| The temple has many traps and contrivances which are built in order to fool one's enemies. |
| A big part of it has to do with lame plot contrivances that slow the movie down rather than speeding it up. |
| Unconventional contrivances and machina arcana include a range of desktop siege weapons including miniature trebuchets, ballistae, and mangonels. |
| They work, they may even work admirably well, but there is no sense that these contrivances are the result of an omnipotent designer. |
| Its pulsing inventiveness charges the most absurd contrivances with life, just as opera should. |
| Although it has a superficial sheen, the film is mired in structural errors, weak plot contrivances and flimsy characterisation. |
