could seriously go on and on and on about this movies style, production history, and the people involved, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about.  I”m here to talk about “Prometheus”, one of the most anticipated sci fi movies in a very long time.  Why you ask?  Aside from the simple fact that Ridley Scott is making a more than welcome return to the sci fi genre, it’s also a prequel to “Alien”.  Yes, you read that correctly, prequel.
If you aren’t a die hard sci fi fan, then you are blissfully unaware of how ice cold the word ‘prequel’ renders the fan boy’s blood cold these days, largely thanks to one George Lucas.  In general the idea of a prequel is flawed for several reasons, but more specifically if it takes place before the previous film, either everyone makes it out alive, or no one does thus tension is forever lost.  Plus, in sitting down to try and think of prequels that have worked before the only one I could think of was “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”.  Yes, most people think of it as a sequel, but if you actually pay attention to the dates at the start, it takes place before “Raiders of the Lost Ark”.  And that’s it, the only other ones that exist are the trilogy of which WE DO NOT SPEAK!  Also that abortion of a lazy cash in that was the “The Thing” remake masquerading as prequel.  So needless to say, the tension was high on this one, not helped for most fans by some of the news coming from the set.  Now, I’m one that really prefers to NOT read news from the sets of big productions because I like to be surprised, and I like to try (this is the keyword here, TRY) to go in with an open mind to these things.
So how was “Prometheus”?  Excellent.  It’s not a perfect film by any stretch and I would debate that no such thing actually exists, but “Prometheus” is a damn well crafted movie.  Taking place in the not too distant future, some scientist have discovered evidence that in ancient times mankind was visited by extraterrestrial beings that may have also been our progenitors.  So with a star map in hand they head out to a distant planet to try and see if they can make contact.  That’s really the big idea, they go looking for “god”.  However on arrival, they discover some dark and terrifying secrets, and things just get worse from there.
The biggest thing in this movie’s favor is Scott’s really firm grasp of tone and atmosphere.  There are so many moments in this movie that are just giving you a big holy shit money shot and the man knows where and how to place the camera to get exactly the right reaction out of the audience.  That shot you see in the trailer of the room with the giant face?  Even when you know what it looks like, it’s something to behold when it’s revealed in the movie.  Plus, the contrast between their ship Prometheus and the alien planet well nicely done.  This is assisted by some stellar cinematography that truly lets the production design shine and giving fans of the first film a very nice treat with how meticulous they recreated some of the sets.
The performances are all great with the stand out being Michael Fassbender who promptly walks away with the movie the moment he shows up as the android, but mention must also be made of Charlize Theron as the corporate stooge that tagged along for the trip and Noomi Rapace is very engaging as the scientist in charge of the mission.
And thus we come to the real meat of why I loved this movie so much, the story.  Now, from reading/watching other reviews and discussing this with others that have seen the film, many people are hyper focused on the fact that while it’s an alien prequel it seems to focus more on was originally a B story that Scott flipped around to the main plot and made the alien prequel stuff the B plot.  Honestly, this was part of what made it a good prequel.  Just think for a moment folks, the movie was originally pitched as a straightforward alien prequel, how would that have been better?  The fact that this movie has the whole looking for our creator premise makes it more interesting with the reveal of the alien xenomorphs as a great twist/perk to the whole idea.  Just think about this, these people are going searching for answers, they are literally looking for GOD, and that would have been the B story.  No, not just the B Story, the B story in a monster movie, that would have probably ended up looking like a monster movie we’ve already seen.  The fact that it’s a big idea that explored throughout the narrative makes the film itself interesting and the fact that it’s the reveal of the origin of the aliens works better for it.  Plus, it really likes to take a show don’t tell approach to a lot of the ideas and moments that it explores, which I like because while narrative hand holding is sometimes a good and even necessary thing, it can often times feel invasive or unnatural, alien if you will.  The whole idea of the movie is that they went searching for the answers to some big questions, how would it make the movie better to just straight up tell them that the answer to all life is 42?  Ok, that would actually be awesome, but I have a point here.  The point is that there are always going to be questions, and that’s a good thing.  Humans are just naturally curious creatures and we will never be satisfied with what we know.  I know so much trivia about my favorite movies, but I’m always looking for more.  Some people go looking for bigfoot because that want to know for sure that it does or doesn’t exist, philosophers are constantly examining and debating the point of life, but what happens then?  There’s nothing wrong with searching for knowledge, hell I honestly think things would be better if more people did it, but what happens when we know everything?  I try not to think about it.
Look I’m not going to spoil any more of the movie, you all should watch it.  it’s a great movie and it has some nice well done ideas in it and it’s seriously the best movie connected to “Alien” since 1986.  Give it a watch.

5 things you shouldn’t look for the answers of.  out of 5

You know, writing this reminded me how interesting the whole Alien franchise, good and bad, is to look like, and I’m in the mood to revisit it   So for the next month we’ll take a look at the other four films, starting where it all began.  Alien.