Prometheus

Saw Prometheus (thanks, Basil!) It was the prequel to all of the Aliens films and, in keeping with the other installments of that series, it has nothing to do with anything come before except for the universe, aesthetic, and the famous aliens. This one follows a band of broadly characterized scientists (with a broad spectrum of accents which is probably thematic) who follow a star-map they found in some hieroglyphics to a distant planet. They land to find roughly breathable air, constructed buildings, and a new breed of alien(!) Of course, it is not long before the real staples of the series show up: paranoia about a mega-corporation and lots of body horror.

The whole film is wrapped up in intense religious allegory. The female lead describes the aliens as gods and wants to question them about the nature of our lives, the manner of our creation. After her cross-necklace is removed, an alien (sort of) bursts forth from her. This could be read as the antichrist being born. There is much talk of purpose, creators, creations, and even this miraculous birth. The religion angle is not central, but present enough to color the proceedings with an interesting hue.

Spectacle, rather than religion, is the centerpiece of this film and it delivers in spades. There's almost always something twinkling, writhing, blinking to look at. The soundtrack is caked with hollow booms and metallic whines, horns and synth, all to impress upon the viewer the weird majesty of what they're seeing. The visuals are often quite majestic. The film opens with one of the new aliens committing some kind of suicide by drinking some magical fluid in front of a waterfall. The familiar might of the waterfall is contrasted with the alien, CGI flash of the fluid which glistens and writhes like ferro-fluid.

I enjoyed the film. The religion angle seemed a bit incongruous but so long as it was kept relatively in the background (and it... mostly was) then all was well. The main point of the film is to overwhelm and amaze and even on my 1-foot-square screen, it overwhelmed me. There's an elegant contrast of the simple and grand with the complex and intricate. Notice how the futuristic spaceship seems almost work-a-day and dull, more neat than stunning. Meanwhile, the spectacle I'll most remember is of a sandstorm, created by simple air-pressure differences, but capable of forcing us humans to cower inside of our metal ships. An artistic sci-fi.