True, which is kind of part of my point. Even a slightly nuanced rationale would go a ways towards making this feel less like something with characters pulled from the 19th century. And, as I've said a few times, I'm sure the trailer, which has to get the Big Concept across, is less nuanced than the film itself. Though, even in the Colonial Period, it was more often than not done through puppet governments and collaborations with certain avariciously minded natives working with the Colonial powers, than just - blast 'em off the resource and take it. Which just simplifies things to the point of Black Hats and White Hats.
The funny thing about this trope is that it has flipped in many cases (and this certainly appears to be one of those cases) - where the whites are shown as thoroughly disgusting, sadistic brutes and the natives are shown as perfectly pristine saints. It's really that simplification of heroes and villains that worries me about the story.
