Pocket Review of Prometheus

I saw Prometheus on the first weekend of its release, and was surprised how negative to it my reaction was--especially in light of its relatively favorable rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the strong endorsement from Denby.  To me, it seemed like an incoherent plot peopled with stupid and unlikable characters, though with decent effects.  But that description fits a fair number of films that I promptly forgot about; why did I dwell on the particular badness of this movie?  I suppose because of the wasted potential, given the director, budget, cast, etc.  But instead of producing a deep, thought-provoking and affecting work concerning the nature of life in the universe, they gave us an updated Mission to Mars with slightly greater pretensions.  Disappointing.