Alien Encounter as a Device

Rating: 8/10 (12 November 2016)

This is an exceptional movie, better than its nearest equivalent: "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". What makes it better is, in part, that the Aliens and their Arrival are largely a device. This device explores several issues. One is how our species reacts to a perceived threat. Another is how language may shape our thoughts. The third is our notion of time. Each one could merit a philosophical paper of its own so it would be far too much to expect of this tale to resolve all of these issues. Yet in its somewhat touchy-freely way it succeeds well enough because it make us think about these issues. Some of us anyway since overheard conversation leaving the theater suggested to me that some people really didn't get it. The rating I have given could, despite how good the movie is, still be a bit high in light of the rating some of the best 100 movies of all time were given. But as a recent film compared to recent films it seems about right.