What disappointed you/What did you not like about Prometheus?

Prenihility

MemberOvomorphJune 10, 20123173 Views55 Replies

Allright. Before i start; As much as i'd like to speculate more, discuss theories and whatnot, i want to get down to the negative aspects. The disappointments, and dissatisfaction that was felt by everyone. It can help make the next movies better, and help refine it to make it a more complete, flaw-free experience. I've got a TON of things i question, and would love to discuss, but i feel it's right to finally put up a thread exclusively about the negatives of the movie. I might throw in a little discussion/elaboration on certain things in this initial post that AREN'T related directly to the things i didn't like. But other than that, it's about the negatives. ALSO, feel FREE to post in some things you liked, to counter the negatives, and rule out what was otherwise excellent. Consider this the megathread, so post away in here... or not? Whatever. Anyhow. What disappointed me? Well. It was simple. One main negative factor was the pacing, and vague, incoherent and quick sections of the movie. Everything from Vickers' squishing. *run, run; *girly short scream* SHABLAM!* To Janek's ...' Ok...let's do this ' mentality in regards to stopping the ship, and subsequent "HAND-JOB!" before crashing into it... It was all so sudden, and abrupt. Another solid 20 minutes of action would have helped space things out, and eliminate scenes such as those. I left the theatre with a big "WTF?", just thinking about the abrupt nature of the movie. Things such as the Engineer's reaction after David speaking, isn't really of my concern. The guy was simply frustrated. I mean, how would you feel if some folks woke YOU up (not of your own people, to boot), and argued, and tried to communicate with you, at the same time? If you look at the way he looked at Shaw while she was talking, he seemed like he was very focused, and was listening. Then pulled a Kansas City Shuffle. Looking left, right, left again, centre, left back to David. Arguing incoherently + being violent + Engineer that just awoke from 2000+ year cryostasis + 'Who expected this' situation = People dying. WHO THE HELL WANTS TO WAKE UP TO SEE THAT?! Clearly he just thought "f*** it". No... I don't question things like that, among other things people consider "plotholes" but i won't delve deeper into that... L-O-L It's like watching Star Wars, and saying 'Why's Darth Vader the bad guy", "Why did Obi Wan disappear?" SHUT, UP! You'll find out! FFS... Furthermore. Certain scenes, such as the surgery scene, were unnecessary. It was evident, from the start, as soon as that scene began, that it was Ridley Scott's answer to the chestburster scene. THAT was supposed to be the scene that made us cringe, and stoop down in our seats. I wasn't grossed out, i just laughed... Especially when Shaw said "I need cesarean". I couldn't help but interpret it as a sort of dark humour. The scene was completely unnecessary. What should have happened: Shaw gets sedated by Dave, they start surgery, and extract the thing; ala Resurrection. Ripley 8s queen extraction. I know what Ridley Scott did... He wanted to cater to the fapping closet dork Alien fans. Which is cool, don't get me wrong! But... still. This should have leaned more towards a pure Sci-Fi film, with less horror. Another thing. The frustrating scenes... ugh. Case and point; Milburn’s dumb ass. Him being so fascinated by the Cobralien. That whole scene was nothing but a frustrating, annoying mess. He should have just gotten killed by the thing while being a typical scientist. Which lead to Fifield's infection. See what i mean by putting in a solid, extra 20 minutes? Not even, could have been 10-15 at most. Fifield could have wandered off after Milburn's death, and been a victim to the goo in a different manner. And finally, the Engineer. I really couldn't look at him as the bad guy. If there were at least more clear indications of him being a victim of craziness ( because all his buddies on the base died ), or infection, i would have seen him as a bad guy. I didn't. Sorry. Despite the fact that he ripped off David's cage, domed Weyland with David's head, punted his attacker, and threw another across the room. The Engineer had SO, MUCH, F***ING MOMENTUM! WOW! Once he was done dispatching everyone in the room, one of my two favourite scenes starts. Hell, opinions aside... one of the two best scenes in the ENTIRE movie, PERIOD, starts! The way he fires up the pilot's seat, is absolutely amazing! How he looks around, eyeing all of the controls quickly. Firing up the ship. Taking one, big breath before the mask goes over his face. Absolutely STUNNING! That, coupled with the sounds the ship was producing, was DIRTY! I was loving every second of that. Now, with that being said. That, is what i meant when mentioning "momentum". Solidifying the abrupt ways of the movie. Furthering on the Engineer. I really didn't like watching the guy struggle with the... Trilobite, is it now? No more bodyhugger? Cuddles? Pentapus? No...? Oh, darn... Well, anyway. I didn't like the scene. I just thought that the Engineer, once stopped, was going to infect himself somehow, with the goo. And then proceed to turn into the Xenomorph, as per his will. After all, it infects everyone differently, right? It could have been the last thing he wanted. He was stopped, but created the Xeno, through himself, as a last ditch effort. The ending, i can't penalize too much. I didn't find anything wrong with it. Especially when you take into account the events that occured prior. For what the movie is, in terms of content. The ending couldn't have been better, really. So there you have it. Post away! Looking forward to hearing what everyone DIDN'T like about the movie, what they could have done differently, and supporting that with the things you liked!

Prenihility
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June 11, 2012

",,,(which despite having 100'% perfect dna to us is hugely different) who then gestates the fetus and gives birth to a creature that looks neither squidlike, humanoid, or even like the Ripleys intermediate alien egglayers." THAT, THAT! RIGHT THERE! Please, Mr. Zygote. Look out for my next thread. And that goes for everyone who acknowledges the last paragraph of his post, and the recent threads on the Deacon/Progenitor Xenomorph, and last Engineer's behaviour. It's like i'm constantly being reminded/teased into posting my thoughts! LOL. So many things are connecting to my theory.

johnalanmichael
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June 11, 2012

First off, like another had mentioned, I didn't buy the relationship of Shaw & Holloway, whose character as also mentioned before was TV show quality at best. A poorly written character & poorly cast. This film had almost a Battlestar Galactica cast feel to it. Rapace was ok & deliberately not a Ripley ripoff, which was good but a stronger lead should have been written, maybe male this time, but obviously a male can't get pregnant. Which I found strange in itself. Why was David scanning her before awakening & seemingly no one else? He gained some info there. AND it seemed to me she was the only one who was sick from cryostasis...( morning sickness?) It had been since 2089 that we last saw her & then she is awakened from cryo in 2094 after 2 yrs. Was she possibly pregnant before leaving on Prometheus? We were informed later & conveniently that she couldn't get pregnant so it's plausible she & Holloway had a little celebratory or typical last "romp" before a 2 yr. cryostasis, during which David obviously had been scanning her AND during which also the embryo she was miraculously carrying, unbeknownst to her, was also in cryostasis, which upon awakening she & Holloway would inevitably have an eventual "romp". David knew this which is why he infected Holloway which may have triggered the conception OR accelerated it, in either case David was curious to begin a mutation for a new species & knew WHO to infect albeit under the guise of some sort of hostility between he & Holloway. However, wouldn't she be infected also? Either through intercourse OR the fact that the freshly removed xeno, through cesarean, burst the sack, releasing infected xeno blood into her not yet stapled abdomen? Will she not suffer the same result as Holloway? Just my thoughts on that but something to consider. Anyway, the two guys who got lost was a disaster part of the storyline...they run away from giant dead bodies & never mention they can't find their way back UNTIL it's too late? And THEN the one wants to pet the little baby, pretty girl slithering overgrown parasite hammerhead!? BS!! THEN he winds up at the bay door like the THING?! …AND THEY OPEN UP THE DOOR?! No way! Another topic of discussion seems to be if they were on the same planet as in Aliens (LV426) or not. This wreaks of a City Alpha 5 scenario even if it turns out to be nothing in the eventual sequels, but it might help here. The grossly old man Weyland was terrible & also wreaks of another character whose life was prolonged in hopes of the event of discovering a way to live longer or forever as in the old man in Contact. It's a safe bet we'll probably see Guy Pearce in many flashbacks in eventual sequels which could only explain why they had him in the role in the first place. Janek was a waste of a potentially huge strong lead & probably should have been in this, instead he was just a somewhat rough space cowboy in minimal support, the new Yaphet Kotto, who was phenomenal in the classic. Overall this was a bust & word of mouth over the next two weeks may just sink any sequel talk. I wanted this film/story to leave me in awe SO MUCH but it failed miserably & probably so because it deliberately set itself up to rely on sequels to answer all the questions, which is terrible to do! Fassbender was terrific & Theron & her character Vickers were under utilized. This film was a letdown. I liked the Engineers story but it was ruined amongst all the shortcomings of the rest of the story. The absolute best part of the film was cinematography, that's it, but it can't do much at all to save this film. Extremely disappointed.

Prenihility
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June 11, 2012

Woah, woah, woah... Indentation, spaces. Please, please. I almost got cataract after reading that. But yeah. Keep em' comin'!

Wearbe
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June 13, 2012

artyoh said "#2 applies equally to the original; ( really, all of the franchise movies.) How did that tiny chestburster morph into a 7 foot tall monster? It didn't even eat Jonesy......" In Alien, Brett was killed (and, I assumed, eaten) in the early phase of the Alien's development. The Alien had a nice long tail but its overall size was obscured enough that it could have been skinny and not fully developed... Or at least that is how my young mind dealt with that paradox of biology back then. I also figured that the Alien had the run of the ship when it was small and was busy seeking out nutrients as it was hiding and shedding and growing. Really, all they had to do in the movies would be to show food stores being raided... torn open storage containers or anything, really. Or maybe I just missed the memo on how they develop. Many life forms that we know are mostly water (and there has always been plenty of that in the Alien movies) and we don't know if Aliens actually EAT (I don't remember seeing any of them eating)... maybe they osmos any and all carbon material they come into contact with, in which case they just need to hide out and rub up against a lot of stuff, lol........ anyone here current on their Alien Biology fluff?

Chrisyjuk
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June 14, 2012

Likes [list] The visual scale of this thing. Some shots spoke a 1000 words. Prometheus streaking across space silently for example. Janek and Vickers chemistry when they got the chance to display it What I took from the film and loved was the hint that Janek may have had an ulterior motive directly at odds with Weyland's recover the biotech priorities. For example, when he tells Fifield his feed is patchy/non-existent, yet it's crystal clear on the screen. Him insisting out of nowhere all he is there for is keeping this stuff away from earth, yet no-one outside Shaw, Holloway, Vickers and Weyland, perhaps David too knew what the mission entailed. He could have formed this opinion whilst on the planet though. The film itself, it deserves it's place in the Alien universe and if Ridley hadn't helmed this, we wouldn't be so disappointed it wasn't Alien. He has obviously had his arm twisted by the studio to pace the film a certain way. He couldn't have made an Alien again, because he already defined the genre with Alien, so I'm not too unhappy with that. Evil David [/list] Dislikes [list] The writing!!! Jesus the writing is bad. The ignition key for the ship's a flute? What is this Zelda?!?! I hope Shaw's packed her Ocarina for her trip to the Engineer home world. The film lacked any kind of suspense. Take the medpod scene. Started promisingly. Out comes the alien, then there's a few minutes of Shaw struggling to get out of the medpod and freeze the beastie. Why do we care one way or the other about this? All the alien was seen to be doing was thrashing about, the aliens reaction bore no reflection on Shaw being there. So why do we care whether she slides out the medpod or not? We don't know what the alien is trying to do, it's not trying to attach Shaw, we don't see a mouth. We don't see any attempted face hugging or any attack. That whole half of the scene on first and second viewing just roused no response from me whatsoever, and it was indicative of the second half of the film I thought. Maybe it's too cerebral for me I don't know, but a lack of motives coupled with the quick pacing smacks of very childlike form of writing, where the first half of the story is laid out in great detail, and the ending takes a single page. The editing - there's a lot longer version out there. One that maybe addresses the criticism the film is attracting. The trailer shows Shaw purposefully slamming a truck into reverse. That footage makes it into the film, but we don't see it's Shaw, it's when Fifield gets run over, which happens concurrently with Shaw's C section. As others had stated another 30-40 minutes of film could do wonders for the story. The huge notable plot holes. Why build a star map pointing to a military base? The best I could come up with was to act as a trap to lure suitable life to be used with the black goo. A long winded slow-burner of a plan granted. Also, Milburn being a moron in the face of a hostile life form, although I can accept artistic license to an extent there. The whole Holloway character, truly awful [/list]

Doc. Caliban
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June 15, 2012

I'm pretty sure that he said, "Hands [i]off[/i]". Ah, Freud. I didn't like the lack of serious attitude on the part of most of the scientists. "We spent all this money and effort to get here, left everyone we knew behind to die long before we could ever return due to relativity, we believe that we are making the greatest discovery of mankind, but ... f**k it, let's take our hats off and poke at everything in non-quarantined environments." Of course most of the action would not have taken place at all had they treated all of the potential contagions appropriately. Still, I found Holloway to be a ham-fisted, frat boy ... the character seemed entirely out of place IMO. -Doc.

Spartacus
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June 15, 2012

With all due respect, I am curious what any of you think any of this achieves? I mean the OP starts with these words... [quote][b]Allright. Before i start; As much as i'd like to speculate more, discuss theories and whatnot, i want to get down to the negative aspects. The disappointments, and dissatisfaction that was felt by everyone.[/b][/quote] Oh really, you speak for me now? So, if I get it then, the point it is to depress yourselves as badly as you can, is that it? Because, I felt 100% of NONE. In fact it was one of the best "In-Theater" experiences I have had in my 50 years! [b]Bonus:[/b] it was the single most beautiful looking film I have ever seen as well! [b]Bonus #2[/b]: It was splattered full of references to stuff I love like music from the 60's and Horror movies from the 50's through the 90's. [b]Bonus #3:[/b] It had the Best Mix of 3D & Audio Surround I have ever seen felt or heard! [b]Bonus #4:[/b] You had to be a "Thinker" type person and be able to suspend your disbelief and have had a long, rich and varied in cultural life experiences type of personal past to "get it". [b]Bonus #5:[/b] It was so great just to be close to LV-426 again, and to see how amazing the Gaping hole of Possibilities is that Ridley Scott has given us all as a wonderful gift, the perpetuation of the series, and the future discovery of the very origins of the "Xenomorph" he has now foretold.

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June 15, 2012

1. The Musical Score. (Disliked a lot) I found it incongruent with the visual tone. 2. The death of Janek. (Disliked)Wouldn't it be easier to chase it from a safe distance and then warn the earth armed forces the juggernaut and the intercept it? 3. The big boy. (Disliked somewhat) A face hugger would have done the job just fine.

StringerBell
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June 15, 2012

It just feels like a massive missed opportunity. I've seen it twice now, and thats as good as its gonna get. massive disappointment. The pacing gets worse with repeated viewing. so rushed. and this time the Score did jar me.... The major flaws are still huge, and takes me out the film. who cares theres like a 3hr version laying around. As a Cinema goer, i feel cheated. nothing changes from my initial reaction... 5/10 at best. I love the logic of Shaw, when upon her 3rd visit to the temple, She suddenly is concerned about exposure to Alien Infections due to taking the Helmet off. YOU TOOK YOUR HELMET OFF TWICE ALREADY!!! NOW YOUR BOTHERED?!! YOU'VE LEFT AN ALIEN BEING JUST HANGING ON THE SHIP, THAT YOU GAVE BIRTH TOO, AND NOT TOLD ANYONE..NOT EVEN A F.Y.I EMAIL!!! YOU THINK I'M GONNA LISTEN TO YOU ABOUT HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES sorry just lapsed there..... and for me that was a minor flaw, compared to the others in the film.

Kane77
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June 15, 2012

basically nice movie, could have been MUCH better. [b]dislikes:[/b] script. Whatever Lindeloff was contributing, Scott is the director, so he is in charge for the overall. - character development. really, this was quite disappointing, dont get me wrong, these are top notch actors. You cant feel any deeper, real character, but a loose line for the story. ONLY that would have been important. Alien ( and I dont directly compare) EXISTED MOSTLY of THAT feel. ONLY because of that no suspence could develop. It has a battlestar series feel. The movie just follows, better,[b]illustrates[/b] in thin lines the plot RATHER than developing strong, dark and lifeful pictures that impregnate your brain.( I´m not only comparing it to Alien but to other Scott films). I thought, I hope this gets better, this style of mainstream movies I don't need HERE. THE ONLY ACTING THAT STOODS OUT IS THAT OF DAVID! main flaw: the mission is stated as an scientific exploring, but they do everything to hurt that. Like little kids they stumble into the temple, grasping for breath, touch everything, take the head into the ship ..Because of that David is able to take unrecognized an ampule on board. No science, [b]Tomb Raider[/b] in Space. They take the head on board and stick some muti-voltage device in into the most important archeological find in 2000 years, no, mankind?? To reanimate?? Do you do that with a , lets say, early christian head?? then it waggles its ears and eyes like a frog you put into a microwave..[b]come on.[/b] The hangar Weyland briefing scene/ Weyland scenes overall.. WOULD have been nice when they developed a stronger, basic picture of Peter Weyland´s ideas and agenda in the background, PARALLEL to the main plot. Kind of threatening or sinister one.. IMO. That WOULD HAVE GIVEN a whole new REASON and TENSION to the plot. Maybe the only valid one in this movie. Too, his relationship to his daughter. ( Actually we only see hints of, in the hangar briefing scene, when he calls David, a robot, as his kinda son and Vickers looks aside..). The plot just cant develop and breath. The fire blows out constantly. Acting: sorry, it just goes under, again, because of the mainstream style of plot/ story developing. Best scene of Vickers: " In my room. In 10 minutes" . seriously. Fifield and Milburn stand out, too, simply because of their status, they are merchendaries, a small hint to the blue/white collar thing in Alien I. The old capitalism problem, we´re only in it for the money. I liked Fifield´s accent, too. The Peter Weyland appearance when he wants to meet his maker. A joke. THE WHOLE MISSION is based on Weyland and then he just gets into his electronic walker and gets knocked down by the engineer. -the ending scene. much too short. why would Shaw ( as she represents the christian believer type) try to get to the alien planet after all that, JUST BECAUSE she is a beliver in christ? no. then, how, does she get to the other ship and start it with Davids help? we just see a derelict type ship starting off into the clouds.. - the MedPod in Vickers chamber, MALE-ONLY. and why isnt the room LOCKED? What happens to the baby squid, does it hang around there till the space jockey arrives later? the door still unlocked.. -score. not strong enough.

Legendary Xenomorph
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June 15, 2012

I like the prequel but their were 2 things that dissapointed me. 1. The film speed up the pace of the story. 2. I jumped once or twice but the rest wasn't that scary to me.

Zex
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June 15, 2012

The glacial pace. Remember the adrenaline rush of THE Alien (not the things that came after)? The plot is scarse. The pool table. C'mon... I'm not even asking how the managed to travel faster than light but you would expect that a mission like this would only carry the utmost necessary items. After all it costed a trillion... (to carry cigars, champagne, christmas trees, a pool table,...) In the life boat of a woman, the machine that can only operate men. Enough said. Where did the embryo taken out from Shaw fed to grow so much? Where did it get the food? The SOUND of thrusters in space. Only Kubrick (2001 a space odyssey 1968!) had the balls to get it right: In space there is no sound. Period. Vickers out of context sex 'scene'. Absolutely out of context and character. The way the crew behaves. Like construction workers. It takes me away from the movie mindset. Smoking and a christmas tree? A total put off. I'm not expecting them not to behave like humans but at least like trained professionals or going across the galaxy is just another day at the construction site? They would be considered with a serious attitude problem on any actual company. Over and out for now.

David 1
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June 15, 2012

Everything I found odd is in my review: [url=http://www.prometheus-movie.com/community/forums/topic/7904]Review[/url] Cheers

[b]Ask nothing from no one. Demand nothing from no one. Expect nothing from no one.[/b]

Merc7
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June 15, 2012

Basically the whole second part of the film was a disappointment. The film is schizophrenic; It builds up the tension like a classic sci-fi, and then completely changes direction and gets LOST among the stupid turns, plot holes, weird acting, stupid dialogue. The list goes on... I really loved the initial space sequences though.

Zed68
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June 15, 2012

Getting a little tired of hearing how dumb Milburn was for trying to "pet" the snake. He said he was attempting to mesmerize it. There's a big difference with regards to intent. Bad call, but still, there's a big difference. The guy was a biologist and operating within his area of expertise. Also, enough with bashing the crew. Prometheus was staffed with a typical terra-forming scout team; none of them were in the know as to the specifics of the mission except Shaw, Holloway, David and Vickers. Vickers clearly stated 1) she's in charge and 2) that she views the mission as a joke, which is probably why the ship wasn't staffed a bit more hardcore in the first place. There were really only 2 things about the film I didn't care for; 1) As many have, said uneven pacing with a lot of right angles; seems like the editing could have been a lot better, but I'll wait for the director's cut, which usually smoothes out a lot of the wrinkles. 2) Holloway. He came off as an arrogant, macho d-bag, not much of a scientist. I couldn't wait till he got killed off; apparently David couldn't either. While I assume his abrasiveness was a plot device, I beleive this particular character would have been better done as well a meaning, over curious nerd type. It's always more horrifying when a likable character meets a bad end.

Prenihility
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June 15, 2012

@Spartacus. Ya sound like a fanboy. Come on, now... If you can't interpret what i said, here it is in simpler words: I would like everyone to share their thoughts of the movie. SHABLAM.

Zed68
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June 15, 2012

Sound thrusters in space - added for drama. I would assume you'd be able to hear and feel them inside the ship, right? Med-pod in a woman's lifeboat being calibrated for a man - big deal, the vast majority of the crew was male. I'd assume recalibration is probably not that big of a deal, given he level of tech we're talking about. Rate of growth of post c-section face hugger - anyone want to speculate how the xenomorphs in 1 & 3 grew from 10 inch buggers to 7 foot monsters in the span of hours? If suspension of disbelief doesn't do it for you, these are ALIENS, perfect organisms that are designed at the genetic level to do exactly what the do.

Zed68
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June 15, 2012

I'll certainly agree with those who say this wasn't that scary. Alien & Aliens were both pants-sh!tters. This movie had a few semi-intense moments, but they all had fairly predictable results.

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June 15, 2012

Wow, that is certainly a lot of writing, well done everyone now please make sure you place you name at the top of the paper and turn it in. Extra credit will be given for any diagrams or drawing relating to your paper. [img]http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0czivFrIi1r9ze8zo1_500.jpg[/img]

RW
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June 15, 2012

These forums are good in that what looks like a plothole or a non-sensical scene to one is recognized by another as valid, but seriously who has time to respond to each and every one? Doesnt anyone have a job? Anyway here are a couple of examples. Scott uses a really contemporary reference, holding up your arms ala rollercoaster bravado, to get Janek and the twocrewmen (thieves) on either side to strike a crucifix pose just before sacrificing their lives in a fiery death to save humankind. This was put in there on purpose friends. Another example, Vickers pod has the boys only surgical unit because Daddy was supposed to make the trip not her. He says to her that hes surprised she came when they are re-united because she had objected to the mission. She had to stay somewhere when she decided to come so she just took the best room. Having offered a sample of answers to questions posed above Im sure others can resolve a number others for those still confused. My biggest one besides why are there so many different monsters (does it have something to do with what creature the black goo interacts with - human, engineer, earthworm, etc.) is how can Fifeld get lost when he's the bloody geographic expert with the probes and mapping scan? Thats just ridiculous.

What disappointed you/What did you not like about Prometheus?

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