Frustrating

Rating: 5/10 (20 February 2017)

Arrival reminded me of Contact with Jodie Foster. Two very similar films in both storyline and a feeling of "is that it?" at the end.
The film could have been so much more but chose to end with nothing more than a "let's all work together message" which I found deeply frustrating. The film is well made and well acted but surely a better ending could be found than the one chosen. Decent scifi films have been thin on the ground of late and this one does little to alter that. The story is that aliens want our help in the distant future and need us pulling together now to be able to provide that help later. Later never comes to this film though.
I'll go so far as to suggest that this film ought to have been in two parts with the second part concentrating on what happens when the aliens return for our help in the future. That would have made a cracking story rather than the feeling of seeing only the first half.
They could have done so much more but chose to settle for half the story.