Review of Arrival (2016) by Kurt F — 27 Aug 2018

This is how you make a science fiction film.

Everything about Arrival is excellent. From the very first moments of contact, this scenario screams 'real'. Or, if not real, then at the very least 'plausible'.

Out of all the science fiction movies I've watched over the years, Arrival is the only one to evoke any sense of actual believability. If an alien species were to visit earth, the events portrayed in Arrival are almost exactly how I believe things would actually transpire.

All of the performances are fantastic, but Amy Adams really steals the show. Her portrayal of Louise Banks is engrossing and, again, believable. Jeremy Renner does a great job as well, but he shares so much screen time with Adams that his performance is very much understated.

I loved the sound direction for this film. I loved the sounds the aliens made, and I loved the distorted sensation that the characters were subjected to in their presence. The musical score is spot-on, as well. Tense, but not overbearing.

The aliens themselves were exactly how I would imagine aliens would actually appear: not human-like at all but, instead, strange and otherworldly and in complete defiance of anything we have ever seen.

I really enjoyed the plot of Arrival. I'm very interested in the concept of time and the flow of time and everything that it entails. The idea of an alien language being able to manipulate the flow of time is - to me - completely unique and unlike anything I'd seen or read in science fiction before. The use of flashbacks, and the eventual reveal of them being flash-forwards, was executed very well.

Arrival is one of the best science fiction films I've ever seen. It is smart, beautiful, dramatic, and thought-provoking... everything you could ask for in a movie.

If you could see your entire life, from start to finish, would you change anything?