★★½
Directed by RIDLEY SCOTT
Before anything, I must say I’ve never been a fan of the Alien franchise. Those disgusting beings making weird noises just don’t appeal to me, I’m sorry. But with Prometheus I thought it would be different. It had to be. Just look at the Introducing David 8 video: it looks stylish, clever, out of the ordinary. Because I am repelled by spoilers, I went in thinking the (no use in denying) Alien prequel would resemble a more dynamic Moon. If only I had seen the trailer, I would’ve spared the disappointment.
While I was dazed by how gorgeous the prologue looked (that much I’ll give it, aesthetically it is grand), my friend who is not fooled by such tricks turns to me and says so that must be how the human race was created. A couple of minutes later, so they must be searching for a cure or something. Point being, just a few minutes in and the plot was already drawn in our minds. And we could continue pointing out all the remarks until predicable became an understatement. Moreover, it’s not only the fact that one could easily foresee what was coming, but also how every bad thing that happened was too obviously caused by a stupid mistake from one of characters, like let’s go back by ourselves and not notice we’re lost until it’s too late, or the classic that looks dangerous, let’s touch it.
Fortunately though, David was there and he was powered by Michael Fassbender, who created something truly amazing to behold. David wasn’t as creepy as I’d hope him to be, but still it was quite fascinating: from the robotic but moderate way he moved, to his ice cold voice and blank expression, David was entirely believable – which is the best compliment one can give. Also, that Peter O’Toole obsession is priceless. There wasn’t much to Charlize Theron’s character, but she did very well with the little she was (at least apparently) given. She’s tough, and stunning, and smart, yet conflicted. The others looked like the standard type of characters you’d expect from this kind of film. Except for Janek, who kept making ridiculous mistakes that sadly were the only way to get the story going.
While many have criticised the birth scene, apart from the machine being programmed only for men, I thought it was genius. It was so distressing I was about to pull out my own viscera. And Noomi Rapace held it all together like a charm. It was disgusting and funny, and that’s just the way it should be. Then again, I really enjoyed the bloody birth of the idiotically named Renesmee, so maybe that’s my thing.
I believe the biggest disappointment was seeing all these compelling elements waiting to be developed, but always ending up neglected in favor of yet another nauseating and useless scene. We craved for more about the creation of our species, more funny/eerie David and the issues that clearly torment edMeredith, what made her so cold. Perhaps even a young Guy Pearce to explain us a couple of things, otherwise, why have his gorgeous face hidden beneath hours of makeup throughout the entire movie? Oh, they did have young Pearce explaining something in an exciting way. Probably left it out because it was so poorly executed, or maybe because in fact he doesn’t explain a thing. Nevertheless, it appears all the good parts were left out. But Scott can always make another non-prequel and explain everything. It’s just that Prometheus could’ve have been a bit more useful. Let’s hope big things do have small beginnings.
And in the end, how were those disgusting things created? David, the android, infected a human (Holloway) with an alien virus, who got his girlfriend (Elizabeth) pregnant. She then gave birth to a squid, who grew into a giant squid, which then got envolved in some kind of obscure activity I sincerely hope it wasn’t sex with an Engineer, and ta-dah, disgusting thing that strongly looks like the Alien comes out of his dead body. Quite the stretch.
