Oddly, I liked it...

Rating: 8/10 (16 October 2012)

...and I agree with almost all the complaints about idiot plot points!
This movie is so beautiful and asks such big questions that I found it easy to forgive or ignore the fact that the main characters acted very, very stupidly and/or improbably at times. I am a sucker for Ridley Scott's visuals, though - I always have been. But gosh, he blows the roof off with this one. Never has a movie (except maybe 2001) made me feel more insignificant. Scott just nails space and the alien planet. I'm not sure how I feel about the appearance of the Engineers, but I think I'm kind of OK with it - at least I can't think of a look I'd prefer. The scene with David at the controls of the Engineer ship was just magical to me. When I heard this was going to be a prequel to Alien, I was alarmed, since I consider Alien just about a perfect movie, right up there with Jaws. I am perfectly satisfied that not every "i" was dotted and every "t" crossed. I'm actually happy that the ending of this movie does NOT fit perfectly with the beginning of Alien. Again, I invoke 2001 - not EVERYTHING has to be explained. I prefer the mystery. The cast...hmmm. I could almost see Scott straining for the same mix of working stiffs with higher eschelons that he had in Alien. Did not love Guy Pierce at all. Noomi Rapace photographs very oddly at times, but I think she was acceptable. The whole cast is just so overshadowed by the film itself, I almost tend to forget them. I did very much like Michael Fassbender's turn as the android David. What a little Pinocchio he was. His performance was ALMOST ruined by some bad writing/inexplicable action, but it turned out OK. The story is basically compelling, but would have been much better served with competent and more realistic character development. Everything everyone says about stupid character actions is true - unprofessional behavior from supposed professionals, inexplicable mood swings, yep, all of it. It just didn't bother me as much because these people are just amoebas in the face of what they find, anyway.I liked Scott's take on religion as well. It has become quite the style of late to discount religion or reduce it to the products of simple minds. I like that smart people in this movie still "choose to believe." My biggest gripe? Same as everyone else's - the c-section. No matter HOW many drugs one takes, action will simply not be happening after that. She should have been flattened by the drugs alone. But I got over it. One more thing - this movie just MIGHT be more like Blade Runner than it is like Alien.