Prometheus (10/9/2012)

Rated R for sci-fi violence including some intense images, and brief language.

Starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba and Guy Pearce

Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien and Blade Runner)

When I saw the trailer I thought, “That looks a lot like Alien.” Am I the only one who didn’t know it is Alien?

It’s been thirty-three years since Alien told us “In space no one can hear you scream” and 15 years since Alien: Resurrection – yeah, I barely remember that one too. There was also an Alien vs. Predator movie (I know there were two, but that second one was so bad I’m choosing to ignore it). But Prometheus is the one that brought Ridley Scott back to outer space and the director’s chair.

You could call Prometheus a prequel to Alien (I do), but it tells a stand alone story, and no prior knowledge of the other films is necessary. If you have seen Alien, though, you’ll appreciate some scenes and details a little more.

This movie has everything sci-fi fans love. It’s set in the future (2093) and takes place mostly on the spaceship called Prometheus. There are great characters with great jobs (scientists, engineers, and mercenaries). They are on a two-year journey, they sleep in those suspended-animation sleep pods and are watched over by the robot David (Michael Fassbender). There is also plenty of action with great looking special effects and scary aliens.

Most of the crew is in the dark up to this point about the specifics of their mission, so I’ll let you hear about it when they do. But in general terms, they’re following up on a hunch by archeologists Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) that there is a planet out there that holds the clues to the origin of life on Earth. Aging billionaire industrialist Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) – my first clue this was connected to the Alien franchise – funded the expedition because he believes in Shaw and Holloway’s theories. The mission’s commander, Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), is pretty skeptical and makes her opinion clear to everyone that this is a wild goose chase – she’s so wrong.

Though it’s been a few decades since Scott has made a special-effects-heavy sci-fi movie, he doesn’t miss a beat. The special effects are perfect and wildly entertaining.

The cast is amazing, although I wish Idris Elba had more to do. Charlize Theron and Noomi Rapace are both so solid, but without question, Michael Fassbender’s performance as the android is worth the price of admission.

The story does have a few holes in it, but I think most people will walk out of the theater talking about the origins and purpose of life – and that can lead to a lot of great conversations.

I would go see it again…it’s “theater worthy.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There is a brief sex scene where a woman and man kiss and sex is implied. There are 2 F-words (one is obscured by static), 11 S-words and about a dozen others.

There are also plenty of violence, gore and scary scenes in this one.

Conversation Starter:

1. Have you ever asked the big “Why are we here” question?


2. How would you answer that?


3. Do you remember the conversation between David and Charlie, when they ask the “why” question? How did Charlie answer why David was created? (Because we can.)


4. So why did God create us? (The short answer to the question is “for His pleasure.”)


5. Read Revelation 4:11
   “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

   And Colossians 1:16
   “All things were created by him and for him.”

   Being created for God’s pleasure does not mean we were made to entertain God or provide Him with amusement. God is a creative Being, and it gives Him great pleasure to create. God is a personal Being, and it gives Him pleasure to have other beings He can have a genuine relationship with.



6. How is your relationship with God?


7. What is one thing you can do this week to improve that relationship?