4/1/2020
This prequel to the original “Alien” films is very polarizing among fans, it seems that you either love it or hate it. I originally saw the IMAX 3D version when it was in theaters and thought it was nothing short of amazing and jaw-dropping. Seeing it at home, obviously, the visual spectacle is diminished but overall I am a big fan of the film, flaws, and all.
Many things have been said about “Prometheus” and most of them a lot better than I can explain in this short little review. The story is extremely ambitious and does fall short in some areas but creator Ridley Scott initially planned this to be the first film in a trilogy. “Prometheus” starts off with some epic landscape shots and we arrive at this large white being at the edge of a waterfall. He proceeds to drink this black liquid and in a short time, his body starts to disintegrate and falls into the water. These beings are to be known as the Engineers and thought to be the creators of humankind, Sorry God. Our main characters are the crew of the space ship Prometheus led by Vickers (Charlize Theron) of the Weyland Corporation. Dr. Shaw (Noomi Rapace), her boyfriend Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), the ships pilot Janek (Idris Elba), and the android David (Michael Fassbender). While on Earth Dr. Shaw and her colleagues find numerous cave paintings around the world pointing to a certain location in the cosmos. With the help of the ridiculous overly made-up old guy Peter Weyland, they chart a course to discover the origins of mankind.
They end up finding a distant moon that looks to be harboring life. Upon further investigation, they find these giant mounds and a tunnel system that was once inhabited by these giant beings. Something terrible had happened and what they find could not only endanger the crew but all of humanity. Horror movies in general always seem to depend on at least a few characters doing something incredibly stupid to advance the story and create chaos for everybody else. We have no shortage of those here. The crew opens a giant door that unveils a sort of cathedral, a massive head monument surrounds by these silver vases, and as the saying goes “curiosity killed the cat”. But does the saying apply to androids? Throughout the film, David shows a great capacity for human curiosity. He is also interested in his own origins but is devastated to find out the truth. There are also conspiracy theories out there that say Vickers herself is also an android, but this is never answered by the film. David then starts conducting his own experiments but spiking Holloway's drink with a drop of the mysterious black goo. Like a virus Holloway in infected and slowly starts to change, but not before having sex with Dr. Shaw. He eventually turns into this rage-filled beast that is taken down by Vickers and her flame thrower. Shaw soon learns that she is impregnated by something not human and in the movies greatest scene makes her way to the surgery pod that extracts the flailing alien from her abdomen and staples her back up.
David goes out on his own to investigate these beings, the Engineers, and we find out a little more about them. The Engineers for some reason or another decided to terminate the human race with this weaponized black stuff and they had set course for Earth, until something catastrophic happened and they were all destroyed, except for one. David finds a bunch of cryo pods with one surviving engineer. Looking for answers, the remaining human crew are disappointed as the Engineer proceeds the kill everyone except Dr. Shaw. David even gets his head ripped from his body. It's now a fight for survival for Dr. Shaw as she looks to escape, however she does get help from the Alien that was inside her. Dr. Shaw and the disembodied head of David fly off deeper into space looking for more answers.
Five years later in 2017 the sequel “Alien: Covenant” was released and takes place 10 years after “Prometheus”. “Prometheus” is a far better film than “Covenant” in my opinion as it just doesn’t have the same feeling of awe and wonder. Since “Covenant” didn’t do much at the box office the third film in the trilogy is currently up in the air and right now in 2020 seems it will likely never get made.