While I agree it was poorly conveyed, the crew of The Prometheus, were, like the Marines in Aliens, unaware of their mission until they arrived.
The whole Milburn/Fifield subplot was inexcusably dumb though, what with them having the whole area they had traversed mapped and accessible through their suits and Janek, and their reaction towards the serpent was bizaree in tone and motivation.
The movie felt slashed to me, as if the character reactions and responses to various events were cut for pacing. Will be interesting to see if there was excised material on the dvd
So, am I to assume that this movie negates AVP etc? That the Xenos are a newly invented species and not millenia old as depicted elsewhere?[/spoiler]
Except for the fact...
...that the engineer didn't die in the chair! It's not the same guy. Also... the planet they are on is NOT LV426 but LV226 (or was it 3..?)
All I want to know is "Prometheus" in big bold white letters on the side of the ship?