Masterpiece, maybe not for everyone

Rating: 10/10 (17 November 2018)

I wasted an hour reading some of the negative reviews. Most of the 1-stars fall into a couple of buckets:
A) They didn't pay attention, asking questions or pointing out "holes" that are clearly addressed in the movie. These people are just wrong and/or don't like movies that require focus.
B) They don't understand the actual point of the movie. These ones are more understandable - but still wrong, IMO. In their defense, the marketing did make this seem more action-oriented.
The point a lot of folks are missing is that this isn't really a story about aliens. Aliens and first contact are used to tell a story about how humans conceptualize time.
The great tragedy that we must experience time linearly.
The realization that experiencing time non-linearly would come with its own heartbreaking consequences.
IMO, Arrival is fundamentally a thought-piece on Kierkegaard's famous quote: "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."
I can see why it'd be offputting to expect an action-packed alien flick and instead get a cerebral contemplation on the nature of time. That doesn't change that it's a masterpiece.