Just saw the very much anticipated Alien prequel PROMETHEUS today. Now as movie promotion was ramping up, I was less than enthused. Granted, I would have seen it anyway since I’m a sci-fi fan, but the initial teaser trailers felt too Event Horizon/Astro-Horror and basically revealed not even a good teaser to whet one’s appetite.
However, the second full trailer really caught my attention. As did the brilliant viral campaign they started with Michael Fassbender’s David 8 and Guy Pearce’s Peter Weyland.
Here are the two of the viral videos released.
David 8:
Peter Weyland at TED 2023:
Pretty cool. I’m a huge sucker for films, TV shows or media that makes an effort to extend the fans experience outside their primary mediums. Prometheus was no different. Was the payoff worth it? Lets see!
Synopsis:
The film takes place in the year 2094 when trillionaire Peter Weyland funds a space journey led by scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) to a distant world that they believe will lead to their Makers. These Makers are dubbed ‘Engineers’ by Shaw and Holloway.
Joining them on this trip is Weyland exec and overall hard-ass Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), android David (Michael Fassbender), southern pilot Janek and a host of other disposable science/doctor types. After 2 years with only David running the ship while the crew was in cryostasis, Prometheus reaches the distance planet that could hold the key to humanity’s creation.
However, things don’t go as planned as certain crew member’s secret agendas collided and the crew of the Prometheus discover something far more sinister than imagined.
Non-Spoiler Review:
One of the key components to any science fiction is world building, and Prometheus did a spectacular job at that. The ship itself was breathtaking. It was a part of the cast in its own way and offered various set pieces for the actors to play with.
The standout performance was Michael Fassbender as David 8. The level of subtlety, innocence and general creepiness he brought to the David character was unreal. You could not help but be glued to the screen whenever he was on it. He was that good. Plus, his agenda was working in cross-purposes with the rest of the crew’s, which made for some great exchanges with Charlie Holloway and Meredith Vickers. Speaking of which…
Charlize Theron’s Vickers brought a solid, mostly understated performance as expected. From what I hear this is what she should have done in Snow White and the Huntsman. I would have liked to see more conflict between her and Shaw’s after certain events occurred, but Theron worked well with her portion of the story.
It was also nice to see Logan Marshall-Green play something other than a scumbag douche-hole.
I was surprising disappointed in Noomi Rapace’s performance, which felt weak in some of her more dramatic scenes. I get that she was a scientist and a believer. But was it that faith in God driving her, or was it just scientific curiosity? I would have liked to settle on one.
The rest of the cast other than Idris Elba didn’t get enough screen time for me to truly care about them.
As for the plot, things started off well and the slow build was well-done. But I feel the film kind of fell apart somewhere around the end of the second act. At the end of the film, there is a treat for fans of the Alien films. You’ll see when you watch it.
All in all, I liked Prometheus. It wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty good. I really do hope this film motivates more directors to explore more science fiction heavy films like this. It is great to see such an expansive genre represented.
Here’s the trailer for those still on the fence:
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