Saturday, June 9, 2012

Promethus: Not about ID

I hate scary movies... because they scare me. I still have difficulty watching Dorothy trapped in the castle of the wicked witch, wondering how she'll manage to escape before the hour glass runs empty.

 I hate paying full admission price for movies. Either I wait a couple of months until they get to the second-run movie theater, where I get to watch them for only $4.00 ($6.00 for 3D), or I wait until they come out on DVD, and I can watch them for a buck.

So why would I pay full admission price to watch "Prometheus," which is billed as a very scary movie? Because it's supposed to be about Intelligent Design, of course.  And as an ID proponent I felt an obligation to spend excessively and wet my pants,  just so I can write a review for my millions of loyal readers.

 Luckily, I went to the early morning show and got the discount price -- $10.75 for the 3D version. (I know, why watch a scary movie in 3D, which would only make it scarier? Because if I'm going to scare myself, I might as well go all the way.)

 Anyway, "Promethus" isn't about ID.  It's about what Francis Crick called "directed panspermia." The aliens don't design the cells that they seed Earth with. In fact, they are the cells. In the first scene, we see one of the aliens drink something that makes him dissolve into his various cellular components, including his DNA. Somehow this naked DNA manages to replicate (I'm not a biologist and even I know this isn't good biology) and eventually evolve into us, a smaller version of "them." And then various ancient drawings are found of somebody pointing to the exact same star system.  Some archaeologists are smart enough to figure we're being invited to go there.  But they also think that the invitation has been extended by our "Engineers."  Why would they think they are our engineers?  I dunno. The audience should know that the aliens didn't engineer us. The aliens are us. So why are all the reviewers saying this movie is about ID? I dunno'. I would say that the reviewers know as much about ID as the filmmakers know about the process of cell replication. I would say it, but apparently one of the reviewers is an ID proponent.

 Oh well, even though the film isn't about ID, it is about faith. And I like what it has to say about it. And the ending leaves open the possibility for future sequels that could go in a very interesting direction. So I give it a thumbs up.

 Oh yeah, I wasn't that scared. I guess after you've been scared to death by the first Alien movie,  you can handle the rest.

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