--- title: "Arrival: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/arrival/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/arrival" critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 18 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): what the critics said Critics' score 82 from 18 reviews: 15 positive, 3 mixed, 0 negative. 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. ## The i Paper — Matthew Turner Rating ★★★★★. 7 November 2016. 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 the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/arrival-review-29941) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin Rating 5/5. 10 November 2016. 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 the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/arrival-review-dazzling-science-fiction-that-will-leave-you-spee/) ## Empire — Dan Jolin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2016. 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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/arrival-2-review/) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 24 October 2016. 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 the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/arrival-review/) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 11 November 2016. 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 the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/arrival-film-review-close-encounters-of-a-charming-kind-a3393456.html) ## Radio Times — Stephen Carty Rating 4/5. 7 November 2016. 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 the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/arrival-review-impressive-thoughtful-and-cerebral/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 2016. 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 the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/arrival) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2016. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/arrival-venice-review/5108972.article) ## Little White Lies — Adam Woodward Rating 4/3/3. 7 November 2016. 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 the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/arrival) ## The Times — Camilla Long Rating ★★★. 13 November 2016. 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 the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/camilla-long-on-film-arrival-and-american-pastoral-dcfnt9gmj) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 3/5. 1 September 2016. 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 the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/arrival) ## IndieWire — Ben Croll 1 September 2016. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/arrival-review-amy-adams-denis-villeneuve-deep-thinking-alien-invasion-1201722369/) ## Sight and Sound — Adam Nayman 11 November 2016. 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 the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-arrival) ## Slant Magazine 8 November 2016. 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 the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/arrival/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 10 November 2016. 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 the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/10/arrival-review-amy-adams-jeremy-renner-science-fiction) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney 1 September 2016. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/amy-adams-arrival-venice-review-924941/) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman 1 September 2016. Festival review. 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 the review](https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/arrival-review-venice-film-festival-amy-adams-1201849485/) ## Den of Geek — Ryan Lambie Rating 5/5. 30 September 2016. 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 the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/arrival-review-2/) ## Collider — Brian Formo Rating A-. 10 November 2016. 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 the review](https://collider.com/arrival-review/) ## Digital Spy — Mayer Nissim Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 2016. 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 the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a809148/arrival-review-amy-adams-stars-rare-sci-fi-gem-with-wit-wisdom-wonder/) ## The Playlist — Jessica Kiang Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2016. Festival review. 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 the review](https://theplaylist.net/denis-villeneuves-arrival-amy-adams-jeremy-renner-great-gravity-defying-sci-fi-venice-review-20160901/) ## NME — Olly Richards Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 11 November 2016. 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 the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/arrival-film-review-1838102) ## /Film — Angie Han Rating 8.0/10. 10 September 2016. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/546469/arrival-review/) ## The Ringer — K. Austin Collins Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 14 November 2016. 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 the review](https://www.theringer.com/2016/11/14/movies/arrival-denis-villeneuve-puzzle-films-christopher-nolan-d9aa65eaea21) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond 8 November 2016. 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 the review](https://deadline.com/2016/11/arrival-review-amy-adams-denis-villeneuve-video-1201851099/) ## The Wrap 11 November 2016. 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 the review](https://www.thewrap.com/arrival-review-amy-adams/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/arrival.md