Well, I didn't take it to be a literal prophesy, any more than I take Dead Island to be a prophesy. It is a bleak commentary on a possible outcome of human folly (in that respect, hardly original). It wasn't nearly as moralizing as Pemberley. So no, I didn't take away any of that. It's really a ripping yarn and an extended chase flick.
I haven't read the book, so your criticisms may be fair on that score as they seem broadly applicable to almost every film adaptation (perhaps you can cite some examples where the film does justice to the book, I can't think of any off the top of my head, but I don't read nearly as many books as I watch films).
I think the thing I appreciated about CoM the film was that it was very palpable, even with (or perhaps because of) 'under-drawn' characters: it's not like they're sitting around sipping tea and filling us in on their back stories, they are trying (and generally failing) to survive extreme situations -- I felt the same way about another Cuarón project, Gravity.
EDITED: 17 Feb 2018 15:53 by DSMITHHFX