NEWS: Prometheus: A Prequel That Doesn’t Quite Leave You Wanting A New Sequel

CULTURE: Prometheus: A Prequel That Doesn’t Quite Leave You Wanting A New Sequel

by Damon Martin

Curiosity and a search for our origin is the heart of the new Ridley Scott film Prometheus which opens in theaters on today. In many ways the film was engineered as a moderate prequel to the popular Alien franchise, also launched by Scott some thirty-plus years ago.

Following the discovery of some ancient cave paintings that show early man pointing towards the a group of planets, scientists on Earth realize that these same images show up over and over again in different relics all over the world in civilizations that never, ever touched one another.

It's with the premise of discovering where humanity started that the starship Prometheus is launched to try and find these planets, and possibly the origin of our species.

Archaeologists Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) and his girlfriend Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) are on the hunt for how humanity was born. Was it all spawned from some ancient alien race from another world that brought life to Earth?

As they land on a desolate moon that looks similar to Earth, the crew of the Prometheus soon discover a vast pyramid that houses perfectly breathable oxygen and the remains of an alien race whose DNA matches perfectly that of humans.

Without giving away too much plot at this point, it's clear to see that there is something amiss with this planet and the species that once inhabited it, and needless to say all hell breaks loose shortly thereafter.

Prometheus plays on the very old idea that curiosity sometimes kills the cat, and the crew of this ship is definitely a little too curious for their own good. The leader of the ship played by Charlize Theron is a cold detached bureaucrat sent into space to guide this crew of scientists on their mission to find out where life first started.

But the real star of the film is Michael Fassbender, who plays the ship's resident android named David. Like the other films in the Alien franchise where actors like Lance Henricksen and Iam Holm stole the show as robots who come to life, it's no different with Fassbender who is simply brilliant in this movie. A secret motive behind every action, Fassbender is calculating and cold with his actions, but creepy and sly with his familiar smile.

The biggest problem with Prometheus is the fact that the film pulls the audience in too many different directions with plotlines that head in numerous directions. Throughout the 2-hour affair, there are several references to the Alien franchise, which call out to the idea that this really is a prequel to the popular science fiction series.

But what Prometheus also attempts to do is pull the story in a whole new direction with the questions about the origin of our species and where we all came from. It almost seems like too much by the time the film comes to an end, and you are left wondering which storyline you were supposed to care about more.

While the acting in Prometheus was largely very well done, the lead actress in the film, Noomi Rapace, fails to show the same kind of strong female character that Sigourney Weaver did in the original series of Alien films. It may not be fair to compare anyone to what Weaver was able to do with her character of Ellen Ripley, but Ridley Scott has made strong, female characters a centerpiece of these series of films and Rapace fails to repeat even a small part of Weaver's powerful presence.

On its own, Prometheus is a solid film worth seeing, but ultimately when it was over the biggest feeling I was left with wasn't about a sequel for this movie (which will inevitably happen), I just wanted to go home and watch the 1979 Alien classic. 


Agreed. The movie was two different things at the same time, and would have been better as just one.

I did quite like Rapce by the end, though.

Michael was awesome and to be honest one of the only reasons to watch this film. Cold, calculated and devoid of emotions, you can see from the beginning that he must have another agend... Or maybe you're just being paranoid

Sadly I felt let down by most of the film though. I love the Aliens universe with situations and lore that send shivers down your spine at every turn. But, this film didn't do that. The first half rocks your socks while the second half is disjointed and leaves you with more questions than answers.

By all means go see this film, but I'll bet I won't be what you are expecting. Shame.

you can tell it was a bad film when at the end (at least at the theater I saw it at) the audience broke out in laughter... It tried too hard to be a thought provoking film, whilst trying to cram horror into every nook and cranny, and failed magnificently.
It's a solid science fiction piece when it comes down to science trying to prove the impossible; i.e. the creation of mankind, and our place in the universe, but it doesn't fit into the niche that the Aliens franchise is.
I am of the opinion that the trailers are far better than the film itself and would rather watch them, at least they have a solid outline as far as showing conflict, having rising action and following with a powerful conclusion.
It doesn't work as a prequel because they basically threw all the established history of the Xenomorphs out the window and then decided they could make them scarier, even though we know that the Xenomorphs have been around as their own species for sometime now.
I will agree however that Fassbender was phenomenal, but that wasn't enough to warrant 6.50 for a ticket.
Ridley Scott is a talented man, but revisiting something that has grown outside his control, and trying to reinvent it has lead to an utter failure in my opinion.

The audience broke out in laughter at the showing I attended, because it went from

I thought it was a triumph. Best installment in the series since 1986's Aliens. Ya'll are smoking crack!

I liked the fact that it was both survival horror and mystery. If it had been simply the former, it would have been too much of a rehash. If it had been exclusively the latter, we wouldn't have been treated to nearly enough alien face rape. A loss, either way.

As it is, it works as both a standalone story and a prequel. And my favorite kind of prequel to boot: one that doesn't explicitly show how every single thread leads to the events of the original, but leaves room for interpretation and further off-screen development, without treating the audience like idiots. This is the polar opposite of the blandness that was the "The Thing" prequel.

I really enjoyed the movie. I thought it did a great job of balancing horror and science fiction, and to me the film didn't go in multiple directions at all--it went in one direction along several different parallel courses. It's a story of (at least) two failed father figures, tied together by the opposing themes of sacrificing live to preserve life versus the unnatural extension of life.

I think people make far too much of the fact that it's set in the Alien universe and happens before that movie chronologically. Scott said quite a while ago that Prometheus is not really a prequel to Alien.

All I've got to say is that I liked the movie very much, I left the IMAX feeling very satisfied and a yearning to know more. I would hope for a sequel that would explore more of the "space jockeys/ engineers" history.

Also...

Maybe tie in Predator in a non cheesy way!

What bothered me was...

I felt like the movie tried a little too hard, but visually it was pretty awesome.

Because it was for

edit: Didn't see keet beat me to it.

Edit: I see just about everybody beat me to this clear explanation.

I, for one, quite enjoyed the movie. I thought the arc got muddled in places, and I might've taken it in a different direction, but I also didn't put a @#$%-ton of my own money into the film. Ridley Scott did, and he directed it, so he got to decide what direction it went.

And it wasn't a bad direction at all.

I liked the David character, but otherwise just *no*. This is one i strongly urge people to download or rent, don't pay to see it in the theater.

There is a very interesting article that can be found HERE, that explores the themes & ideas behind the film.

Major spoilers within, so best not to read it before you've seen the movie.

My thoughts upon leaving the film, established from the very first scenes of the movie:

Worst scientists ever!

I think...

I agree. It was pretty clear that was how Scott wanted it, but at the same time, there was clearly (to me) an influence that wanted this to be an Alien prequel. It felt too conflicted to me. Otherwise, I don't have too many complaints.

You know, I really don't understand peoples reasoning for this.

The fact the viewer is disconnected from the experience that is portrayed on the screen is part of the problem I think.

I don't know about anyone else but I would probably lose my shit(no matter how well trained I was) if I was to actually discover/encounter actual alien and intelligent life. Especially if that intelligent life had a hand in making my species and something had all but wiped them out.

I think people's perception of how they think a character should act is most often colored by the fact they are safe in their seats away from any peril or mind twisting revelations.

Thank you Danger. Read the whole thing and it was fantastic.

My wife and I both liked the movie. For those who saw it and didn't like it, read the piece Danger linked. You might see it in a different way.

I enjoyed it. Fastbender was amazing.

However, I agree with the sourness of the dual plotlines. It should have stayed away from the "Alien Universe" and been 100% completely original and focused only on the plot of this particular story.

CLEARLY a prequel, which almost ruins it.

I would see a sequel out of pure curiosity. heh