[Movie Review] Prometheus - In the Search of the Creator of Mankind

Hi Huneybees,

I caught Prometheus on its premiere night and till today the movie still send shivers down my spine. Actually before I begin the review, I think it's best that everyone understand what Prometheus means...

In Greek mythology, Prometheus was the creator of mankind. The goddess Athene taught him architecture, astronomy, mathematics, navigation, medicine, and metallurgy, and he in turn taught them to humans. Zeus, the chief of the Greek gods, became angry at Prometheus for making people powerful by teaching them all these useful skills. 

 Prometheus Tortured by the Eagle, by Christian Griepenkerl

When the gods chose Prometheus as arbiter in a dispute, he fooled the gullible Zeus into picking the worst parts of the sacrificial bull by hiding them under a rich layer of fat. To punish Prometheus, Zeus withheld fire from men. "Let them eat their flesh raw," he declared. In response, Prometheus, snuck up to Mount Olympus, lit a torch from the sun, and hid a burning piece of charcoal in a hollow stalk. He slipped away with it and thus delivered fire to mankind.
Zeus, as revenge, tried unsuccessfully to trick Prometheus' brother, Epimetheus, into accepting the beautiful but mischievous Pandora as a gift. Epimetheus, mindful of earlier advice from his brother, refused. Even madder now that his trick had failed, Zeus had Prometheus chained naked to a pillar in the Caucasian mountains. A griffon-vulture ate at Prometheus' liver all day long. During the bitter cold of the mountain night, the liver became whole again. 

So it went day after day, year after year. Epimetheus married Pandora in an effort to free his brother. Pandora -- as devilish as she was beautiful -- opened the famous box in which Prometheus had shut up all the evils that might plague mankind: Old Age, Labor, Sickness, Insanity, Vice and Passion.

Only years later, at the behest of Heracles (Hercules), did Zeus free Prometheus.
(Source of information: Robert Graves, The Greek Myths, Moyer Bell Ltd., 1955.)

Prometheus is a 2012 science fiction film directed by Sir Ridley Scott (the renowned filmmaker who reinvented the science fiction film genre – having helmed Alien, a groundbreaking mix of science fiction and horror, followed by Blade Runner, one of the most revered and influential genre films of our time) and written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof, stars Noomi Rapace,Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green and Charlize Theron. Prometheus began life years ago as an Alien prequel before becoming so much more than that and set in the late 21st century, the movie began with a spacecraft arriving on Earth in the distant past. A figure (glimpsed only briefly in Alien), drinks a dark liquid and his body disintegrates and falls into a waterfall, seeding Earth with its DNA, in an act of directed panspermia.

Over the past few decades, we’ve been ‘action filmed-out’ and ‘monster filmed-out’ and almost ‘science fiction filmed-out. So the baseline question is: how original are you going to be? The reason I haven’t made another sci-fi film in so many years, apart from the fact I’ve been busy making other films and exploring different genres, is because frankly I haven’t come across anything worthwhile for me to do with enough truth, originality and strength. Prometheus has all three.”  --- Sir Ridley Scott

In 2089, archaeologist couple Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Michael Fassbender) discover a star map among several unconnected ancient cultures. Well, to them, it was an invitation from humanity's forerunners: the "Engineers". Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce), the elderly founder of the Weyland Corporation, funded the creation of the scientific vessel Prometheus to follow the map to the distant moon LV-223. The ship's crew travels in stasis while the android David monitors their voyage. In 2093, the ship arrives, and its crew are informed of their mission to find the Engineers with the lead of the mission director Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron). The story unfolds, following the crew on their expedition and well, as experienced by the Greek mythological figure from which the ship takes its name, challenging the gods can be a very, very bad idea.

Prometheus landing on moon LV-223.

The movie kept true to Ridley Scott's style and I am totally fascinated by the set! Keeping the H.R.Giger style that's seen in Alien, Scott has built a massive sci-fi world where most of the sets, props and stunts are real, which is pretty rare in this present CGI abundant movie world.

Noomi Rapace's (Elizabeth Shaw) acting was one that I thought really stood out. She had that strong character and tough side that reminded me alot of Sigourney Weaver, making all the male characters look so weak...

Certain parts of the movie was pretty predictable, you know what's going to happen, but most of the time, I was gritting my teeth and sitting on the edge of my seat. Honestly, some scenes were too gruesome, I had to turn away or even cover my eyes to prevent nightmares!

I give the movie a 4 out of 5 popcorns.

Go catch Prometheus (especially if you are a fan of Sir Ridley Scott's work) and don't forget to LIKE the lovely Twentieth Century Fox Singapore's Facebook Page for more movie updates!