Watching Prometheus upon release, it was hard not to sympathise with scientist Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green). Having spent years hoping to find the “Engineers” who brought about the genesis of mankind and left cryptic messages painted on cave walls, he found himself filled with existential despair, upon finding only their corpses. I walked out of Prometheus with the same reaction, a pervading sense of dissatisfaction with a film that fell woefully short of its potential.
Rewatching the film a year later, I was more forgiving. The film’s biggest problem stems from its script – written by Lost’s Damon Lindelof, it shares that series’ obsession with posing momentous questions and its complete disinterest in providing satisfying answers (see the Blu-Ray packaging quote: “Questions will be answered”). Treating the film as a cipher to be decoded is intensely disappointing, highlighting the script’s glaring flaws.
Prometheus is more satisfying when approached as a big-budget, beautifully executed slasher flick: leagues short of Alien, naturally, but entertaining nonetheless. This approach explains the characters’ (numerous) foolish decisions as consequences of horror movie logic, and lets you soak in the gorgeous special effects and appreciate the ominous atmosphere. The “answer” to Prometheus is simply to lower one’s expectations.
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I’ve not watched this again since the cinema. Was probably the most excited, and ultimately most disappointed, I’ve ever been for a new release movie. Agree with you that the script is a mess – there’s apparently a far superior one online which was a more direct Alien prequel – and that whilst the film is beautiful it’s pretty frustrating to watch. It’s a shame because Alien is one of my favourite films.
Hmm, I should hunt down that script. I assume it was prior to a Lindelof hack-job? It’s definitely better with substantially lower expectations, but it’s unfortunately just not a good film (it’s not a bad one, though).
Yeah I think it was the draft before Lindelof came on and chopped it up. There’s more info on it here if you’re interested:
http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1563
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/opinions/the-8-worst-parts-of-prometheus-explained-in-the-original-script-jsarg.php
I think the gist was the same, but with more aliens, and less plot holes. I don’t think it’s a bad film – the cinematography alone sets it apart – just a hugely disappointing one. Maybe I’ll give it a second chance and see if I like it more.
Cheers, I’ll check these out.
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