MANILA, Philippines - The broken lines surrounding the highly-anticipated Prometheus from master director Ridley Scott will finally be unveiled when it opens today in cinemas nationwide.
Prometheus is a wholly original epic mythology that has threads of DNA from the original Alien movie. Starring A-list actors Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green and Idris Elba — Prometheus poses the eternal “What if?” question — the movie juxtaposes the multi-cultural and relatable characters on an enormous mission to fight for humanity light years away.
The ship bound for a distant planet may provide the answer to the origin of mankind. “The film’s central metaphor is about the Greek Titan Prometheus, who defies the gods by giving humans the gift of fire, for which he is horribly punished,” Scott explains. “When you talk about the myth on which the title is based, you’re dealing with humankind’s relationship with the gods — the beings who created us — and what happens when we defy them.”
But ultimately, notes screenwriter Damon Lindelof, Prometheus is centered around… us. “It’s about humanity in the future, challenging some of our most cherished scientific and philosophic ideas.”
“The crew of the Prometheus thinks they’re headed to paradise to discover answers to the ultimate questions. But what they find is a dark and twisted and frightening world — a way station for these beings,” adds Jon Spaihts. “The cold and implacable environment is more like hell than heaven.”
In Scott’s films, including Prometheus, the protagonists’ discoveries often defy expectations. “That’s what makes good drama,” states the filmmaker. “Our story circles the truth of what might be out there and therein lays its most frightening aspect. Feasibility always creates the finest and most dangerous drama and the opportunity for me to scare the hell out of everyone.”
On the planet, the team meets a survivor of a civilization in control of some very dangerous elements, including various forms of biology and biomechanics, which in a heartbeat can eviscerate its victim, or worse.
“This brings us to the question,” says Scott, “what are the consequences of meeting a superior being, whose capabilities are quantum leaps beyond one’s own, and are in effect god-like?”
Or put another way: Maybe there are some things best left unexplored.