by Cameron Tejeda | staff writer

Denis Villeneuve, the director of Prisoners and Sicario, brings us Arrival. The story is about aliens that visit Earth, and the world is tasked with finding out what they want.

When strange alien ships arrive on Earth, Amy Adams, who stars as a linguistics professor, is brought onto a task force to find out why they are here. She gives a really great performance alongside Jeremy Renner who plays a scientist. Forest Whitaker also brings some talent to the role of a U.S. Army Colonel leading the cause.

Arrival is a very intriguing and suspenseful movie. The story takes some twists and turns and gets pretty complex as you keep watching. Because of that, I was invested completely to seeing how it all unfolded. Arrival is not your typical alien encounter movie, and I really liked that about it. It get can get a little confusing, but if you pay attention from beginning to end it makes sense.

The movie has amazing cinematography and visuals that are a joy to watch. Every scene is skillfully shot. When you first see the ship and the aliens it is really impressive to see.

As the film goes on, I really wanted to find out why the aliens are here, so I was glued to the screen and soaking up every bit of information I could get. As a result, the whole movie is tension filled and really builds your anticipation. I don’t think the reveal as to why they were here is as shocking as it could have been, but it went a different route and was good nonetheless.  

Arrival has a great cast and is a must watch film if you want a mysterious, interesting, and visually stunning movie to enjoy. Denis Villeneuve continues to impress, and I can’t wait to see what he does next.