Signis

Prometheus

(JPEG)

US, 2012, Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba. Directed by Ridley Scott.

‘Hugely anticipated’, as they say. Here is Ridley Scott, after thirty three years, returning to Alien territory (and not forgetting androids thirty years since with Blade Runner). He has also absorbed something of the quest of Stanley Kubrick in 2001: a Space Odyssey.

The film looks quite magnificent at times, though very dark and foreboding. While there is some earth light at the beginning (a dig on the Isle of Skye in 2089), the action is inside the space ship Prometheus (who defied the Titans for power for humans) or on the desert and rocky locations on a distant planet or inside the caves which are brittle with machines - and mysteries.

On the narrative level, the plot is basic: a 2093 mission is sent from earth to find the planet suggested by cave drawings that literally point to space where scientists can explore whether these aliens created humans, comparing DNA samples; work on the planet paid for by a rich, aged company owner (a made-up Guy Pearce); the interactions of the commander, an icy Charlize Theron, and the rather relaxed captain, Idris Elba. The key characters for the drama are the scientist, Noomi Rapace (familiar to many from the Millennium films) and an android who has something of a robotic manner and demeanour but is also charming, Michael Fassbender. Needless to say, the exploration does not go well, especially for the scientist who discovers that she is pregnant with an alien. (Plenty of suggestions about that creature emerging from John Hurt so long ago.) There is a final crisis, some heroism, explosions - and the possibility for a sequel.

But, the plot has many strange holes and improbabilities, notably that of the pregnancy and how the scientist deals with it (and recovers so instantly to go into heroic action).

But, Ridley Scott seems to be on the same kind of quest as the astronauts in 2001. Kubrick’s Everyman character was called Dave. This time the android is called David. The Prometheus expedition does attempt to go beyond the infinite. But, there is no benign monolith here which could suggest the transcendent, even the divine. The creators here are malevolent. They destroy as well as create - so who is responsible for humanity (especially if they lack humane qualities)? The scientist chooses to believe in the transcendent - has a cross around her neck, a gift from her father, and refers to 2094 as the year of Our Lord, 2094. And she finally decides to go in search of the creators.

We humans don’t have all the answers, the film suggests, but, despite cruelty and death, we must go on searching.

Peter Malone