Prometheus

Cast: Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapache, Guy Pearce

Director: Ridley Scott

Indian Express Ratings:***

PROMETHEUS of Greek mythology, the titan who is considered the champion of mankind and a symbol of human striving, is the inspiration for this film. And the questions that plague creation of life, from the hows to the whys, lie at the centre of it. Prometheus explores the concept of "creator" from all angles -- from a father who shapes her daughter's faith and world view, and man who has made androids possible, to a woman who can't get pregnant and aliens who may have "engineered" life on earth. It asks the questions, plays with religion, gives tantalising glimpses of what it may be willing to say, and then disappointingly, thudderingly and in largescale 3D-esque destruction, falls back on the unknown.

At one level, it is good to know Prometheus doesn't portend to have the answers. However, the way it ends makes you wonder: Did it ever want to, particularly when it leaves the door open for a sequel?

The film itself arose from Scott's attempts for a prequel to his pathbreaking Alien. However, a lot has changed since 1979, and it must be difficult now to work up a fever over "beings that we haven't seen" if we see them on screen at least once every year.

But Scott does try, with the spaceship 'Prometheus' that flies into a planet thousands of light years from earth, in the year 2093, slowly gliding through its atmosphere of clouds into a runway that looks too smooth to have risen from god's mysterious ways. Inside the spaceship are 17 crew members who have just been woken up from a "hypersleep" of two years -- the time it has taken to reach the planet. The ship has been kept running by an android who is an exact replica of humans. In the movie, he is played by Fassbender, the actor with the immaculate touch. Not a hair strand out of place, 'David' has been learning all ancient languages of the world even as he laps up his mannerisms and quotable quotes from Peter O' Toole, rides a cycle through the empty corridors of the spaceship and spins a basketball atop it.

... contd.

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