Topic > No One Can Hear You Scream in Space: An Evaluation of Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus'

After forever transforming the science fiction scene with his breakthrough film Alien, Ridley Scott returns home years later with an implied prequel, Prometheus . While the new film's potential sent devoted Alien fans into a frenzy of anticipation, it quickly became apparent that Prometheus would be nothing like its predecessor. Lacking the fast-paced action sequences that would have made it the epic crowd pleaser that many viewers were expecting, Prometheus fails to even meet its intended tone of a deep contemplation of humanity's origins. All in all, the film fails to satisfy the needs of both its action-seeking audience and its meaning-seeking viewers. What results, however, is an uncertain, exaggerated film, with a murky atmosphere and a slow pace, redeemed only by the sudden and unexpected entry of violent aliens. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Prometheus follows the story of a small, ragtag group of space explorers, reluctantly guided by the ideals of two fiercely spiritual scientists: protagonist Dr. Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and her partner, Charlie (Logan Marshall-Green). Believing they have pinpointed the exact place in the galaxy where God (or civilization's "engineers") exists, the pair are stunned that they may finally find the answer to the meaning of life. Unfortunately for the public, however, they are wrong. Prometheus cites as its premise the danger of overstepping the boundaries of humankind, but it also cites this as motivation to subtly sidestep the important, profound, and fascinating questions it poses – which the entire film was based on in the first place. Supposedly, the overly ambitious film bit off more than it can chew in asking these weighty questions, resulting in its inability to logically fit the remaining parts together. With large plot holes and baffling scenes, Prometheus creates an unconvincing world and in the end is just a glorious two-hour spectacle in which you have nothing to say. Perhaps it is also because of this directional uncertainty that Prometheus becomes so utterly unrealistic. The film features plot twists that make no logical sense and thus makes no effort to explain the apparent changes in its universe. An example of this is when Shaw, although previously revealed to be sterile, becomes pregnant with an alien baby, which grows in her stomach at an alarming rate. Terrified, she performs a C-section on herself with only a couple of shots of adrenaline to keep her from going crazy from the pain, using a futuristic surgical machine to take care of the job. The machine's lasers open her stomach and then grab the baby from the womb like a claw machine. After tearing off some seemingly unimportant body parts protruding from the wound, Shaw programs the device to close her stomach before immediately returning to prancing around the spaceship as if nothing had happened. The film, however, manages to adequately gloss over these glaring flaws by effectively using its greatest asset: its stellar acting. Prometheus distracts the audience from incomprehensible plot twists by using a phenomenal cast. Noomi Rapace, who played Dr. Shaw, completes a particular feat by tackling several particularly challenging scenes. A cast driven by intense talent, Prometheus is watchable primarily for these performances. Rapace keeps the audience on the edge of their seats in horrified anticipation, while Michael Fassbender injects anxious fear into the minds of viewers. In representing..