Arrival (2016) releases in theaters this week from director Denis Villeneuve starring Amy Adams (Dr. Louise Banks), Jeremy Renner (Ian Donnelly) and Forest Whitaker (Colonel Weber). The movie is a ‘smart take’ on what to do when strange aliens or UFO make a sudden appearance on Earth.
Unlike movies like Independence Day or Mars Attack – the alien ships in Arrival seem peaceful and simply hover above different areas of the world. The story mostly follows how the American Military responds to the anomaly which is by trying to communicate while on the other side of the world the Chinese Government is quick to point guns at the spacecrafts and prepare for war.
Arrival has a sophistication and intelligence level to that of classic ‘science fiction’ movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Abyss (Director’s Cut), Contact and Interstellar – all movies in which military and scientists join forces in an attempt to communicate with alien beings.
Arrival was a treat to watch – it generally asked the question ‘why are the aliens here’ and we eventually do get an answer which was satisfying unlike most episodes of The X-Files which leave the viewer wondering. Though Amy Adams is the centerpiece of the cast – it is Jeremy Renner’s perspective as an outsider that the audience will most likely latch onto. If you are going into a screening of Arrival expecting elaborate special effects and warfare then this isn’t a movie for you as Arrival taps more into interspecies communication and sort of a cerebral space-time continuum.