'Arrival' Review: 'Brainy' Sci-Fi Sans Destruction; It Curiously Leaves You Curious

Paramount Pictures redeemed its reputation in its latest science fiction, alien invasion film, "Arrival" not just in terms of revenue, but most importantly, in provoking emotions and thoughts of viewers. "Arrival" is not just any other previous alien invasion movies.

"Arrival" gives viewers the chance to internalize and ponder on the significance of communications, the frailty of humans, mortality and the fact that no matter how far and wide our science and technology has reached or we think we have achieved, there might always be something else that is more sophisticated than what our minds have already conceived.

Unlike previous movies where aliens attempt to conquer our world, "Arrival" does not focus on violence and destruction. It is more about diplomatic negotiation as extraordinary Dr. Louise Banks, portrayed by Amy Adams, tried to understand the alien's language in a bid to convince them to retract and abandon their invasion. In the process, humans prove how amazing our brains work when confronted by something unprecedented. It also depicts how extra-terrestrial entities think and how that may impact mankind.

Amy Adams was excellent in her performance playing the talented linguist. A review from Variety says, "Adam's presence helped broaden the film's appeal" and it drew a lot of women on its opening day accounting for 48 per cent of the total audience.

"Having Amy in the lead is fresh in the best way" as "there's also a real emotional storyline that speaks to women," says Kylie Davies, head of Paramount Picture's distribution as quoted by Variety.

A review from the web site Astronomy says that Dr. Banks delivers the character of a scientific thinker and "a successful linguist." Another thing that aided in making "Arrival" a blockbuster hit is the curiosity that it invokes to potential viewers when it released its trailer. The director and producer succeeded in restraining the film's plot in its trailer that the only way to satisfy the curious minds is to watch the film itself. And they did.