Prometheus

Prometheus has landed! The critics have spoken at length about the illogical behaviour of the characters and the unresolved jumps in the plot, so I will write something in its defence. Yes, those complaints are undoubtedly warranted and that’s a real shame, without those issues this film would be almost perfect, because everything except the script is very good. However, part of those flaws in logic could be excused saying that instead of a “team of methodological, 100% reliable and careful scientist” the expedition features “scientists driven by an inner desire for answers and discoveries”; some of the unresolved motifs can be easily guessed and some of the incomprehensible behaviour and weird details aren’t actually that impossible to understand, it’s just the viewers who don’t understand them (e.g. the behaviour of David or the settings of the medical equipment). And I also think it’s good that there are things left unsaid about the mythology, because thinking about a mythology on your own is A LOT of fun (BTW, the often used combo “Scott ruined the mystery around Alien” + “Scott didn’t explain anything” is logically contradictory). What’s left, and can by no means be excused (the scientists getting lost in the mapped galleries, etc.)… well, how you see it will depend on the type of viewer you are. If you demand films should be 100% coherent, with a clear theme that is addressed properly, and where all the questions are answered and all the motifs are addressed, tough luck. If, in contrast, you like a more open text, where the interpretations of and the musings over the meanings (or, rather finding the meanings, in this case :-D) are just as important, if not more, than the film itself, then you will know how to forgive Prometheus’s mistakes. Fortunately, I’m in the second group. /// The visuals are intoxicating, the ideas about the creator-creation relationship (because we can) are interesting, and the mythology, which only peeks behind the curtains, is even more interesting. 8.5/10 and relative satisfaction (!!!), though it certainly had more potential. PS: I want an extended version on DVD and in two years I want a sequel not written by Damon Lindelof :-D PPS: From a certain perspective, this film, together with its advertising campaign, is a brilliant package because it gives the viewers an experience very similar to the protagonist. Elizabeth joins the expedition to find answers to important philosophical questions. Her motivations are not mundane, she expects something like enlightenment (figure out who we are, why we came to be and what is our purpose). The campaign and the film’s first act prepare the viewer for sophisticated and uncompromising science fiction – a genre milestone. Elizabeth gets to the planet and, instead of finding satisfactory answers, she and the entire crew have “their asses kicked” by angry extraterrestrials. The viewer goes to the cinema and, instead of the intellectual sci-fi that was promised, they get brutal horror with notes of B-movie. It’s hard to jump in joy at this, but as a joke it’s good :-D (08/06/2012) (less) (more)