Aliens have always intrigued me. The unknown of the extraterrestrial is very thrilling and engaging, especially in cinema. When adding aliens to a movie, the story can become a bit more complex, which to me is a beautiful thing. "Arrival" is like this in many ways. I highly enjoyed this movie for many reasons. However, I will split this review into my three favorite things: the story, the shots/audio, and the crew of the film. This is a non-spoiler review. I have been told many people in my circle do not read my reviews because they are afraid something may be spoiled, so from here on out, I will tell you if the review has spoilers or not. This is my review of the newest alien flick "Arrival".
I remember reading about "Arrival" this past summer. I was immediately fascinated by the story. One of my favorite types of film is science-fiction, in part with that is aliens. "Arrival" is a slow paced drama centered around a famous linguist trying to communicate with aliens that have arrived at Earth. There are 12 different 'shells' that land in various places around the world. The shells are ships of some sort controlled by an unworldly species. The shell that docks in America, is in the beautiful state of Montana. The linguist is paired with a physicist to learn the language of the aliens and reciprocate peace back to them. The entire movie has a different feel than most movies. I felt like I knew what would happen next, but from the first scene, there is something that is catching me off guard. The story is unlike other alien movies, it seems like it is going to be predictable but it is not at all.
"Arrival" is directed by Denis Villeneuve, whom also directed "Prisoners" and "Sicario" . He is one of the most talented directors starting to become a big name. Villeneuve directed this film so well. Visually, "Arrival" is one of the most beautiful movies I have seen. There is a particular shot when a helicopter is flying toward the mobile army base set up by the shell in Montana; it is probably a half-mile from a mountain range, the range has fog rolling over the mountains and onto the open plain. It is so pretty. The camera slowly pans around to follow the copter as it is landing. Purely camera work at its best. Along with the shots, the audio stood out strongly to me. In most movies you can hear sounds and background noise to the shot to get a more realistic effect to the movie, but "Arrival" is not like that at all. There are not many sounds in this film, especially being that there is not much noise going on in the back of the scene when characters are interacting. Adding to that, the music in "Arrival" is out of this world ;). I tend to listen to the music in movies more so than most. I can honestly say the music in this film was outstanding. A certain scene shows the two main characters walking up to the aliens and the music that is playing just adds to the intensity of the shot. A lot of the greatness of the movie came from the sounds and views, but it was also assisted by the crew of the film.
Junior year of high school, my little sister told me that I looked like "the guy from the Bourne movie", but not Matt Damon, she meant the 4th Bourne movie starring Jeremy Renner. Renner happens to be one of my favorite actors. The way he plays his characters has such a charismatic style that I love. Renner plays the physicist in "Arrival" , along with the gorgeous Amy Adams playing the linguist. These two have such a certain flare of chemistry that their relationship really puts a different aspect on the film. Commanding the two is an Army Colonel that is portrayed by the always great Forest Whitaker. As I have already mentioned, the director of the movie is Denis Villeneuve. With amazing actors and actress, coming together with an outstanding director, you get a truly interstellar film. Every character that has dialogue in the film is played by an actor that knows exactly how to make you feel like that is not a person faking another life.
Science-fiction movies come and go every year, but "Arrival" is very different from other alien movies. There are no corny one-liners as a hero kills all the aliens, or horrible looking monsters running around the town slaying citizens. This certain alien movie is one that has the potential to be nominated for awards in 2017. Because with this story played out by talented actors who are directed by a skilled leader, "Arrival" is dare I say, Oscar worthy. Rarely do I watch a movie that I cannot find a mistake with after it ends, "Arrival" is one of those movies. Critically, I give this movie a 5/5, but on an entertaining basis, this movie gets a 4/5. Which means, combined scores, I give "Arrival" a 9/10.
