Review: ARRIVAL – One of the Best Sci-Fi Flicks for 2017

We’re doing a review of Arrival which opens (late) in the Philippines Feb. 2017. It stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker.

Maaaann, what an interesting movie. This film, directed by Dennis Villanueve, takes a completely different way of telling a sci-fi movie. It’s also nonlinear and very will get you going “Oh” by the end of the film.

First off, the composition and visuals for Arrival are grade-A. The opening scene alone is gorgeous in it’s subtlety. Guess what, it doesn’t even involve the aliens.

Amy Adams can act that’s for sure. There are some parts where it gets boring but hey, that’s just about any movie we’ve all seen. As she takes us through this roller coaster journey with very minimal action sequences, we see her showcase just how well she can play a linguistic master who can apparently is the key to easing the tension between Earth and these cryptic aliens.

I’ve got to hand it to these story-tellers, they sell us one thing and give us a completely different thing. Amazing. I mean sure, if you watch it the first time you might go “huh” but they definitely executed it perfectly.

I would really love to spoil this because of how fresh and interesting the plot was but I’d be happier if you catch this film when it opens.

Another thing that got my attention is how non-linear the story. It can zip past point A to point Z under your nose and still its a solid story. Sorry, I’m just thrilled with how they panned this story.

Loved the morality and life lessons they put in here as well. Would you go and do something, create something that you’ll love and cherish knowing full well that its going to end with heartbreak and sorrow. The film leaves that to viewers amidst all the talk of aliens, global conflicts and linguistics.

Oh and they made China a redeemable asshole in this film. So its going political then backtracking then giving the aforementioned “villain” a soul. Definitely something we all need, no, something the world needs.

Lastly, Arrival is one of those films that DEMANDS a second viewing because all those clues, all those foreshadowings are all there in front of us and yet we get lulled into thinking otherwise.

VERDICT: 10/10

Don’t forget, Arrival will also have a sneak preview run on February 6 and 7 and will open in cinemas February 15.