JONATHAN SAYS:

As the movie progresses, I was sucked into the backstory of Louise (Amy Adams), a top linguist, and Ian (Jeremy Renner), a scientist given the opportunity of a lifetime.

While they try to figure out why the Heptapods came to Earth, the whole world is on edge wondering if this is a peaceful encounter or an attack.

The film is like a combination of a Jason Bourne movie mixed with “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” I believe this to be one of the best sci-fi movies of the decade and it should garner considerable Oscar buzz. I’d give this movie an A minus.

“Arrival” was great and has a solid plot. The only flaw is that as the movie progresses, it runs stagnant for a little while before the climax, though the lull is barely noticeable.

Overall, this movie was great. The actors fit the roles of the characters they play. Adams usually plays strong women in her movies, and doesn’t disappoint in “Arrival.” As for Renner, the characters he plays are usually mysterious and introverted. In this movie, however, his character is determined and outgoing, his performance more dramatic and powerful. In addition, the plot is solid as it transitions well from scene to scene even in the slower parts of the film.

This might not be a movie that you go to if you’re looking for quick action and fast story, but for the frequent movie-goer who gets into movies, I highly recommend it, it will not disappoint.

“Arrival” keeps you wondering what happens next.

This is a must see.

TYLER SAYS:

How is it that E.T. picks up a working vocabulary just a few days after arriving from the far reaches of space? How does the cockroach alien of “Men in Black” speak English so fluently minutes after crashing into a farmhouse? It’s an oft-overlooked issue with sci-fi movies, and it’s explored beautifully in Denis Villeneuve’s fantastic new movie “Arrival.”

Louise (Amy Adams) is a prominent linguist who is called upon by a mysterious colonel (Forest Whitaker) to help decode the language of a pair of aliens who arrived in Montana, one of 12 extraterrestrial ships that landed around the world. Louise is joined on her mission by Ian (Jeremy Renner), an awkward theoretical physicist.

As communication breaks down between countries and a Chinese general takes to saber rattling, it’s a race against time to figure out if the aliens are here on a goodwill mission or as scouts for an impending invasion.

Villeneuve, director of “Prisoners” and last year’s thrilling “Sicario,” changes gears and shows a remarkable knack for hitting emotional beats, given extra beauty by cinematographer Bradford Young’s eye. There’s a sense of wonder reminiscent of “Tree of Life.”

All the expert execution would be for not if the lead performance was lacking, but Amy Adams delivers yet another fantastic performance. The five-time Oscar-nominee gives incredible depth to Louise, from her maternal grief to the awe inspired by alien life.

Communication is complicated. When it goes bad, it can end marriages, divide a country, or precipitate a war. When it goes well, however, it can create empathy where there was once none, assuage the frightened, or embolden the ordinary. Let’s hope that the future gives us more Louises and that both the fiction and nonfiction resembles “Arrival” more than “Independence Day.”