Review of Arrival (2016) by Douglas56 — 02 Dec 2016
Much has been said of Amy Adams's acting in this film. The praise is richly deserved but that's where the accolades should end. Great acting rarely makes great films and this movie is not great, despite my sincerest desire for it to be so.
Greatness in theatre or cinema usually requires great characters (or less often, a highly original storyline). Arrival has neither and Adams's character, the linguist Louise Banks, who dominates the screen time, is little more than a sketch for a oil painting Villeneuve and his writers are unable to complete.
The film has been hyped by the critics as a serious, intellectual alien encounter sci-fi that outshines all the comic book treatments of this trope. It's certainly serious but rather brainless at the same time.
The science is minimal ("hey, I've discovered that 0.0833 recurring is 1 divided by 12") and the linguistics a mere ornament. But worse than that, it's a little boring. The social commentary is unremarkable, the philosophical content hackneyed ("hey I've discovered that love conquers all") and the ending a hasty conclusion to a fabricated tease.
That's two disappointing films in a row for Villeneuve—hardly a good omen for the Blade Runner sequel.
This review of Arrival (2016) was written by Douglas56 on 02 Dec 2016.
Arrival has generally received very positive reviews.
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