Review of Arrival (2016) by Jamie J — 21 Mar 2017

I'm not quite sure just how to describe Arrival. For the first 45 minutes or so I wasn't even sure I was seeing what all the fuss was about, despite the fantastic set up, it wasn't quite hitting all the right spots. Or so I thought.

Once I stopped thinking of Arrival as a pure science fiction story, I found there are so many layers to the film, making you think deeply about love, loss, and the concept of time and life itself. It's so hard to describe the impact of the latter stages of Arrival without spoiling the journey you have along with the main characters.

After the brilliant Sicario director Denis Villeneuve has excelled himself with Arrival, showing a mastery of different genres, and an intelligence behind his films that doesn't belittle the audience. He has created not just one of the best science fiction films in recent years, but on of the most meaningful experiences also.