Non-zero-sum game

Rating: Null/10 (25 November 2016)

Denis Villeneuve, justifiably hailed for his work on 'Sicario', 'Prisoners', 'Incendies', 'Enemy' (with some amazing sci-fi tropes that make this a companion piece to that, in my humble opinion), has quite possibly made 1 of the best sci-fi movies in decades (once again, imho - since there's something that happens during the movie that has kinda divided audiences majorly, even prompting walkouts in a showing I was at - something which I was initially skeptical of, but that grew on me as time passed by, making me a champion of sorts for its right now).
This one's been compared both to Nolans' 'Interstellar' and Zemeckis' 'Contact', but I feel it stands above the latter, and comes very close to being on par with, or slightly better than, the former. There is an element within the screenplay that you know belongs here, which plays out in a typical fashion, but the ultimate payoff, which divided audiences, & confused some, occurs towards the very end. Also, another observation made by unkind / unempathetic audience- members was that the epilogue goes on for too long, but, imho, it perfectly capped all that came before, making this more human (or species- centric, considering the subject-matter) than your average sci-fi flick.
The locations, effects, cinematography & editing perfectly complement the crisp, sharp narrative throughout, and every department in this flick has made Oscar-worthy contributions this year, I do hope they are recognized for their efforts.
The Leftovers ' Max Richter makes his presence felt in both the beginning & end credits, & the overall score by Johann Johannsson elevates each sequence it's used in. The sound design complements the score perfectly, life it's wont to, especially in Villeneuve's works, specific examples being 'Sicario' & 'Prisoners'.
Forest Whitaker plays a no-nonsense stock role here and makes it his own, as does Coens' regular Michael 'A Serious man' Stuhlbarg, and they both bring their respective gravitas to (imho, underwritten/stock) roles and yet perform well, but this movie belongs to Amy Adams, whole & soul (supported ably by Jeremy Renner, but this one's is all about Abbott & Costello, heh-heh); but more on her later.
I do wish there was more of Renner's character (I've read someplace that many scenes with him in it were edited out, & I do hope we get to see a few of those on the Blu-Ray at least, if possible, in- sequence, though the theatrical cut in this instance is supposed to be the director's cut, from all accounts).
I fondly looked back at first having watched Amy Adams in 'Junebug' & 'Enchanted' (interestingly, she's also got 'Disenchanted' coming out soon) around 8 years previously, when I was sure that this actress was gonna go places, and boy, she sure has, if you include her work in this alongside her efforts in movies like 'American Hustle', 'Doubt', 'The Fighter', 'The Master', 'Sunshine Cleaning' (to be fair, I loved Emily Watson's character better in that one, though Adams was the lead, along with the gr8gr8 Alan Arkin), 'Miss Pettigrew lives for a day', 'Julie/Julia', 'Big Eyes', 'Trouble with the curve' (a flawed work to be sure, but she was 1 of the best things about it); and in spite of being miscast in many paycheck movies ('Night at the museum', 'Man of steel', 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'). Absolutely looking forward to her being cast along with Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Sheen & Isla Fisher in the upcoming 'Nocturnal Animals'.
It might have helped to understand more about the non- linear part of the paradox that is the central conceit of the flick. Kinda making it a companion-piece to the sci-fi cult classic, 'Primer'.
I'm sure I'll be watching this one many times more. Lookin' forward to those viewings.
Having seen this, I'm now quite sure that the sequel to Ridley's Scott's cult-classic 'Blade Runner' is in the right hands with Villeneuve. Can't wait.