Spoilers
ahead, you have been warned!
It’s
definitely set in the same universe as the other Alien films (I’m not including the AVP films, as they have their
own continuity), and has aspects from them that help to anchor in that
universe. But whether it’s a direct prequel to Alien or just set in the world of it, has been something of puzzler
given the conflicting statements from both Ridley Scott, Michael Fassbender and
other cast members. Having seen it a few days ago, I think I have got a grips
on where it stands in regard to the series and primarily Alien and the events both preceding it and following it.
Prometheus, as far as I take it, acts
as both an origin theory for mankind, and in the smaller scale, an origin of
how the xenomorphs (the series primary antagonists) came into existence, as it
is clear from the outset of this film, that they were engineered as a
biological weapon, and a pretty efficient one going off what they get up to in
the future. As for the origin of mankind, the opening sequence (or prologue,
depending on your personal taste) offers up an alternative theory, with one of
the engineers sacrificing himself to create life on what is almost certainly
Earth.
I
wouldn’t give a blow by blow account of the film’s story, but following on the
prologue, we are introduced to our heroine Dr Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), an
archaeologist who is searching for the creation of life (I think, but I could
be wrong on this point), but finds evidence pertaining to the engineers and
shortly after, her and the rest of the crew of the ship, also called
Prometheus, are heading towards LV-223. Not the fabled, and possibly the worst
holiday destination in cinema history, LV-426.
Like
the core Alien films, we follow a selection of the crew, focusing on their
stories and developments, and keeping the others in background (to be
sacrificed when it is called for). These main characters are the aforementioned
Rapace, Michael Fassbender as the android (a perfect piece of casting), Idris
Elba as the ship’s captain Janek, Charlize Theron as the Weyland Industries
executive, and Logan Marshall-Green as Rapace’s colleague and “love interest”.
Of these, the stand out is, as usual, Michael Fassbender as David, who along
with Shaw are the films central characters, once again the Alien series has
avoided using the traditional heroic male character, instead of two unlikely,
but interesting characters. A doctor and an android. David, occupies the position of being both inferior, and yet
superior to his shipmates, acting as both the human to the crew’s engineers,
and also being the engineer at the same time, firm is his superiority and
coldness when it comes to decisions and experiments. Prometheus is in all honestly, watching just for Fassbender’s
David.
Visually,
this film is stunning, as all Ridley Scott’s films, and makes you wonder what Alien would have look like with this
budget and freedom, but perhaps that film would have suffered for it. Prometheus however, does not, the
glorious claustrophobic interiors of the dome, hark back to the darker parts of
the Nostromo, and the basements from LV-426, while giving us a scale and
history that adds to the previous films. Showing what happened to the
engineers, and the birth of the xenomorphs.
Some
people will be unhappy that it doesn’t dovetail nicely with Alien, but I am not one of them, this
films acts as fork in the road, in one direction we get Alien, Aliens, etc, the
history of the xenomorphs and Ripley. Where as the other direction will
hopefully take us off into the direction of the history of both the engineers
and more ideas about the creation of humanity. Did it need more action and
facehugging action? Maybe, but I found the bigger questions and ideas it raised
more interesting than seeing someone torn to pieces. Not that there are no
horror moments, there are three genuine, squirm in your seat moments, one
features the classic sc-fi convention of the excess crew members in the wrong
place, at the wrong time. The second is a brilliant, tense piece of self preservation
and on the spot surgery that even Dr Nick wouldn’t be so hasty to get started,
and the final is a struggle, in very close proximity featuring all three
species.
Ignore
the negative comments, and go and experience this film in the cinema where it is
at it’s best. My only piece of advice, is don’t go in expecting a carbon copy
of Alien, because you will let a
great, thought provoking film pass you by.
