A few loose ends

Rating: 8/10 (1 June 2012)

Well... don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the film, but...
Putting "Alien" to one side for a moment, this is a pretty good film. The special effects are very well done, particularly the portrayal of the race that came to be known as Space Jockeys, which are very convincing. The characters too are likable, with an exceptional performance from Michael Fassbender as the artificial person. Tension is suitably high in places. Like I said, I enjoyed it, but... for a film that makes it abundantly clear that it is a prequel (Space Jockeys, the original Alien ship, and the Weyland Corporation) to the original Alien, there was at least one gaping hole for me that broke the connection, being the fact that the original space jockey did not die in his chair. If they could have just tied up that one major loose end, it would have sat a hell of a lot better with me. I find it somewhat baffling with the attention to detail elsewhere that they let that detail slip. Add to that the infuriation of never hearing any form of explanation for their actions from the space jockey himself, and you end up feeling a little cheated by the end of the film. Maybe my friends will enlighten me on something I missed.