This took everything I loved about Ted Chiang's story and threw it into a dull, lifeless trash can. I admit I started tuning out early though - can't abide a "well, that just happened" in good faith.

The dialogue is flat, there's absolutely not a single thing to latch onto visually, everything is so sanded down and turned into hollowly sentimental fluff. ALSO, changing the way the daughter dies is the coward's way of saying you don't want to meaningfully engage with the story's central themes at all.

Not to mention the racist imperialist propaganda. As if the rest wasn't bad enough. I thought I was just bored and disappointed but the longer this movie went on I actively hated it.

Between this, Blade Runner, and the ugly as hell Dune trailers, I don't think I'm watching anything else Villeneuve makes.