After a big gap from the original time line of the reviews Geeks Retreat finally presents Lizzy's take on Prometheus, sorry it's been delayed so long, but I certainly think it was worth the wait. As with the other alien recap reviews, beware here be spoilers!
Prometheus (2012)
Director: Sir Ridley Scott
Rotten Tomatoes rating 73%
They went looking for our beginning. What they found could be our end.
Firstly apologies are in order. In the introduction to this sequence it was promised that there would be thoughts on the alternative beginnings and endings. Sadly in a move that seems calculated to extract extra money from fans these are only available on the blu-ray and then only if you buy it.
In 2002, 5 years after Alien Resurrection, Ridley Scott and James Cameron were involved in a project to make a fifth Alien film. This time it was to be a prequel. However when the crossover Alien vs. Predator series was being made this project was shelved and Cameron washed his hands of it. Scott however revisited the idea in 2009. Although a script for a direct Alien prequel is supposed to exist Sir Ridley (who was knighted in 2003) decided not to make it. He has since stated that he felt that the sequels had washed out the xenomorph and that there was another more interesting story to tell.
However, and this may be slightly cynical, the hype generated for an Alien prequel does seem to have been exploited for the marketing campaign. The trailer begins with the ship travelling through a storm to a landscape that looks pretty close to LV-426. It also features a darkened chamber of egg like pods, shots of a crewman having his face melted away, a space jockey and glimpses of a crashed vessel exactly like the one the Nostromo crew found. Sir Ridley Scott did not help clear up the confusion. In at least one interview prior to the release of the film he was asked if Prometheus was a prequel. He replied that it took place in the same universe before the events of Alien, which is a suitably vague answer allowing for any number of conclusions.
Prometheus begins on a grey waterfall. As a spaceship flies overhead a large muscular man disrobes and opens up a sphere. Inside is a dark substance that infects him. Darkness spreads through his veins, he falls into the water and shatters. The impression is that the humanoid, which will later be known as the Engineer, has sacrificed himself for reasons that are not clear at this point.
In Scotland Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) discovers a five thousand year old tomb. Inside there is a cave painting, which she shares with her lover Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green). This is the same picture that has been seen at other ancient sites. It shows a large man pointing at a sequence of stars. The difference is that this one is much older than all the others.
We then skip to the scientific vessel Prometheus. The only member of the crew not in hypersleep is David 8 (Michael Fassbender) an android. Davis spends his time monitoring the dreams of the crew and hoping for an emotional response. David seems to be trying to emulate the humans and as if he is trying to evolve into something other than an emotionless machine. In a pleasing little touch he is also seen watching Lawrence of Arabia and dying his hair to match Peter O’Toole.
David was featured in a viral campaign. This was an advertisement from Weyland Industries in which he points out that he will carry out directives that humans might find distressing and unethical, a clear nod to Ash. He also points out that he understands human emotions though he does not feel them himself, a idea more in line with Bishop. The fact that he is crying could be seen as a link with Call. This suggests that David is the father of all androids and his character will spilt off into each of them. David’s name also follows the alphabetical pattern that the androids in the alien films follow.
The first member of the crew to awaken is the company representative Meredith Vickers (Charlise Theron). Even before she is dressed she is attempting press-ups. Meredith is a cold character who has her own lifeboat, a self-sustaining part of the ship that can be separated if needed. It is also much more comfortable than the utilitarian quarters that the others use.
Over breakfast, a nod to Alien, it is revealed that the ship has been travelling for two years. It is also Christmas. Captain Janeck (Idris Elba) decorates a tree, showing him in stark contrast with Miss Vickers who does not approve. However it will later be revealed that there is sexual tension between the two of them.
Over the debriefing we are introduced via hologram to the head of Weyland Industries Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) who we are told will have died by the time that they arrive at their destination. Weyland recounts the legend of Prometheus stealing fire from the Gods. However he leaves out the bit where Prometheus is punished by constantly having his liver ripped out by an eagle.
Weyland goes on to describe David as the closest thing to a son that he has which makes Miss Vickers visibly prickle. He goes onto say that he had funded the mission and then introduces Shaw and Holloway who explain about the cave paintings and that they are here looking for the origins of mankind.
There is a little bit of a problem with the idea of these paintings. The Engineers are supposed to have created life on Earth and for some reason left. However several thousand years later paintings are created of the Engineers and the star map that they are following. This suggests that the Engineers kept coming back and wanted men who lived in caves to follow them across the stars.
Before they land on LV-223 Miss Vickers warns Shaw and Holloway that they are not to engage in any dialogue with the Engineers if they find them. They are to report any findings to her and if they find nothing they are to return home. Holloway asks if the company has another agenda. Of course the Weyland Company always has another agenda.
The ship lands near a large pyramid. There are several nazca type lines on the ground and Janeck points out that nature does not create straight lines.
The search team goes down to investigate the structure. David is asked why he is wearing a spacesuit when he does not need one. He replies that it makes the others feel more comfortable around him. This is also another suggestion that he is trying to be like the humans.
Inside the pyramid they find a head decapitated by a door. A projection shows several space jockeys running from something. However as this is a film they investigate the other side of the door and find a chamber with a huge carved head on the middle of it. On the floor there are several cylinders that begin to leak a dark fluid. Shaw investigates the murals on the walls and we see glimpses of alien like creature. The murals then start to change. A storm approaches making the structure unstable. As they race back to the ship Fifield (Sean Harris) and Millburn (Rafe Spall) get left behind.
Back on Prometheus medical officer Ford (Kate Dickie) and Shaw examine the head that they brought back. They discover that the elephantine looking outer layer is in fact a helmet not an exoskeleton. Inside is a large human looking head who’s DNA is identical to that of human beings. Unfortunately the head becomes unstable as they try to wake it up and it explodes.
David meanwhile has also brought something back. He has one of the cylinders and when he opens it he finds the curious black fluid seen at the beginning. David then pours Holloway a glass of champagne into which he adds a drop of the black fluid. Interestingly in this scene David asks Holloway why they created him and Holloway answers without much consideration for David's feeling that it was simply because they could, a foreshadowing of things to come.
Holloway goes back to the quarters he shares with Shaw. He takes her a rose that he had frozen to give to her when they found the Engineers but that she might as well have it now. She excitedly tells him about the DNA result and they have sex. Afterwards Holloway goes to the mirror and sees something strange in his eye.
Back in the pyramid Fifield and Milburn are attacked. A snake like creature that burrows down his throat kills Milburn. Fifield’s protective helmet is burned away by corrosive blood and he is exposed to the black fluid.
The following day the team goes back to the pyramid. David steals away and finds a living Engineer in stasis and a hologram of the stars to Earth. At the same time the humans find Milburn and Holloway begins show signs of infection. They rush him back to the ship but Miss Vickers refuses to let him on board. She not only has more authority than Ripley did in the same situation she also has a flamethrower. While Shaw tries to argue Holloway goes bravely to his death for the sake of the others and is burnt by Vickers
During the quarantine process Shaw gives David the cross from around her neck and he asks if she and Holloway had sex. She asks why and he tells her that she is about three months pregnant. She informs him that this cannot be the case as she is unable to have children. David replies chillingly that this is not a normal pregnancy. He then sedates her ready to put her into hypersleep.
When Ford arrives to put Shaw into the cryo-pod Shaw jumps up and attacks the medics. While giving herself painkilling injections, which wouldn’t have time to work, she gets to the surgical pod in Miss Vickers lifeboat. Climbing in she finds that it is set up only for male patients and so programs in abdominal surgery. The machine removes a strange eyeless, mouthless tentacled alien.
As she escapes from this she runs through the wrong door and finds Peter Weyland being attended to by nurses. This is lucky because at this point she collapses.
It is revealed that the reason that Weyland funded the mission was so that that he could find the Engineers at that they could give him more life. It is also revealed that Miss Vickers in Weyland’s daughter making his comment about David particularly barbed and explaining why David and Miss Vickers are so similar in appearance.
Interestingly the first choice to play Weyland was Max Von Sydow who seems a better fit than 45-year-old Guy Pearce. However the original script called for a shot of Weyland as a younger man and it is easier to make an actor appear older than younger.
Meanwhile a zombie Fifield attacks the crewmembers in the hanger with incredible strength. Janek manages to kill Fifield but several others are killed. Janek then theorises that the structure was a lab creating biological weapons and that some of these must have turned on their creators. He also discovers that inside the pyramid is a ship shaped like the one in Alien.
Weyland, David, Ford and Shaw head down to meet the Engineer. David tries to communicate with the Engineer and smiles as he does so. The look on David’s face suggests that his allegiance may have changed at this point, feeling he may have found some kind of approval from the Engineer that he never could from his own creators. The Engineer however does not feel the same. He decapitates David and then kills Ford and Weyland. Weyland realises there is nothing more after death and as he dies David, who seems to have know this all along, wishes him a safe journey.
Shaw escapes as the Engineer climbs into his control chair, completing the space jockey look, and tries to take off. Miss Vickers tells Janek to go back to Earth but Shaw tells him that if the Engineer leaves there won't be an Earth to go back to. Janek takes a poll with his remaining crew and they decided to make the ultimate sacrifice by ramming the Engineer’s ship.
As it crashes it threatens to crush Shaw and Miss Vickers. The ship is falling in a straight line. Both women run in a straight line for no apparent reason. Then Shaw falls over and is left behind by Vickers, but she rolls to the side and is saved where as Miss Vickers is squished.
Shaw goes back to the lifeboat and finds that the tiny alien has grown into a giant monster. David’s head contacts her and warns her that the Engineer is coming for her. When he attacks she sets the alien on him and a tentacle is seen going down the Engineer’s throat.
Shaw goes back to David. Her first concern is for her cross. Once she has found it she agrees to take David with her. She puts his head in a bag, lowers his body out on a rope and sets off in what is presumably a second functional engineer ship. Her last report informs us that she is going to find the Engineer’s world and discover why they wanted to destroy humans.
Meanwhile the Engineer’s body begins to twitch. Instead of what people were expecting a fully formed and completely different alien emerges from his chest. It does however appear to have an inner jaw although this is not as well formed as that of the xenomorph.
Prometheus is a well-written, well-structured piece of science fiction. It is an interesting and philosophical film. It attempts to explore the origins of mankind and our relationship with our creators. The fact that Shaw is both a scientist and religious makes her an interesting character; scientists in films tend to be atheist and fuelled by a desire to find reason to replace the idea of a god. Shaw is more developed in that she believes that there is something more than the human.
The relationship between David and Weyland is also interesting as is its contrast with Miss Vickers. It seems as though Weyland created David to replace his less than perfect offspring, perhaps as many powerful men in history he wanted a son and was disappointed by Vickers from birth by merit of her gender, however he does not embrace David as an equal. This is a small example of a much bigger idea.
Prometheus seems to suggest that in the same way that parents do not always like their offspring Gods can grow tired of their creations. As the Engineer is then killed by one of the creatures it engineered it would also suggested that creations can also grow tired of their Gods.
Prometheus is a deeply layered and well thought out film. However it is not a direct prequel to Alien and this is where it falls down. If Sir Ridley Scott had come out and said this is not a prequel that would have been fine. He could have said that it is film about the space jockey and that it doesn’t feature the xenomorph but it does explain that the company had come into contact with creatures that were transporting the aliens before. He could have made it clear that it was a stand-alone film that filled in some of the background detail. Then it would have been easy for fans to say fair enough and go to the film knowing that it would not fit nicely with Alien. Instead Scott was vague about the whole thing. It was not until the day that the film came out, presumably followed by blogs and tweets about the true nature of the film, that he admitted in an interview that the planet it was set on was not LV-426.
Later Sir Ridley would say that the film was about ancestor of the xenomorph. Unfortunately the film is set about 75 years before Alien so doesn't really give the time for the creature to evolve. Indeed as an explanation it seems a little trying to have your cake and eat it.
The uncomfortable assumption is that the makers of Prometheus wanted to tap into an already strong fan base. It appears as if they were just trying to cash in on the connection and did not want to reveal too much about the film in case they put people off paying money to see it. The evidence is pretty strong for this, not only was the film in 3D but there was an IMAX edition, which this reviewer travelled all the way to Manchester to see. Now there is DVD but it doesn’t have all the extras on so fans are encouraged to pay the extra fiver for the blu-ray. Added to this a new box set has been released with Prometheus and all 4 Alien film. This costs about £70 which is rip off because as soon as the second one comes out which was announced as far back as 2009 it will be incomplete.
This is not to detract from the quality of this film. If you watched Prometheus on its own and had never seen an Alien film it is brilliant. If you watched it and had no strong feelings toward the Alien films it is brilliant. If however if what you really wanted was Alien 5 then you were always going to be disappointed.
