Technically this is just titled “Prometheus” but I’m adding the Alien to the front so it lists with the rest of the series. Director Ridley Scott returns to the series here for the fifth entry, to lay out how it kinda all started out. And damnit, I think he genre-switched it yet again. Yeah, there’s horror, there’s a bit of action. But this one really is a mystery, in heavy sci-fi trappings. Obviously.
Opening sequence. It’s kinda fucked up, definitely primordial. Ok! Then, Going back to 2089, before the documentary Alien took place, after an archaeological find on the Isle of Skye we have Scientific Discovery Vessel Prometheus going out to deep space. Two+ years of space sleep later, this vessel finally comes to a planet some ancient writings all seemed to point to. Is this the origin of man? Is this where it all started? Maybe. Maybe not. A little bit of Science vs Faith in the mix. There’s a lot of fuckeries going on here. Interesting fuckeries. Horrific and stupid fuckeries. I win a bet if I say it one more time, so...Fuckeries.
Ridley Scott obviously has a story he wants to tell here, and this is technically only the first half. The follow-up Covenant continues it, so just be prepared to watch the second half later. I won’t go into too much detail here, as the discovery is the purpose. There’s the Achilles Heal of Alien films here though too. Maybe this just establishes shite Contamination Protocols, because fuckin’ hell, the crap part of this is that. They do pretty good with it overall though. Michael Fassbender does a fantastic job as the Obvious Android here in a rather unsettling portrayal, and Noomi Rapace does good too as the faith-driven scientist. Idris Elba? Far cry from The Wire, Solid as usual. Charlize Ice Queen Theron is the bitch she’s supposed to be. Kinda wish they had cast somebody different there, this is one instance where the Actor dominates the Character. Minor, but whatever, need the box-office draw I guess. The other secondary characters? Meh. Overall though, pretty solid story minus some idiotic protocol lapses. In interesting turn at the end too, right before the credits roll. And as always, outstanding visually.
