Arrival is Top Shelf Sci-Fi with Brains

Fear of the unknown. The impulse responsible for more of our behaviors - both good and bad - than nearly any other aspect of the human condition. It practically defines us. So when a dozen colossal spaceships appear at various points across the globe with no explanation, how do we react?

Arrival is the anti-Independence Day. It spoils nothing to say that there are no colossal battles or CGI annihilated cities in Arrival. It joins the short list of science fiction films like Close Encounters and Interstellar aimed squarely at adults, that stays smart and uses the tropes of the genre to say more about the nature of mankind, than about the nature of alien life. This will be a pretty short review, as the less you read about Arrival before you see it, the better. Amy Adams is Dr. Louise Banks, a university linguist recruited by the government to try and find a way of communicating with our mysterious visitors, in hopes of cracking the big question - why are they here? 

Written by Eric Heisserer (from a story by Ted Chiang) and directed by the great Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario), Arrival is a breath of fresh air on so many levels. Example: there's a lot of tech on display in the military command center beneath the ship, but for once we're not inundated with electronic product placement - there's no jarring close-up screaming "CISCO" or "NOKIA." Arrival also steers away from the trend of CNN-branded faux newscasts with real-life anchor cameos, which always seem to lessen the feeling of realism, rather than increase it. Villeneuve has become such an accomplished filmmaker, I'm frankly giddy knowing he's the guy directing next year's Blade Runner 2049. Are we ever in good hands.

Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker are both terrific here, but this is all Amy Adams, who's in nearly every scene and delivers a nuanced, at times heartbreaking performance. It's so refreshing to see a realistic adult female character who's not dependent on men or approval or who's a prisoner of her emotions. I suspect audiences are going to welcome her character and the rich emotional storytelling of Arrival with open arms. Very highly recommended.