ARRIVAL REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

A lot of alien invasion movies focus on two things and that's action and special effects. This then leads to the movie being predictable and boring. In June, the sequel to Roland Emmerich's 1996 action film, Independence Day, was released with the subtitle, Resurgence, and it is probably one of the worst sci-fi films I've watched. The first film was alright but nothing special and especially not worthy of a sequel. Fortunately, thanks to Arrival, the science fiction genre is safe. For anyone who watched Independence Day: Resurgence, Arrival will most definitely restore your faith in science fiction films. It has clever ideas, a well developed protagonist and features some of the best special effects I've ever seen in cinema. 

Arrival premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, where the director, Denis Villeneuve won a Future Film Festival Digital Award. It was then screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival and the British Film Institute London Film Festival. Since then, it's gone on to receive widespread critical acclaim with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatos with 60 reviews with many saying it's a 'must-see in cinemas'. I couldn't agree more with what the critics are saying. I would say that this is the best science fiction film since last year's The Martian. Even if you're not a huge fan of science fiction, Arrival is, most likely, going to change your view. It succeeds in every aspect including the acting (especially Amy Adams' performance), the dialogue, the writing, the special effects, the cinematography and the score. 

When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team, lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Adams), are brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers--and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.
One of the things that I liked most about this film was its pacing. The film doesn't spend too long setting up the premise or introducing us to Louise. The opening scene shows her going through a personal tragedy which is important information especially in the films thrilling climax. The film then cuts to her current life as a linguist professor at a university and is in the middle of teaching when she hears the news of their 'arrival'. She then meets Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) who asks her if she is able to translate the sounds coming from the unidentified flying objects. Louise then explains she can only do that by going inside the spacecraft which then leads to a series of events that will change her life forever. 

Villeneuve previously directed Sicario, which was an action based thriller starring Emily Blunt. Like Arrival, it has gone on to receive critical acclaim and was nominated for three Academy Awards including: Best Achievement In Cinematography; Best Achievement In Music Written For Motion Picture, Original Score and Best Achievement In Sound Editing. I haven't seen Sicario but, after watching Arrival, I really want to now. I have watched Prisoners, which was also directed by Villeneuve and featured a lot of tense moments and had an emotional feel to it due to its subject. The film opens with Louise narrating and we clearly see she's been through a personal tragedy which leads to the audience connecting with her on an emotional level. I first discovered Adams in the Disney live-action/animation comedy, Enchanted, in 2007 and she has come a long way since then and has played a wide-range of characters including Amelia Earheart in the comedy sequel, Night At The Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian and a seductive con artist in David O. Russell's American Hustle. I think it's about time that Adams is awarded with an Oscar as she is one of the best actors working today. Joining Adams is Jeremy Renner who portrays mathematician Ian Donnelly and has an optimistic outlook on the sitiuation, the opposite of Forest Whitaker's Colonel Weber who has doubts about Banks and her efforts in communicating with the aliens.

A lot of alien invasion movies focus on defeating the extra terrestrial beings without even trying to communicate with them. This is what I liked most about Arrival. Instead of destroying the unusual spacecraft, the military works on trying to communicate with them and trying to work out what their purpose is and, instead of referring to them as 'aliens', they are called 'heptapods' as they seem to have seven legs and pod like bodies. The scenes that feature Louise communicating with the heptapods are where the film is at its most compelling. It was refreshing watching someone actually try to talk with the aliens instead of trying to kill it or running away screaming.
A lot of climaxes that I've seen in films tend to feel too rushed and as the director is more concerned about wrapping things up quickly rather than explaining things so the audience gets what is going on. Arrival's climax is perfect as it has a clever twist that I didn't see coming. 

If Arrival is going win an Academy Award, my guess will probably be for Best Original Score which was composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson and is haunting which gives the film its tense and creepy atmosphere. I'm also hoping it will be nominated for Best Motion Picture, Best Director and Best Performance By an Actress in a Leading Role for Adams. 

Overall, Arrival is a must-see cinematic masterpiece for fans of thought-provoking science fiction. It anchors the heavy themes with affecting emotion and a outstanding performance from Amy Adams.

8/10