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Prometheus
2012. 124 minutes. USA. Directed by Ridley Scott. Watchdate: 6/13/2012.
Screencap from only great scene in Prometheus.
The best segments in Prometheus seemed to be those that did not quite necessarily fit with the overall shittiness of the movie. The opening sequence with David the creepy robot (Michael Fassbender) worked really well. But it's practically straight out of Kubrick, stylistically at least. It felt orphaned from a different (possibly much better) movie that did not cater to the summer blockbuster crowd with poorly conceived action sequences. In general, the David character worked best for me but I think that's as much a testament to Fassbender as it is to the filmmakers. He took a very intriguing but underdeveloped character and made it fascinating to watch. (So far, he's made riveting every role I've seen him play.)

In one scene, Dr. Shaw (Noomi Rapace) gets an abortion from that machine (see image above). This was the only scene in the movie where I was fully engaged and transfixed. It was so visceral and simultaneously such a rich vein to mine thematically. If I recall correctly, it's even more indelible than anything in Ridley Scott's original Alien movie.

Other than that, Prometheus is a sci-fi mystery with no center. As is par for the course with the Lost crew, it relies heavily on playing obscurity for depth. What's worse is it hinges on a bunch of faithy mumbo jumbo totally devoid of any self-awareness or real thoughtfulness.

Most sci-fi movies grow out of a simple "what if" scenario or premise. Prometheus never grows out of its "what if," it just patters around in it stagnantly. To put it simply, it is a movie that thoroughly lacking in dynamism.

PS - Prometheus lost a lot of my remaining patience when it randomly added zombies to the action without explanation in a lame attempt to keep things interesting.

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