Also, if you don't want to have the film's ending ruined for you, it might be a good idea to stop reading here, and just spend the next 5 minutes looking at the adorableness of Theron and Fassbender. I did just that about 3 times while writing this.
To quickly recap, the film follows two archaeologists, Elizabeth and Charlie (Noomi Rapace and Logan Marshall-Green respectively), who discover a series of ancient cave star maps, pointing towards a distant planet, which they believe is home to the truth about creation. After hearing their theories and findings, Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce), a billionaire CEO, funds their expedition and sends them onboard the spacecraft Prometheus along with 15 other crew members, including android David (Michael Fassbender) and expedition monitorer, Meredith (Charlize Theron). The search for the origins of humanity quickly turns into a discovery of a threat that could wipe out the human race.
Firstly, there are a lot of mixed reviews for Prometheus, most of which are negative. I actually thought the film was good. Not great, as in I will go see the film again, but good as in that was interesting. I know a few people who couldn't believe Ridley Scott backed this movie, not only as director, but also producer, but you've got to realise he also backed Blade Runner, which was not a box office success, but is now a cult film. To be honest, there was not much to the storyline as there could've been. The first third of the film dragged on a little too long, save for Michael Fassbender, and the real action only came in towards the end.
Cinematography was beautiful. The entire first sequence was breathtakingly beautiful, and this is against footage of the 'first' human collapsing and disintegrating into atoms. Although the film is grey-toned throughout, there are bursts of sparkling blue amidst all the dark tunnels which simply light up the picture. It definitely fits the futuristic sci-fi and neo-noir genre made famous by Ridley, and helped make everything simply magical.
I thought Noomi Rapace did a great job as the film's leading heroine. I look at all the other actresses considered for the part, Anne Hathaway and Carey Mulligan amongst the group, and I don't believe any of them could've portrayed Elizabeth Shaw in the way that fit the film. Anne Hathaway for example, while characteristically strong-willed and independent doesn't have that vulnerability or uncertainty of an archaeologist exploring a new planet, and Carey Mulligan has too much and not enough willpower. Noomi Rapace is a perfect combination of both, and her performance in the gory (not-really) delivery scene was superb (but gory).
My favourite however, was Michael Fassbender, who played David to perfection, literally. His interpretation of the android is most definitely the highlight of the film, and seems to have garnered consistent praise from all reviewers regardless of how they rated the film. The airy-ness of his performance was brilliant, as was his android-like movements and mannerisms. I couldn't have fallen in love with Michael Fassbender anymore than I have. I love the whole idea of an android (replicants, robots, all of them) stuck in that void where they are at the same time human and not-human. I get so emotional when it comes to things like that, and when its Michael Fassbender playing said android, you really feel empathetic for him, even when you can't decide if he's all good.
An interesting deduction by one of my workmates has got me thinking whether Meredith was (or is) in fact an android. It would be a nice twist in the sequel if she did come back, because at the moment it's just Elizabeth and David. Otherwise, the entirety of the next film will star two actors (or rather one and a half because Fassbender would just be a head), on the account that if the people of Earth decide to send out another spacecraft, they wouldn't be able to locate Elizabeth anyway. And the first humans were CGI, or whatever technical equivalent, anyway. Also, Meredith's death seemed out of place. There are a few clues supporting the 'Meredith is an android' theory, including the fact that she was able to get out of her statis pod herself and immediately perform a number of push-ups while the other crew members woke up with nausea and other health issues. I guess she could've been trained for it but she seemed more capable of getting out than the captain himself, who most definitely would've been trained. She also had the same airy-ness as David, and seemed more emotionless. However, I think I am 'for' Meredith being an android, which puts me in a position to point out a number of other facts that counters my claim. Firstly, she was in the stasis pod to begin with when she need not be. When Meredith sees Charlie's infection as a threat to her crew, her first instinct was to 'suit-up' so that she could exit the ship and stop Charlie getting on board herself. If she was/is an android, she would be able to breathe the air on that planet, and need not suit up. My point is, that her first instinct was to 'suit-up' not 'stop Charlie from entering the ship'. Also, can androids function sexually? And why did she race to the escape pod at the end even though if she was/is an android, she'd know that she can't die? There are a lot of questions, and many more clues but I am confusing myself over and over again by writing them out.
All in all, Prometheus? A pretty good film, with great cinematography and brilliant, brilliant acting by Michael Fassbender.
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