Green, but not so good

Rating: 6/10 (22 November 2019)

The Shape of Water is one of the greenest movies I have ever seen, and it is aware of this. The color choice is visually stimulating for a while, but quickly falls from stylistic to redundant.
The film, is overall quite good, well written, well shot, but it lacks a genuine feel of a singular vision, and instead feels like the best outcome of assembly line film making. Even though that is generally an insult, this is still the best example of that process. The shots are decently composed, the script is decent, and the set design is detailed but glaringly unbelievable.
In line with the stagnant color palette, most of the characters fail to develop beyond their initial portrayal, but at least they are maintain some believably. Minimal character development aside, the rest of the writing is fair. It regularly leaves logic behind in service of the plot, but never enters the realm of unbelievable. Most of the movie can be described as: "not as bad as it could be, but still not great."
The movie is easy to access for a more general audience, but does little to reward repeated viewings, or in depth analysis. Simple characters unfortunately rob this movie of much of its potential story value. As the best case scenario for assembly line film making, these underdeveloped characters are at least developed enough to not become completely boring: just don't expect something great.