Okay, all you Alien lovers out there. Whether you enjoyed the badass-ness that was Sigourney Weaver’s ‘Ripley’, the killer suspense, or the all around awesome atmosphere of the OMG-we’re-trapped-on-this-ship-with-a-monster/alien, Prometheus is a must see. This is much more than a prequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 masterpiece.  It stands on it’s own as a pretty kick ass movie, with the fun distinction of feeding off and adding to the drama and fear of the classic we all love and remember.

I know my fervent wish for a science fiction movie that was good to come out this year was totally granted! Yay, fairy god-mothers!

Spoiler Alerts Ahead!

Cinematography

The cinematography and sound effects were similar to the style of Alien, keeping with the original soundtrack that we all associate with our shit being freaked out. Scuttling, scraping, and bass in all the right places added to and created nervous energy that I, at least, had a hard time containing.

I’ll admit that I’m a horror movie wimp, but I still think I wasn’t the only one whimpering and practically crawling out of my seat with nerves throughout the feature. I also wasn’t the only one whispering ‘no!  don’t touch that!’ and barely suppressing the need to close my eyes in the more disturbing parts. Which there were a lot of.  Ridley Scott proved to us in Alien that he is not afraid to disturb, and he held firm with that style in this movie. Really.  I’m still wincing and touching my stomach to be sure that there aren’t any surgical cuts being held shut only by a few hastily administered staples *shudders.*

Characters

If you were worried that no one could match Ripley’s awesomely tuned survival skills or over all bad ass persona, worry no longer. Dr. Elizabeth Shaw started out as a character who was annoying in her persistence to discover answers. There was more than one instance where she risked death for a scientific specimen, and I couldn’t help but hope that she would meet her end already, and quit annoying me!

It was quite a shocker when I found myself rooting for her at the end. Annoying persistence had turned into amazing survival instincts and a major ability own any situation she’s thrown in. Plus she’s a super smart scientist.

Charlize Theron did a great job in her role as selfish, slightly cowardly, but also slightly awesome stuck up expedition leader. I am always shocked by how amazing this woman is! I should have expected how well she would do after she killed the character of The Evil Queen in Snow White and The Huntsman.  

Themes

The themes of this movie were much more than basic survival and scary scenes. Prometheus kept with the mystery of ‘where does it all come from?’ that was prominent in Alien (when you aren’t getting the pants scared off of you). Added in was the concept of faith and the creation of life.

The crew of the ship are on a mission to find what scientists Elizabeth Shaw and her soon to be dead lover Holloway believe to be our makers, a race the scientists have coined as ‘The Engineers.’ An alien race that, it turns out, has the same DNA structure of homo-sapiens. Shaw’s faith in The Engineers does not waver until the end – when she realizes what she has actually stumbled upon is the bioweapon that our creators apparently invented to wipe us out with. Obviously disappointment and death ensue.

David shows emotion?

Faith blurs with the theme of the circular tendencies of the creation of life. David, the ship’s very own android, spotlights this as a creation of humanity. When he asks Holloway why our race made him, he replies ‘Because we could.’ Of course, David gets the good doctor back by infecting him with a biochemical weapon…

Though The Engineers created us, destroying humanity proved to be difficult for them.  Their precious weapons turned on them, and the last remaining Engineer on the planet was forced to take an extended nap. I suppose the point Prometheus originators were trying to make is that just because we create life does not mean we control it…or even that we love it.

The ‘why’ of their decision to destroy us never came. After waking the Engineer, the creepy white humanoid promptly killed everyone and attempted to fly his ship to Earth and make us all alien worm bait. Lucky for us, the crew takes out the ship…by ramming their own into the side of it, killing everyone on board. Bye bye, supporting cast!

We do get one question that has been plaguing humanity since 1979 answered. ‘Where did the aliens come from?’  Well, they come from the bio-weapon parasite that was pulled from Elizabeth Shaw’s stomach laying it’s egg inside of an Engineer. So the monster like alien that plagued poor Ripley and her deceased crew actually is a product of humanity, it’s makers, and the weapon that the makers created to destroy humanity…well, that was some food for thought after leaving the theater.

The scary plot and setting, fun cast, and clever manipulation of the basic questions of life made this movie a must see.  No cheesy rip off or painful disappointment to this Alien prequel. It was all gold, baby! If you’ve already seen it, let me know what you thought of Prometheus!