>The article also doesn't explain why the enemy's powers have
>zero rules. Sometimes they're snake aliens. Other times they
>make people fall apart. Other times they make people
>super-strong alien zombie guys. Other times they create aliens
>inside barren wombs. Other times they make little alien worms
>appear in people's eyeballs.

why would a human expedition suddenly understand the rules to an alien species? in real life, it's extremely probable that a "first contact" with aliens would be completely unintelligible to us. how an Xbox 360 works would make as much sense to George Washington.

"Dr. Shaw, we analyzed the black goo and discovered it's a changing mutagen, one of hundreds of different bio-weapon species with different effects based on user." that's exposition for exposition's sake. and kind of dumber than just accepting we can't understand it.

HOWEVER.

I do agree about lack of character motivations. them being scientists on such a specific mission ruins the absurdity of many dumb actions. now, I don't mind playing to thrills (in Alien, every time Dallas or Ripley insist they stick together, the crew promptly splinters in the next scene), but it wasn't well done here. so with that in mind, I do think the morphing alien attacks were a writing free pass.