Review by John Delia, Sr.
If you are looking to see an exciting film with a lot of creativity and adventure, then you may want to look elsewhere than Arrival. More of a mystery that spools out like Jodi Foster’s Contact that moves at a slow pace trying to fill in the blanks to the very end. With Arrival however, the film does take some twists that at least give the audience a good measure of entertainment.
Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a linguist that has broken the code to many mysterious languages, gets called upon when alien aircrafts land on Earth. Joining in and leading the team of scientists, Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), heads up the investigation on what they are and why the aliens have arrived on Earth. The military has a big interest in national security with Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) and his special squad of elite soldiers standing by in the event that the aliens are here to attack the planet.
When Banks comes face to face with the aliens and they try to communicate, something interesting starts to happen, but is it going to lead to peace or war. Director Denis Villeneuve who gave us the exciting and heart pounding Sicario, does the complete opposite with Arrival. More of an M. Night Shyamalan movie like Signs or even The Sixth Sense where the plot leads to a surprise ending, we find Banks the one who discovers a path that brings about a personal enlightenment.
I do like movies that test your ability to figure out the plot, but not those that are a bit preposterous. We have had some very good movies that keep you on the edge of your seat until the final act where you realize that not everything is what it seems to be. Those movies are golden and leave the audience with questioning what they thought would be the answer to the riddle.
Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner do a good job with what they are handed. I like her character Dr. Louise Banks who finds herself trying to figure out the key that will unlock the visitor’s reasons for choosing Earth. It’s her that can stop the war between countries that’s inevitable and she needs the time to solve the language barrier.
Renner’s physicist Donnelly finds himself leading the team investigating where the aliens in the UFO come from. The film treats his character secondary to the plot and more of a support to Amy Adams. It’s almost as if he’s in the film to keep Dr. Banks being the center of the story. While this does work well in some films, it water’s down the reason for his importance to the movie.
Arrival has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for brief strong language. There’s also some violence. I don’t want to explain the ending as it would be filled with spoilers, but after you see Arrival you may want to “Youtube” to find an explanation, you may need it.
FINAL ANALYSIS: I wasn’t fond of the movie Contact and now Arrival either. (2.5 stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Nathaly Thibault, Mark O’Brien.
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve (Sicario)
Genre: Mystery, Sci-fi, Drama
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for brief strong language
Running Time: 1 hr. 56 min.
Release Date: November 11, 2016
Distributed by: Paramount