REVIEW: Prometheus

Ridley Scott has come back to the Alien universe with a prequel to the stunning genre changing 'Alien'. Prometheus is the tale of Dr Elizabeth Shaw (Naomi Rapace) and Dr Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshal-Green). Together they discover hieroglyphics and cave paintings all over the world that depict giant beings that are pointing towards the stars. The deeply religious Shaw immediately interprets this as an invitation to meet her makers.
Jump to two years later, the "building better worlds" Weyland Corporation has funded a journey to the stars on the good ship Prometheus. The crew make their way to LV-223 in an effort to make first contact with these beings whom Shaw has now christened "Engineers".

Charlize Theron plays Vickers, the cold, calm and collected Weyland representative whose ice-cold demeanour causes her to be mistaken for a robot by one of the crew. She is note perfect, keeping the audience on their toes as her intentions become darker and her icy exterior beings to crack. Noomi Rapace gives her a run for her money as Shaw however, the young scientist full of ideals and bright eyed curiosity. She effortlessly makes the transition from sensitive scientist to resolute (and Ripley-esque) warrior. The synthetic human on board the Prometheus is the bleach blonde David (Michael Fassbender) who steals the show, delivering a wonderfully understated performance filled with nuance. The robots attempts at humour provide many of the films funniest moments, while his lack of empathy and emotion contribute some of the darkest, with the film truly taking flight whenever Fassbender is on screen.

The screenplay is heavy handed and feels clumsy when dealing with the themes it presents to us, faith and religion. It threatens to lose weight under its own ambitious theological final act. Scott is on much sturdier ground when it comes to visuals however, with Prometheus an absolute feast for the eyes, the scenes where the science team is exploring the alien vistas of LV-223 are absolutely stunning, while the interiors of Prometheus are quite near perfect, with corridors and rooms filled with futuristic tech. Unfortunately it's not enough to reach the heights of Alien or its equally brilliant sequel Aliens, lacking the claustrophobic tension of the former, and the all-out-assault on the senses of the latter.

Prometheus instead shoots for more of an ambitious narrative, with bigger scope and better effects. But this prequel lacks the atmosphere and life of the 1979 film with the movie feeling strangely flat for long periods. The climax is open ended including an afterthought that feels like it was tacked on simply keep fans happy. It leaves you wondering if Scott should continue to mine this franchise. He's already made two great Alien films, and now crafted a decent one in the same universe. Should he continue? Or maybe quit while he's very much ahead?

3 giant face huggers out of 5.

Nic Shaw