So I went to see PROMETHEUS again in IMAX 3D. Well, a quasi-IMAX, but it was larger and brighter than the first theatre I saw it in, and the sound was quite loud and enveloping.
Some films need to be seen writ large and loud and bright, and Prometheus is certainly one of them. Ridley Scott packs the frame with all sorts of details, and the effects are quite brilliant and feel organic to the film vs. being tacked on. Lots of seamless integration, notably with the Engineers and the android David’s latter decapitated state towards the end. The CGI enhances the prosthetic effects in both cases. The landscapes and spacescapes are rather bleak yet awe inspiring in their scale.
On my first viewing I had issues with the script, thinking it was rather sophomoric and underdeveloped. On second viewing, and given humanity’s demotion to mere laboratory experiment, I feel that the characters and their often trite or even risible dialogue was more fitting. We deserve no better, and the lack of sentimentality is quite refreshing, the matter-of-factness of our origins barely noteworthy. The editing felt more crisp and precise given my reinterpretation, not seeming so arbitrary or oddly cadenced as I first experienced. I still cannot stand the geologist and the biologist, two clowns masquerading as scientists. They were begging for death! At least they meet rather nasty ends (tee hee) so I’m alright with that, and the geologist gets killed in a way reminiscent of the Thing, that scene was quite brutal and intense. When faced with sickness one must kill it and burn it as much as possible!
David the android as essayed by Michael Fassbender is still the best character hands down. His mix of perfect professionalism and oddly childlike wonder (and lack of trustworthiness) always keeps one guessing. I could have watched half an hour of his activities whilst the crew was still in cryosleep, who knows what other secrets and fantasies he had in his mind! I’m very pleased that he shall continue onto new adventures with Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), the Christian faithed scientist who is driven by an interesting blend of scientific curiosity and religious belief. They make for complementary travelling companions, not fueled by greed, ambition or love. Yes, I am rooting for a sequel as the concept alone would seriously blow my mind.
I must say that after I saw this film, and several others that will be reviewed shortly, I was once again faced with my own questions about our existence. I’ve been in a very existensialist mood for some time, which can open gateways to creativity and understanding so long as it doesn’t grow mired in massive depression and desperation. Very few think about why we are here, how we got here, how anything existed beforehand. When I hear the saying, “God always was”, even before the creation of the universe (and perhaps many before this one), it sends me into a massive tizzy. It puts us all in perspective though, which is what brings me back to reality. I mean, what is there to complain about when you take the very broad picture. It means nothing. It means everything. My head is imploding upon itself now, time to take a cold shower!
Viewed on June 20th, 2012 at the Rave Cinemas in Fort Wayne IN
James Fazzaro 