Ridley Scott’s first sci-fi film in three decades is not a scary movie, but it is scary at times. The movie seems real and the audience forgets it is watching fiction. And that’s scary.

Of course, there are frightening “Alien” moments that Scott provides throughout the movie — and those are thrilling and stomach-turning. There’s slime and ooze. But thankfully, they don’t dominate the movie.

From the very beginning of “Prometheus,” director Scott implements a grand vision for the big screen that is truly stellar. This is a very well-made movie with some great script assistance from “Lost” mastermind Damon Lindelof.

The main question posed by this so-called “Alien” prequel is: “Who is our maker? And do you want to meet them?” Without spoiling the movie, the questions posed by the scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) are somewhat answered, only to bring up more questions.

David the android, played perfectly by Michael Fassbender, also poses the question, “If you could give anything for knowledge… Would you do anything?”

The wormhole opened by these questions drives the intellectual core of the movie. This is where it leaves the realm of normal summer blockbuster fare — banal and evanescent — and enters into the grand history of good sci-fi, making one think.

A downside of the film is that these questions make the viewer want more answers than the film gives. But that’s okay. Walking out of a movie theater asking questions is good, especially transcendental ones.

Behind “Prometheus” is a great story and an even greater cast. Rapace and Marshall-Green as scientists Shaw and Holloway, respectively, are the perfect pairing as they search to answer their questions. Charlize Theron works well as the stoic and skeptic mission director Meredith Vickers who doesn’t expect to find anything on the distant moon LV-223. Idris Elba is the seamless captain Janek who provides needed humor and surprising insight. And one cannot forget Fassbender as David, a chilling futuristic doppelgänger of HAL 9000 from “2001: A Space Odyssey.” What is his mission and is the safety of the crew a priority for him?

Prometheus — for which the movie and ship in the movie are named — was a demigod and Titan who gave fire back to man after Zeus took it away. As punishment, he was chained to a rock and fed on by an eagle. Hercules eventually rescued him.

Ridley Scott has brought creative fire to the box office with “Prometheus,” for which this reviewer is thankful. Waiting 30 years has paid off. Zeus, don’t take that away.

/ 5

Official trailer:

Rated R for sci-fi violence including some intense images, and brief language.

Toledo Free Press Lead Designer and Film Editor James A. Molnar blogs about all things Oscar at TheGoldKnight.com.

Tags: 2012, charlize theron, Film, James A. Molnar, Michael Fassbender, Movies, noomi rapace, prometheus, review, Ridley Scott, summer movies, The Gold Knight

This entry was posted on Monday, June 11th, 2012 at 7:00 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Film, Star, The Gold Knight.
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