Prometheus: The Origin of Mankind

Not being a devotee of Ridley Scott's Alien series, I didn't have much invested in Prometheus, Scott's return to sci-fi moviemaking that is a sort-of prequel to the Alien franchise. I finally watched it on my flight back home and while it was a fun foray into the future, I can see why the more rabid fans were disappointed.

Prometheus is the name of a spaceship that has set off on a mission to a distant moon that may explain where human beings came from (apparently Darwin had it wrong). The lead investigator, Elizabeth Shaw (played by the fantastic Noomi Rapace who is the new Sigourney Weaver), fervently believes that aliens came to planet Earth and served as the forebears of humanity. She and her partner, Charlie Holloway (played by Logan Marshall-Green), have found pictograms from disparate early human civilizations that all feature the same pattern suggesting alien activity. So obtaining financing from the Weyland Corporation, they set off on Prometheus with a crew of scientists, a corporate supervisor (the stone-cold Meredith Vickers, played by Charlize Theron), and David, an incredibly lifelike android that is trained to take care of the spaceship while the rest of the crew are in stasis during the four-year journey. David is played by the always fascinating Michael Fassbender, who makes it impossible to figure out the android's motivations. Robots are always unpredictable in any sci-fi setting and David is no exception.

 Once the crew reaches the alien moon, they are faced with apparent desolation. All the aliens have been wiped out but there are a series of caves and tunnels that have surprisingly ambient conditions to support human life. Of course, these tunnels also contain clues about how our supposed ancestors were killed, and the human scientists might be in danger of following suit. One by one, members of the Prometheus crew fall victim to bizarre creatures that have been lurking in the shadows. Of note, Noomi Rapace is featured in a brilliant sequence that is an ode to Alien's most famous scene (you know the one).

The world of Prometheus is fully realized and makes for a thrilling action movie. But if you also require a good story, you're out of luck. The ending doesn't offer any answers, only more questions, which appeals to philosophers but not moviegoers. It's half popcorn movie, half serious treatise, and those are genres that don't mesh well. Watch Prometheus with moderate expectations and you will be entertained. Expect anything more and you will be frustrated.