Prometheus (2012) Review

Prometheus is the long awaited prequel to Alien directed by Ridley Scott.  The same Ridley Scott that brought us Legend, Alien, and Blade Runner.  Like many fans, I have been eagerly waiting for this film.  We were all hoping that many of the unanswered questions of the previous Alien series would be explained.  Who are the Space Jockeys?  Where did they come from?  Why were they on that planet? Where did the Xenamorphs come from?  All we could hope for is that some of these questions were answered in the new Prequel Prometheus.

Two Archaeologists,  Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway , working in Scotland find primitive cave drawings of Alien beings while on an expedition.  They believe they have found proof that there is a higher intelligence of beings that visited Earth long ago and left maps for Humans to find their Universe.  The scientists go to Peter Weyland, of the Weyland Corporation, to get funding for an expedition to the star system outlined by the ancient cave drawings and carvings.  They believe the Alien visitors were Mankind’s maker and that we are somehow related to them, so they intend to go on a search for the meaning of life.

Prometheus, the Starship, is built to carry a small crew to the distant star system.  David, an android, watches over the crew on their long journey.  David is a very unusual Android, he enjoys playing Basketball, riding his bike, and learning new languages.  David in fact really steals the show, with an excellent performance by Michael Fassbender.  When asked why he wears a space suit, he informs a crew member that androids were designed to be indistinguishable from Humans so he must blend in.  David very much reminds me of another famous computer, Hal in 2001, A Space Odyssey.  He is extremely knowledgeable but devoid of all Human emotion.  When the ship finally reaches it’s destination, David awakens the crew.  They don their spacesuits and set out to find proof of the Alien’s existence.

Unfortunately, we don’t have Sigourney Weaver to pick up a blowtorch, but we do have a very good substitute in Elizabeth Shaw, played by Noomi Rapace, who is best known as the first and still best Lizbeth Salander from the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy of films.  Charlize Theron plays Vickers, a character very similar to Burke in Aliens.  She manages to annoy everyone on board very quickly.   The biggest surprise is Weyland, who is played by a very unrecognizable Guy Pearce.  I am still asking why he was cast to play an elderly man?  Perhaps, we will find out later on in the series.

There are a few gory and terrifying scenes to satisfy the Horror Geeks, but most of the film is character building and suspense. Meaning, that if you were hoping for a new version of Aliens, you are not going to find it in Prometheus.  The cinematography is stunningly beautiful though, we are treated to long sweeping shots of the planet and the interiors of the Space ships.  But really, what else would we expect from Ridley Scott?

Prometheus isn’t just a simple Prequel, instead it is a definitely a set up for a new Trilogy in the Alien series.  The film doesn’t tie up all the loose story lines with a neat little bow the way The Thing (2011) did.  Oh no!  In fact it raises more questions than it seemed to answer.  Hopefully there will be sequel to Prometheus to explain everything we wanted to know.  The film is hardly perfect, but it is still a very good SciFi Thriller and an excellent addition to the Alien series.