A guide to what happens when leading scientists suddenly become morons

Rating: 5/10 (10 May 2015)

Boy howdy was I let down by this film. I recently got the chance at a second viewing, as the first time I tried to watch it I was interrupted on several occasions and put my total confusion of what was going on and the preposterousness of it all down to the fact that it barely had half, let alone my full attention.
Well it turns out I wasn't wrong, they really were all that stupid! This is essentially a study of what happens when you introduce a bunch of characters who are meant to be the best and brightest of what humanity has to offer (save for a solitary grafter, who makes himself known early on with his tattoos, crazy haircut and a cockney accent so rough he might as well have chip butties flying out of his mouth every time he opens it, guv'nor) and then have them suddenly all develop the hallmark symptoms of brain damage.
Within minutes of entering the atmosphere of the planet they have been drawn to by the discovery of ancient star maps from several unconnected cultures on Earth, they discover an alien facility and with barely a warning from their mums, or even due consideration of where they are, they are breaking all reasonable protocol and training they (probably) would have received before the journey, and are removing their helmets and touching things without a care in the world.
Most of these morons masquerading as physicists, archaeologists or suits I couldn't have cared less about as they are given very little screen- time and virtually no character development other than the order in which they do profoundly stupid things or die. The only characters I found any semblance of interest in were Holloway (Logan Marshall- Green), whom I immediately pegged out as one of those in for a horrible, grisly death, and David the android (Fassbender) whose motivations weren't immediately clear until I remembered I was watching a Ridley Scott "Alien" movie. The sequence of him learning all about human culture, history and languages and lusting after Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia to the point of dying his hair platinum blonde whilst the others are in stasis was probably the best part of the movie. Everything after that was straight downhill. Idris Elba was decent but brutally underdeveloped, however he can do no wrong in my eyes so I consider that moot point.
For all its obvious and glaring faults, it is watchable enough and there is an engaging movie somewhere in the mess, it's just buried under a mountain of implausibilities, stupid characterisation and clichés that drag the whole thing down to the dirt where I often find myself on Sunday mornings.