6. Lay Off The Clichés
On a basic level much of the dialogue and characterization already mentioned falls into this category, but by far the biggest offending scene is the revelation that Weyland (Guy Pierce, pointlessly cast as an old man) is actually Vickers' (Chalize Theron) father. Vickers seems to be there to cover the "evil corporation" base (another popular cliché these days) but the relationship reveal seems completely out of place and, given that neither character has been padded out beyond a basic stereotype, it has almost no impact on the audience. It feels like a plot development thrown in simply for the sake of it. With a bit more thought, the sequel will avoid such scenes and appreciate that they only pay off when the audience has invested in the characters. After all, audiences are generally too savvy these days, and either see them coming a mile off or can spot when they've been shoehorned in by a lazy writer. And speaking of shoehorning in "moments"...