SPOILER - Likes & dislikes

It has all been said - not surprising with almost 8,000 posters and over 80,000 posts. But it's hard to resist adding my own thoughts: [b][u]VISUALS / EFFECTS / etc.[/u][/b] Just superb. [b][u]3D[/u][/b] My first 3D experience - awesome. [b][u]SOUNDTRACK[/u][/b] I liked it - I know others didn't. And I liked the recurring theme. [b][u]BIG STORY[/u][/b] By 'Big Story', I mean where this movie 'might' fit with sequels and with the earlier Alien movies. Personally, I would have preferred that this movie be about the actual ship that was found by the Nostromo crew - how it got there, the 'face hugger' eggs under the blue light, etc. I think this could have been done in a number of ways, without compromising the Earth 'cave drawings' theme as inspiration for the mission, or the potential for sequels. However, that's not the 'Big Story' that was chosen, but I can accept that future sequels 'could' make a link to the original Alien movie, and 'could' lead to an overall sense of viewer satisfaction, so I'm not bothered about unanswered questions in this movie. [b][u]DELIVERY[/u][/b] How this particular movie was 'delivered' is where it breaks down for me. In fact, I think it was very, very poor - although note that in my summary below I do pledge to continue to be a fan. The list of specifics have all been covered before: [i]There was no evidence to the crew that the 'Engineers' had anything to do with 'making us' (it was only us viewers who saw this link in the opening scene), and yet it became central to the theme of the movie.[/i] [i]The whole notion of putting a dysfunctional, aggressively antagonistic crew on this mission with almost no sense of awe about potentially proving that 'we are not alone' was inappropriate.[/i] [i]Over the surface of an entire planet/moon, they appeared to just chance straight upon the location of our assumed makers. I'd have swallowed a Star Trek panacea 'tacheon pulse' easier than this.[/i] [i]Then they dived out to explore within minutes of landing???[/i] [i]The whole 'taking the helmets off' thing, with no regard for contamination concerns, etc. was another issue.[/i] [i]Next, the 2 scientists became aggressive about going back to the ship because there was nothing of interest for them in the presence of the bodies of man's first confirmation of other intelligent life in the universe!![/i] [i]Then the 2 scientists got lost, despite the availability of breathtaking 3D imaging and detection technology, while the Captain and Vickers ("my job is to make sure you do yours") go off for a quickie in response to the chat-up line of the century - "are you a robot?"???[/i] [i]Finally, the 'scientists' find life in the form of the 'Cobra/Aliens', which they promptly start to lean over and tease with 'here kitty' or similar.[/i] [i]The 'Engineer's severed head that had been dead for 2,000 years could be tricked into thinking it was alive again, albeit that it then exploded, seems to be an event that is unlikely to be explained in future sequels. [/i] [i]David slips Holloway a 'black goo' Mickey Finn, with a strong sense of a compelling reason, but then loses all interest in what later happens to Holloway.[/i] [i]The tensions and emotions relative to Vickers torching Holloway in front of Shaw had potential, but the scene almost just came and went.[/i] [i]The self inflicted caesarean scene was great, but no one seemed to even notice the now much stitched Shaw hobbling around in agony, having birthed a squid.[/i] [i]I'll remain in hope that the choice of the relatively youthful Guy Pierce to play the very old Weyland, in makeup that reminded me of the old 'Biff' in 'Back to the Future II', is because a younger Weyland will appear in flashback scenes in future sequels. Otherwise, it was just odd.[/i] [i]The final crash scene was superb, and I will forgive Vickers and Shaw not realizing that if they had run sideways instead of longways they would have been fine. But I found that when the ship ended up in almost the same position as the derelict that the Nostromo crew will find later on the other planet/moon, it was just a painful reminder to me of how dissatisfying it is that this movie wasn't about that other ship[.[/i] [b][u]SUMMARY[/u][/b] In summary, I will go see the movie again, I will by the Blu Ray, I will hope for a Director's Cut and I will look forward to sequels. But the sequels can't fix the delivery issues with this movie, for this one fan. And yes, definitely still a fan!