Every once in a while, a movie comes along that arrogantly lines up the ingredients for a sequel even before the first course settles on the palette; yet, you excuse the on-screen servings out of sheer respect for the legend who cooks up the recipe.

But Ridley Scott is flirting with a bad case of indigestion with “Prometheus”.

The man who directed “Alien”, spins yet another sci-fi yarn which was initially scripted as a prequel to the 1979 Sigourney Weaver classic, but found itself shelved until Scott decided to transform it into an epic adventure by stringing together DNA strands of extraterrestrial life leftover from its predecessor.

Greek mythology names Prometheus as a Titan who championed for mankind and even stole fire from Zeus to give to mortals. In Scott’s version, its namesake is a spacecraft that embarks on a mission in 2091 to discover the original ‘engineers’ of humanity.

A map to the so-called creators of the human race is discovered by two archaeologists, Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), who unearth artefacts depicting images of unconnected ancient cultures worshipping a single constellation of stars.

The daring duo somehow connect those dots on the wall and conclude ‘X’ marks the spot to mankind’s answers, believing this is a red-carpet invitation to come find these alien beings.

Such hackneyed thinking could have us thrown in the loony bin, but it appears to hold mettle with ageing billionaire, Peter Weyland (an unrecognisable Guy Pearce), who decides to fund the Prometheus mission in a bid to possibly extend his life.

Where’s the plot captain?

This is where objectivity is given the boot into deep space, as a band of merry men and women wake up in 2093 to have arrived at a distant moon in a galaxy far, far away.

While some of the crewmembers seem to have wandered off the sets of “Star Trek”, others walk around mysteriously without ever voicing what exactly their role is on this trillion-dollar adventure.

Heading this mission impossible is ice queen Vickers (Charlize Theron), while the humanised android, David (Michael Fassbender), is their caretaker and man Friday.

While Fassbender excels in his portrayal of an emotionless robot, for a hunk of metal though, his David appears to emote a conniving intellect that is tad hard to justify; but the audience simply chalk it down to another directorial liberty that leaps beyond logic.

Once Prometheus breaches the moon’s atmosphere, it’s merely a drift through the clouds before they reach a suspicious looking dome that begs to be explored.

The audience are probably going ‘huh’ at this point, but a few of us were relieved that the drama of finding these engineers wasn’t dragged on by something as logical as a tracker beacon or coordinates.

This mission sets out to provide us with answers as to why we were put on Earth, but all it ends up doing from this point on is to leave the audience even more confused than before.

The climax to the build-up never arrives, with all roads leading to a sequel if you really, really care all that much for a reasonable explanation.

I wouldn’t hold my breath though, if I were you.

Fans of the “Alien” films will spot many a cliché a mile away, and the plotline of the impregnation of an extraterrestrial life in the protagonist’s belly is getting old Mr Scott.

When all formulas are tried and tested, Scott finally falls back on the crutch of goth horror, allowing the explorers to discover flesh-eating slithery serpents in their tracks, with intestines spilling, heads rolling, blood oozing and even an axe wielding scene that is reminiscent of many a slasher film.

Emotions take a backseat, and poignant moments of love and sacrifice are merely laughable.

However, where “Prometheus” fails in an actual plot, it more than makes up with its art direction and special effects, partially justifying it’s estimated $130 million budget.

The film was shot entirely using 3D cameras, and the barren, desolate landscapes are simply breathtaking behind those glasses.

At 74, Scott can probably be excused some directional decisions, chalking it down to his experience and his age. But pretty packaging does not make a good film, and appearances will only hold up “Prometheus” so far at the box office.

Here’s hoping the wider audience find this mission more fulfilling than others.

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