'Prometheus' is good on style, but muddled

By Art Ryan
NEWS Movie Critic


The first movie I ever rented on videocassette was the 1974 cult Sci-fi comedy, “Dark Star.” It was directed by John Carpenter who also co-wrote the script with the film’s star, Dan O’Bannon.  The film was a send up of the Stanley Kubrick classic, “2001: A Space Odyssey” complete with a talking bomb taking the place of  the HAL 9000 computer and a hilarious “beach- ball-with-claws” alien thrown in for good measure.

In 1979, O’Bannon’s ridiculous beach ball alien became the inspiration for a much more frightening movie monster in O’Bannon’s screenplay that year for “Alien”, starring Sigourney Weaver. “Alien” was directed by then newcomer, Ridley Scott who with only one previous film under his belt, had a lot to prove. Following blockbusters like “Star Wars” and “Close Encounters…”, the task was daunting, but Scott delivered a masterful film that blended both science fiction and horror in a way that hadn’t been seen before.

For me what made the original “Alien” film so appealing was the claustrophobic atmosphere that Scott and his fellow artist created that allowed us the audience to feel trapped onboard along side the film’s stars.
Let’s face it the original “Alien‘s” plotline was a simple survival story that was executed to mere perfection.

Although released to mixed critical reviews, the original “Alien” was a hit and spurned four sequels and countless imitations. Director Scott would go on to direct several films over the years including 1982’s “Blade Runner”, another milestone in the science fiction film genre.

So now over thirty years later Ridley Scott has teamed up with two of “Alien’s” original producers to bring us “Prometheus”, a prequel of sorts which after getting off to a promising start, ends up asking more questions then necessary about the original film’s origins.

Following an intriguing opening sequence showing a human-like alien life- form withering away off the coast of Scotland in the distant past, “Prometheus” then jumps to the year 2089 where archeologist discover identical star-maps drawn on the walls of caves of ancient civilizations. These maps will eventually lead a scientific vessel called Prometheus to a far away moon where the ship’s crew search for possible “engineers” of life on earth.

Weighty ideas to be sure, although not new to science fiction. Carl Sagan’s “Contact” covered similar territory brilliantly, minus the horror angle. “Prometheus” fairs well for about an hour until too many subplots and too many implausible twists and turns make a comprehensible outcome all but impossible.

What “Prometheus” does very well is deliver on look and style. Although the H.R. Giger drawings that inspired the original Alien look are far less prevalent here, the other-worldly look to the alien moon in “Prometheus” is nothing less than spectacular. The film’s visual style will hold your attention throughout despite the eventual rambling of its storyline.

By far the most interesting character that writers Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof have come up with for “Prometheus“, is an android named David. David, played with great charm and mystery by Michael Fassbender spends two years alone while journeying to the alien moon as his fellow crewmembers are in hibernation. He passes the time by studying Peter O’Toole’s performance in the film “Lawrence of Arabia”, and even colors and combs his hair in an attempt to appear more like Lawrence and in turn, more human. None of the other characters here are as well drawn as David or even come close to the stellar cast of characters made famous in the original film. This made me wonder what “Alien” creator Dan O’Bannon could have contributed this time around. Sadly, O’Bannon passed away in 2009 following a battle with Crohn’s disease.

But even Fassbender’s fun performance can’t save the muddled mess of the last 40 minutes. Even David starts doing things that don’t make sense for his character, and none of it gets explained. And with all due respect to director Scott, it’s a bit disingenuous after 30 years to make us sit through a long awaited prequel only to find out that we have to wait until the prequel’s sequel to get answers to questions the prequel should have answered in the first place.

Don’t get me wrong, “Prometheus” is worth the cost of admission, there are some genuine scares and a lot of eye popping visuals to keep it moving despite the muddled narrative. But once again as in most special effects driven movies these days, “Prometheus” unnecessarily has to throw every computer generated gimmick in at the end in hopes of making up for what it’s lacking in plotline.

After seeing “Prometheus” I couldn’t help but think of the now famous scene from the original “Alien’ where the first murder committed by the title character is shown mostly through the reaction of the on board cat, Jones. It was a daring move for a young director back in 1979, who trusted his instincts as well as his audience. I wish that young director was on hand this time around to bring a bit more originality coupled with simplicity that could have made this Alien outing as thrilling as it’s predecessor.