Episode 1377: Prometheus

So belatedly, I've just been to see Prometheus at the Arts Centre with Becky and Toby. I quite enjoyed it, and here's a link to an LJ post some guy wrote all about the symbolism of the film. He offers up a pretty intriguing analysis that does help to put into focus the themes of the film that I appreciated, although it still doesn't really excuse what some critics have rightfully pointed out, which is that the film, gorgeous as its visuals are, suffers from curious plot deficiencies that sometimes actually detract from its attempted intellectualising (courtesy of Lost's Damon Lindelof). I'm not talking about the unresolved ending, which while not exactly a cliffhanger, hardly makes for closure either. I get why it was done that way (Prometheus needed to be a self-contained film, but still leave room for a sequel to be made, pretty standard Hollywood studio reasoning), and I approve of that. What I can't get behind is how most of the characters behave completely illogically, given that they're mostly scientists of some variety, and the trip to this moon has only taken them two freaking years in cryostasis. Seriously, that's small change, so I don't get what the rush was for everyone, recklessly charging about and basically unleashing their own doom. Fair enough, Logan Marshall-Green's Charlie was clearly meant to embody an archetype in contrast to Noomi Rapace's Elizabeth, so his character's stupid behaviour is excusable (plus it was hardly his fault that he was dosed with DNA-altering black goo). Everyone else? Please. As if humanity got to the point of having advanced space flight by abandoning a rational and considered approach to scientific investigation. Having said all that, I think what redeems the film, apart from the visuals, is Michael Fassbender. (Side note: I'm a bit weirded out by how Fassbender looks just a little bit different in every film that he does. Maybe it's just me?) His performance as the android David is pretty much perfect, as far as I'm concerned. Kind of feels like Prometheus was two films being cobbled together, one being your standard expedition-gone-wrong movie and the other also a fairly standard sympathetic exploration of what it's like to be an AI, and the two don't really mesh properly until the film's sort-of ending.