Prometheus is Awakening
"Big things have small beginnings."
So says the unnamed character at the end of the latest trailer for Ridley Scott's Prometheus. I cannot begin to comprehend my own excitement for this movie, let alone explain it to anyone else.
I am a huge Science Fiction fan. Arthur C. Clarke is the main reason I ever continued to pick up books. In every book he wrote, there was his tangible awe at the known and unknown universe. After finishing a story, it was impossible not to look up at the stars. Great Science Fiction does this.
It also comes true. I love hearing people laugh at science fiction. "It's for children."
How's that Internet working out for you?
Arthur C. Clarke once said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." These days all it would take is your cell phone to amaze the generations of history. Imagine standing in front of Christopher Columbus and showing him how your GPS worked. You don't even need to go that far back into the past. Watch a thriller movie from the 80's and try to not get upset when victims don't pull their cell phones out of their pockets and call for help.
Too often in Hollywood cinema, Science fiction is just code for badly done horror movie in space (or from space). Or the source material is taken and mangled so badly that it's barely recognizable to it's fans. I,Robot and I am Legend are fine examples of this. Damn, maybe Will Smith is responsible.
What has me and a lot of other nerds excited is that Ridley Scott is behind the cameras and directing. He has a history with great Science Fiction movies. The original Alien movie scared an entire generation of people with it's release and spawned three more movies and two cross over movies with the Predator. The unknown was alive and well with Alien, as terror stalked the crew of a spaceship. I remember being a child and watching it the first time. It made me afraid of my own shadow.
He filmed Blade Runner after Alien and had created a second masterpiece. To this day, movies still copy elements from Blade Runner. The rainy city lit by neon. A synthesized and dark score. Most importantly, complicated characters that are neither good nor evil.
No matter what genre, Ridley Scott also develops heroic and well crafted female characters. A lot of directors and screen writers should take notes on that simple fact.
Although Ridley Scott has claimed that Prometheus is not directly connected to the Alien saga, it does contain "strands of Alien's DNA, so to speak."
This movie looks amazing. The director has a great track record. Although I'll celebrate the opening of The Avengers in the near future, my true hope hides in the shadows awaiting Prometheus.
Alien trailer
Blade Runner (2007 Final Cut) trailer
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