Interesting, but too reminiscent of other recent sci-fi's

Rating: 8/10 (19 January 2017)

"Arrival" begins as countless sci-fi stories begin: a few alien space-ships land (or, in this case "float") on Earth and people freak out to understand their intentions. In "Indipendence Day" their intentions were bad; in "District 9" the aliens become the victims. Here a simple story as this one evolves into something I could call Nietzschean, not to spoil with specifics to future viewers, growing into something I was not prepared for at the beginning. But at the same time this clever story shows some inevitable similarities to other hit sci-fi's of the past few years, first of all "Interstellar" by Christopher Nolan. While the first 3/4s of the film work magnificently, the ending feels more like a b-movie finale, with its race against time and predictable solution, although the final speech may bring less philosophically learned audiences food for the mind. It is not clear what the final encounter with the aliens means, though, and I fear that the scene was written that way to justify a sequel in a few years, but maybe it's just me.
Denis Villeneuve's "Sicario" was a 2015 hit movie first of all because of its brilliant visual style. "Arrival" is no less so, with more beautiful landscapes and ingenious shots, especially inside the aliens' den. Johann Johannsson is also back for the score, which is true to his minimal style and really manages to enhance the power of some of the best scenes in the central part of the film; I actually didn't really like the use of the very well-known "On the Nature of Daylight" at the beginning and end of the movie though, as it feels like a cheap move to trigger an emotional response on the audience with such easy means. The simple design of the aliens and their space-ships is a true winner, being simultaneously mysterious, ominous and intriguing; the language used by the creatures is the greatest value of the whole movie, a true stroke of genius both in its design and in its broader meaning.
It seems like Amy Adams's star has no intention to burn out, as we saw the actress star in two well-praised 2016 movies: "Arrival" and "Nocturnal Animals" by Tom Ford. While I personally don't like her too much, I must admit she's a true force of nature when it comes to explore emotional acting: in both films her characters undergo intense moments and she acts them out surehandedly and with a magnetic touch, helped by the two visual-heavy directors, who love to linger a lot on her face. Renner's Ian Donnelly is a funny guy, a lot similar in his behavior to the more famous role of his, Hawkeye. As a whole he doesn't do too much, but may be better this way. Whitaker is a great actor and, although his role is not the biggest ever, he stands well between the other mains.