It’s been over 30 years since acclaimed director Ridley Scott’s last science-fiction feature. After a string of Hollywood alien films heavy on action and hollow in actual storytelling, it’s nice to finally have an alien film that returns to the exploration of space’s mysteries and sense of wonder, as well as the return of a suspenseful and compelling narrative (for the most part, anyway). While the film never reaches the bar set by its high anticipation, mostly due to problems in its characters and unanswered questions, ‘Prometheus’ is a memorable film that sets itself apart from ‘Alien’, the film it precedes, to become a world of its own.

After an introduction that supposedly explains how life began on Earth, the film skips ahead to the year 2089, where some archaeologists have just discovered several ancient star maps, each from different civilizations that have never been in contact with one another. One of the archaeologists, Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace, the original ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’), theorizes that these star maps could explain how humans were created, and believes it is a map to their creator(s).

Shaw is soon part of a crew on board the spaceship “Prometheus,” founded by Weyland Corp., en route to the moon planet LV-223, which the star maps have led to. The crew consists of several scientists (geologists, biologists, etc.), including Shaw’s boyfriend Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), ship captain Janek (Idris Elba), Weyland Corp. representative/employee Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), and most interesting – David (Michael Fassbender), the human-looking android whose intentions are never quite clear.

The first hour or so of ‘Prometheus’ is fantastic. As the crew reach their destination and start exploring it’s all well paced and suspenseful. The cave-like dome structure the group explore is full of engaging mysteries full of secrets and death. This entire portion of the film has that sense of glorious wonder that most science-fiction/space/alien films should have. We know just as much as the crew of Prometheus do, and it’s just as exciting and rewarding to discover what they discover. But of course, a film like this can’t be all that rewarding for the characters. With such a large crew (about 17), and this being a film related to the ‘Alien’ franchise, it’s safe to assume that not everyone will walk out alive and that many crew members are “expendable.”

And it’s when the characters start dropping like flies where the film gets a bit shaky. Several major plot twists and reveals are made, some that come out of nowhere or without merit. The film continues to push more and more questions, most of which are never explored or answered at all. It just quickly becomes a film that adds layers of mysteries and secrets meant for a sequel to answer, which prevents ‘Prometheus’ from being a great standalone film. With such a thrilling first half, it’s a bit disappointing that the film ends on such an underwhelming note. This lack of payoff definitely has to have stemmed from co-writer David Lindelof, the co-creator and writer for ‘Lost’, a series known for its multiple layers of mysteries, many of which were never answered. The unanswered questions in the film may have been meant to be debated among viewers, but it seems to be more of a cheat in storytelling.

‘Prometheus’ really is a beautiful film. Its combination of practical effects and cgi is seamless, resulting in many scenes filled with gorgeous landscapes and alien landmarks. The different types of aliens in the film are all well-realized creatures. The set pieces are great as well, including the exploration sequence and a cringe-inducing self-surgery scene filled with blood and guts. The visuals and thrills are all excellent, which director Ridley Scott (‘Alien’, ‘Blade Runner’, ‘Gladiator) seems to have the knack for. When it comes to the characters, however, he runs a bit short.

Pretty much all of the human characters in ‘Prometheus’ are one-dimensional, which is a total waste of such an excellent cast. We learn that Shaw is a creationist, while her boyfriend believes in evolution. That’s about it. There are some flashbacks to Shaw’s childhood that try to help explain her beliefs, but they inevitably lead nowhere. Meredith Vickers is a downright bitch for reasons we don’t know, and when a secret is revealed about her, it doesn’t affect the film whatsoever. The rest of the crew are given no background whatsoever, some making decisions or sacrifices out of the blue mainly because the plot requires them to do so. Not only does this lack of character development prevent the film from being amazing as it should have been, but the actions many of these characters make throughout the film are baffling. It’s strange because the crew of Prometheus are supposed to be really smart. After all, most of them are scientists. Yet once they reach the alien planet, it seems as if they’ve all been dumbed down, doing so many things real scientists, researchers, and explorers would never do.

The only character worth raving about is ironically the one not human – David the android. As with almost every film he’s in, Michael Fassbender is the best part of ‘Prometheus’. He perfectly portrays David as the suspicious android with ambiguous motives, a character without a soul that manages to have curiosity. Fassbender’s David is creepy, strange, and humorous – sometimes all at the same time.

When I first walked out from seeing ‘Prometheus’, I loved it. It’s such a gorgeous and thrilling science-fiction film that has plenty of suspense, scares, and twists and turns. As I thought about the plot days later, I started to like the film less and less. There were just too many questionable actions made in the film, too many unresolved plot points, and too many underdeveloped characters for me to ignore. ‘Prometheus’ is a visual feast and still a highlight of the summer, but it isn’t the well-crafted film it was expected to be.

Three out of four Kents.

PS:

• Did anyone else realize Peter Weyland, the really old guy and founder of Weyland Corp. was played by Guy Pearce? I didn’t even realize until I read the cast list after the film.

• The viral campaign for the film is pretty awesome, especially the videos promoting the David android models from Weyland Corp.