Prometheus

There’s that old saying that whilst some people enjoy movies others like films. There’s also a third option though and one that most people would say hasn’t been seen since the 1970’s, that of cinema. Personally I’d put Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood as recent evidence of that latter category, but Ridley Scott’s new film Prometheus is also a throwback to the days of grand sweeping camera shots, wide angle framing and minimal dialogue. Or at least it is for the first hour of its running time. We begin with one of the most breathtaking openings in film (sorry cinema) this year, as Scott’s camera zooms over the beautiful scenery of Iceland (doubling as…well you’ll find out) before a humanoid Alien pops up from a spaceship and appears to commit suicide by drinking a dark liquid. Next we come across a group of scientists who discover a star map which they believe if followed correctly will give an answer to the origins of mankind (Oh yeah, it’s the late 21st century by the way). What follows next is too complex to go into, but we have the classic spaceship on a mission scenario with the crew starting off in stasis whilst being looked over by the obligatory android (Michael Fassbender). Let’s talk the good stuff first. Fassbender is superb. Seemingly based on David Bowie’s alien in The Man Who Fell To Earth (heck, Fassbender’s robot is even called David in this), Fassbender gives a brilliantly disconnected performance as a non-humanoid, seemingly innocent as to the ways of his flesh and bone companions, but always giving the impression that there’s a lot more going on underneath. Of the two female leads Noomi Rapace is also good, but Charlize Theron as the ball breaking corporate bitch is unconvincing (which is odd considering her great turn in Snow White and The Huntsman). As for Guy Pearce (unrecognisable under a ton of make-up), well, you’ll have to ask him why he signed on. In terms of the visuals Scott has always had a remarkable eye and, aided by cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, lays on a feast for your peepers. In terms of the sets Scott convinced the big wigs at Fox to invest millions of dollars in getting a load of scientists and artists to develop a vision of the late 21st century. To me it actually looked quite retro, but it certainly looks cool. Thumbs up to Scott as well for sticking to his guns and not compromising his vision in order to get a lower certificate. This is shown in the scene involving Rapace and a surgical procedure which is not only toe curlingly gruesome, but a nice nod to poor old John Hurt and his dodgy tummy. Where the vision does falter is the fact that though this was shot entirely using 3D cameras, I watched the 2D version and it actually highlighted quite a few moments of the film that were thrown in for 3D effect only and it don’t look good bro. The biggest problems in the film though boil down to its script and the odd decisions made by the characters (which niggle at you throughout the film). A few example being Idris Elba's captain finding things a bit of a laugh when a couple of his crew members get stranded with unforeseen nasties possibly on their tail, said crew members turning from nervous cowardly wrecks into amazingly brave and interested explorer’s (literally within 5 minutes screen time) and, in one of the oddest scenes in film this year, a person’s reaction to discovering a missing crew member’s grotesquely broken body is not one of horror but a non-plussed kick like one would administer to a car tyre. All very odd and it sort of sums the whole screenplay up. Too much remains unresolved and unexplained. Finally, if you’re wondering where this fits into the Alien film timeline you’ll know all by the end. However Scott has said that the film only shares the strands of Alien’s DNA, but if you’ve seen the posters, trailers and advertising you might be sceptical on that front. The best way to sum it up is that the studio have said that the film itself isn’t an exact prequel to Alien, but it is connected to it. Confusing, no?

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Enjoyably grandiose, but hamstrung by a script that veers from odd to confusing scene by scene. Rating: 7/10.