Glenn’s Corner: ‘Arrival’ review

Are you tired of today’s fast-paced, brain-festering science fiction spectacles that are poured into theaters every half hour? Would you prefer something that took its time and told a solid, well thought out sci-fi story with interesting ideas and themes? Something similar to say, “The Andromeda Strain” or “2001: A Space Odyssey”?

Well, “Arrival” is not nearly as good as those two, but it’s the thought that counts.

When 12 alien capsules land all around the world, sparking political uproar and hysteria among the masses, it is up to Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner to use their combined talents to communicate with the alien beings and determine the answer to one question: Why are they here?

Let’s start off with the good parts. The film’s strong suit is definitely its atmosphere, particularly in the first half. The tension builds very effectively as we get closer and closer to seeing the aliens in the flesh. I would like to give specific praise to the opening scene, where Amy Adams shows up to her job as a linguistics professor to find that most of her students are gone and those who remain seem very distracted by alerts they are getting from their phones.

Then again, that’s pretty typical in most of my classes.

Other things to acclaim would be the two leads, who are very believable in their roles; the design of the aliens themselves, which are a unique cross of squid, crab, and pure nightmares; and the heavy emphasis on a slow pace and rich sci-fi storytelling, a rarity outside of the 1970s.

Sadly, the movie is far from perfect. While its terrible special effects are easily forgiven due to the emphasis placed strongly in ideas rather than action, what cannot be forgiven is some of the ideas presented themselves, which are dubious at best. The most asinine of these is introduced after Adam’s character begins to heavily involve herself in deciphering the text of the aliens. It is something called “linguistic relativity,” which is basically the concept that the language one speaks affects their personality and worldview.

While this is true to an extent, as a language will influence the way you think about word order and such, the extreme to which this movie takes it is completely ridiculous and makes for a disjointed and poorly thought-out resolution. Even if you are not annoyed by the presence of bad science in a science fiction film, the way this concept is executed will still leave most viewers scratching their heads and assuming that the writers could not think of a better ending.

Despite its faults, “Arrival” is still a very enjoyable film, easily worth its ticket price due to the first half alone. So if you are up for a slow yet rewarding sci-fi mystery movie, be sure to check this one out before you have to wait another 40 years. Just be wary of the latter parts.

Overall Score 4/5