Prometheus - 2 smiles

I was disappointed with “Prometheus,” director Ridley Scott’s supposed prequel to Alien. It is neither fast-moving action thriller nor a deep existential examination of the origins of humanity. This movie is hardly profound and aside from a handful of first-rate sequences, there are dull stretches mixed with the sudden appearance of ugly, sinister aliens. And everything is gloomy – the scenes in the space ship are dimly lit and the scenes on the alien planet are just as murky, where most of the action takes place in a cave, illuminated by flashlights. The positive for “Prometheus” involves Noomi Rapace, the Swedish actress best known for her performances in the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. Much like Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley in Alien, Rapace plays a strong woman, especially in the sequence where she performs an emergency medical procedure. (I cringed throughout).

The quest in this movie is to find God. Dr. Shaw (Rapace) and her partner believe that they have located the specific point in the galaxy where the gods who founded civilization are located. They are seekers, keyed into the spiritual side of science, while Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), as the representative of the corporation funding the expedition, is more interested in money. When they arrive on the distant planet, Dr. Shaw and her team explore. They are accompanied by a very human-looking robot, played by an overly slender but excellent Michael Fassbender. His David is full of wit, subtlety and quiet menace.  For almost an hour, the story goes nowhere and takes it’s time getting there. The last 45 minutes are more lively when everything happens, including a needless twist at the end. Although the special effects are impressive, “Prometheus” is, nonetheless, disappointing.