As an old science fiction fan, I was looking forward to seeing Ridley Scott’s
Prometheus. And I wasn’t disappointed. Well, maybe a little disappointed in the plot but not the special effects. The plot seemed to ask more questions than it answered. The ship, though, was glorious. The opening five minutes showed a strange world of rushing water and alien crags and peaks. Then we see an albino humanoid standing on a ledge. He’s huge and muscularly sculpted. He opens a circular vial and drinks, then dies as his body is torn apart. He falls into the rushing water, his blood sending out what looks like dna spirals. The next scene is in Scotland, where a scientific team discovers a cave with drawings remarkably similar to other caves and cave drawings around the world, a tall figure pointing up to five circles above him. The scene shifts to the interior of the Prometheus, with David (Michael Fassbender), an android tending to the ship. As they approach their destination, he “wakes” the crew members from their suspended animation pods. David’s appearance is a copy of his hero, Albert Finney from
Lawrence of Arabia. His voice is a soft caress as he speaks to the crew after they awaken from their two-year slumber. Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), tight-lipped and very square-shouldered, is in charge of the ship and crew. I had assumed that she was the one who battled the slimy creatures from Scott’s earlier work,
Alien, the parallel to Sigourney Weaver’s character. Instead, it was Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) who is the pre-Weaver character. She and her partner/lover Dr. Charles Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) are the two who found the Scotland cave dwellings and who are driven to find answers to the origin of human life. Thus, the reason for Prometheus’ two-year voyage. They discover on the moon of an earth-like planet a huge dome which contains remnants of humanoids like the one in the opening scene as well as containers that seem to ooze when touched. We all want to shout, “Don’t touch it!” It’s all so science fictionally strange but so confusing. Are the humanoids responsible for the beginning of life on earth or are they planning to destroy the earth? Why is David apparently trying to thwart the efforts of the explorers? The ending left so many questions unanswered that you know we’re being set up for at least one sequel, maybe more. Good science fiction, weak story.
As an old science fiction fan, I was looking forward to seeing Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. And I wasn’t disappointed. Well, maybe a little disappointed in the plot but not the special effects. The plot seemed to ask more questions than it answered. The ship, though, was glorious. The opening five minutes showed a strange world of rushing water and alien crags and peaks. Then we see an albino humanoid standing on a ledge. He’s huge and muscularly sculpted. He opens a circular vial and drinks, then dies as his body is torn apart. He falls into the rushing water, his blood sending out what looks like dna spirals. The next scene is in Scotland, where a scientific team discovers a cave with drawings remarkably similar to other caves and cave drawings around the world, a tall figure pointing up to five circles above him. The scene shifts to the interior of the Prometheus, with David (Michael Fassbender), an android tending to the ship. As they approach their destination, he “wakes” the crew members from their suspended animation pods. David’s appearance is a copy of his hero, Albert Finney from Lawrence of Arabia. His voice is a soft caress as he speaks to the crew after they awaken from their two-year slumber. Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), tight-lipped and very square-shouldered, is in charge of the ship and crew. I had assumed that she was the one who battled the slimy creatures from Scott’s earlier work, Alien, the parallel to Sigourney Weaver’s character. Instead, it was Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) who is the pre-Weaver character. She and her partner/lover Dr. Charles Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) are the two who found the Scotland cave dwellings and who are driven to find answers to the origin of human life. Thus, the reason for Prometheus’ two-year voyage. They discover on the moon of an earth-like planet a huge dome which contains remnants of humanoids like the one in the opening scene as well as containers that seem to ooze when touched. We all want to shout, “Don’t touch it!” It’s all so science fictionally strange but so confusing. Are the humanoids responsible for the beginning of life on earth or are they planning to destroy the earth? Why is David apparently trying to thwart the efforts of the explorers? The ending left so many questions unanswered that you know we’re being set up for at least one sequel, maybe more. Good science fiction, weak story.
No comments:
Post a Comment