Talk about fertile ground, there are potentially an unlimited number of movies that can be made about aliens coming to earth, each as different as the next. Unfortunately, both the title “Arrival” and the premise (Close Encounters, 1979) are already taken. For a budget of $50 million they could have done better.

“Arrival” had huge potential and starts to fizzle out about halfway through (around the time I actually fell asleep, never a good sign).

Any good editor could have easily shaved off another half hour of it, without the story losing anything, but the length isn’t the problem, the problem is the screenwriter believes his intelligence alone is what is worth watching, not so much the story for entertainment. Instead of going for the thrill, he goes for intellectual stimulus. Yes, it is a smart movie. No, it isn’t very fun.

I wasn’t happy with it, and would only recommend watching it as a rental if you need something to help you fall asleep.