Flawed but dazzling movie about psychopathic individuals that fails to deliver in its own genre

Rating: 5/10 (31 October 2012)

Ridley Scott's prequel to the eponymous Alien is both flawed, easily misunderstood, and underwhelming.
The main premise is a manned mission to find "the architects", the giant humanoid sentient beings who are credited with being mankind's progenitors, who are recorded as strange giant figures in cave paintings and stone carvings pointing to a configuration of stars which closely resemble a star system too far away for the unaided eye to see. Yet, after travelling such vast distances, to meet their ancestors, the humans discover instead a trap, a deadly mutating force that turns worms into muscular glistening snakes. Everything the black goo touches changes and adapts into something menacing and less than welcoming, and the situation worsens as the story rushes towards its inevitable and puzzling conclusion.
The real disappointment in this movie is that it answers neither any of the questions raised in either Alien nor Prometheus itself. Why is this? Well, it's unlikely by design, however probably as a consequence of focussing on creating spectacle and bedazzlement and huge set-pieces rather than a strong, well-crafted story. Any sense of awe and mystery evaporates quickly as the characters prove themselves to be emotional adolescents, unfascinated with their discovery, and who all possess the perceptiveness of Mr Bean. Any promise of menace leaks away in concepts too lofty against such an assortment of caricature characters and there is no pay-off on this as well. The only individual who is well-formed and engaging enough to live up to this movie is David, the android.
I feel that one of the reasons why the movie is misunderstood is because, rather than a discussion about razor-toothed exo-skeletal extraterrestrials or otherworldly astronauts, the movie's throughline concerns the monsters within and among us. The plot weaves a story that is so exquisite in its subtlety that it is easily drowned out by the story's inconsistencies and irrational plot-threads. The tycoon who finances the space mission is as conscience-less as his emotionless android, David, who while the humans are in stasis during the 2 year spaceflight watches endless reruns of Lawrence of Arabia - itself a movie about a troubled man struggling to discover his identity. Worse still, David the android, the only "son" of the tycoon carries his own dark secrets and sinister resentments, which catalyse the chaos and destruction, until - decapitated - he coldly bargains his escape with the only remaining human survivor.
Furthermore, it turns out mankind's fictional ancestors are just as psychopathic as the tycoon who is hidden away in cryostasis aboard the ship in the eager hope that their progenitors will grant him the secret of eternal youth. Stuck in the the terrible waltz weaved by the dysfunctional trio of tycoon, daughter and David, the crew is stranded to become the hapless victims, until - finally - the movie's dazzling and awesome finale.
To say that the movie is a total flop is unfair. Nevertheless, it is a story focused on a subtle concept which is hard to depict no matter where and when the movie is set. Also, to say it's brilliant is stretching the point too thin. Even so, it is a cleverly constructed story that attempts to throw a light on the emotional detachment and psychopathic personalities of rich and powerful, and to spin us a story on a par with any Greek tragedy about absolute power corrupting absolutely.