Prometheus MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 Content: -4

Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce. 3D. Sci-Fi/horror. Written by Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof. Directed by Ridley Scott.

FILM SYNOPSIS: Set in the late 21st century, the story centers on the crew of the spaceship Prometheus as they follow a star map discovered among the remnants of several ancient Earth civilizations. Led to a distant world and an advanced civilization, the crew seeks the origins of humanity, but instead discovers a threat that could cause the extinction of the human race.

PREVIEW REVIEW: The producers of Prometheus were given a reported budget nearing $130 million in order to further the space-aged horror Alien franchise with this prequel. And as with most intergalactic adventures, the crew flies to the stars only to discover that the dwellers of another planet not only don’t want us there, but are on the brink of launching a mighty armada destined to seek out Earth, destroy its native population, and set up a new home. It is a film that addresses the issue of how we came to be, but then quickly abandons its theme in order to focus on surviving powerful and really ugly parasitical lizard-like creatures.

Among Prometheus’s crew is a scientist who wears a cross and, has, like her archeologist father before, chosen to believe in God. And even after her discovery that these mean-spirited aliens were our creators, who unexplainably have turned on their creation, she maintains that someone created them.

The budget is all on the screen, with an incredible look, a great use of 3D, and an exuberant pace. As with classic sci-fi explorations such as Forbidden Planet, the film begins by captivating us with a feeling of wonder. It’s also nice to see a movie that doesn’t debunk the belief in a higher power. The scientist keeps her cross, here a more symbolic emblem representing the theory of intelligent design than an acknowledgement of Christ’s sacrifice. (Jesus only gets acknowledged by the misuse of His name).

Sadly, anyone expecting much spiritual impact or reasoning will be disappointed. Once again, Hollywood entertains with heavy doses of gore, causing us to lose sight of any metaphor or message. It’s all about trying to escape the carnage.

At one point, a woman becomes impregnated with an alien infant that only takes a few hours before its ready to hatch. Realizing it is a monster within her, she cuts open her stomach and yanks out the slimy blob. Then she staples up her stomach (all the while grimacing as if in enormous pain – gee, no kidding). As soon as her self-performed abortion is completed, she spends the rest of the film running from aggressive interstellar terrestrials. Yeah, running, after opening up her belly. That's one tough chick.

DVD Alternative: When it comes to how all life began, could science and the Bible both be right? That’s the argument found in The Genesis Code, and I might add, very convincingly. It’s not a documentary, but a moving drama about a college couple, one a devout Christian, the other convinced that science holds the secret of how we came to be. In an age when the Big Bang and Evolution are the central teachings found in academia’s science classes, The Genesis Code is a film every high school and college student should see.

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: 20th Century Fox