A movie that casts a spell over us

Film review: Prometheus

MANILA, Philippines - This has got to be one of the most anticipated films of the year. It’s Ridley Scott finally returning to science-fiction, a film genre he helped redefine with the likes of Alien and Blade Runner (the latter released in 1982). This is the same Scott who directed so many of the films that have “haunted” us over the last 30 years — think Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and American Gangster to name a few. And the film has been touted as a prequel of sorts to Alien, which put sci-fi/horror on the proverbial geek map. And so the film opens in the year 2093 B.C., where BC stands for Birth Control, a joke you’ll understand, with bloody implications, when you watch the film.

The storyline is pretty straightforward; two scientists find ancient drawings in a cave in Scotland which point to the origin of mankind possibly “engineered” by visitors from a distant planet. A team of 17 travels for over two years to this planet, financed by Weylan Industries. Playing nursemaid to the expedition is the android, David (Michael Fassbender), and on board representing Weylan is Vickers (Charlize Theron). One of the aforementioned scientists is Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace, who was the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in the original Swedish film version). Upon reaching the planet, intimations of a secret agenda, and discord within the team, act as a prelude to the chaos that we anticipate with relish.

After an hour, all hell breaks loose, and the threatening and elaborate set design of this hostile planet, is inundated by gory, slimy, special effects that deliver as promised. My favorite grisly sequence would be what I refer to as the “quickie abortion,” as Shaw realizes she’s a human incubator for the aliens. The 3D IMAX version I watched truly came to life in the sequence when David sees the “ghosts” of our progenitors planning their interplanetary journey. (Thank you, SM North EDSA for being the best in full 3D IMAX cinemas).

Fassbender as the android David pretty much steals the film. He watches Lawrence of Arabia, and “apes” Peter O’Toole; and successfully balances on the line that separates his android nature, from the need to replicate “human-ness” so as not to make the real humans uncomfortable with his presence. Rapace has proven she’s a great actress in the Dragon Tattoo film franchise, but has not been allowed to fully engage with her character Shaw, so that while she is the heroine of the film, her connection to the audience isn’t as solid as that of Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) in the original Alien. As Vickers, Theron is an enigmatic cipher, and more could have been done here as well.

So what does that leave us with? The film isn’t a true prequel, as it may take another film (or two) to bring us to the point where Alien starts. But we do have a film that does cast a spell over us, thanks to the astounding depiction of a planet, and the “ghosts” that inhabit it. Prometheus was a titan punished by the gods for stealing “fire,” and gifting it to mankind. An ominous name for the spaceship that travels to this distant planet, as it seems that man will be punished for some more films to come before this film franchise can come full circle — and we’ll be ready to catch every installment.