Sorry I took so long to get back to you, but I didn't want to rain on the parade straightaway.
Unfortunately, I have to say that Arrival was an enormous disappointment. A well-meaning and (mostly) conceptually interesting story was ruined for me by...
1) a lead actor who... well... can't. She really, really can't. I've no idea how you reached Amy Adams deserves so much praise for every minute change on her face and in her eyes, since I, and every other person I've spoken to who saw the film (and/or other films with Adams in them) agreed - emphatically! - that she was wet, uncharismatic and incapable of selling the character. With so many good actors out there, it boggles me how she came to be chosen :-(
2) the director's decision to go all art-film-y with the flashbacks (not spoilering in case anyone else reads this, of course), added to the IMO generally poor pacing - and no, I'm not referring to slowness; there are many stunning 'slow' films, including Brotherhood of the Wolf, Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive, and yes, Kill Bill 2, to name but a few. But Arrival wasn't just slow. It dragged. Horribly. Dragged so much that I fell asleep from sheer boredom for a couple of minutes in the middle, something that's not happened since I went to see ~shudders~ Inception some years ago.
3) Forest Whittaker's mumbling and general poor projection. He's far from one of my favourite actors anyway, and the way he played/was told to play this character irritated me no end. (On the upside, at least the irritation kept me awake more often).
4) the score was shite. No arguments listened to about this. Crap score, and very unimpressive sound effects too.
Yes, there were a few good parts. Renner always gives value for money, eve if his range is limited. And the aliens were quite possibly the best and most alien aliens ever shown in film; full marks to their creators and actualisers for coming up with entities that were at the same time disturbingly bizarre and want-to-touch-them fascinating. But overall I found Arrival to be a failure and a disappointment.
For the record, my DB was less harsh about the film itself but also totally agreed with (1), (2) and (4) above o_0
So there you have it. Different strokes in the extreme!
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branchandroot
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Date: Thursday, 15 December 2016 09:17 pm (UTC)Unfortunately, I have to say that Arrival was an enormous disappointment. A well-meaning and (mostly) conceptually interesting story was ruined for me by...
1) a lead actor who... well... can't. She really, really can't. I've no idea how you reached Amy Adams deserves so much praise for every minute change on her face and in her eyes, since I, and every other person I've spoken to who saw the film (and/or other films with Adams in them) agreed - emphatically! - that she was wet, uncharismatic and incapable of selling the character. With so many good actors out there, it boggles me how she came to be chosen :-(
2) the director's decision to go all art-film-y with the flashbacks (not spoilering in case anyone else reads this, of course), added to the IMO generally poor pacing - and no, I'm not referring to slowness; there are many stunning 'slow' films, including Brotherhood of the Wolf, Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive, and yes, Kill Bill 2, to name but a few. But Arrival wasn't just slow. It dragged. Horribly. Dragged so much that I fell asleep from sheer boredom for a couple of minutes in the middle, something that's not happened since I went to see ~shudders~ Inception some years ago.
3) Forest Whittaker's mumbling and general poor projection. He's far from one of my favourite actors anyway, and the way he played/was told to play this character irritated me no end. (On the upside, at least the irritation kept me awake more often).
4) the score was shite. No arguments listened to about this. Crap score, and very unimpressive sound effects too.
Yes, there were a few good parts. Renner always gives value for money, eve if his range is limited. And the aliens were quite possibly the best and most alien aliens ever shown in film; full marks to their creators and actualisers for coming up with entities that were at the same time disturbingly bizarre and want-to-touch-them fascinating. But overall I found Arrival to be a failure and a disappointment.
For the record, my DB was less harsh about the film itself but also totally agreed with (1), (2) and (4) above o_0
So there you have it. Different strokes in the extreme!