Technically Beautiful Film With a Slow Burn That Doesn't Really Pay Off

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 2016)

From a technical side, this film is brilliant. The cinematography by Bradford Young is breathtaking. Each and every shot is crafted carefully and meticulously, and it seems each shot tops the last. Knowing that Young will be the DP on the Han Solo spin-off film, I was very curious to see what he brought to the table with Arrival, and he exceeded my expectations. This is a very slowly paced film, and that's not a bad thing. When done right, it can be incredibly effective. And I think it was effective-- for the most part. The problem is that the movie is so slowly paced for the first two acts, that the third act is rushed in order to have there be some sort of resolution, and because of this, a lot of things that are really important are glossed over...