Good old-fashioned cerebral, heady, thought-provoking science-fiction

Rating: 9/10 (14 December 2016)

This is good old fashioned cerebral, heady, thought-provoking science- fiction. It's also a somber picture; one that tries ambitiously to meld the heart with the mind. It mostly works, though in spite of what many are calling a formulaic plot (it's necessary, I think, and part of a larger theme).
Amy Adams is basically herself but with the usual variations; this is her as stern, determined, soft-spoken thinker, broken or maybe always has been. It's a subtly engaging performance, the kind Adams has been doing great work with for a while now.
The score is foreboding and ominous, fitting in not just with sci-fi history but also the kind of emotional tinkering Arrival plays with. Villenueve is a master of slow building suspense using striking and casual compositions in alternating rhythms.
I wish Renner had been given more to do, more depth, more anything really. And I really wish the decoding of the language wasn't glossed over in a montage. It was built up as an incredibly complex and nearly impossible task, and then suddenly they had made really good progress with it. A few more minutes could have done wonders here.