The Sci-Fi genre, in my opinion, is the best and most imaginative genre of the fictional movie there is. There are so many directions a movie can take, so many plot lines that can be created, and so many imaginative shots that can be filmed given the circumstances of the movie, like a shot consistently twisting because the main characters of the movie have just been shot down in their plane by a UFO. However, there is a fine line in Sci-Fi between what is good and what is just plain stupid, like in "Signs" by M Night Shyamalan, where the Aliens are only killed when they touch water, on a planet that rains a lot and is 70% covered by water. In this regard, I feel that Arrival absolutely nails the Sci-Fi feel of a movie. The plot centers around Louise Banks, a linguistics professor who is tasked in attempting to make first contact with Aliens living in pods that just touched down on the Earth's surface before global war erupts. Working with a group of highly skilled people, including Ian Donnelly, a physicist, she and her team conducted numerous "expeditions" into one such alien pod in Montana where they meet with two aliens and attempt to decipher the alien's language. After learning much later on that Louise can see the future, the flashbacks utilized in the movie all connect like a great puzzle and help the viewer tie together all the "loose ends" present in the film in an experience that can only be called magical. When watching Arrival, one thought jumped out at me; they handled Fantasy vs Reality in a beautiful way. Based on the premise of the movie and the time travel/alternate universe plotline, the movie accurately portrays a fantasy aspect. However, with the desperation and reaction of the characters, the scientific facts used, and the process by which the characters must interact with the aliens imitates reality, and how in these "extraterrestrial" circumstances could/would be handled in real life should these events occur. On the cinematography side of things, I noticed that the director and cinematographer use a lot of closes up and detailed shots of people's faces to stress the suspense of the given scene. Also, a long shot is almost always used when the Aliens "speak" to show just how big and imposing they are compared to Louise and Ian. To further stress the suspense of the movie, dollys are consistently utilized to bit by bit close up on computer screens, T.V's, and other devices in the movie. Personally, I would 100% recommend this movie. I loved the use of the shots listed above to create that incredible and immense sense of suspense, and I found the plot of the movie intriguing. I love Sci-Fi alien movies and I felt like this was a unique spin on it, where the aliens were friendly and curious rather than an invading force. Furthermore, the soundtrack was incredible at relaying the specific emotions listed on the character's faces. Lastly, I love the use of time travel and alternate timelines so long as the movie thoroughly explains and validates their reason for using this trope with science to accurately explain why this is possible. All in all, I would 100% recommend this movie.
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