i'm sorry
The "cool story" of Brometheus (again, so sorry) begins with a short prologue of a humanoid standing on top of a waterfall looking all contemplative. Then suddenly the bro begins to dissolve into the flowing water, fading quicker than the hopes of an English penalty shoot out victory. This alien had previously left about a dozen star maps, or invitations, around our planet Earth; the last of which protagonist Elizabeth Shaw discovers in bonnie ol' Scotland. Shaw then becomes enamoured with the theory that these star maps have been left by what she dubs: "engineers" - the creators of human life as we know it. As most of you are aware, i'm sure, Prometheus is actually a prominent figure of Greek mythology; and became a figure who represented the quest for scientific knowledge, and the risk of overreaching or unintended consequences. This non-wikipedia quote perfectly explains the thesis of the film - whether Shaw's efforts to explain, and improve, human existence will end up in tragedy, or should we leave our disintegrating brethren alone?
thug
Shaw teams up with the mighty Weyland corporation, fueled by Mr Weyland's dollar and Charlize Theron's hormones, and follows the star map straight to the wee moon LV-223. We join starship Prometheus as the android David (played by the cheekbones of Fassbender) wakes up the crew from their cryogenic chambers of sleep, an ensemble consisting of: the afore mentioned Shaw and Theron, alongside Shaw's jacked up alpha male love interest, a super cool Stringer Bell (Idris Elba) and about a half dozen other forgettable crew members. They land near a giant super structure and their mission is explained - explore and report, but absolutely no touchy. Unfortunately the latter half of this sentence seems to escape the majority of the crew - this is when the film starts to get interesting.
"There's games beyond the fucking game"
The most appealing part of Prometheus is the subplot surrounding David, the android and surrogate son of Mr. Weyland. Whilst Shaw and her fellow humans dick about playing explorer, David goes off on his lonesome, and is apparently able to decipher the codings on the wall after a few years of listening to the Alien equivalent of Rosetta stone. His stone neutrality, delivered brilliantly by Fassbender who is quickly becoming my favourite actor (checkout Shame & Hunger), is reminiscent of Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Fassbender brings that little red circle to life, and it is immediately clear that just like HAL, David has ulterior motives and the crew are mistaken to place their trust in a not so basic android.
oops
The film really picks up its pace and we feel as if we're edging closer and closer to the answer Prometheus set out to reveal, however due to some slightly constricted writing from Damon Lindelof, I'm not sure we ever really get there. Make up your own mind, of course, but I feel Lindelof is up to his old tricks again; trying to write too many ideas and grandiose theories into one project that it ends up convoluted and unresolved (sound familiar Lost fans?). Still - Prometheus is entirely enjoyable, and it's probably the best film i've seen shot in 3D, with some absolutely superb cinematography and tone shifts in scenes, and Fassbender's cheekbones look even more delightful. Yum.
42/50 States
