I had no idea - again and again

Rating: 5/10 (23 November 2017)

Perhaps I'm just stupid, but I simply didn't get it. No idea how the two separate life forms featured in the film were eventually able to understand each other. No idea what the purpose of the alien visit was. No idea what Jeremy Renner's character had to do with anything. No idea what time period Amy Adam's character was living in. No idea how Amy Adam's character was able to stop the Chinese from attacking the aliens. No idea why the daughter had to die or how her life tied into anything. No idea why Adams and Renner were expelled from the ship by the Aliens at one point. No idea why it was thought the aliens had spoken of a 'weapon.' No idea how this has received an 8 rating (at the time of this review) on IMDb.
I'm amazed at the 'alphabet' the writer of this film was able to develop, but for me, it was one of those movies that is supposed to be intelligent yet makes little sense to most viewers. The special effects were well done, but it's a rather tedious journey to a very unsatisfying ending.