Twelve alien ships touch down around the world, and instead of sending in the army, Denis Villeneuve sends in a linguist. Arrival follows Amy Adams as Louise Banks, hired to work out how the visitors speak before anyone panics. It came out in November 2016 and critics fell for it hard, with Rotten Tomatoes counting about 95% of reviews as positive.
What critics loved
Almost everyone started with Adams. Peter Travers at Rolling Stone called her "simply stellar", and Ann Hornaday at the Washington Post singled out a quiet, inward performance that carries the whole film. USA Today's Brian Truitt went as far as putting her in the Best Actress race.
The other big point was how grown-up it is. The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney praised a sci-fi drama that builds fear and tension without destroying a single city, and Bryan Bishop at The Verge called it a mature, thoughtful piece of science fiction. The Playlist singled out the way the story plays with time, and the Detroit News pointed to Jóhann Jóhannsson's score as a big part of the spell.
Where critics split
The complaints were small and mostly about temperature. TheWrap found the film cool and detached, which made its emotional turn near the end feel a little jarring. The Guardian thought it was at its strongest before the aliens are fully shown, and the Hollywood Reporter felt Jeremy Renner didn't get much to do. Manohla Dargis at the New York Times liked it but found its action and political threads thin next to the bigger ideas.
The consensus
Critics treated Arrival as close to flawless filmmaking, which is why it sits at the top of the QC scale. Fun lands lower, not because it drags, but because it's a patient, quiet, cerebral film that asks for your attention rather than thrilling you. Viewers looking for an alien blockbuster were warned to expect something slower, stranger and far more moving.
Sources
- The Week: Arrival, is this one of the best films of 2016? (Rolling Stone, Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, The Verge)
- Newser: Reviews for Arrival are fantastic (USA Today, Washington Post, Detroit News, Rolling Stone)
- /Film: Arrival early buzz (Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The Guardian, The Playlist, TheWrap)