Four years ago, my daughter was delivered by c-section. Thanks to a slight hospital snafu, in the initial hours post-surgery, even though my doctor swore she ordered morphine or some similar narcotics, I was given nothing stronger than extra-strength Tylenol.
It…didn’t feel nice. Having one’s abdomen sliced open, a baby yanked out, and then getting closed up with a small army of twisted staples is no picnic.
I remembered this experience last night while watching Prometheus.
When Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (played by Noomi Rapace, who out-prettied the ever-gorgeous Charlize Theron in every shot) realized she had something alien growing within her abdomen, she forced a mechanical, surgical tube to take it out, in effect coordinating her own c-section. Her staples were neat and pretty, but she, like me, had only a minimum amount of drugs in her system.
All the action that followed that scene kept me curled up in a ball, cringing, remembering the pain of four years ago.
I tell you what: I couldn’t have run from aliens in the shape I was in.
OK, so…fantasy over. We know she didn’t really have an alien-c-section. The whole movie is nothing more than a pretty little sci-fi epic about two doctors who want to find our creators, a droid whose motives I still don’t quite get, and the complex and bizarre relationship between a dying old man and his daughter.
I went into the theater expecting to enjoy Prometheus. I came out satisfied. It delivered on some of the items I hoped for when I wrote about it a few weeks ago: a twitchy, Hudson-like character (who didn’t get quite enough screen-time); some definite alien-impregnation scenes; and an overall sense of impending doom. The lack of Sigourney Weaver was amply handled by Rapace, who held her own as the coming-into-her-own-strength action star. I had no pets or children to rally behind, but still…it was a wild romp through space.
It also had a flavor uniquely its own. Self-sacrifice was a major theme, but it wasn’t heavy-handed or preachy. There was also faith – faith in a power higher even than our creators, faith in something better. And love and loss and moving on.
As to whether or not David, the droid, gets messy by the end…well, I won’t give you that spoiler. I’ll also point out that having Guy Pearce play an old man led to some questionable makeup and acting.
But still. It’s a fun ride. You should go see it, and let me know what you think.
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Leah Rhyne is a Jersey girl who's lived in the South long enough to lose her accent, but not her attitude nor her love for Bon Jovi and the Boss. She's a full time software tester, wife, mom, and novelist, which makes life a little busy. In her "spare" time she enjoys running, yoga-ing, and playing fetch with her hound dog. 
