Knowledge can mean Death

This weekend I made it to the theatre to see Prometheus. I was not able to see the midnight showing I was hoping for I knew the next day it would be almost impossible not to hear something about the movie. And I was not wrong about that. Everywhere I turned there was a mention or a headline that I could not keep out. Even though I managed not to read a full review or have a full conversation on the topic what I did take in was very tepid which did not bode well for the film. Sadly I must admit that was not wrong.

Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) are explorers/archaeologist that have found similar markings in the ruins of many civilizations that seem to lead to the origins of mankind. With funding from the Weyland Corporation on the ship Prometheus they follow this “map” to a distant planet looking for answers but what they find is far from what they expected.

Prometheus is the kind of movie that I hate reviewing because there is nothing overtly bad about it but at the same time it isn’t that great either. There is just something missing in there that I can’t quite put my finger on that would have made this movie a true epic. Because the problem isn’t so blatant I find myself shrugging and saying “it was ok” and for a movie like this ok is not good enough.

The story was alright, even though there were a few small holes in it. The sets, effects, and costuming were quite fantastic I must admit. Capturing the grandeur and wonder of the Earth, space, and the places they explore. My biggest problem with the set design is the giant head featured in the poster. It just seems to be there to look cool which would normally be fine except a lot of the ad campaign focused on it making me think there should have been something important about it.

The acting was good. Michael Fassbender as David was creepy. His wooden yet fluid movements, monotone continuously calm voice, and his sudden changes in expression sent chills down my spine. Idris Elba was great as Captain Janek but his character was greatly under used. Charlize Theron was the mostly stoic Meredith Vickers and did a good job. Noomi Rapace as Shaw was a bit of a let down. She wasn’t bad but she some how lacks the intensity needed for the role. I couldn’t help but compare her to Sigorney Weaver’s Ripley who’s fear you felt and who’s courage you understood. There isn’t much else you could say about the rest of the cast as they were really just there as fodder. And, hold on I am not sure about this next point so

**SPOILER ALERT**

**SPOILER ALERT**

I didn’t know Guy Pearce was actually going to be in the movie and when you see him as Peter Weyland he is an old man. His makeup was kind of bad. He just looked like someone wearing an old man mask and that kind of took me out of the moment. But it kind of makes sense why he was there as he was in the viral campaign for the movie.

The early stages of the viral campaign for Prometheus were flawless. It introduced you to a couple of characters, took you into the future where the story takes place, and was still mysterious which was a breeding ground for endless hype.

“TED Talk 2023” – Peter Weyland

“Happy Birthday David” – David

“Quiet Eye” – Elizabeth Shaw

The initial trailers also managed to show you what to expect without giving anything away. But as the number of trailers increased and as they got longer too much of the story was given away. This did not stop people who wanted to see the movie from seeing it but at the same time some of that excitement was lost, the story was obvious stripping the audience of its discovery. Maybe that is why the movie was a bit of a let down? They gave away 85% of the plot points in the ads and there wasn’t enough left to captivate the audience.

Prometheus isn’t a bad movie but it isn’t great either. It is worth seeing on the big screen as the cinematography is stunning but I don’t think your mind will be blown by any of it.

Tra

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Tra

3 Comments

allister

It wasn’t the hype. The movie just wasn’t very good. It just felt like a mashup of a bunch of things from the Aliens series. (Aliens Episode I?)
I think the movie was poorly edited. The theme of man creating, man being created and who is who’s god, just fizzed out. In the last scene Shaw is going to meet her maker with a slightly broken robot and a cross around her neck but nobody seemed to get that symbolism because of the storytelling.
Worse yet, the behaviour of the Engineers made no sense. What does the opening sequence have to do with the rest of the movie? I have no idea.
So, in the end, it was like Aliens. It was like something awesome but not awesome itself.

“it was ok”

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Tra

I think the opening sequence is simply there to show that we are a broken version of these creatures. At least that is what I got from it, but that still has little to do with the rest of the movie and doesn’t explain where the markings come from. It was unnecessary.

I don’t know what that reaction was about either. Maybe it was something David said? But that would be pure speculation.

The symbolism at the end of the movie isn’t lost, it is simply less poignant and that is the fault of the storytelling.

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