Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Prometheus Movie & World View

The Prometheus trailers piqued my interest as the storyline itself  is centered around the scientific quest of mankind to explain the how and why of our existence.  I have to admit that I went to the theater with low expectations but was pleasantly surprised. Directed by Ridley Scott the film is a visually stunning treat although the muddled story line left me slightly disappointed.


There is definitely several philosophical bright points in the movie that were unexpected. One was the admission from the writer and producer that the complexity of the relationship between DNA and RNA cannot be easily explained by Neo-Darwinism. Not that Ridley Scott went as far as advocating any type of spirituality but he is definitely proposing that there may be another explanation for creation other than complete randomness.

Ridley Scott even acknowledges the problem of the theory of a more advanced civilization designing or creating the human race as one of the characters ask, "And who created the engineers?". In these respects the film is to be celebrated as it acknowledges the difficulties of the present theories of creation and even in some degree flat out challenges them.

The movie itself is classic Ridley Scott; starts out maddeningly slowly and doesn't just pick up speed at the end; it accelerates on jets. Some of the characters are hollow and the frustration of Charlize Theron in trying to play her character is nearly palatable. The special effects are top notch and Noomi Rapace is excellent as a scientist struggling with her faith and the apparent futility of our existence.

Ridley Scott leaves the high probability of a second movie as more questions are left unanswered than answered. It will be interesting to see if he will lead us to more questions and possible answers while keeping the intellectually honesty that was refreshing in the first film or will he take us back to the same nihilistic droll that is so depressingly prevalent in the world view of current films. 

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