Finally got to Prometheus today. We watched it in IMAX 3D. This made the opening sequence very cool and visually stunning, particularly when the camera swooped in over the river.
Prometheus sets itself up to explore the great questions about life -- where do we come from? why do we exist? can we defeat death? And it's approach initially strikes one as having the serious, intellectual and aesthetic approaches of films like 2001 (or the first Alien). That opening sequence could even have come from Terence Malick's Tree of Life. In the second half it descends, probably too much, into adventure film cliches and gore and loses some of its conceptul and aesthetic value.
But it remains a good film -- enjoyable to watch (and squirm to) -- even if it does not fulfill its early promise. It is visually mesmerizing.
Here are some common Alien themes of motherhood (with fatherhood thrown in this time for good measure) and human identity (as contrasted with the standard robot).
Speaking of the robot, Michael Fassbender's David is a magnificent, and sure to be classic, film creation. This is the best artificial intelligence since Hal. His menace is far more riveting than Ian Holm's. Fassbender's performance itself was quite skilled. He attracts you and dominates every scene he is in (even when Charlize Theron tries to compete for your attention). His carriage even is vastly different than anything you have seen before (maybe with an Anthony Daniels/C3PO influence?). One is drawn to him, wondering if his motives are not fully malevolent, but the reactions of a character who is treated as Other and is in his own search for meaning and identity apart from his programming.
5 popcorn kernels
3 1/2 film reels
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