Prometheus (2012) Review

Prometheus (2012) Review

When Prometheus was first announced years and years ago as simply a “new Alien film” I was excited, but then as the release date got closer and more trailers and behind-the-scenes clips were revealed, it started coming together as something else, something less akin to an Alien prequel and more of a side-prequel exploring the origins of what used to be called “the Space Jockey”, which is the fossilized creature in the big chair seen in the first Alien. But my anticipation continued to grow, and I saw it twice in the same weekend it came out. I was floored. I loved it, it was basically everything I could have asked for, and I wrote a way-too-long review articulating every detail I could without spoiling anything. 

It’s been quite a few years since then, and I’ve seen it many times over, so this review will be less hype-fuelled than my initial review, which I have never posted on my blog, and am not planning to. After looking over that review for the first time in years, though, I’m surprised to find many of my opinions on it haven’t changed that much. In fact, I still remain more positive on this movie than most.

Prometheus divided audiences when it came out, and though it seemed to eventually garner more criticism than acclaim, I think most people actually feel more positive on it than negative, in a general sense. For those who don’t know, the story follows a team of scientists going to a distant planet in search of an alien species which may be our creators, but what they find is a mysterious structure, some strange black goo, vicious creatures, and a plot by the “Engineers” to exterminate humankind as we know it. 

Because this movie has been out for so long now and is part of Sequel-a-thon, this review will be full of spoilers, so if you haven’t seen it, I’ll briefly recommend checking it out, on the grounds that it’s primarily a sci-fi adventure-thriller and not a pure Alien prequel. I think that’s why a lot of people were put off by Prometheus—it’s more about director Ridley Scott’s return to sci-fi than his return to the franchise he so successfully began (we’ll get more into that in the next review)—but if you look closely, it’s structured exactly like a prototypical Alien film. It has the scenes on the ship getting to know the crew, the slow advancement into an unexplored area, things going wrong, a ship blowing up to stop the antagonistic creature, and a fourth act return of the creature to confront the final survivor. 

When I first saw Prometheus, I loved how many questions it left me with. I speculated over it endlessly, but now, having thought about it so much, and having seen the sequel, I’m a little less pleased with the lack of answers. A good film can pose questions for audiences to ask. A great film will answer those questions in satisfying and unexpected ways. Prometheus is a big mystery box that’s a bit empty inside.

In the first Alien, the derelict ship and Engineer in the chair and room full of eggs was all mystifying and intriguing, but when left unexplained, did nothing to hinder the telling of the story, because Alien isn’t about that ship. It’s about the crew of the Nostromo and the tragedy befell upon them when one of the xenomorphs gets onboard their ship. Prometheus has a similar premise, and even a comparable scene of the crew entering a place that clearly has a history, but the history isn’t explained, only this time, the plot is all about characters seeking answers in regards to this place, so when the answers don’t come, it’s more frustrating. 

There’s one part of the Prometheus review I wrote back when it came out that I will share, and it’s the following: I respect a movie that asks questions and admittedly doesn’t have all the answers, and hopes the audience can fill in the gaps with their own imagination. Ridley Scott explained the reason he showed so little of the creature in Alien is because our own imagination creates something even more sinister than what it really looks like; if you show the creature frequently it boils down to a guy in a suit. Prometheus features a plot similar to this notion: instead of answering all the questions we have about these beings and this world, it leaves the audience still asking some questions and coming to conclusions on their own.

I suppose that’s still true, but I guess what I had a problem with later on was the general stupidity of the characters as they embarked on this journey of discovery. There are very simple things that could have been altered to make the story infinitely more intelligent, and when you’re dealing with heady themes like creation and whatnot, your script should reflect some higher levels of logic. It’s shocking to think about how similar Prometheus is to Alien vs. Predator, in many ways. Ultimately, though, Prometheus is still leagues ahead of AVP, for having more interesting characters, better production values, a more believable world, and taking itself more seriously. While the original Alien was a B-movie concept turned into an A-movie, Prometheus is somewhere between an A- and a B+. 

Hollow in its question-asking though it may be, on the surface, and slightly deeper, Prometheus is still enjoyable, entertaining, and well-done, as far as I’m concerned. The visuals are excellent, the music is grand, and the acting is all good, especially from Michael Fassbender. I just wish it could have decided what it wanted to be with a little more confidence. It could have been even less of an Alien film and more of a standalone sci-fi adventure had it contained fewer obvious nods and attempts to outdo the original Alien, or it could have simplified things and been a one-off Alien prequel that neatly gave us the creature’s origins and showed us how the derelict ship came to crash on LV-426. But alas, this is what we’re left with: a polarizing partial prequel (say that ten times fast) that’s still mostly good, but stumbles in its attempts to be as classic as the original Alien.

Related: Top Ten Unanswered Prometheus Questions: http://cccmovies.blogspot.com/2017/05/top-10-unanswered-prometheus-questions.html