Sometimes to create one must first destroy**Reccomend me some shitty movies (would like if they released in 2024) to watch cause ive been giving WAY to many good reviews
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I think why so many people disliked it (and probably why I loved it) is because it's a prequel but can stand on its own without showing the iconic xenomorph until the last scene. It's a peak blockbuster movie that steps away from the action at times and gets really philosophical and biblical and shit. It has its own identity and isn’t really fan service like most sequels are nowadays, and it asks way more questions than it answers. Whether you liked this movie or not doesn’t matter, but just the risks it took deserve respect, man. I think that, at its core, the movie is just trying to answer the question of where we come from and why we were created. The film is filled with religious references and shows our desperation to understand our existence. Even the title itself, "Prometheus" (had to look this one up), is about the Greek myth of the Titan who defied the gods by giving fire to humanity. That is both a symbol of enlightenment but also transgression, and this is an obvious parallel to this story and many others of humans searching for knowledge that ended up having bigger consequences.
The Engineers here are the gods. People believe they are our creator gods that can create and take away life, and the whole story of humans searching for their maker is like in the Old Testament, where Adam tries to understand his place in the Garden of Eden. Except Ridley has a more depressive view of this, where our gods just either don’t give a fuck about us or hate us and try to kill us. Why? I honestly don’t know. I hope they answer this in "Covenant," but the movie actually also raises another question of what it means to create, which gets asked during the movie by David. It’s kind of a pyramid because the Engineers create humans, humans create David, and David tries to create life so he doesn’t end up being at the bottom of that pyramid. David is probably the most interesting "thing" in the whole "Alien" franchise (Michael Fassbender was actually just completely amazing in this) because, although he was created by humans, he might be the most human character in the film (and not just because of that messy dialogue and narrative at times). I think David is also, in a way, us. He’s the inferior being in this, but just like us, he questions the purpose of the people who created him. But he finds out that he wasn’t created because of love but simply because he’s useful and the creators could. In my opinion, when he infected Charlie, he wasn’t just experimenting completely. But since he kinda already has surpassed the level above him on the pyramid (us), he uses us to try and understand and maybe even get to the next level by surpassing the Engineers.
The movie’s visuals are beautiful to look at—it’s a blockbuster, so at least money well spent. The opening scene of the sacrifice to create life basically throws the whole tone of the film in your face, and there’s a lot of religious stuff in it. First off, there is that cross necklace that Shaw uses (not just for aesthetics like people do nowadays) but as a symbol of faith in a godless universe. Ridley really uses his imagery to reinforce the notion of humanity’s desperate search for a higher power or purpose. He knows we are just narcissists; we can’t accept being meaningless, so when even the truth is thrown in our face, we still have faith we have a bigger meaning and go chase it (the ending). The symbolism throughout this movie is the Christian idea of sacrifice, redemption, and resurrection—with ALIENS in it!! The C-section scene, for me, is like the birth of Jesus from the Virgin Mary since "God" put the baby in her without her permission, but Ripley shows how invasive and brutal that can be.
The movie, although it’s messy, is actually really detailed to the point where even the characters are symbols. Shaw represents faith—we have faith in a higher power and faith that we actually have a purpose. But then there is Meredith, who is more of those scientific views of life that’s more skeptical if we have a meaning here. And then the old bag of bones, Peter Weyland, is the embodiment of the curiosity of mankind because his desire to meet the Engineers is not just spiritual curiosity but is an empty and worthless mission to try to live forever because we simply can’t handle the way the universe unfolds.
Overall Prometheus is a invredible sci-fi movie that stands on its own rather than just being an "Alien" prequel. It really explores somen big philosophical and religious questions like where we come from and why we were created, rather than relying on action or fan service like most movies nowdays. The Engineers, who are like gods that created us, might actually hate us, which gives a dark twist to the whole “searching for our creators” idea. David, the android played by Michael Fassbender, is the most interesting character—he’s trying to understand his creators and even surpass them, which mirrors our own search for meaning. The movie’s packed with heavy symbolism, from Shaw’s cross to the brutal C-section scene, and explores faith, creation, and sacrifice in a gritty, thought-provoking way. The visuals are stunning, and while it’s messy and raises more questions than it answers, its ambition and willingness to take risks deserve respect. Whether you love or hate it, it’s a unique and gutsy entry in sci-fi.
