After the Alien franchise’s disappointing or bonkers sequels. Prometheus brought hope that with Ridley Scott returning, he might bring it back on track. I recall being underwhelmed on the release of Prometheus, but will a rewatch help? It’s certainly got an epic feel to it. The opening shots filmed in Iceland are gorgeous as a bald muscled bloke drinks something and disintegrates. Explorers Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) in 2089, find cave paintings in rugged Scotland, depicting alien worshipping. Leading them to board the Prometheus, a spaceship floating far from earth in 2093. I’ll be honest, it’s a clunky start. On board the ship, with the latest rather prim Android, David (Michael Fassbender) we get to catch our breath a little as he kills time while the crew hyper-sleep. They’re a classic crew/cast. Rather star studded, but playing the usual collection of personalities with all the frictions of social class. Some know why they’re there, some don’t care as long as they’re getting paid. Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) is in charge, but it’s Shaw and Holloway that have convinced Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) to seemingly posthumously put this mission together. They’ve found what all those cave paintings and carvings are about, a planet they think is inhabited by folks who they call ‘The Engineers’, creators of life as we know it and that’s where they’re headed. Although the rest of the crew are rightly skeptical. So Shaw and Holloway are in a power struggle with Vickers, while the crew captained by Janek (Idris Elba) moan and David ominously hovers around. Now we just need some Aliens. It looks marvellous. Still. It really is shot beautifully and everything from the ship to the costumes feels perfect. A lovely balance of human tactility and future tech. The planet too is full of intrigue. Tunnels and doors, mysterious symbols, giant human head sculptures… and a body. It’s rather tantalising. It’s clear that David and to a lesser extent Vickers, have their own mission, but the discovery of life is distracting the others. All but Millburn (Rafe Spall) and Fifield (Sean Harris), who have their own distraction. Trapped in a storm on the planet, away from the ship they encounter some updates on the face-huggers. It’s very slow burn, but there’s a good solid narrative here and the acting is generally very good. True, Elba is a bit wasted and Theron too. Fassbender lays it on thick, but that works for David and he really steals the show. Even from Rapace who does a lot of the heavy lifting. An an out and out action movie it’s not. It’s much more concerned with lofty notions on the origins of human life, but it’s not without its gnarly moments and those prepared to be patient will get their bloodlust fix. Yes it’s a bit bloated, a bit indulgent, still missing the purity and brilliance of Alien, but it is an interesting film. It’s trouble is it’s not that entertaining and for a film like this, it really ought to be. It does have possibly the most amazing face-hugger in the franchise (so far) and a new Alien. I’m intrigued now to venture on and see what Alien: Covenant does with the new baby. It’s still lacking, but the rewatch helped me gain a new appreciation.
7/10
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