Drama
Testament
Angel Studios’ Testament is a, ahem, testament to the incredible acts of Jesus’ earliest followers as it follows their stories after Jesus.
In the beginning, we’re told, the world was flawless. No pollution. No climate change. No war. But much has changed since then. And Dalton Monkhouse, multi-billionaire, environmentalist and engineer of next generation robotics, is about to do something about it.
That’s why a group of students from Braelawn Academy are headed on a field trip to his company’s headquarters, Monkhouse Dynamics. They want to see just what Mr. Monkhouse is up to.
Nas–a student on the field trip–already knows more than most. The brilliant, middle school-aged kid is Monkhouse fanatic. He knows every detail of Mr. Monkhouse’s journey to greatness, and he’s always ready to share his wealth of knowledge with anyone willing to listen. Unfortunately there aren’t many people who actually care.
Some even go a step farther. Danny, the school’s most notorious bully, is on the field trip, too–just so he can be there to give Nas a hard time. And while Danny’s friend, Tom, also secretly cares about Mr. Monkhouse’s work, most everyone else on the bus is there to get out of school and be entertained by Mr. Monkhouse’s promised high-tech presentation.
And certainly, the presentation meets expectations … at first. Dalton Monkhouse appears to hundreds of high school students at his own facility and around the world via hologram. He starts with a brief history of how the earth started as a perfect, spotless place. But his chipper speech instantly turns into a depressing monologue as he tells everyone that humanity is the issue and only he has the solution.
Seconds later, Mr. Monkhouse releases his robotic Genie Orbs on everyone present, and they begin vaporizing every human into apparent oblivion.
Only eight kids survive. Nas, brave but quiet Tom, the bully Danny, bold and fearless Misha, Nas’ older, insecure sister, Sophie, type-A Chelsea and best friends Josh and Bethan.
Together, this collection of misfits are forced to band together and rely on each other’s strengths to figure out how to survive and how to take down Dalton Monkhouse before he permanently resets the world.
Netflix’s kids-centric show The Last Bus doesn’t really feature wholescale annihilation–at least not in the first episode. Eventually during the show’s 10-episode run, we learn that Monkhouse has just zapped most people into sleep centers around the world as he resets earth.
The plot is interesting enough and it’s brought to life by some pretty cool robotics. It also holds strong messages about how important it is to work together, how no one should be judged by first appearance and how a little understanding goes a long way.
There’s some name-calling in this British Netflix original, a few instances of bullying, two kids briefly kissing on a bus and plenty of kids trying to find where they fit within their new social dynamic. But the biggest message here is one of environmentalism and how humanity has apparently done a less-than-stellar job at keeping everything as it should be.
A group of middle and high school students take a trip to see world-renowned environmentalist, Dalton Monkhouse, give a special presentation. But the event goes south when Dalton’s robots begin zapping everyone into “extinction,” or so it seems.
A rude high schooler bullies Nas and threatens him to “watch” how he speaks to him. A teacher struggles to gain control over a group of rowdy students. Misha tells a bully that he smells bad and is rude, which is why his girlfriend broke up with him.
Two high schoolers make out in the back of a bus. A few people vomit several times due to motion sickness.
Dalton tells everyone that he has finally achieved “omnipresence” as he has made himself into a hologram and can talk to anyone from anywhere. He then tells all viewers that humans are the problem with humanity and that he will get rid of them to bring about world peace and stop climate change.
We hear the phrase “shut up” twice. A middle schooler says a rhyme that evidently rhymes with the word “a–,” although the profanity is never used.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
Angel Studios’ Testament is a, ahem, testament to the incredible acts of Jesus’ earliest followers as it follows their stories after Jesus.
Based on novel by Jenny Han, this series follows the complex love life of Belly, a young girl caught between two boys who are childhood friends as she joins the world of debutantes.
This lighthearted cartoon is a clean, wholesome option for younger viewers craving a mystery.
Young viewers should perhaps run around this Prime Video show about some perpetually inebriated wannabe rock stars.
