Decent premise let down by weak ending

Rating: 5/10 (18 November 2016)

The film starts out with a good premise. A linguistics professor is asked to help communicate with aliens whose ships have appeared at 12 locations around the world. Amy Adams as the professor, along with a theoretical physicist played by Jeremy Renner enter one of the ships and make attempts to communicate with the aliens on board. This is the most interesting part of the film as the pair try to decipher the aliens communications.
But having established this interesting premise, one that is rarely explored in alien films, Arrival doesn't seem to know where to go next. It ends up with a weak and deeply unsatisfying climax with a cod-philosophical message about language, communication and world peace. And in a blatant piece of western propaganda, Russia, China and Sudan are marked out as belligerents willing to resort to violence as opposed to the Americans who just want to talk.
Amy Adams gives her usual one-note performance, with the same emotion she shows in all of her films. While Renner lacks the charisma or presence to step out of her shadow. Forest Whittaker and Michael Stuhlbarg are mostly wasted in supporting roles playing typically clichéd characters.
The film does look impressive with good visuals and excellent cinematography. There is a decent soundtrack and the film feels well put together. But scratch beneath the glossy surface and the film is vacuous and forgettable. The premise is ultimately wasted and cast aside towards the end leaving this viewer hugely disappointed.