Rewatching Prometheus 10 Years Later
I recently found myself in the mood to rewatch Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, a bizarre coincidence given it’s exactly 10 years since the film released. I remember going to the cinema to watch Prometheus with my dad and sister, but I hadn’t realised it was quite so long ago. Revisiting the film was an interesting experience, not only because it’s had time to settle, but because I too have grown older and my taste has significantly developed. I remember liking and enjoying it, but there’s always been thoughts in the back of my mind that I could never quite articulate. Upon revisiting the film, I’m now thankfully in a better position to talk about it and convey my thoughts. Suffice to say, it impressed me far less aged 27 than when I was 16.
It’s worth mentioning before going too far into Prometheus, I love Alien. I have loved Alien for years, to the point where I feel very protective over it. My older sister introduced me to Alien in my early teens, and it ignited a love for sci-fi horror which never died. I’ve watched Alien countless times since and spoken about it at great length to anyone misfortunate enough to have been stuck with me when the topic came up. If there were a gun to my head, I’d easily name Alien as one of my favourite films of all time. So, the notion of making a prequel has never sat right. I remember feeling apprehensive about Prometheus, but it managed to win me over because I was easier to please ten years ago. My love for Alien has only increased over the years, whereas my feelings towards Prometheus are dwindling in the cold light of day.
For the sake of balance, I will mention the positives. Michael Fassbender’s performance as David the android still holds up, as does Noomi Rapace’s performance as Doctor Elizabeth Shaw. Their scenes together are some of the most interesting the film has to offer. Visually it is fantastic, making great use of VFX and practical effects. I think its heart is in the right place tonally, and there’s sequences which capture some of what made Alien so terrific, despite not being of the same high standard. The score by Marc Streitenfeld is often overlooked, but I actually quite like it. It’s a departure from the delicate musical accompaniment in Alien, however it evokes a feeling of grand discovery which matches the larger scale of this story. Even after ten years there’s still components worthy of praise, and the film shouldn’t be totally dismissed.
There are of course some negatives, which haven’t improved upon subsequent viewings. There are times when the plot loses its way and trips over itself, because it’s busy trying to do its own thing but also tie into continuity. The characters and their motivations aren’t fleshed out in any meaningful way, making it feel more like a silly horror where exaggerated caricatures are killed off one by one through their own stupidity. Crucially, the dialogue throughout is like a cheese grater for your ears. Where Alien offers real people talking about real, everyday topics like payment issues, Prometheus instead offers characters who almost exclusively talk about big topics. Faith vs science, the human condition, wanting to meet your maker etc. It not only feels like an introductory philosophy course, but it re-treads territory already covered to a higher standard in films like Blade Runner. However, there are broader issues at play which significantly restrict Prometheus from reaching greater heights.
While it might be a crude oversimplification, we can best understand Prometheus by dividing it into two distinct categories. On one hand you have the writing (the screenplay, the characters, the themes etc.), and on the other hand you have the visuals (set design, VFX, practical effects etc.) This not only gives room for understanding what is good and bad about Prometheus, but what’s good and bad about Ridley Scott as a filmmaker. I personally believe Prometheus encapsulates something fundamental about Ridley Scott as a director; he is only as good as the script he’s working with.
Visually and practically, Scott is a great filmmaker. There’s no denying Prometheus looks incredible. The production design holds up really well and Scott is a master of transporting audiences to new worlds. However, the story and characters are where it falls down. In fact, Ridley Scott’s subsequent sci-fi releases are interesting points of comparison which illustrate this point perfectly. After Prometheus he released The Martian in 2015, and Alien: Covenant in 2017, which was a misguided sequel to Prometheus. The similarity between all three films is the fact they look amazing, and the world building is beyond impressive. Where they differ is the writing. The Martian is easily one of the best sci-fi films from recent years, whereas Prometheus and Alien: Covenant are both inconsistent, self-important and ultimately provide more confusion than clarity. So, while Prometheus is still Ridley Scott doing what he does best and bringing as much as he can to the table, the script ultimately holds him back.
Regardless of the various positives and negatives, the undeniable flaw of Prometheus is the fact the premise is doomed. Making a prequel to Alien and attempting to explain the origins of the Xenomorph is not only unnecessary, but also damaging. A huge part of what makes Alien so scary, and a huge driving factor behind fear as an emotion, is the unknown. The Xenomorph lacks explanation. We don’t know where it comes from, we don’t know anything about it, all we know is it’s here to kill everything it comes across. There’s far more fear to be found in not having answers and letting your imagination run wild. This plays into another element of what makes Alien work so well: coincidence. Crew members of the Nostromo land on planet LV-246 by chance. They encounter the alien species by chance. Everything else follows as a result of that one chance encounter setting off a line of dominoes. Prometheus starts to undo this. They start making it so humans are somehow tied to the Xenomorphs, their paths were always destined to cross. It’s ridiculous. They provided answers no one wanted and started removing the mystery.
Despite the noticeable drawbacks, in a strange way there is still part of me that wants to defend Prometheus. I always admire an attempt at bold sci-fi, both in terms of spectacle and tackling heavy themes. They didn’t just make a standard prequel, they at least tried to do something with it and asked big questions along the way. Even if it’s not totally good or original, it could have been worse. The problem at the time of release was that expectations were impossibly high, and fans were quick to label the film either a masterpiece or disaster. In truth it was neither. To this day it remains an ambitious piece of sci-fi cinema, which promises a lot but sadly doesn’t deliver. Like the characters in Prometheus, the film goes looking for answers and is horrified and confused by what it finds.
In lieu of a neat summary, I can best describe my thoughts towards Prometheus by making a bold statement. If you take the Alien out of Prometheus, make it so there’s no connections to the Xenomorphs or continuity at all, then I think you’ve got a solid standalone film. It’s bold, it balances spectacle and big ideas, and blurs the line between sci-fi and horror. The world Ridley Scott built is haunting yet beautiful, and there’s a mixture of glossy futuristic tech and grimy body horror. The story is clumsy and confused, and the dialogue isn’t great, but a big part of sci-fi is posing big questions and searching for answers. The component which immediately sets this film back is the fact it was a prequel to Alien, and not a valuable or insightful instalment to the legacy of the Xenomorphs. If they hadn’t made this an Alien prequel, then history probably would have remembered Prometheus in a very different way.
Finally, please remember any negativity I’ve expressed towards Prometheus is nothing compared to how I feel about Alien: Covenant. Now that is a film I have no kind words for.
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