--- title: "Arrival" year: 2016 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/arrival" fi1m_id: "arrival" imdb_id: "tt2543164" tmdb_id: 329865 wikidata_id: "Q20382729" fi1m_score: 86 critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 18 published: "2026-09-16" updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:42.948217+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Arrival (2016) Directed by Denis Villeneuve · 1h 56m · MPA PG-13 · Drama, Science Fiction, Mystery ## Identity Arrival - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/arrival - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** arrival - **IMDb ID:** tt2543164 - **TMDB ID:** 329865 - **Wikidata ID:** Q20382729 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543164/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/329865, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20382729 **Fi1m score: 86** · Critics 82 from 18 reviews *In a sentence:* The aliens have arrived, and we would rather hear from the linguist than the colonel > Denis Villeneuve makes first contact tense, patient and unexpectedly moving, with Amy Adams giving the strange ideas a recognisable human response. The wider crisis is less convincing, but *Arrival* earns our attention whenever it lets her work. ## Synopsis Alien vessels appear, and linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) faces the problem of establishing contact with beings whose language she does not understand. Alongside Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) and Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker), she tries to work out how to communicate before anyone can answer the question of why the visitors are here. The vast, egg-shaped craft offer no explanation by themselves. Approaching their occupants is only the beginning: Louise Banks has to find a way to make herself understood while confronting her own fear of what she might encounter. ## Review *Arrival* is a thoughtful, unsettling science-fiction film that earns its emotion, even when its wider crisis becomes less persuasive. Denis Villeneuve builds it around the difficulty of speaking to somebody who shares none of our assumptions, then gives that difficulty the weight usually reserved for an imminent attack. The central activity is trying to understand a language. That might sound like a modest use of an alien visitation, but the film makes each attempt to communicate feel consequential. Amy Adams supplies much of the tension as Louise Banks, the linguist faced with the visitors. Her performance lets fear and curiosity coexist without making either seem like a pose; she can look daunted by what is in front of her and still want to get closer. We felt afraid with her during the first encounter, because her apprehension remains visible even as she concentrates on making contact. The film gives us time to watch that effort. Bradford Young photographs the immense, egg-shaped vessels in muted tones, letting their size disturb us without making the image gaudy. Patrice Vermette’s production design gives those simple shapes enough force to sustain the wait for contact. Denis Villeneuve understands that the prospect of approaching something so unfamiliar can carry a sequence before anything happens. There is enough strangeness in the ships themselves to hold our attention without a running explanation of what everything does. Joe Walker’s editing allows anticipation to accumulate around the encounters instead of hurrying to the next piece of information. The pace occasionally feels over-careful, as though a quicker transition might count as bad manners, but the waiting mostly pays off. Jóhann Jóhannsson’s score deepens the unease without treating the visitors as a straightforward threat. Together, the cutting and the music make the work of listening feel exposed and risky, which is precisely what this story needs. Eric Heisserer’s screenplay is strongest when it stays with the practical problem of understanding another intelligence. It allows curiosity to carry a scene, and trusts Amy Adams to make thought visible without turning Louise Banks into somebody who has an answer for everything. The broader crisis is thinner: its urgency feels supplied by the requirements of the plot, and it makes the film less tense when it should make it more so. The close attention to Louise Banks has already set a higher standard. The film’s place in science fiction comes from the seriousness with which it treats communication, and the ordinary vulnerability Amy Adams brings to it. An encounter with another intelligence ought to challenge more than our ability to defend ourselves, and Denis Villeneuve follows that thought with patience. Louise Banks remains someone whose reactions matter, even as the ideas around her become more demanding. Give it an evening without another screen competing for attention. *Fi1m score 86, published 16 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics welcome Arrival as thoughtful, emotionally involving science fiction, praising its focus on language and communication rather than invasion spectacle. Amy Adams draws particularly consistent praise for a restrained performance that makes the unfamiliar encounters feel both credible and personal. The reviews also value Denis Villeneuve’s patient staging, the mysterious alien designs and the carefully judged images and score, which give a largely intimate story a convincing sense of scale. The disagreement concerns how well its emotional storytelling supports its ideas, with responses ranging from strong enthusiasm to qualified approval. Time Out admires the visuals and sequences of discovery but finds the pacing ponderous and the sentiment excessive; Little White Lies respects the intelligence and performances yet finds the film underwhelming in retrospect. Most critics find the combination moving, while the more reserved reviews suggest that the writing cannot always sustain the fascination of first contact. ## Straight answers **Is Arrival worth watching?** *Arrival* is worth watching for anyone who wants science fiction that treats first contact as a problem of understanding rather than a fight, and we scored it 86. Amy Adams keeps the strange ideas human as Louise Banks, the linguist trying to communicate with the visitors. The wider crisis around her is thinner than the central work, but the film holds whenever it lets her do it. **How long is Arrival, and what is it rated?** *Arrival* runs 1h 56m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is a drama and science fiction film. **Where can I watch Arrival in the US?** *Arrival* is streaming on Paramount+, Pluto TV, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and The Roku Channel in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Arrival, and is it suitable for children?** *Arrival* carries a 12A certificate and is unsettling rather than violent, with its tension coming from fear of the unknown rather than from action or gore. The first encounter with the vast, egg-shaped vessels is frightening because we wait with Louise Banks for something to happen. Younger children may find the dread and the slow pace hard going; teenagers with patience should be fine. **How does Arrival compare to Contact?** *Arrival* and [*Contact*](https://film.one/film/contact) both follow a scientist trying to make sense of an encounter with another intelligence, and both are worth an evening. *Arrival* is the quieter and more patient of the two, built around the difficulty of understanding a language, while *Contact* has the more exciting discovery and Jodie Foster's urgency. *Contact* spends longer on speeches about science and belief; *Arrival* is the tighter film. **What should I watch after Arrival?** After *Arrival*, try [*Contact*](https://film.one/film/contact) (1997, Fi1m 76): Another patient encounter with the unknown, carried by a scientist worth listening to. Then [*Solaris*](https://film.one/film/solaris-1972) (1972, Fi1m 87): For alien contact that becomes troublingly personal, with still more patience required; and [*After Life*](https://film.one/film/after-life) (1998, Fi1m 85): A quieter Japanese drama about memory, built around listening carefully to ordinary people. ### Reviews we read (26) - **The i Paper**, Matthew Turner (★★★★★): The film is a profoundly moving, beautifully-made story about the importance of communication and understanding. Amy Adams delivers a remarkable, sensitive performance that anchors the intelligent sci-fi narrative. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/arrival-review-29941) - **The Telegraph**, Robbie Collin (5/5): The review calls the film dazzling science-fiction that will leave you speechless, with ideas and ambitions matching the scale of the alien vessels. It highlights the introspective, philosophical and existentially inclined story that unfolds with chest-tightening excitement and a mid-film revelation that tips the seat back. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/arrival-review-dazzling-science-fiction-that-will-leave-you-spee/) - **Empire**, Dan Jolin (90/100, inferred): Villeneuve delivers a fresh, thoughtful take on the alien-contact genre with inventive aliens and resonant themes about communication. The film is a polished puzzle box that grips with its ideas, execution, and emotional richness. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/arrival-2-review/) - **Total Film** (90/100, inferred): Arrival is an intelligent, eloquent and stirring sci-fi that grips from start to finish and ranks among the year’s best movies. Villeneuve handles big themes of language, love and time with dexterity alongside awe-inspiring visuals and a very human story. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/arrival-review/) - **Evening Standard**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (85/100, inferred): The script stands out with humour, quirky details and a heartbreaking twist, while Villeneuve ensures every shot has visceral clout despite sparing SFX. It is a by-turns hilarious and shattering triumph of a fable. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/arrival-film-review-close-encounters-of-a-charming-kind-a3393456.html) - **Radio Times**, Stephen Carty (4/5): Arrival is an impressive, grounded and intimate sci-fi drama about communication and ideas rather than action or invasion spectacle, with well-judged performances especially from Amy Adams and effective mysterious alien designs that maintain tension and awe. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/arrival-review-impressive-thoughtful-and-cerebral/) - **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (80/100, inferred): The film is Villeneuve’s most balanced work, mixing pessimism with excitement and awe. It highlights the inward mood, Adams’s contagious expressions of awe and fear, and the framing of the egg-like spaceships. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/arrival) - **Screen Daily** (70/100, inferred): Villeneuve's Arrival is a richly realised and executed sci-fi distinguished by its introspective heroine, visual refinement and symbiotic score, becoming an unexpectedly moving rumination on life's bigger questions, though it lacks tension when going wide and may disappoint fans expecting more edge. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/arrival-venice-review/5108972.article) - **Little White Lies**, Adam Woodward (4/3/3): Villeneuve offers a sophisticated, low-key take on first contact focused on personal trauma, communication and human connections rather than spectacle, anchored by strong performances, but the result feels like a weepie with space monsters and proves underwhelming in retrospect despite its intelligence. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/arrival) - **The Times**, Camilla Long (★★★): The critic finds the film makes intense and sometimes successful efforts to be about language rather than just egg-shaped structures, but notes it does not always work and can feel ridiculous when not gripping. Adams’ performance and the visual intensity are acknowledged amid mixed feelings about the script and overall execution. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/camilla-long-on-film-arrival-and-american-pastoral-dcfnt9gmj) - **Time Out**, Dave Calhoun (3/5): The film boasts smart ideas, bravura visuals and gripping sequences exploring language, time and alien encounters with strong tension and production design, but it is marred by maudlin elements, schlocky hokum, ponderous pacing and feels caught between thoughtful indie sci-fi and mainstream tropes. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/arrival) - **IndieWire**, Ben Croll: The review highlights Amy Adams as the standout in Denis Villeneuve's deep-thinking alien invasion story. It emphasizes her central performance amid the unsettling premise. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/arrival-review-amy-adams-denis-villeneuve-deep-thinking-alien-invasion-1201722369/) - **Sight and Sound**, Adam Nayman: Villeneuve delivers a visually stylish sci-fi procedural with strong atmosphere and an active heroine in Amy Adams as a linguist decoding alien communications, but the script eventually downshifts into a quasi-mystical, emotionally heavy register that feels less imaginative and relies on cosmic elements over individual agency. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-arrival) - **Slant Magazine**: The critic notes the film's muted tone and intuitive formalism that translates the source story's linguistic themes into visual terms, praising its emotional engagement and big questions about language and life while noting some adaptation limitations and padding. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/arrival/) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw: The critic praises Denis Villeneuve’s daring, clever and audacious sci-fi as a close encounter of the engrossing kind that is smarter and more dreamily exalting than recent disappointments in the genre. A forthright star performance from Amy Adams convinces that something potentially silly is actually fascinating and deeply scary. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/10/arrival-review-amy-adams-jeremy-renner-science-fiction) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney: The critic praises the intelligent, contemplative sci-fi drama for its focus on communication, emotional depth, and originality rather than action or destruction. Amy Adams' internalized performance anchors the film and it is singled out for its grown-up approach to themes of time, memory, and unity. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/amy-adams-arrival-venice-review-924941/) - **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman: It has an eerie poetic grandeur in places and succeeds early with its low-key approach, but ends up feeling like an ersatz mind-bender rather than a fully realized film. The anticipation around the aliens’ appearance and communication is staged with cunning, yet the overall effect falls short of greatness. [Read](https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/arrival-review-venice-film-festival-amy-adams-1201849485/) - **Den of Geek**, Ryan Lambie (5/5): The film is a hypnotic sci-fi mystery that broadens the source material into a cinematic yet emotionally intimate story about first contact. It features magnificent performances, especially from Amy Adams, and stands out for its suspense, tenderness, and thought-provoking ideas on communication and perception. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/arrival-review-2/) - **Collider**, Brian Formo (A-): Villeneuve finally delivers a film worthy of his visual and technical mastery in this story of first contact focused on language and communication. The critic singles out the cinematic language of cinematography, production design, visual effects, and score for creating an atmosphere of constant discovery. [Read](https://collider.com/arrival-review/) - **Digital Spy**, Mayer Nissim (90/100, inferred): Arrival is a rare sci-fi gem that achieves real wonder through smart, simple storytelling and strong characters rather than bombast. It succeeds by assuming audience intelligence and letting ideas about language and human nature emerge naturally from the narrative and performances. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a809148/arrival-review-amy-adams-stars-rare-sci-fi-gem-with-wit-wisdom-wonder/) - **The Playlist**, Jessica Kiang (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a monumental achievement that calmly and intelligently grapples with vast concepts like time, language, and human connection. She singles out the superb craft, Bradford Young's visuals, Amy Adams' performance, and Jóhann Jóhannsson's score for particular praise. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/denis-villeneuves-arrival-amy-adams-jeremy-renner-great-gravity-defying-sci-fi-venice-review-20160901/) - **NME**, Olly Richards (85/100, inferred): This is an astonishingly beautiful film visually and emotionally, focused on the challenges of communication rather than action or clichés. Villeneuve handles complex ideas with a light touch, making the epic feel intimate and prompting deeper questions about humanity. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/arrival-film-review-1838102) - **/Film**, Angie Han (8.0/10): The critic calls it brainy sci-fi with a big, bloody, beating heart that balances intellect and emotion through questions of memory, language, loss, and time. She praises the meticulously crafted visuals, sound design, score, and Amy Adams' quietly great lead performance. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/546469/arrival-review/) - **The Ringer**, K. Austin Collins (75/100, inferred): Arrival succeeds as a thoughtful, moving puzzle film about communication and time that avoids genre traps, with Louise's inner life emerging as central despite the structure's risks. The critic praises how the film makes the character's perspective matter most rather than just the director's conceit. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2016/11/14/movies/arrival-denis-villeneuve-puzzle-films-christopher-nolan-d9aa65eaea21) - **Deadline**, Pete Hammond: The film is an intelligent, cerebral sci-fi story that stands out as one of the most serious treatments of human-alien interaction, with Amy Adams delivering a transcendent performance as a linguist. It explores themes of love, loss, grief, communication and memory through a moving narrative that rewards sharp viewers. [Read](https://deadline.com/2016/11/arrival-review-amy-adams-denis-villeneuve-video-1201851099/) - **The Wrap**: Denis Villeneuve’s cerebral tale of first contact succeeds mostly intellectually, with smart problem-solving and strong work from Amy Adams as the curious linguist, though a late emotional pivot feels jarring after the cool, detached tone. It offers puzzle-box pleasures and striking visuals but struggles to fully balance head and heart. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/arrival-review-amy-adams/) ## Details - **Director:** Denis Villeneuve - **Director:** Denis Villeneuve - **Screenplay:** Eric Heisserer - **Cinematography:** Bradford Young - **Editor:** Joe Walker - **Music:** Jóhann Jóhannsson - **Production design:** Patrice Vermette - **Costume design:** Renée April - **Producer:** Shawn Levy, Karen Lunder, Dan Levine - **Cast:** Amy Adams as Louise Banks; Jeremy Renner as Ian Donnelly; Forest Whitaker as Colonel Weber; Michael Stuhlbarg as Agent Halpern; Mark O'Brien as Captain Marks; Tzi Ma as General Shang; Abigail Pniowsky as 8-Year-Old Hannah; Julia Scarlett Dan as 12-Year-Old Hannah - **Runtime:** 1h 56m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 11 November 2016 - **Genres:** Drama, Science Fiction, Mystery - **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 2016); [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 2016) - **Budget:** $47 million - **Box office:** $203 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W1m5ER3I1Y ## Where to watch in the US - Paramount+: streaming, hd - Pluto TV: free - Apple TV: add-on, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $4.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $4.99, uhd *Checked 2026-09-16.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - AACTA International Award for Best Film 2017: AACTA International Award for Best Film (nominated) - Academy Awards 2017: Best Cinematography (nominated); Best Director (nominated); Best Film Editing (nominated); Best Picture (nominated); Best Production Design (nominated); Best Sound (nominated); Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated); Best Sound Editing (won) - Hugo Awards 2017: Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form (won) - Critics' Choice Awards 2016: Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie (won) ## If you liked this - *Contact* (1997), Fi1m 76: Another patient encounter with the unknown, carried by a scientist worth listening to. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/contact.md) - *Solaris* (1972), Fi1m 87: For alien contact that becomes troublingly personal, with still more patience required. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/solaris-1972.md) - *After Life* (1998), Fi1m 85: A quieter Japanese drama about memory, built around listening carefully to ordinary people. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/after-life.md) - *The Day the Earth Stood Still* (1951), Fi1m 82: Alien visitors meet human defensiveness in a leaner, more forthright science-fiction warning. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-day-the-earth-stood-still.md) - *The Vast of Night* (2019), Fi1m 78: Strange signals and attentive performances make a modest first-contact mystery worth staying with. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-vast-of-night.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/arrival