Great potential, but still falls short

Rating: 5/10 (2 February 2017)

When I first saw the trailer for Arrival, I was very excited - it's not that often we get to see some serious SF movies, not packed with action. I was excited to see how a brilliant director such as Villeneuve would approach the genre. The thing I hold against many SF movies including aliens is the lack of their background story. Who are they? Where exactly do they come from? How did they get to evolve into beings that they are now? What is their tech based on? Do they have art? What do they eat?
Unfortunately, Arrival didn't answer those questions. All that we know is that the aliens will require our help in three thousand years and they've come to make sure we are ready by then. That is, in itself, very interesting and I liked it. However, it left me thirsty for more background to the story. Science fiction is not just science trying to be plausible. It is also fiction - and I love it because of that. I will most likely not meet an alien any time soon and it's movies such as this one that I hope will tell me a complete story of what might happen and who exactly the aliens are.
That being said, I wish the movie contained extra 10-15 minutes of various explanations and that's what it would have made it a 10/10 movie for me. I understand not all viewers feel the same and require a backstory, but I do. Without a backstory, I feel almost cheated. As if the storytellers say "we didn't put extra creative effort into bringing you something that would complete the story and blow your mind."