Double U. Tee. Eff?

Rating: 4/10 (2 June 2017)

This is one of the most baffling movies ever. Not because of the "surprising" twist, which is only surprising because it is completely moronic, but because it was so well received. Seriously, people, have we seen the same movie? Because 'Arrival' surely isn't a masterpiece. It is not a good movie, it is not even a mediocre movie. It is just bad. If I were to rate it solely on the basis of the pleasure I managed to extract from it, I would probably give it a rating below zero - which, sadly, I can't do on IMDb, but I would be very happy if I could. Of course, there are some good things about 'Arrival', which is why I am being so generous with the rating, but these good things only make the bad things stand out. OK, Amy Adams is one of the greatest film actresses ever. That is a fact, and here she is doing as well as the (idiotic) script allows her to. Jeremy Renner is also a great actor, and he just oozes charisma. The acting as a whole is pretty good. The cinematography is acceptable, I think. It is not spectacular, and it is definitely not Oscar worthy, but it is competently done, which is more than what I can say about the script. Before I rip the script to shreds, though, I just want to say that this movie does not deserve a single nomination for any award. It is not even interesting enough for a Razzie. And, I am sorry, but... An Oscar for sound editing? Against 'La La Land'? Seriously? What is next, praising Kevin Hart for being taller than Yao Ming? An Oscar nomination for production design? What for? I am sorry, but this movie literally does not have production design. What design? This space ship that looks like a giant bean? Or the dark rooms that look like dark rooms? Because there is literally - literally - nothing else. Literally. Did I say literally? From afar the space ship looks, as I said, like a giant bean. Shown from the inside, it looks like a dark room, and there are some boxes and one big rectangular window. That is it. That is the entire production design. Hell, reading about it here probably makes it look more inventive than it is.
As for the script... Well, it is exactly as good as it is expected from the writer behind the remake of 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'. Seriously, Eric Heisserer's entire career consists of brainless horror/thriller movies and nothing else. Two remakes of beloved horror classics, one mediocre thriller that he also directed, one sequel that nobody wanted, and, well, 'Van Helsing', which will probably be the most enjoyable thing he has ever worked on, being a stupid high budget action movie. Oh, yes, I am forgetting 'Extinction' and the TV episode he did eleven years ago. Apart from 'Arrival', that is his entire career. Nobody expects from such a writer to write a masterpiece, and, unsurprisingly, he didn't write a masterpiece. Why was his work on 'Arrival' nominated for an Oscar then? Literally anyone can point out its flaws - be it the stupidity of the military men, making the military men in 'Transformers' look like Harvard professors in comparison, the fact that Jeremy Renner's character is not even a character, he is just there for the romance, the fact that the President of the USA never addresses the alien civilization visiting his country, the fact that not a single biologist appears on screen, the fact that the twist at the end is not only stupid, but it also limits the actors' performances in the most horrible way possible, the fact that the main character makes morally ambiguous decisions that may and probably will ruin the life of everyone she cares about for good and this is presented as something good... Notice that I am not actually spoiling the movie. If I were to do that, the review would be much longer.
Anyway, this movie is a complete failure, partially saved by the acting and the cinematography. But the cinematography is not that good and the acting is severely limited by the idiotic script. Sorry.