Prometheus clearly tries very hard to carry some serious and weighty questions about man's origins, while still providing the necessary action and explosions to give it the 'summer blockbuster' bonafides a $130 million dollar budget requires. While researching for this article, I stumbled across something interesting; much of the opening events of Prometheus are described in the synopsis of Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett's original Alien script:
Mankind has waited centuries to contact another form of intelligent life in the universe -- they decide to land and investigate. Their search takes them to a wrecked alien spacecraft whose doors gape open -- it is dead and abandoned. Inside they find, among other strange things, the skeleton of one of the unearthly space travellers.The bigger questions about 'meeting our makers' and such are missing, but pretty much the entire first act of Prometheus is described right there. My gut tells me that part of the logic behind Scott wanting to revisit Alien and direct Prometheus is in part fueled by a urge to depict some of the images, and tell aspects of the Alien story would not have been feasible (or believable) when Alien was shot in 1978.
Certain clues in the wrecked ship lead them across the hostile surface of the planet to a primitive stone pyramid, the only remnant of a vanished civilization. Beneath this pyramid they find an ancient tomb full of fantastic artifacts. Lying dormant in the tomb are centuries-old spores, which are triggered into life by the men's presence.
One of the biggest differences I saw between Alien and Prometheus is the way the action is shown. Obviously, technology has a big impact here. Over thirty years separate the two films, and amazing, exponential leaps have been taken to help more realistically depict whatever the director is trying to show viewers. I don't think Prometheus necessarily suffers because of all the advancements in effects, but I certainly think part of the strength of Alien is how well Ridley Scott manages technical difficulties with smart directing and sharp editing [2]. For example, right after Kane is attacked by the Facebugger in the derelict, Scott cuts to a slow, smokey zoom out of the bizarre, semi-circle ship; leaving you to imagine the panic and horror that Dallas and Lambert are facing with their incapacitated shipmate, and what they make of the strange organism latched to his face. Just watch the movie's most famous moment, the 'chestburster' scene:
Doesn't that little thing oozing in the gore of Kane's chest look like something being puppeteered? Alex Pappademas of Grantland writes:
The monster looks MAD CHEAP and it's still scary! Something about the monster's cheapness amplifies the nightmare, for me — those little jaws, like something from a sewing kit.I think there's something important in the fact that even though the monster does look "mad cheap," it's still really terrifying because its physically there, in the scene with the actors. Prometheus, in contrast, shows us many beautiful, compelling and riveting images and effects[3]. But, many of those effects aren't really used to tell any story or help establish any character.
My biggest problem with Prometheus, and I think conversely my biggest appreciation for Alien lies in the attention (or lack of) the movie's script gives to make each character a believable person. The writers of Alien—Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, took great pains to make a believable ensemble of, basically, interstellar truckers; as Pappademas explains:
So for like 45 minutes it's about the group. I've seen Alien knocked for being light on character, but c'mon, by the time everybody gets up from that table — starting with Dallas, who we find out has access to Mother, the computer, and by extension to the Company, and is therefore sort of different from everybody else — we have a sense of who these people are, and who they aren't. We know this isn't the Enterprise, there's not really even an implied sense of mission beyond the job. They're space-miners, but this could be a bunch of truckers or lumberjacks or oil-rig guys in a break room. They probably wouldn't be friends if they weren't on this ship together. It's this great blue-collar workplace movie where being in space is a job. People don't rip off this aspect of Alien often enough. (bold mine)The 'Breakfast' scene, the first part of Alien with any character lines, develops as the ship's two mechanics—Parker and Brett—at first gently, and then more forcefully, harangue the ships captain about their pay. Later in the movie, once the ship has touched down the surface of LV-462, and Kane volunteers to be a part of the reconnaissance team. Dallas, the captain, immediately states "We're gonna to need weapons." I mention these nuances because I think they help craft a lush, if not somewhat gritty picture of space truckers who are stuck on some dirtball looking at a very hostile alien lifeform for reasons beyond their control. The crew Prometheus tries to take on those qualities of the Nostromo, but it just falls flat because the characters do not feel very established and the empathy you have for the protagonists ends up being assumed. As Hulk Film Critic explains in his Avengers review:
HULK WRITES ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME, BUT ONE OF THE ONGOING PROBLEMS OF BLOCKBUSTER CINEMA THESE DAYS IS ASSUMED EMPATHY. IT’S AS IF OUR STORYTELLERS JUST PLOP A FILM IN OUR LAPS AND SAY, “HERE’S OUR MAIN CHARACTER AND WE’RE GOING TO ASSUME THAT YOU’RE INTERESTED IN THEM FOR THAT REASON ALONE. THEY’RE THE MAIN CHARACTER!” … HULK DESPISES THIS TREND. IT TENDS TO GET EVEN WORSE WHEN STORYTELLERS FALL INTO THE MARKETING-CENTRIC TRAP OF “LIKABILITY,” WHICH IS A WORD THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MAKING CHARACTERS INTERESTING. USUALLY IT’S JUST A CODE WORD USED BY EXECUTIVES WHEN THEY’RE WORRIED A CHARACTER IS “DOING BAD THINGS.” AND TO ADHERE TO THE WORRIES OF LIKABILITY IS TO THUS EMBARK ON A FOOL’S PLAY AT DRAMA.I'm not sure if Prometheus categorically commits the sin of assumed empathy, but I am certain that numerous actions made by characters seemed more for necessity of the plot, rather than any organic or endogenous logic. Once a film reaches that point, it becomes really hard for me to suspend myself within the story. But, just so I am clear: I think Prometheus is a very enjoyable movie to watch and I highly encourage you to see it, especially if you liked Alien. I say that because I like the questions the movie asks, and I think more people should be exposed to the kind of inquiry Scott engages. But if you're expecting Prometheus to be the next Alien, then I think you'll be disappointed.
YOU WANT REAL EMPATHY? LOOK AT THE PANTHEON OF GREAT HEROES. BEOWULF. ROBIN HOOD. SHERLOCK HOLMES. INDIANA JONES. EVEN OLD BUCKET-HEAD HIMSELF, TONY STARK. THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT THESE ICONS THAT MAKES THEM SO MUCH MORE THAN “HEROES.” THEY’RE ENGAGING. THEY’RE LIVELY. THEY’RE FLAWED. THEY’RE INTERESTING. AND FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS DISCUSSION, THEY ARE TESTAMENTS TO THE FACT THAT EMPATHY CAN NEVER BE ASSUMED.(Bold mine, capitals author's original)
[1]To be honest, I think the film's previews spoil the movie more than this review. More generally, the marketing campaign for Prometheus drove me blind with rage. There, I said it.
[2] As well as a strong disregard for cast and crew's safety.
[3] I was biting my index and middle finger's knuckles the entire Cesarian scene, absolutely shaken with the fear and pain on Noomi Rapace's face.
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