Big Things Have Small Beginnings
So. Prometheus. I really meant to write about this when I first went and saw it, but I walked out knowing I'd go see it again, and decided to wait.
It's very difficult for me to explain exactly what it is about this film that I like so much, I'm sure you've all seen the mixed reviews - but this film is way up there amongst the great ones for me. It's been years since I went and saw a film more than once at the cinema, so the fact that I actually went out and paid to see this twice speaks volumes.
Is this a prequel to the Alien films? Sure, but that's not what makes it awesome. That's just an added little bonus, I honestly didn't even recognise all the Alien bits the first time around (and I probably wouldn't have the second time around either if it hadn't been for the fact that I rewatched Alien in the mean time).
This is a classic sci-fi film, it may look new and shiny, but this is OLD SCHOOL SCI-FI, IN CAPS LOCK. By that I mean that the only thing the human characters are able to achieve during the film is to fuck things up. We are our own worst enemies, and we are easily blinded by things we believe to be true. None of the (human) characters ever do anything right in this film. They are driven by useless and shallow motivations. They are scientists who don't ask questions, people who have already made up their minds about what they are going to find, and people looking for money, fame or immortality. They jump to conclusions and are impatient with everything they do. They want answers (but only the answers they are looking for), and they want them now!
The one character who breaks this pattern, the one character who's curious and inquisitive is David. A robot. And he doesn't even have any motivation to do the things he does, he's just doing what he's programmed to do. People give him a hard time about him not being "a real boy", but he just smiles and keeps on doing what he's doing. He knows he's just a robot - which is more than you can say about the human characters (as a side note, I find it interesting that they consistently refer to him as a "robot", they always use the word "android" in the other Alien films as far as I'm aware?). Fassbender's performance as David is just incredible. So many little details to pick up on, it's just beautiful.
I can't for the life of me figure out what it is people hate so much about this film. The only conclusion I'm able to arrive at is that it's an 80's style sci-fi/horror/comedy film wrapped up in a shiny newfangled sci-fi wrapping - and people don't know how to process it. It's not meant to be serious sci-fi (what the hell is serious sci-fi anyway? Prometheus is a shining example of the only kind of sci-fi worth paying attention to), and it's not meant to be serious horror. It's somewhere in between with a good dose of humour added in for good measure. This film is absolutely hilarious for so many reasons, none of which I can talk about further without spoiling everything. I guess people have become too accustomed to having everything explained to them. This film also features incredibly shallow and unlikeable characters. I guess this can be kind of tedious for some viewers? Especially if they're used to shiny main characters who never do anything wrong.
I watch a lot of films, but it's always been obvious to me that some characters are not meant to be likeable (and I'm not just talking about antagonists). I wonder when people stopped accepting this, because I guess that's also part of the problem here. You can't do a film like this with likeable main characters, it wouldn't make sense and it wouldn't be interesting to watch (it would take away all the humour as well).
Then there's people who complain about lack of lore, I guess. Why do you want everything explained? Where's the fun in that? Make up your own theories.
Zak Smith wrote a really great piece (NSFW + SPOILERS) linking Prometheus (and the other Alien films) with tabletop rpgs and dungeon crawls. It just makes sense. I couldn't stop thinking about it when watching the film today. I could just picture a dungeon master sitting there with David as his main NPC, and all these players bumbling about not having the slightest idea what they are doing ("it's an invitation!"). David actually has a line that goes "Just one more thing before the adventure begins" (or something very similar), I thought I was going to lose it. It was perfect.
If you are a fan of 80's films, sci-fi, dungeon crawls, or brilliant sarcastic humour, make sure you catch Prometheus. It's well worth it.
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