How I Would Have Directed This Movie

1 - The matriarchal society, I'd keep in there. I'd make it a sort of backbone to why things are the way they are. "Desolation" Williams and his gang would have been on the run [perhaps outlaws] for believing that men should have the rights as well, as well as having a distaste for female authority that he would be considered a thug. I'd give his title "Desolation" a meaning as well, since desolation means to leave things empty or in ruins. So he'd probably have been involved with sabotage and destruction of property that have to do with female authority.

2 - I'd have a bit more of a rank superiority complex in there too, rather than just a couple of mentions. I'd have Helena use this power to exact judgement upon the lesser officers in a way that would give the feel that she was the boss. For example, when Bashira didn't step forth into the room when ordered to, I would have directed her to grab Bashira's arm or shoulder, and pull her in forcefully, and give her an ear full about rank and doing what is commanded without question. I'd also have Melanie let the officers know her place in the rankings as well. I would also go a little deeper on the "male opinion" a bit, like when Jericho asks something or Descanso asks something, she would give them this look of authority.

3 - I'd have the mining town look more like a mining town instead of what looks like a couple of shacks in the middle of nowhere. If it really is a TOWN, I'd have buildings there, and a huge mine shaft, etc. etc. . I'd have rail tracks lining throughout the town so they could move cars in and around the town much quicker, and I'd have buildings for the train station so they could load and unload commodities from the mine onto box cars.

4 - I'd have the flashbacks less confusing. Instead of a full picture switch, there'd be a fade-out motion or a blurred motion to indicate the start of said flashback, and I wouldn't put them all in such random order, i'd do it in a sequence that suits the scene. Like, instead of a flashback in a flashback, i'd have another scene directed that warranted the second flashback instead, so it's not all muddled.

5 - I'd have better dialogue for Bashira. The reason why people feel her character was a bit useless was because she was more of a "FILLER" character set to die in an action scene, like the majority of the others. I'd have went deeper into her story, how she became what she is, and why she takes what she takes from the commander, and what she fights for. I want the viewers to know how the individual women believe the current system is [in regards to the Matriarch]. Does Helena truly believe in what she is commanded to do? Is she a TO THE BOOK type commander? What about Melanie -- Is she TO THE BOOK? Does she really care what the consequences are? We already get wind of a little of her thoughts about it that she doesn't care about wearing another bar, so she won't fall victim to Helena's control.

6 - I'd have recreated the story about the "Ghosts" in the first place. Ghosts don't really POSSESS. That's more of a PHANTOM thing. I'd have them as warring illusions and turning the people against the characters through these illusions. Messing with their beliefs, how they perceive, how they hear, and think. Maybe use the Ghosts as a form to use the human emotion against others. I'd also have the wind carry the illusions of a past world, where Mars was inhabited by these creatures, and the characters would be falling in and out of these illusions.

7 - I'd take the entire nuclear reactor scene blowing out up out of the movie. It was completely useless, and a waste of characters. I would instead have them attempt to destroy the ghost wave by going back to Chryse and try to reason with the Council to initiate a type of explosion that swallows oxygen [Similar to the bomb in Outbreak]. But in order to do that, they need to trap the wave and that comes at the expense of Chryse itself. The bomb is detonated over Chryse while the wave has already killed and taken over the colony, but has not yet moved on.