Another Masterpiece from Top Director Denis Villeneuve

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 2016)

WARNING:
Do not go into Arrival without an understanding of director Denis Villeneuve. Some of his movies are extremely complex (Enemy), and all of his movies are slow paced. None of them go easy on the viewer.
Pros:
Amy Adams is excellent- her relationship with her daughter gives the movie most of its emotional weight. She is intelligent and interesting, and never feels like a Mary Sue.
Cinematography- Each shot could be a painting. Every. Single. Shot. It's hard to get bored when something so beautiful is on screen!
Structure- The best part of the film. The structure of Arrival ties perfectly to the plot, especially towards the third act.
Creativity- The aliens in Arrival are like nothing seen before. What is this! A new idea in a sci-fi movie!? Um.. how long has it been?
Flaws:
Characters- Amy Adams is the only substantial character. Jeremy Renner didn't work as well with Amy as I had hoped. He simply isn't interesting- he's funny, but never really goes beyond that.
Second Act- A plot device in the second act is a little lazy, and the audience doesn't really get to see how things play out. It doesn't hurt the film too much in the end, but it is the only part of the movie with plot-based flaws.
Overall:
Arrival is a fantastic film by a fantastic director. If you let this movie play out, and wait for the payoff, you will be well rewarded. Arrival, for me, doesn't quite beat out Prisoners (a nearly perfect movie), but takes second place away from Sicario. Follow this director; he is reliably interesting and fresh. Even though it has a few flaws, they don't take away from all of the excellence throughout. 9/10.