A few days ago Paramount Pictures treated us to a teaser trailer for the upcoming movie Arrival. Today we are treated to the full trailer. The first minute is the teaser from a few days ago, then we get more information. Amy Adams plays an American linguist tapped by the U.S. Government to attempt to speak to and understand our alien visitors. Of course there is more to the story, but the overriding theme, that I can see, is one of communication and how lack of communications, or misunderstanding can lead to catastrophe.
We all know our alien movies, everything from First Contact, to Aliens, to War of the Worlds and Independence Day. Most alien movies have one thing in common, the extraterrestrial visitors are here to kill us for whatever flimsy reason the story demands so we can happily watch destruction porn for a few hours. Star Trek and Doctor Who are even guilty of this.* Star Wars doesn’t count because it’s full blown science fiction with no ties to Earth, and the main aggressors tend to be human.
First Contact does deviate from this destruction formula, as well as Batteries Not Included, ET, Abyss, Cocoon, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and a few others. You’ll notice the age of these movies I just listed because, in recent decades (yes decades) most movies involving aliens are of the destroy first ask questions later variety. I enjoy these as much as the next person but that storyline has gotten a little stale which is why it’s refreshing to see a deviation that brings aliens into contact with us without the visitors deciding first we need to be exterminated.
Sure, maybe the aliens do get hostile with us in Arrival as there isn’t just one ship that comes to visit, but multiple all over the globe. But, to be fair, the trailer leads us to believe we may not be the most welcoming. Which is where the communication aspect comes into play. At the very least, we will hopefully know why they turn aggressive.
I love the deviation from the hostile alien formula and look forward to this take on the extraterrestrial visitor genre. I also appreciate that Amy Adams‘ character has traditionally been played by a guy, it’s refreshing to see that maybe Hollywood is listening to some things.
When mysterious spacecrafts touch down across the globe, an elite team – lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) – is brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers – and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.
Arrival hits theaters November 11, 2016.
*I know Doctor Who is a TV show but it’s a show that has been around for over 50 years with the main character being an alien so I thought it fitting to include it with the well known movies.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve.
Written by Ted Chiang (short Story), Eric Heisserer (screenplay).
Starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker.
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