David Not Sinister?

david did at one time respond in the movie "dont all kids want their parents dead?" And he gets freedom after weyland dies

I don't think we're supposed to trust the robots in these Alien movies, they seem sociopathic in general and David is about as creepy as they come.

I saw much that you describe in his character...it was suggested here before that David must have been bound by the 3 rules of Adroid-like Robots (Assimov?) but left to his own interpretation in a HAL like fashion. I really really enjoyed his character. The story as a whole worked better looked at with the rationale of David.

Hmmm...Seems like he acts a lot like Bishop... Also...I think they are saving what David said for the next movie's viral campaign (which has already started!!!).

@MegaBeast I beg to disagree.. Fassbender said David was creepy and I really think he is much more dangerous in his passive/aggressive ways than Ash from Alien.. I would even say that he is more dangerous than Weyland hilself

I think David let some of his true persona show when escorting Weyland to meet the Engineer. He seemed eager and cavalier about it all, arrogant even. I think when he lost his head, reality hit, literally. When he says to Shaw "I thought you were dead", shows worry and perhaps even fear of being left in his current state. There was genuine relief in his voice when she answered back. I can see him - with the right guidance - leaning more toward good than bad (because Weyland couldn't have been a good influence). Maybe in the sequel :)

This is a case of bad parenting, Weyland had two children, both were damaged. Vickers was cold and David was arrogant. Welyand was a terrible father, totally non-nurturing. Once he died both children were freed. If we are to bring AI into the world we have to nurture and care and teach them right from wrong, just like a biological child. This is why they show Vickers as damaged too. I think David loved having all that time to himself on the ship. He came into his own more or less, he got an identity.

Totally get that he comes across sinister but I think it is naivety like a child learning! @Maiafay I think you are right with the arrogance side of him, and again I think that is like a child growing/learning thinking that you can run the world!! He could be sinister but then that would have to have been programmed into him which could have happened but I believe it's just a learning thing. Also he was alone for a few years on the ship's journey giving him a sense of individualism rather than a team player hence having his own agenda.

@Stefano He helps Elizabeth out of interest, because it is the only way he has to get out of there. I would say he is very ambiguous, and notwithstanding the script flaws, that ambiguity opens the door for many possibilities in a sequel. He could be either a potential saboteur of Elizabeth's continuing search, or he can become an ally. It all depends on what his personal agenda is and on either he becomes more human or more robotic.

I would agree that he is not sinister, after all, we see how he helps Shaw at the end. He could have just stayed in the ship and died, and she never would have known. Also, I would not consider what he does to Holloway a sinister act (though it is horrible, don't get me wrong) he is simply following orders from Weyland, and he is after all, a robot.

I don't think he was sinister as much as amoral. Like "what happens if I punch this baby? Oh, it dies. Fascinating." He helps shaw at the end which he wouldn't do if he was evil and just wanted all humans dead. He helps her because he doesn't want to be left alone and also maybe admires, as he puts it, her survival instincts. He poisons halloway because halloway said he would do 'anything' for answers, halloway was kind of a dick to david, and david wanted to see what would happen. He wants his 'father' dead, but so did his 'sister' so aparently this waylend fellow was a jerk and david did not like being expected to do his bidding (he mentioned something like being free after his parents death). So I don't see him as proactively evil, just laking a strong sense of human morals, as evidenced by his ho hum reaction to shaws being pregnant with an alien baby, as if that weren't weird or a bad thing.

@greg he doesn't want to die, like Hal 9000 in 2001, he has a sense of self-preservation