Read the graphic novel instead

If you want to see what Darren Aronofsky really had in mind when building this story, you should have a look at the graphic novel he wrote before, when he was striving to find a producer for a proper film. Drawn by Ari Handel and Niko Henrichon and published by Image Comics, the book (or books as it was first published in four parts) is a very personal and original take on the well-known story. You find the same environmentalist concern and the main character's struggles, so if you didn't like it in the movie, I guess you won't like it better here. At least, it's brought out efficiently, with quite vivid art. This is one book I can read again and again.

The movie looks like Aronofsky made all the wrong choices when he was finally able to adapt his own dream on screen. It looks as if all budget went into casting and totally useless 3D, with no dime left on better storytelling and useful effects. The Watchers, for example, should have looked more like LotR trolls, instead of those poor-man Minecraft-made Transformers! There's also that scene at the end of the book, involving the animals, which could have been anthological... if it had been shot. A shame, indeed.