Anyway, without any further ado, lets get into arguably the most boring sci-fi film of this decade so far! And yes, I think that Arrival is worse and definitely more boring than Interstellar.
Once again, thanks to the good people at the University of Sussex Sci-fi and Horror society for providing me with the opportunity to see this film.
Image source: https://truereviewsnow.wordpress.com/2017/01/19/arrival-sci-fi-redefined/
As an initial warning, I should mention that the article I sampled the above picture from described this grey mush of a film as redefining sci-fi as a genre. Considering how that seems to be a phrase surrounding any somewhat artsy sci-fi epic these days I am not entirely convinced or enticed to believe such a statement about Arrival. At least with Interstellar, while it was mostly boring, there were some aspects and parts of that film that I felt were interesting to study in how bad they were. There isn't even anything close to that in Arrival sadly.
The concept of the story is great but its tragically let down by dull execution. With such a potentially juicy concept as humanity trying to peacefully establish communication with extra-terrestrials after their first contact, you'd at least expect the narrative to be interesting. But alas, not even the story, even with such a promising basis, is anything noteworthy. Well...unless you count endless shades of boring grey as promising but I would respectfully disagree with you in that case.
Image source: http://mymoviewallpapers.com/arrival-2016-movie-wallpaper-03.html
I'd expect from the concept of the narrative and the talent cast at hand that we'd at least be watching a film with engaging dialogue scenes one at a time. But in all honesty, it seems more like each scene develops the same point over and over again, bit by bit until the point comes for the story's point to burst out like a depressingly grey phoenix of mediocrity. Considering that these scenes are mostly the same as the next, by the time that the point of the film was revealed right at the end I was bored rigid. It might sound harsh to summarise the plot of this film in such a short paragraph, but, considering how much time I spent reading twitter or the label of my empty Lucozade bottle I think that this was a fair description.
In all fairness to the plot, its downfall isn't helped by uninspired direction and dreadfully droll acting from what is an otherwise talented cast. Director Denis Villeneuve has definitely got some solid creative chops but I feel that creativity is something he may have overemphasised in the visual direction of most scenes. Where some moments in the film should really grab me visually, they instead feel empty because so much effort has gone into making certain set-piece moments and shots look impressive that the meat and bone of the film, by that I mean the narrative and writing, is glaringly ignored. This translates significantly into a cast of well-regarded and seasoned actors who provide some of the most forgettable performances of their careers. When I can say that this is Forest Whitaker's most boring appearance in a film, that should be pretty telling. Granted, that may just be me, but when I also see other talented actors such as Jeremy Renner and Amy Adams just stroll through their lines without much emotion, I'd think its not just a single actor's issue but something that affects the majority of the film.
Image source: https://www.cinemaclock.com/bri/vancouver/movies/arrival-2016/photos
At this point in the review, I would usually mention something about the more technical aspects of the film such as camerawork, sound design, the soundtrack or different sets. But these aspects are just so grey and uninspired that I'd basically be repeating my points about the direction, acting, writing and plot albeit in a different context. This brings up a good point actually. If I have not talked in full about the appropriate aspects of a film for an interview, does that make the interview incomplete? You'd reasonably argue 'yes' in most cases. However, considering that I'd just be repeating points that I'd already made about other aspects of Arrival, I feel that this has to be the exception to the rule. Sorry if that seems like a cop-out but I would genuinely be more entertained reading a phone book than watching this film again.
In conclusion, do not watch this film unless you like untoasted, ASDA basics white, dry bread for breakfast and if you think white chocolate is too bitter. I might repeat certain phrases sometimes, but even I'm not as bad as Arrival.
Camerawork/cinematography: 5/10
Directing: 5/10
Acting: 5/10
Writing/plot: 5/10
Personal enjoyment: 5/10
Overall rating: 25/50
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