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Prometheus


It has taken me a few days to start this entry as I needed to ponder a number of issues. Without thinking too much about it, I really enjoyed Prometheus. It looked great (2D), the cast was pretty solid, Fassbender excellent, but I'll return to him later and the story was satisfying in its connection to, and, at the same time, its distancing from Alien. Let me explain that last messy clause. I think you can watch this without any knowledge of the Alien series but as most of us over 20 know about the other films, its quite good fun to recognise the hints and echoes throughout.

The only slight issues I have are regarding the details in the story. Here's where it may get a little/very SPOILERY, so please look away if you haven't seen the film. Firstly, the religious angle irritated me a bit but I guess if you're investigating the origin of humanity, you might at least pay lip service to "the great magic". And of course, Christianity is at the heart of the main character's drive or motivation, not one of the many other perfectly 'acceptable' (!?) religions. I understand the reasoning, I'm just a little deflated.

Secondly, I know Prometheus was just over 2 hours long but I think it actually could have been a bit longer, primarily to flesh out some of the characters a bit more. The pilots, the doctor, the captain, even Theron's character seemed a bit underdone - I'd have liked to get a bit more from them (but maybe I'm comparing unfavourably with Alien, where most of the characters are pretty well rounded).

Thirdly, one or two scenarios didn't ring true for me (though I'm not sure why they should in this fantastical sci-fi, horror film). But here they are for those who've seen it. I didn't really buy the 'sacrifice' scene where the scientist guy gets his arse roasted. Surely, the situation was still too uncertain to go all 'Arab Spring'. Another curious scene was the immediate domino to the previous one - why did David spike the same said fella?? As far as I could make out, and I'm trying to stay as vague as possible, that was a hitherto unknown agenda, wasn't it? It seemed like the writers had jumped into the plot of the original Alien (or Aliens). And imdb's FAQ explanations don't hold water for my money.

But regardless of these quibbles, I still liked the film and am looking forward to the next one, should they choose to make it. Fassbender's performance was brilliant; cool and mannered, yet there's one exchange with the scientist as they're heading off to explore the structure where he delivers some serious menace. His early scenes are a bit reminiscent of solitary space vessel wanderings in films like Moon, Silent Running and of course, 2001. It's Fassbender's film, pinched neatly from Sir Ridley, who has in fact created something pretty bloody good.



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  1. Anonymous3 September 2012 at 09:35

    Well said- but why all the calamari? -Crappers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shady3 September 2012 at 21:35

      I take it you weren't so taken with it, Ben? Or just squid squeamish?

      Delete

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