Abbott & Costello Meet Creatures From Another World!

Rating: Null/10 (15 February 2017)

"Arrival" was a thoughtful and especially well-scripted science fiction film. The concept was not only clever, but ingenious and imaginative.
I appears that the basic premise of the film is similar to "The War of the Worlds." But around the middle of the film, the dynamic changes to allow us to think about whether advanced life could visit our planet for a noble purpose.
Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner are both excellent in the major roles. Playing two university professors, their characters are the key figures in communicating with the two aliens, humorously named Abbott and Costello.
The strength of the film was in developing a human side of the story. The subplot of flashbacks (or "flashforwards") was essential in developing the film's theme about the "gift" of the aliens.
In this regard, the film's ending could have provided a much stronger denouement about the main topic of language and the implications of Adams's character unlocking the secrets of the aliens' complicated writing system. The human potential of the gift was far-reaching. Yet it was not apparent at all whether the deeply flawed human race would use the gift for the benefit or the harm to our planet.