Charlie Hitting the Bottle?

OMFG he annoyed me so much with the drinking... Even drinking the moment they woke up from hypersleep...(he seemed to be toasting the event). It made his character seem so weak. Also the pot smoking fifthfield and Vickers asking for drinks and a "straight up" Vodka. Definite theme of substance abuse in that movie for sure.

yep... AAA for him

I think it symbolised his disappointment, he wanted to meet his maker, not their corpses. Then again I wouldnt be as disappointed as him if I saw what they did I mean come on the architecture and bodies of humanoid aliens, thats amazing. And maybe he just likes a drink.

Engineer Xeno - Chr1s: "Just another Tomb" said it all.

Great point Svanya. Engineer Xeno - Chr1s, that's what I assumed but he did seem to start drinking in a big way. and David 1 I had forgotten that line. Thanks for the replies, if anyone knows if this was answered by the writers I'd really like to know. Can't wait for the Blu-Ray to come out so I can analysis it properly. One other thing Svanya, weak characters is a recurring theme in the Aliens

hello all! i have jus got back from seeing the film, im still very undecided, but things that did wind me up! 1. you go half way around the universe, you are the first humans to find 'life out there' and because they are dead, get the hump and get drunk??? 2. personally, i go half way around the universe, i am part of the first human team to find existence of 'life out there' id be both proud and excited!!

hi, ttb: I would firstly get drunk and then I would go half way the universe [most probably talking to my self and falling all the time]

Honestly, his drinking didn't bother me in the least bit. nor did Fifield's pot smoking. Don't know what that says about me, lol.

He wasn't just looking for another species ttb. He was looking for his maker. Did you notice that he has a cross tattoo'd on his arm (ironic if you've ever read the Old Testament...) When he was drunk, didn't he use the word 'abandoned' to describe how he felt? He's having a crisis of faith.

He was going through a bit of depression, he didn't even react when the engineers head came to life a blew up. He's like "Shat ladies don't get yah knickers in a twist the bastards are all dead, wish it was that bloody android. Hey boy! go get me a drink"

I agree in general. It's sad to see him achieve so much and get so little out of it. I pretty much assumed that this was the reasoning behind it but I said I'd ask in case there was more.

[u]. Also the pot smoking fifthfield and Vickers asking for drinks and a "straight up" Vodka. Definite theme of substance abuse in that movie for sure.[/u] Yes. It seems obvious enough why Fifield decided he needed to mellow out. He was having a massive freak out and all the giant dead bodies, 327 Trillion kilometers from home. To be honest though... I think Fifield would have done better if he had smoked ALL of his weed. Could have reduced the body count by 5. Vickers seems to have the most amazing bottle of vodka.

They're all just a bunch of truckers in space!

They're all just a bunch of truckers in space!

"Just another tomb" is a phrase that has importance in Archaeology, Archeoastronomy, and Paleopathology. Sites that had no signs of containing bodies or being meant for containing bodies were often quickly ascribed as "tombs" by those who were in a hurry to see something else and were disappointed with what they found (usually looking for gold and finding granite).

I don't see what the big deal is, I didn't give the drinking and smoking in the film a second thought. Part of what this film was about, was three dimensional characters with flaws dealing with personal failures and scary, high-risk situations. That is what we saw on screen in the drinking and smoking. Charlie was utterly disappointed, because he traveled across the galaxy for two years and didn't find what he probably spent his adult life looking for. Then he got drunk. We're going to hold this against him? Fifield was stranded in an Engineer ship, on a moon very far from Earth, with no one for company expect someone he met a few hours before, in the dark, with mutilated Engineer corpses outside the door, and a living alien organism somewhere close by. Then he hotboxed his space suit. We're going to hold this against him. @Ryan Gannon: The thought that Charlie was a raging alcoholic never crossed my mind once. However, for arguement's sake, even if he was an alcoholic, it doesn't mean there has to be any indication of it. There are many functioning alcoholics out there who feed their addictions, but also live otherwise productive lives. Their friends, family, and co-workers don't have the faintest idea about their very personal demons.

He's a selfish asshat.

He did come off as a selfish twit, twat, etc.

Also, Eyenot... he would expect his "gods" to be immortal... not have tombs. But they are "mortal after all" as David remarks.

I think R.S.F.J. summed it up best. But it's always good to probe a character's motivations.