Great ideas, thoughtful story... limp execution

Rating: 6/10 (6 July 2017)

This is an extremely beautiful film and, like much of Villeneuve's work, focuses on ideas to do with humanity, the nature and extent of human experience, and how we can become something bigger than we are.
I loved the idea of humans trying to communicate with a non-linear species that experiences time, thought, and language differently to us, but the explorations of how that really works and would impact both species felt underdeveloped, and I would have liked to see less focus on Louise's motherhood as an illustration and more on the actual mechanics of the plot.
Jeremy Renner is underused as physicist Ian Donnelly, who doesn't seem to do any actual theoretical physics, and several opportunities to engage with global political, military, and governmental tensions feel glossed over, allowing the movie to become reliant on 'alien invasion sci-fi' tropes such as TV news footage of cranks and outbreaks of panic.
The crux of the aliens' gift also feels like a letdown, too redolent of a million instances of "the real treasure was knowledge all along!", though the script does try to underscore the importance of Louise's adjusted thinking and to fully convey its effects.
Great ideas and mostly very good performances from a finely tuned and sensitive cast, but Arrival feels like much more of an appetiser than a main course; an ultimately frustrating movie that promises much but delivers unevenly and with a number of plot holes and inconsistencies. They *are* very good ideas, however.