By: elkayTakhel
How and why we are here is a question that plagues many of our collective craniums; here being the life that we have here on this planet. Well the basics of the ‘how’s have been answered owing to the brilliant scientific minds of this generation and the generations long gone, and also to some primitive, gung-ho, I-am-right thinkers of any generation. Well the very basic thing is that we’ve come a long way from our forefathers- carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and the like- to being what we are today and question and study the very nature of these elements. I know, ‘yawn….’ Me too. But the ‘why’ is a query that’s still unanswered.
Prometheus is a movie brave enough to ask questions, and unlike the inane ones from yours truly they are interesting. Well, I am not saying that it’s a scientific research paper of any sort, not by a long shot, but a brilliant sci-fi flick it is.
In the opening scenes of the movie, we see a scenic place somewhere that resembles one on our planet or maybe it is on Earth. There a humanoid animal/alien being of some intelligence consumes a futuristic substance that disintegrates him to the very core elements that make up his body. He is then reassembled (?) back into newer strands of what looks like DNA’s and further into cells and so on and so forth.
The next scene leads us to an excavation in Scotland, Earth in a time future from our own. There they make significant discoveries pertaining to the ‘how’s. Next we are led aboard a spacecraft, Prometheus, where everyone onboard has been put in stasis/sleep for the travel. On board there is an android, David, who has the run of things while everyone is ‘incapacitated.’
We are then made privy to the fact that all through mankind’s history, we have had numerous murals pointing us in the direction of a planet in a distant star system. All paintings and carvings from different ages and millennia pointed at a single destination. Wondrous? Well the crews aboard Prometheus have been sent on that location for a single mission plus some individual interests. They do arrive on the planet and are introduced to various dome-like structures; this is where the story unfolds. And in the course of the story, they find DNA evidences which exactly match our own, the supreme homo sapiens.How and why are revealed or not as the story progresses.
The main protagonist of the film is Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, portrayed by NoomiRapace of ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” fame, is a headstrong archaeologist. Who even after uncovering hints of the seeds of Life being sowed by an alien race still carries her religion around her neck. She is the leader of the expedition. Another strong female on board would be Meredith Vickers; she represents the company that sponsored the expedition and supposedly speaks in the interests of the company, which more often than not is against the interests of the many on board.
They are guided by David (Michael Fassbender)- the android- through their exploration of the ancient tombs. David also has his very own secret purpose and mission of being there. He is a fearless anomaly, an expert on almost any subject and language (including the alien scripture and language that he ‘picks’ up). His role in the whole scheme of things raises a lot of questions in a film that raises many and answers little, which is to its and our benefit of course. The way an artificial intelligence like David was made to be self aware of its very existence, develop his own ego, insecurities and the way it fights to stay ‘alive’ is interesting. We can’t help not bereminded of a timeless classic, a trailblazer, a trendsetter, a pathfinder for all other sci-fi flicks to follow and emulate, another Ridley Scott masterpiece- ‘Blade Runner.’ “Do androids dream of electric sheep?” Indeed.
Then there are the crews, some cowardly, some foolish, some just there to spew their blood and guts as alien-fodder. But the most interesting amongst them is Idris Elba as Janek, the captain of the ship who’s just there to pilot the ship, but when the time comes, he’s ready to pull up his sleeves and show us the metal that he’s made of and some amazing intelligence that we were not previously aware of.
The film adds an element of horror around the middle portion of the viewing, and one can’t help not being reminded of the creatures from the ‘Aliens’ franchise (another Ridley Scott sci-fi masterpiece). This though, doesn’t slacken the plot, which is still running a course of its own designated trajectory.
The casts have portrayed their roles fairly well. But none more than Michael Fassbender who has sweated for every penny he’s earned. Michael like in many of his previous roles in different movies has brought a certain depth to the character that being and android is supposed to be of very limited expressions and emotions. The female leads Noomi and Charlize have brought on screen the awesome feminine strength embodied by Sigourney Weaver in the ‘Aliens’ franchise.
The film interests us with the element of the identical DNA fragments, the one on the alien world and ours. And it poses a lot of queries, some revealed and most unanswered. All this done for a sequel? Only time will tell or Ridley Scott, of course. So after all’s said and done, I personally feel that a good movie/book/any work of art should be one that makes us think even if for a fraction of a second give our idle minds that oh-so-rare spark that we so desire. With that I take your leave. Till next time, put your thinking caps on (especially since the weather has a nip to it these days). Stay warm, stay amused with life, “live long and prosper.