Intelligent life - in the cinema!

Rating: 8/10 (18 November 2016)

A sci-fi movie that assumes there is intelligent life in the cinema is something of a rarity. ARRIVAL reworks themes from other movies - notably 2001 and CONTACT - but it reworks them with a fresh perspective that makes this movie seem intriguing and original.
Shell-shaped spacecraft arrive at various locations around the globe. The US one hovers over a field in Montana which quickly becomes a military zone like Area 51. Linguistics expert Amy Adams is summoned to try to communicate with the octopus-shaped aliens who squirt their words onto a clear wall that separates them from the scientists and their military escorts whom they allow inside the craft.
The big question, of course, which occupies the entire movie, is: Have they come in peace? With (fond!) memories of MARS ATTACKS and WAR OF THE WORLDS, I was constantly anticipating mayhem. In the Pentagon (clearly not presided over by a Bush or a Trump) the doves, for once, are not silenced, but around the world the hawks squawk the loudest, inevitably.
The CGI here manages to be stunning without being over-the-top. Adams gives a nicely judged performance which justifiably dominates the movie. The story lacks pace but it delivers on thought-provoking content. Probably, as in 2001 and CONTACT, most of the audience will come out wondering, What the hell was that all about? Good: get 'em thinking. Treat us as intelligent beings - like the tentacle people!