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Why Arrival is One of The Best Science Fiction Movies

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  • 3 min read

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One of the best aspects of Arrival is how it flips traditional storytelling to deliver one of the best plot twists I’ve ever seen.

Rather than follow the norm, Arrival kicks off with the end of its story, then transitions to the middle before finishing up with its beginning.

And yes, I know that explanation is a bit confusing, but trust me, it will all make sense when you see the movie.

This deviation, however, isn’t just for the sake of shocking the audience, but rather it helps drive home a deep question that haunts the film’s main character.

“If you could see your life from start to finish, would you change anything?”

When twelve huge alien spaceships land around the world, Arrival sees the U.S. military recruit a linguistics Professor named Louise Banks to help communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. But while trying to unravel this mystery, Louise takes a chance that could threaten her life and possibly end humanity.

As expected, humanity panics at the arrival of a dozen alien space crafts with unknown and unpredictable motivations. And by the time Louise steps in, most world leaders are on the verge of considering the nuclear option.

However, thanks to calmer minds, this option is deferred.

After making contact with the aliens, our protagonist wastes no time in trying to decipher the Alien’s language. Louise manipulates all forms of known communication, to understand their reason for coming to earth. And it’s not long before she gets a rough understanding of how these extra-terrestrial being communicate.

Louise Studies the Alien's Language (Arrival is One of The Best Science Fiction Movies )
Louise Studies the Alien’s Language

However, while learning their language, Louise discovers that her sense of time has changed, and she soon starts having glimpses of moments within her own life that haven’t happened yet.

It’s at this point that the movie reveals that every flashback of Louise spending time with her daughter, Hannah, is actually a flashforward and has not happened yet.

But while these future memories predict the wonderful time Louise will have with her Daughter, they also confirm that Hannah will inevitably die.

This newfound power leaves Loiuse with a choice. She can either do everything in her power to prevent her daughter’s birth. Or accept Hannah’s fate, and cherish every moment she has with her, even though she knows how it ends.

And this is why Arrival is one of the best sci-fi movies. The movie brilliantly uses a fictional concept to provoke a genuine human emotion, love. But what’s even more haunting is how this impossible question can be asked even in the real world.

And so I ask, “If you could see your life from start to finish, would you change anything?”

VERDICT

Arrival

Movie title: Arrival

Review

While Arrival is definitely one of those movies that will Blow your Mind, but I can’t recommend it enough. Arrival is a beautiful movie that brilliantly uses a fictional concept to show humanity’s love in its purest form. And this makes it one of The Best Science Fiction Movies I’ve ever seen.

Overall
4.5
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Pros

  • Excellent Storytelling
  • Amazing Plot
  • Incredible Cast

Cons

  • No There’s Reason To Skip
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