Prometheus, with Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce & Logan Marshall-Green. Ridley Scott, Director. Today’s blockbusters tend to be a bit loud & fast-moving. The original Total Recall was one such cacophonous blurt, that even as a twenty something (back then) I needed earplugs (but didn’t have them) during the entire film. Halfway through this film, I was struck by the perfect balance of action & quiet – quick character development. A symphony by the master director, Mr. Scott. The story being larger than life, literally, was also amazingly simple & on a human scale. The special effects & concepts were also within the range of what we know of this particular, science fiction universe.
Big name Theron, might have been the glittering gem in this film but it was indeed Rapace, Elba, Fassbender & Marshall-Green that stood out as brilliant.
Idris Elba plays the captain of Prometheus. Last seen by this reviewer in the last Ghost Rider, it was more than a treat to see him again. Is he trading up, a half notch at a time? Believable & sympathetic are his best acting characteristics, in my mind. In the face of the quest to find out what is on the planet, he soothed me into thinking that he was indeed the captain of his ship & noble of heart.
The trailers that we saw don’t do the film justice & the scope of the story is more than just finding a bug in a bottle & worrying that it will bite & infect us with something objectionable. More than satisfied will you be, if you haven’t seen it, realizing that you haven’t been cheated. That same balance & content, which Scott plays magnificently, was more than enough to spare out some parts, to the trailers.
Especially brought down to Earth (so to speak), was the planet. The first Alien film scared us with a gaseous & forbidding place. Definitely not a place to set up shop & difficult to imagine. Yet we see more of the planet in this movie & realize that it’s a real place with miracles in dark places. The alien world & Theron seem well-suited, though she was merely a visitor. Theron pulled off a well-acted sternness, different than the ice queen, Snow White.
Standing on top of these excellent performances are Rapace & Fassbender. The penultimate victims of doom in this scary, bright film. The fright caused more by what we expect than what actually is present. Rapace is a perfect Swedish pixie & seems to be out of breath for most of the film. If there was someone that exemplified fighting an uphill battle, it is she. Fassbender was elegance personified & there was not one minute that I didn’t realize, that he’s an artificial life form, in the guise of a fussy man. I really like him & the film will not be spoiled if I tell you he has more than one agenda, as did his other kind, in the previous films.
Cinematically, it’s an instant hit & one of the better looking films you’ll see, currently. To hell with animation, CGI & realism make the day with this film, along with the best of science fiction’s concepts & one of the best casts you will ever remember noticing. Almost flawless (I did catch one thing as Rapace was hopping about towards the last, a downward shot shows an impossible gulf to jump, yet a next stumbling is easily done), I will happily admit this must be one of the best science fiction films, thus far (my opinion). Which is saying alot, as I’ve spent years in the middle of sci-fi literature - because it’s a preferred spot for me to be.
The net databases will tell you that Guy Pearce plays a Mr. Weyland. His appearance during the beginning of the film is quite interesting & one assumes his vanity didn’t stop him from getting a seat on this ride. Wonderful makeup.
Need I say with this one, that I’m recommending for viewing? I don’t mind being a cheerleader for something that is a Ridley Scott masterpiece & that I relished watching every moment.
Take the first opportunity to see this film, even if you don’t (usually) like science fiction. Who would willingly pass up a film that people will still be chattering about, 20 years from now. Time flies.
Enjoy!
UPDATE I can’t want for the sequel! When is it to be?
