PROMETHEUS
A visually striking space mystery that never earns its questions.
Should You Watch It?
PROMETHEUS begins with strong production and aesthetic values. Its scientific expedition raises provocative questions about the origins of life, and its Christian heroine retains her faith even while confronting evidence of an alien race connected to humanity’s beginnings.
But the movie becomes too similar to the first ALIEN film. Its second half undercuts the creativity of its first, and its major questions remain unanswered. The film also contains intense, bloody violence, a bloody surgery, frequent foul language, sexual material, and disturbing alien imagery.
The result is a film with real ideas and some exciting creativity, but one that is frustrating rather than fully satisfying. Wait for home, and reserve it for discerning adults only.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESIn 2089, two archeologists discover ancient cave paintings that appear to point toward a specific star system and suggest that aliens created life on Earth. Four years later, the Weyland corporation sends the spaceship Prometheus to investigate a large moon.
The expedition includes the archeologists Elizabeth and Charlie, other scientists, the captain, Meredith Vickers, and David, an android robot. Their search for answers leads them to a mysterious alien structure—and to dangers the crew never expected.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means PROMETHEUS is creatively ambitious and visually impressive, but ultimately uneven. The first half has a high level of creativity and strong production and aesthetic values. The alien discoveries and questions about life’s origins provide an intriguing foundation.
The film loses momentum when it becomes too similar to the original ALIEN movie. Its heroine is not clearly established until the middle, which can be confusing, while David initially seems to be the hero before his malicious actions change that impression. The movie also raises major questions without resolving them. It begins as something new and different, then becomes rather mundane and “been there, done that.”
The Worldview
PROMETHEUS presents a light Christian worldview with some moral elements. A few characters sacrifice their lives to save Earth, and Elizabeth, the female scientist who becomes the heroine, retains her Christian faith throughout the story. She wears her late father’s crucifix and asks, “Who created the aliens?” The film’s central questions do not discount the possibility of God or the claims of Jesus Christ.
The movie nevertheless replaces the Bible’s account of creation with the idea that a super-intelligent giant alien helped create life on Earth. It also includes a brief defense of humanist evolution from another scientist. Yet the alien explanation does not answer the deeper question of who created the aliens, and the film never resolves the religious, scientific, or philosophical questions it raises.
The source review finds the God of the Bible a more rational and logical explanation for life—especially human life—than either evolution or an alien designer. The film’s unanswered questions leave it more frustrating and timid than truly satisfying.
The movie’s central question reaches back to the beginning: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Light Christian worldview with some moral elements, including a few characters sacrifice their lives to save earth, but marred by a plotline that says a super-intelligent giant alien creates life on earth by mixing his DNA and the DNA from some strange liquid he takes into earth’s oceans, thus refuting the Bible’s account of how God created life on earth, but Christian heroine (a scientist) retains her faith throughout and even asks at one point, who made the aliens, but her question and other questions about the aliens are never answered, and another scientist tries to defend humanist evolution in one brief line of dialogue; about 25 obscenities (including one “f” word, many “h” words, some “s” words) seven strong profanities, nine light exclamatory profanities, and two men give each other the British version of the finger; very strong intense, scary, sometimes bloody violence includes giant alien’s body falls apart and tumbles into the ocean after he drinks some squirmy liquid, images of alien’s DNA crumbling apart and mixing with ocean water, human spacemen take back decapitated alien head, man infected by alien monster blood and he notices a tiny worm in his eye, people (including their faces) are attacked by giant alien snake monsters and alien monsters looking slightly like an octopus, character performs operation on herself using automated surgery machine, man’s face shows signs of infection, human characters use flame throwers on infected crew members, giant humanoid alien kills one man and rips head off android robot, explosions, character crushed, characters run from falling debris; implied fornication in one scene and captain on spaceship invites one of two women to have sexual relations with him but nothing shown though at one point later she indicates she’s ready to do it; shots of upper male nudity and women shown wearing bikini-like wraps around their private parts two or three times; alcohol use; no smoking; and, betting, android robot expresses disdain for humans, android robot deliberately infects one man and seems amused that the infection has infected man’s girlfriend, humanoid alien gets angry for no good reason, and secrets are kept from the crew of a spaceship.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Elizabeth keeps her Christian faith while facing questions about the origins of life. How can faith respond honestly when new questions arise?
1 Peter 3:15 · Proverbs 2:6The film asks, “Who created the aliens?” Why does the question of a creator lead to a deeper question about God?
Genesis 1:1 · Romans 1:20Several characters sacrifice their lives to save Earth. What makes a sacrifice courageous, and what does Jesus’ sacrifice show us about love?
John 15:13 · Romans 5:8The movie raises important questions but leaves many unanswered. How should we respond when we do not yet have every answer?
Deuteronomy 29:29 · James 1:5The Final Word
PROMETHEUS has striking production values, creative ideas, and an unexpected Christian heroine. But it becomes repetitious, leaves its biggest questions unresolved, and brings intense violence and strong language. For discerning adults who still want to explore it, home viewing gives you more control. Our answer is WAIT FOR HOME — ADULTS ONLY. For other options, see.
