Agreed. The movie was two different things at the same time, and would have been better as just one.

I did quite like Rapce by the end, though.

Michael was awesome and to be honest one of the only reasons to watch this film. Cold, calculated and devoid of emotions, you can see from the beginning that he must have another agend... Or maybe you're just being paranoid

Sadly I felt let down by most of the film though. I love the Aliens universe with situations and lore that send shivers down your spine at every turn. But, this film didn't do that. The first half rocks your socks while the second half is disjointed and leaves you with more questions than answers.

By all means go see this film, but I'll bet I won't be what you are expecting. Shame.

you can tell it was a bad film when at the end (at least at the theater I saw it at) the audience broke out in laughter... It tried too hard to be a thought provoking film, whilst trying to cram horror into every nook and cranny, and failed magnificently.
It's a solid science fiction piece when it comes down to science trying to prove the impossible; i.e. the creation of mankind, and our place in the universe, but it doesn't fit into the niche that the Aliens franchise is.
I am of the opinion that the trailers are far better than the film itself and would rather watch them, at least they have a solid outline as far as showing conflict, having rising action and following with a powerful conclusion.
It doesn't work as a prequel because they basically threw all the established history of the Xenomorphs out the window and then decided they could make them scarier, even though we know that the Xenomorphs have been around as their own species for sometime now.
I will agree however that Fassbender was phenomenal, but that wasn't enough to warrant 6.50 for a ticket.
Ridley Scott is a talented man, but revisiting something that has grown outside his control, and trying to reinvent it has lead to an utter failure in my opinion.

The audience broke out in laughter at the showing I attended, because it went from

I thought it was a triumph. Best installment in the series since 1986's Aliens. Ya'll are smoking crack!

I liked the fact that it was both survival horror and mystery. If it had been simply the former, it would have been too much of a rehash. If it had been exclusively the latter, we wouldn't have been treated to nearly enough alien face rape. A loss, either way.

As it is, it works as both a standalone story and a prequel. And my favorite kind of prequel to boot: one that doesn't explicitly show how every single thread leads to the events of the original, but leaves room for interpretation and further off-screen development, without treating the audience like idiots. This is the polar opposite of the blandness that was the "The Thing" prequel.

I really enjoyed the movie. I thought it did a great job of balancing horror and science fiction, and to me the film didn't go in multiple directions at all--it went in one direction along several different parallel courses. It's a story of (at least) two failed father figures, tied together by the opposing themes of sacrificing live to preserve life versus the unnatural extension of life.

I think people make far too much of the fact that it's set in the Alien universe and happens before that movie chronologically. Scott said quite a while ago that Prometheus is not really a prequel to Alien.

All I've got to say is that I liked the movie very much, I left the IMAX feeling very satisfied and a yearning to know more. I would hope for a sequel that would explore more of the "space jockeys/ engineers" history.

Also...

Maybe tie in Predator in a non cheesy way!

What bothered me was...

I felt like the movie tried a little too hard, but visually it was pretty awesome.

Because it was for

edit: Didn't see keet beat me to it.

Edit: I see just about everybody beat me to this clear explanation.

I, for one, quite enjoyed the movie. I thought the arc got muddled in places, and I might've taken it in a different direction, but I also didn't put a @#$%-ton of my own money into the film. Ridley Scott did, and he directed it, so he got to decide what direction it went.

And it wasn't a bad direction at all.

I liked the David character, but otherwise just *no*. This is one i strongly urge people to download or rent, don't pay to see it in the theater.

There is a very interesting article that can be found HERE, that explores the themes & ideas behind the film.

Major spoilers within, so best not to read it before you've seen the movie.