Can IMAX and 3D
technology remedy the shortcomings of a film? The answer is no, but it goes
along way to making the immediate experience more enjoyable. In terms of IMAX
pre-sales, Prometheus is the most
anticipated film to be shown on the (really) big screen. And for good reason.
With Prometheus, director Ridley
Scott is offering up the opening chapter to the mythology of the alien from his
seminal 1979 sci-fi horror film, Alien.
There are positives
and negatives on display here. The positive being that Scott has lost none of
his flair for visual magnificence. On a regular screen some of Prometheus’ shots are incredible. At the
IMAX and in 3D, they are breathtaking. Scott makes the most of his inhospitable
landscape as we soar over waterfalls and barren rock surfaces. The setting
where the majority of the film occurs (the pyramid) is equally enhanced by the
immersive nature of IMAX, ensuring we feel the fear and oppressive nature of
the space.
The difference lies
with the negatives. On a regular screen they become frustrating during the
film. There is a lack of decent character development and an inconsistent
script, either making characters sound like arrogant teenagers or
self-righteous prophets. The best line being, when they arrive on the distant,
unvisited planet and find a runway, that “God doesn’t build in straight lines.”
There are plot holes and questions left unanswered which should not have been
especially surrounding characters’’ motives. With the exception of Michael
Fassbender’s David, none of the characters are that interesting. All these
issues stem from the same problem; the idea is given precedence over characters
and story. The premise is so big (and hinted at by its title) and given so much
attention that it takes over from the most important part of any film, the
story and the characters.
There are some very
well constructed scenes (an unwelcome birth scene will resonate for days), but
they bring disappointment with them as we wonder how much more effective they
could have been if we cared about the characters. Prometheus isn’t a bad film, but its flaw are heightened by the
ceremony with which it announces itself and that begins with Ridley Scott’s
name.
