Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
New Alien movie has strong themes, violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Prometheus
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 25 parent reviews
Based on 96 kid reviews
Kids say the film is suitable for older teens and adults due to its intense violence, graphic scenes, and moderate sexual content, with many recommending it for those 14 and up. While some praise its engaging story and stunning visuals, others criticize the reliance on gore and a confusing plot, leading to mixed opinions about its overall quality within the franchise.
- intense violence
- graphic scenes
- moderate sexual content
- stunning visuals
- engaging story
- mixed opinions
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
PROMETHEUS begins in Scotland in the future, where two scientists (Noomi Rapace and Logan Marshall-Green) discover a celestial pattern in a cave drawing and match it to similar patterns from all over the world. After pinpointing the pattern's deep space source, a discovery mission is launched in the year 2093 to find it. A crew of 17 is on board, including laid-back captain Janek (Idris Elba) and icy, nasty Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), whose company funded the mission. Also on board is an android, David (Michael Fassbender), who may know more about the mission than he lets on. The scientists hope to meet the aliens that they believe "created" the human race, but unfortunately, a more sinister discovery awaits.
Is It Any Good?
This an intense, fairly riveting story. Director Ridley Scott has made many high-profile movies, including an Oscar-winner (Gladiator), but he's still best loved for his two sci-fi classics, Alien and Blade Runner. They had a kind of patience and a way with atmosphere that his later films lack. With Prometheus, Scott returns to sci-fi and to that same kind of thoughtful filmmaking -- at least for the first three-quarters of the movie.
For a long time, Scott uses impressive visuals to wrestle with big themes like creation and destruction. He draws parallels between characters and situations, creates emotional responses to big ideas, and does all the things a great movie is supposed to do. But as Prometheus approaches its final stretch, Scott appears to abandon all this stuff in favor of defining and labeling the film for the fans. This lack of trust and lack of care ultimately betrays an otherwise almost-great movie.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Prometheus' violence. How does it relate to the creating/destroying themes? Is any of the violence gratuitous, or is it necessary to the story?
Is the movie scary? Are the actions scarier than the ideas? Is the movie scarier or less scary than the previous Alien movies?
How strong is our impulse to create? Is it stronger than our impulse to destroy?
Movie Details
- In theaters : June 8, 2012
- On DVD or streaming : October 9, 2012
- Cast : Charlize Theron , Michael Fassbender , Noomi Rapace
- Director : Ridley Scott
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Twentieth Century Fox
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Run time : 124 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : sci-fi violence including intense images, and brief language
- Last updated : February 15, 2023
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