Alien had a better captain and crew

I mean, they just rated the thing as an R, they could put more realism and maturity in it. OK, I need to relax. ; )

Janek is not the only unprofessional crew member. Holloway puts his feet on a control console during landing. He later selfishly removes his helmet, putting the entire crew at risk should he be infected upon returning to the ship. Milburn plays Goo Goo Ga Ga with a cute cobra. Shaw goes after a shrunken head in 80 mph winds. David examines a volatile black serum in an open, unsecured room in the ship. An android with 10x the brain power a human lab technician never heard of a vacuum hood? Maybe my topic should be, "Alien had a better crew".

@Juxtapose I know, I know...I just need to relax. ; )

Well I see this is developing as an issue of nationality... But I think xemu is right in one completely different sense: even in today airlines, there are very strict protocols about the management of the command cabin, mainly at takeoff and landing. That´s called Crew Resource Management ([url=http://www.gofir.com/general/crm/index.htm]CRM[/url]) and is actually a pretty developed discipline in the world of safety issues. It´s really unthinkable that a professional pilot would be so informal when landing in an unknown world with a unvaluable bird at a historical mission.

@xemu, "Alien had a better crew". [2] ; )

Captain Dallas rules. And this is not a dig against Elba. It is just stating the simple fact that Dallas was da man. Even if he did screw up. Dallas was just such a great character; that whole Nostromo gang was. Theron and Co may be prettier but no one is gonna match that cast or those characters. But I'd wager Elba will be good.

you do realize hes one of the finest british actors in the world, the fact he can pull off sounding like a convincing blue collar texan showcases his talent. That maybe why ridley keeps using him in films (check him out in american gangster). Dallas was ok, but a bit one dimensional in fact so weak that as the captain he was overshadowed by Ripley as the dominant force in Alien.

...ok...so a captain of a ship should be stiff and rather say....what?....everyone is getting so nit picky...nobody said u have to like the character....it gets kinda boring if all the characters are too likable...at least u can look forward to his death then!..;)

[url]http://youtu.be/cXCMz340CRg[/url] classic idras in a classic ridley movie.

.....if it's part of the script....then what else is he supposed to say?.....i don't get how people complain about accents...it's so insignificant....plus not every one of the characters are necessarily from the same town!

Well, the critique (which one may or may not agree upon) is addressed to the captain character, not to Elba.

@ Centrosphere....i get what you saying...but it's only a movie....they never get everything right!

But ok, this is only a movie, I know, I know. ; )

Hm. You're going to determine one fictional Space Captain was better than another fictional Space Captain - [i]based on one line?[/i] And talk about him being, "unprofessional"?... OK. If I recall, [i]Dallas[/i] took off while Nostromo wasn't fully flight ready. And it was [i]Dallas,[/i] that made every effort to bully his way back on Nostromo, in knowing breach of quarantine - an act that cost the lives the entire crew - but, your hero, Dallas was cool?.. What are you [i]really[/i] trying to say - and start - here?...

Serious, realistic sci-fi is a rare treat these days. Ridley delivered two of the best, despite them being his only two. Although we only have a few clips, the level of immaturity seen so far worries me.

@xemu Uh-huh...

I said what I said. Dallas, as a human being, tried to save another human being. Janek, while landing a multi-million dollar ship, with many lives at stake, acts as if the bridge is a hip-hop discoteka. You are comparing apples to oranges.

@ allinamberclad yeah that's right!! What you said!! What is it with people nowadays they're so desperate to compare this movie with the first one! This thing hasn't even come out on theatres yet and we got people already on line ready to put the damn thing down by any means necessary. Give this movie a chance for Christ sake!! If you like the first one so damn much go watch it on Blu-ray ( preferred choice) a million more times and don't tell me that you won't buy a ticket for Prometheus when it comes out Because it's captain is so unprofessional because despite all the nagging you will be there I bet.

As much as I hate to say it, Allinamber makes some very good points. But those very things are what make Dallas a great character. Now, as to better captain. Based on solely the movie and not the screenplay (in which Dallas absolutely proves himself to be an excellent captain based on scenes written and not filmed), I would say Dallas lets his humanity get in the way of making the right choice regarding Kane getting onboard. Without doubt, he was dealing with something extraordinary so some slack has to be given. But at that moment, Ripley was the acting captain and even tells Dallas he would do the same thing if they were in opposite places. So I will not take his ability away from him based on that scene. Ripley clearly respects Dallas (more than respects in the script!), and would not say this if it weren't so. And, angry or not, Dallas is forced to accept her decision. It is Ash and solely Ash who gets Kane onboard. And he certainly makes the right decision in attempting to get the facehugger off (something Ash tries to convince him not to do), even if it fails, taking full responsibility. Now, his decision to not freeze him is a poor one, though not without some argument and taking off without being fully repaired shows a captain who is starting to lose it. There is just no doubt in my mind, Dallas is losing his ability to command. But then he makes one of the most important decisions in the movie--to go into the vents himself. Something no captain should do according to the rulebook. But here, imo, he still makes the right choice, even if it ends in his death. Sometimes one has to break the rules, and Dallas is accepting his part in this nightmare and not asking anyone, especially Ripley, not to do anything he wouldn't. A tragic character, but in the end, a once great captain.

@ Xenophobia I agree 100%!....besides what a boring movie it would make if everyone was sensible and responsible!.....at least Vickers are very cautious...you cannot say that she act's irresponsible of the thread at hand....perhaps she takes it a bit far...lol....but I love her already....

@xemu Yes - and as [i]I[/i] said, Dallas', in that act, was unprofessional - which I pointed out as I thought it was issues of "professionalism" that are concerning you? I'm curious: how can that be, "comparing apples to oranges"? And now, Janek, "acts as if the bridge is a hip-hop discoteka"?.. I don't completely follow. Perhaps you can explain in more detail?..

I too think it's to soon to tell which captain or crew is "better". The prometheus crew may be reckless but then we could take it further and say why don't they send a whole crew of Davids so he would do what was right the whole time. Well I don't want to see a movie where everything goes to plan, where there is no threat, and nothing is amiss If I want to see people follow proper safety protocol I'll just go pay more attention at work. Me, I want things to go wrong and risks made because that allows the plot of a movie to go forward. This movie is totally getting fans worked up to near hysterics. Come on with it already!

Yes, @ allinamberclad has a good point: Dallas really messed with the protocols....I forgot that it wasn´t only an Ash plot. I think one can make a good movie without messing too much with some realism; 2001 comes to mind. But I concede that we live in different times; a movie like 2001 now would probably be less conventional than Cannes material!

What makes anyone think for one second that every captain in the fleet behaves and talks in exactly the same manner? Janek is obviously very excited about where he's going, I would be! He's ex-military, so comes from a different background to Dallas. Dallas loses his cool several times when defending his decision to bring Kane back aboard, hardly very professional for a ship's captain, in the middle of nowhere, Zeta 2 Reticuli, who's supposed to be setting an example to his crew, keeping them calm, as opposed to panicking them further when the unimaginable happens. He blatantly flouted a major Law by breaking quarantine, as Ripley's horror at his actions clearly shows. This is the sort of conduct that would have him before a tribunal for gross misconduct; if he'd been the sole survivor instead of Ripley, he'd have been found guilty of the above, not to mention multiple manslaughter charges, plus destruction of Company property, if he'd have destroyed the ship. He'd have gone straight to the slammer!

@ dallas!dallas! Now that's what I'm talking about! Someone with some good old fashion sense. Funny that we're talkin' about Dallas dough. But I think we should see what our man Janek does first before we can say or decide who's a better captain. And speaking of captains this is sort of like comparing Capt. James T. kirk with Capt. Jean Luc Picard!! Two very different captains, two very different ships.

@xenophobia I am with you about Janek. From what I see in the trailers, he seems interesting. The Kirk-Picard analogy is absolutely perfect. Now this is just wild speculation, but from what I've read from interviews with Elba is that Janek is much more upbeat and, I suppose, fresh than Dallas. Dallas has been out of the military a long time by the point he sets down on LV -426, but Janek is a military man. I suspect Janek will be much more proactive. But just speculation.

@xemu: Agreed! I think this has been discussed before, it's obviously true that there are several stupid things that would never happen in real life. Can you imagine soldiers cheking out the contents of suspecting looking canisters in Iraq, in open rooms without any protection? I don't think so! And they are not top notch scientists! Not to mention super brain empowered androids... But hey, as good a movie we all expect this to be, it's just movie, for cryin' out loud :)

Obviously none of you have flown with a military pilot... Janek appears to be just that- An ex-military pilot. I was one myself, so I know what I'm talking about. The way he acts is completely believable.

The vast majority of military pilots are serious professionals. A few hot doggers and dare devils always slip through the cracks. ie. Bud Holland. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUEhNKBi4DY http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Fairchild_Air_Force_Base_B-52_crash

They should have listened to Parker and Brett. "this is'nt a rescue ship". the nostromo crew spent all their time in a freezer. the only jobs they would have done is repairs, clean the micro wave, dock with cargo , dock with a space station. set coordinates press the go button. so no the crew would have had very little field experience. they are a commercial crew. blue collar slobs like most people. these topics have been discussed in more humourous terms. idris alba is an amazing actor. also check the wire and Ultraviolet (bbc tv series. the best vampire show i've see yet).

Most military pilots are Smartasses[img]http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Send_a5ae49_355445.jpg[/img] and I love it

I feel that Ridley somewhat admires Cameron and has channeled his style a bit for Prometheus....think Avatar and the sophmoric dialouge, let alone Aliens! I'm still sooooo ready for this though:O)

To be fair to the Nostromo crew, they had no choice but to investigate the signal. If they did listen to Parker and Brett (yes, they were right, tho' for the wrong reasons) they all, as far as they knew, would have lost every dime and maybe have been open to some kind of charges. Kane and Ash were right on that (Ash, too, for all the wrong reasons). There was no way the Nostromo wasn't going to encounter the facehugger and get it on board. What happened after that, not even the company knew for sure. But Brett, Parker and Lambert were all damn good, considering. Yes, even Lambert. She was a damn fine navigator. The fact that she cracked under enormous pressure is not to be held against her.

yeah, the one thing that I am not crazy about from what I've seen is the dialogue. But, we'll see in context.

yeah, they shoulda tricked that sucker out some more, put a big PROMETHEUS decal on the windshield, shag carpeting, wire rims on those ion plasma guns, fuzzy joystick, etc.

If Alien had Vickers then there would not have been no mess. If Prometheus never had a bunch of clowns for some crew and people with a Agenda then the S£"$ may not have hit the fan.... Yep Vickers is very sensible, more so than Ripley i would say...

The thing I like about Dallas is that his job was to get cargo from point A to point B. He's not an explorer, he's got an incredibly mundane, boring job and that's the way he likes it. When the job turns into a first contact scenario he is clearly pissed off because he knows he is in way over his head. That's what makes him interesting - the audience can relate to the situation he finds himself in. The crew of the Prometheus, on the other hand, know that they are heading into unknown and possibly dangerous territory on this mission. Theoretically, they should be more prepared and capable of dealing with whatever they find. So when they start to act like typical horror flick idiots, it is much less believable.

I have to agree takka. where are the rovers and strict suit protocols? I mean every moment not on the Prometheus should be treated as a highest level infection risk. I mean, David really should have been the ONLY crew member in that temple.

myrddin365 is totally right. they should have had a whole buch of robots. bugger exploring when you could be watching the action with your flip flops and hoodie on the monitor.

XEMU... Let's be honest. You got more than a problem with the PRO crew vs. the crew in Alien. Come on... with comments like "Let's go tru day gateway" and " bridge is a hip-hop discoteka. ". You gotta problem with black people who aren't like Carlton from Fresh Pronce of Belair. I've met people like you. Comments like that are personal. And it's personal for you. I can't be the only one to get this. That's my two cents. I don't need to explain this characters type in name calling. Opening thread speaks for itself. If anything, Janek has a redneck accent and as good as an actor he is, he's doing a fine Job representing the South.