atmosphere, the performances, dialogue and musical score
I agree that these help make it a great film, and that without them it would be trite. It is one of the few films I would describe as "beautiful" and I have watched it as a purely sensory experience. Some of it is a bit heavy-handed, but passable because of the style. But without the story and themes it would be much less memorable.
I'm conflicted on Ridley Scott. I've listened to his director's commentary on three great films, Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator, and one not-so-great film, Robin Hood (which is not terrible, and has some really good and interesting moments), and probably also Kingdom of Heaven although I can't remember that. My conclusion from those three movies was that Ridley Scott doesn't understand what he made. Among the excessive boring comments on the technical details of production or the politics and economics of the business is some interesting stuff about design and cinematography. He is a brilliant visual artist, which is understandable from his background. But anytime he touches on character, narrative, themes, etc., he just seems ignorant of the great art he created - and yet he's done it at least 3 times, and in patches numerous other times.
I will actually read reviews and spoilers and may decide to watch it if I get a chance, although that definitely won't be in the cinema. I'm not the kind of person to shout "they ruined it!" and reject something completely, and I can take a sequel on its own merits.