Arrival: An Instant Sci-fi Classic

Synopsis

Louise Banks ( Amy Adams ) is a linguist professor who once worked for Army Intelligence and believes that language is the foundation of civilization. But when twelve alien vessels land around the globe, she is recruited for a mission to communicate with the aliens and decipher their language. As fear and chaos spread around the world, Louise races against time to uncover the aliens' intentions!

Review

Arrival is the most original and complex piece of sci-fi I've seen in a long time. Since my first viewing last night, I can't get it out of my mind; each time I reflect on the events of this film, I gain a new understanding of it or discover something I missed. What stands out most to me, however, is the ending. Arrival has an ingenious and emotional twist that will cause you to rethink the entire film and see it in a new light! It's a plot twist executed to perfection, and if you're keen enough to spot the clues sprinkled throughout the movie, you just might solve it beforehand. Fortunately, whether you do or don't won't lessen the impact.
    Visually, the film is striking, with top notch creature effects and wide, ominous shots of alien vessels hovering over grand landscapes. The music is also gripping; Johann Johannsson's score contains the most eerie and unique musical composition I think I've ever heard, which helps set the mysterious tone of the movie.

     Amy Adams, Forest Whitaker, and Jeremy Renner are all perfect in their roles. Adams especially, whose thoughtful and subdued performance emits deep emotion. She's convincing as a determined scientist, but displays enough fear and vulnerabilty to help us identify with her. Her and Renner are good together, and it's their chemistry and strong performances that carry the weight of the story.

     The only issue I had with the film ( Minor spoiler alert ) was one particular scene: Military personnel attack the aliens without authorization, almost killing Louise in the process. Later, Louise awakens and asks the medical officer who the perpetrators of the attack were. The medic casually replies, "Some soldiers. Been watching too much TV," as if it were no big deal. We never see the insubordinate soldiers again, and fail to get a sense that they were reprimanded for their actions.

Final Thoughts

As far as First Contact movies go, Arrival easily ranks up there with films like Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and Contact, and I have no doubt many will consider it an instant classic. So if you're a fan of sci-fi that relies less on action and more upon the science and mind-bending plot twists to grip you, Arrival is a refreshing must see!

4 stars out of 5

Have you seen Arrival yet? Feel free to comment below or leave your own review if you wish.