User Reviews

A Profound Meditation on Time, Choice, and the Enduring Weight of Life's Unavoidable Path.170211 in theaters (4.0)"If you could see your whole life from start to finish, would you change things?" While communication and harmony are central themes, that single question continues to linger in my mind endlessly. Directed by Denis Villeneuve and adapted from Ted Chiang's novella "Story of Your Life," the 2016 science fiction drama "Arrival" follows linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams) after twelve enigmatic extraterrestrial spacecraft touch down across the globe. Recruited by the United States military alongside theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), Louise is tasked with establishing contact with the cephalopod-like aliens known as Heptapods and deciphering their complex, non-linear written language. As Louise immerses herself in their visual logograms, her perception of time undergoes a profound transformation, revealing that their language alters the brain's cognitive wiring to perceive the past, present, and future simultaneously. Rather than relying on bombastic spectacle or explosive alien invasion tropes, the film crafts an intellectually rigorous and deeply intimate exploration of linguistic relativity, global unity, and existential acceptance, culminating in an emotionally resonant dilemma about embracing love and grief even when the full journey is already known.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Filmin sonu fikrimi değiştirdi. Yoksa vakit kaybı bir yapım olduğuna kanaat getirmiştim...

Absolute nonsense of a movie. It has no point no proper ending. You get either some flashbacks or future insights, unclear to be honest, mixed with present stuff happening on the screen. Apparently USA can mobilize whole army, but can't mobilize more than 2 language description pros to make contact with aliens. Apparently main character can memorize phone number that she saw few years ago for few seconds. But somehow forgot about the symbols she saw in some book that read. Which means she saw that book for few days at least. Wasted over an hour for a movie that brings nothing plot wise and has pointless unsatisfactory ending

Definitely my flavor of sci-fi. Grounded in both fascinating concept and rich emotion. Grief and inspiration packaged together beautifully.

Arrival presents a powerful and genuinely original premise: language as a force capable of reshaping human cognition and even the experience of time itself. The depiction of the aliens—radically non-anthropomorphic, non-verbal, and truly alien—is one of the film’s greatest strengths. However, once this idea is established, the film hesitates to fully engage with its human consequences. Instead of developing the emotional, ethical, and relational impact of knowing one’s future, the story fragments the human drama into brief, scattered flash-forwards, never allowing it to unfold in real time. What could have been a deeply unsettling exploration of choice, responsibility, and loss becomes a restrained, almost cautious treatment. The result is a film that feels intellectually promising but emotionally underdeveloped, as if it deliberately stepped back from the most difficult questions its own premise demanded.

One of the best movies I ever seen. Really nice topic, story and everything.

Very good overall. Great concept and some amazing performances from the cast. I found it a bit slow in the beginning, but once it starts to connect it's really good.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Greetings from Lithuania. "Arrival" (2016) is without a doubt the best, most sophisticated and deepest sci-fi movie since "Interstellar" (2014). I was simply blown away first of all from the presentation (not the premise, which lets just say isn't very unique, but that is just at the beginning) and later the, well everything else. The overall story in here is very powerful, not simple by any means and the one which i confess is a bit to hard to swallow at the end. It was sad but at the same time hopeful, and the reason for the arrival itself - no spoilers here - is amazing. Finally, a great sci-fi movie not about destruction. Directing by Denis Villeneuve was amazing. What a scope and skill to show it. Like i said, presentation of this movie is amazingly good. Music was so haunting and so beautiful at the same time. Script wasn't predictable for a second. I loved each and every scene aboard the spaceship, they could have lasted longer. This is an "aliens" movie so smart and so plausible like i haven't seen since "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" - it is that good, it is not "Independence Day" by any means. Acting was also superb, with Amy Adams giving her probably the best performance yet. Overall, i do believe that "Arrival" will be a major Oscar contender this year, because it is way to good to be ignored for its genre. It's so much more then just "aliens" movie, the one that is so sad but at the same time gives a hope and willingness to take what is the most beautiful and precious for a human being. Great movie and a pure sci-fi movie heaven.

Very cool and interesting movie. A new approach to this whole topic, with a nice twist. On top of that, the scenography is fantastic in this movie.

What a great film! Excellent storyline, realistic approach and geopolitical tension. Decent acting. Fantastic CGI and sets. I loved it and would definitely watch it again!

"Arrival" is a gripping, thought-provoking film with emotional depth and intellectual intrigue. Amy Adams shines, grounding a story about communication and humanity with grace. This film's concepts for otherworldly design are intriguing, but after seeing the film, the reason for their visit is still hazy. While there's lots of enticing set up, the proceedings move slowly to a repetitive and frustrating crawl before it's over. Twelve extraterrestrial spacecraft hover over various locations around the Earth. This time in cool-looking, mysterious crafts that hover above the earth in 12 places. In the ensuing widespread panic, affected nations send military and scientific experts to monitor and study them. In the United States, US Army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) recruits expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) with a troubled past who lost her daughter from incurable illness) who's brought in to try to establish communications with the mysterious creatures and physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to study the spacecraft above Montana. board, Banks and Donnelly make contact with two cephalopod-like, seven-limbed aliens, whom they call "heptapods"; Donnelly nicknames them Abbott and Costello. Banks and Donnelly research the complex written language of the heptapods, consisting of palindromic phrases written with circular symbols, and share the results with other nations. As Banks studies the language, she starts to have flashback-like visions of her daughter. Really?! I was really looking forward to this but watching it, I realised Denis Villeneuve seems to be more interested in story than character development. Perhaps it's that lack of humanity Villeneuve is trying to portray. Still, this one of all his films, it seems most incongruous. I'm a **** for intellectual science fiction but a short coming for this film is it's very thin on telling us who these characters are if I asked you to tell one thing about Jeremy Renner's character other than the fact he's good at math I don't think you can. The plot twist in this robs Amy Adams' character of most of her defining characteristics that tell us about her until the end of the film. The emotional climax was really undercut by these two horrendous lines from Jeremy Renner's character. Throughout the film there's hints of romantic attraction between Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner's characters which wasn't earned or well established. And a line Jeremy Renner uses regarding that was astonishingly bad and his final line after that my theater just burst out laughing. The film's strength is in framing an effective science fiction story around a seemingly-unrelated topic and tangling the two until they become inseparable. In this case, we deal with the fabric of linguistics, the desperate search for a communicative first step and how even something so intrinsically dry and cerebral can make for great theatrical drama. Amy Adams gives a quietly empathetic performance in the central role, a frazzled interpreter with a strong sense of personal loss who pours herself into the work. Against the backdrop of your typical plastic-sheeted, pop-up government research facility, she's our human connection to a very clinical, inhuman situation. Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker are around, and give their roles an earnest effort, but they're too thin and predictable to amount to much. The short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chaing which this is based on provides more context which fills a lot of the gaps that doesn't convey in the writing. Eric Heisserer who adapted this film is know for writing a lot of terrible horror remakes and sequels like "The Nightmare on Elm Street," "The Thing," "Final Destination 5" and "Lights Out" earlier this year. This probably the best thing he's written but a lot of his bad dialogue is pretty eminent here with two lines when Renner's character says "You know what really surprised me wasn't meeting the aliens, what really surprised me was meeting you." As is much of the third act, unfortunately, when we discard the delicate analysis of words (both spoken and written) and give in to baser military-themed temptations. The production values on display here are nothing but extraordinary and also revelotionary from Bradford Young's cinematography which has shallow focus in the flashbacks, Jóhann Jóhannsson score, the sound design from Sylvain Bellemare and the production design from Patrice Vermette which creates a spacecraft which looks unlike any science fiction film before. At its core, Arrival really has one great revelation, and while that's effective at first, it's then rehashed and hammered home until the sharp edges grow dull. I still see a lot of promise here, and while it's in the groove it makes for an authentically strange, different viewing experience. and will surely be recognized when awards season rolls around. The plot's blunt, heavy-handed climax, though, is a bitter pill to swallow.

A clever story with interesting aliens. I found the main character's geniusness a bit obnoxious towards the end, but I still recommend it.

Sci-fi film different for its genre. Innovative plot, well developed, great suspense and atmosphere.

I feel that this movie could of had a better ending About what she knows other than that’s this movie was good but if you don’t rlly pay attention you will not understand whats going on.

Arrival is a gripping, thought-provoking film with emotional depth and intellectual intrigue. Amy Adams shines, grounding a story about communication and humanity with grace. But watching it, I realised Denis Villeneuve seems utterly humourless, without a funny bone in his body. His characters—whether in Sicario, Blade Runner 2049, or in the Dune series—never crack a joke or try to lighten the mood, a natural human instinct in times of stress, a pressure valve to deal with mental strain. Perhaps it's that lack of humanity Villeneuve is trying to portray. Still, in this of all his films, it seems most incongruous.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Title Arrival Franchise Genre Drama, Mystery, Sci Fi Note (Accolades) Notable Cast Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker Noteable Crew Denis Villeneuve, Eric Heisserer, Ted Chiang Platform/Owned Apple TV Est. Hours to Watch 1 Excitement 8 Rating 9 ... Over the course of? An evening on veteran's day Roll Credits? Yes Date Finished Mon, Nov 11, 2024 Reason Dropped Reason Finished Was hanging out with my father in law, Paul, and he really wanted to watch a movie. I was going to introduce him to Andor and we were going to watch a single episode. But Disney+ was being weird, so I suggested we watch Arrival instead since I owned it on Apple Expectations Exceeded Pacing Feel Just Right Story Visual Storytelling Production Design Perfection Audio Passionate Moans Audience Cinema Nerds Worth My Time? Absolutely Anything Else? There is an interesting undertone that doesn't seem fully developed about the importance of the humanities vs stem. Review looks weird due to exporting format errors from a spreadsheet

Like some of the genre's best, Arrival's strength is in framing an effective science fiction story around a seemingly-unrelated topic and tangling the two until they become inseparable. In this case, we deal with the fabric of linguistics - the desperate search for a communicative first step - and how even something so intrinsically dry and cerebral can make for great theatrical drama. Amy Adams is quietly empathetic in the central role, a frazzled interpreter with a strong sense of personal loss who pours herself into the work. Against the backdrop of your typical plastic-sheeted, pop-up government research facility, she's our human connection to a very clinical, inhuman situation. Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker are around, and give their roles an earnest effort, but they're too cookie-cutter and predictable to amount to much. As is much of the third act, unfortunately, when we discard the delicate analysis of words (both spoken and written) and give in to baser military-themed temptations. At its core, Arrival really has one great revelation, and while that's effective at first, it's then rehashed and hammered home until the sharp edges grow dull. I still see a lot of promise here, and while it's in the groove it makes for an authentically strange, different viewing experience. Its sound design team plays a big part in that, and will surely be recognized when awards season rolls around. The plot's blunt, heavy-handed climax, though, is a bitter pill to swallow. Updated thoughts after a 2026 re-watch (bumped my rating from a 7 to an 8): I’ve seen mature takes on extraterrestrial landing events before, but Arrival takes that idea a step further. Noteworthy for maintaining a steady focus on linguistics and learning, on conveying the process and difficulties of establishing a common tongue with creatures that don’t actually have tongues, it also sneakily toys with our minds in the same vein as a Christopher Nolan movie. It’s entirely plausible that extraterrestrial life, should it exist, would present science with baffling new forms of behavior, biology and general perception, and that simply coming to terms with those would change our own capabilities for comprehending the universe. These effects begin to manifest even before the dozen monolithic spacecraft appear around the planet, but we (and the film’s subjects) don’t realize it until much later. So Arrival is enlightening and intellectual, but does it go anywhere or do anything? Yes and no. In a literal sense, a majority of the plot spins its gears in one of two rooms: the crowded, noisy diplomatic staging area, crammed with talking heads and overstuffed chalkboards, and the antithetical learning chamber aboard the sterile alien craft, cold and smooth and undecorated. But this story’s about much more than where its cast resides in the physical world, or how the scholars’ progress toward understanding these two giant, smoke-painting Cthulu creatures might affect national security. The aliens (playfully nicknamed Abbott and Costello) aren’t rushed or worried about such things, or about the Chinese delegation’s threats of aggressive military intervention, because they’ve already seen how things are destined to play out. It seems some proverbs transcend species. Like que sera, sera.

A moving, elegantly filmed meditation on the importance of empathy and effective communication. Gorgeous, with an all-time score by the late, great, and dearly missed Johann Johannsson. Written like an intricately designed puzzle. When the last piece clicks into place and the film's mysteries reveal themselves, the feeling is hard to describe. Euphoric, maybe. The climax moved me to tears. Amy Adams goes through the wringer. Absolutely haggard, moving, earnest performance. Villeneuve lends his usual penchant for vast and unknowable horror to the idea that establishing new relationships can be scary and difficult. The aliens are top-notch. Really, great job all around and definitely worth moving up your queue.

Arrival is a very stylish and Christopher Nolan-inspired movie. The story starts off slowly, but there's payoff, because of the twist. I think the story and the character drama is reminiscent of the style of Christopher Nolan. For example there's the gravity element from Inception, the twist combined with the character drama has similarities to Interstellar and the moment of the twist reminded me of the final moment in Oppenheimer, which obivously came out after this movie. I love Nolan, I love his style, so these elements elevate the movie to an even higher level for me. The direction is very stylish, the camera movements are very slow, this movie takes its time with everything, it's very far from having even a moment of action, it's pure sci-fi drama. The cinematopgraphy is beautiful, the editing is great, the sound effects are amazing, while the visuals are awesome too. Arrival is a beautiful, slow stylish movie, with assumed Christopher Nolan inspiration, but still very unique.

потужний фільм . Добрий. Отримав задоволення. Тема першого контакту не так сильно розкрита, тому кожен такий фільм і книга як ковток свіжого повітря

Its a sci-fi film that garnered widespread acclaim upon its release, but its reception may not resonate with everyone. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the film stars Amy Adams as a linguist tasked with communicating with extraterrestrial visitors who have arrived on Earth. While praised for its stunning visuals and thought-provoking premise, some viewers may find the pacing slow and the narrative overly cerebral. Despite its ambitious exploration of language, communication, and the nature of time, "Arrival" may not fully satisfy those seeking more traditional sci-fi thrills. Nevertheless, its meditative tone and Amy Adams' compelling performance offer moments of introspection and emotional resonance. Ultimately, "Arrival" may not live up to the lofty expectations set by its critical acclaim, but it remains a respectable addition to the genre, offering a unique take on humanity's encounter with the unknown. Ok, but a movie you want to watch again.

Arrival is certainly unique, well-acted, and well-directed. It just drags on for far too long. This would have been far better if it were told in a tight 90 minutes. There's just too much downtime and filler that drowns out the good moments in between.

You know the movie is heartbreaking when the first 2 minutes are enough to make you cry. Of course, if you've already watched it. I love the plot, the idea, the narrative, the magnitude, and the colors. Holy ****. One of the best in the genre, for sure.

O plot deu uma arrepiada legal. O filme trata bem a questão da comunicação. Foi dhr assistir

Very impressive movie with visuals that you'll remember for a while. One of the better Denis Villeneuve movies.

Back in 2016 when feminist plots were subtle, we see a woman above all, the voice of science, the righteousness, perfect emotions, while the men are acting against “science” rooting for conflict, demanding answers, questioning, the men are portrayed as irrational soldiers following orders. Her best friend is a supportive man with no connection with anyone but her.

One of the best movies of the past 10 years. Their take on aliens is so fresh and interesting. Highly recommended.

Massively overrated. Nonsense science masquerading as deep thoughts for those that don't know any better. I don't know how else to explain that what you see in this movie is just silliness.

Cerebral and delightful. Burns slowly but warmly. Hard to type 75 characters with no spoilers! In the spirit of contact is about right.

Great movie. The story is decent. The scoring is great, visual is really amazing, the voice & sound is also amazing

Arrival is a modern Sci-Fi. Both in the good and in the bad sense of the word. Arrival is spectacular and beautiful to attract a large audience, and moderately stupid not to scare away the mass audience. Excellent cast, one of the best roles of Amy Adams. Arrival should be watched only in the original, Arrival about linguistics, so dubbing completely changes the idea of the film. Arrival is a vivid example of popularizing Sci-Fi in wide circles, but only because it is a bad example of the genre. Arrival is too simple and stupid. If you want a real Sci-Fi, watch Annihilation. Of course, the Arrival movie is not worse, and it looks even better for most people, but when they say that this is one of the best Sci-Fi about exploring extraterrestrial life, you catch only irritation.

ok movie really boring at times. it was only interesting to see the space craft and the aliens. other then that it was pretty dumb. working together and love is something the planet will never understand. well at least our leaders wont any way.

Zwölf schwarze, Muschelartige Raumschiff landen an zwölf verschiedene Orte auf der Welt. Die amerikanische Regierung in Person von Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) schickt zu einem die Linguistin Louise Banks (Amy Adams) und den Mathematiker bzw. Physiker Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), um herauszufinden, was die Außerirdischen wollen. Dabei haben die anderen Nationen einen anderen Plan und es gilt den Frieden zu bewahren. Arrival ist ein super Science-Fiction-Film, welcher das Thema: Landung von Außerirdischen. Anders behandelt, als die meisten Blockbuster Filme. In den meisten Filmen wird sofort auf die Objekte geschossen und die Außerirdische greifen an. Bei Arrival handeln alle erst ein mal rational und wollen herausfinden, was das für Objekte sind und was die Bewohner wollen. Als Zuschauer überlegt man mit, um was es sich handeln könnte und ob die Bewohner böse sind. Was der Film besonders gut macht, ist die visuelle Umsetzung und den Sound. Die Außerirdische sehen gruselig aus und könnten aus einem Horrorfilm sein. Die Spannung wird gut gehalten und es wird nie langweilig. Der Anfang des Filmes ist sehr emotional, womit ich nicht gerechnet hätte. Wie versucht wird zu kommunizieren ist sehr interessant und gut gelungen und jeder versucht selbst was zu interpretieren. Den Twist des Filmes habe ich teilweise erahnt, trotzdem war ich geschockt und habe mit einigen Sachen nicht gerechnet. Das Ende ist ebenfalls wie der Anfang sehr emotional und schön. Ians Charakter wird nicht stark beleuchtet, der Film konzentriert sich eher auf Louise, dagegen wirkt Ian eher nur dafür da, damit das Ende funktioniert. 9/10

Esse filme é um dos mais originais com este tema. Daria pra ter uma continuação fácil fácil. E realmente nos pensar como seria o mundo se houvesse apenas uma linguagem

Arrival is a science fiction mystery masterpiece with an original message and theme that will intrigue moviegoers everywhere.

A film that instantly tries to force emotions upon you with dreary violins, showing a mother with her dying child. Two characters i have no link to since the movie just started. Sure its still sad but yea, it just becomes forced. The movie builds up tension and excitement well, similarly like the movie Contact with trying to decipher what the aliens want. You become invested in it and really want to know what it's about but it falls short on the delivery. Spoiler ahead. The movie delivers nothing. It's completely pointless. It tries to tell us that humanity need to work together and communicate. Well ok, thanks i guess. And some mumbo jumbo about love and children. All delivered with pretentious flashbacks and more dreary violins to force emotions upon you. All the setup is great. But in the end it doesnt deliver anything at all. It's a completely pointless movie. Watch Contact instead, it's basically the same movie but good.

A much duller version of close encounters of the third kind. Lots of sitting around discussing things and not much else going on. I found the main character too self absorbed to be likable so I couldn't get invested in her. The whole thing was very self-important but the payoff wasn't worth it. It shares the same faults as Denis Villeneuve's other movies, such as blade runner 2049 and Dune - visually striking imagery and great soundtrack but the movie is ultimately long and dull.

This film just struck a chord with me, it felt so profound, minimalistic but very emotional. The score is a masterpiece and deserves as much praise, if not more, than the movie itself.

Denis villeneuve shows us all his talent in this film which is for me his best : science fiction is used in the best way. I have rarely been so taken by the mystery of a film during my first cinema session.

Awesome !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This film is chock full of clichés, false do-gooders and, as if that weren't enough, it almost seems to send anti-abortion messages (especially in the finale).

First time you watch it: 8/10. Second time: 10/10, hands down. A true masterpiece.

Amy Adams gives a superb performance in what could be called "Independence Day with a Brain." Denis Villeneuve delivers an intentional methodically paced script with the sort of intelligence, nuance, and confidence that feels wholly refreshing.

I personally think it is a very good video, it nicely presents how communication with a foreign species could take place. nicely done!

Arrival is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. Everything from Amy Adams'performance to the design of the ships, the aliens, the concept of the time, and how we perceive it, is extraordinary. Denis Villeneuve is a genius.

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The most intelligent film ever. The best Sci-Fi film ever. The best film of Denis Villeneuve. It's the best multisensorial experience; how script, directing, cinematography, editing, sound, production design, visual effects and performances strike a great balance one each other to breakthrough a new way to watch and understand the pass time.