Cerebral, engaging, and visually stunning, Arrival is
science fiction in its truest form. More
focused on provoking and intriguing rather than merely entertaining, this alien
encounter adventure thrills and amazes with a solid story and characters
instead of gratuitous action and a heavy
reliance on overstated effects. Make no
mistake, the visuals are incredible, but they support this production rather
than lead it. Renner is appropriately
somber and subtle, which sadly is the extent of his range but definitively
apropos here. Adams is stellar, her best
film to date, but again, the writers cater to and effectively exploit her
limited artistic prowess. Whitaker and
the remaining ensemble excel, but the tone is so well paced, it would be hard
for them to stumble. Director,
Villeneuve takes his time telling this tale, and in doing so is able to embrace
all of the complexities of the concept without losing a single step. Do not expect the pomp and circumstance of so
many others in the genre, instead, sit back and enjoy a carefully and
compassionately woven narrative that challenges the audience's pre-existing
ideas of time, space, reality, and purpose.
All while asking a deep and probing, nearly disturbing question. If you knew what was at the end, would you
still take the journey? 4 out of 5
Kernels: for the purist, this is a close encounter of the best kind.
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