Review of Arrival (2016) by Isadore H — 06 Apr 2017

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the latest work from Villeneuve, I love his work all across the board especially Prisoners and I obviously had high hopes but was afraid of it being too slow.

Needless to say, I did not think this film skipped a beat. The panic and confusion that would occur from an event such as what happens in the first 15 minutes was masterfully shown on screen, as well as a plethora of gorgeous shots mostly concerning the alien ship.

I really enjoyed the way the frustration of communication between the two species was fully fleshed out and the tension between countries and people inside the US base. There was a real sense of wonder and awe when witnessing the aliens and their technology for the first time, and a few moments that made the whisper to myself "holy shit".

The acting was great, Adams was fantastic, but I feel like there was difficulty finding something very useful for Renners character to do. Despite this, I had a blast with Arrival and it is another fantastic film for 2016.