So, what does Sup Forums think about Arrival? Personally, I feel it was a bit over-hyped...

So, what does Sup Forums think about Arrival? Personally, I feel it was a bit over-hyped. The concept is great and the discussions on semantics worked really well, but the ending sort of lost me. The narrative twist was interesting, even if somewhat predictable, but making all the plot threads converge into one neat little bow that ties everything together is horrendously Hollywood-esque. IMHO, there should have been a greater focus on alien linguistics and their perception of time, instead of just bringing it down to the individual level of the protagonist arch eventually solving every other problem like in a goddamn Nolan film.

Also, the whole international conflict escalation against fucking adorable octopuses inside space eggs that literally didn't present any harm to humans felt incredibly tacky and ultimately pointless, almost as if American audiences wouldn't be able to handle a film centered around philosophical and neurological issues without some form of tension provoked by evil commies and ex-commies. Had that entire nonsense been removed, we'd probably have it following a far more interesting and contemplative pace, but I guess we need a futile end of the world tension crammed in somehow.

Overall, it's not sci-fi kino on the level of 2001 or Stalker, but it certainly feels refreshing in comparison to the average blockbuster. At least there's some intellectual matter to it, unlike generic capeshit #461983. Guess I'm no longer all that worried about this Villeneuve guy directing the upcoming Blade Runner sequel.

What was their ultimatum? Why did the ships rotate?

Yeah I thought the "hasty and won't listen to reason" trope throughout the film was kinda lame. Typical unsensible Chinese and Russians doing dumb shit and fucking everything up. Or the numale soldier who is so quick to violence

I think my biggest gripe is that the film doesn't really have anything at stake. The aliens have good intentions and we humans benefit. hurray the end

You hit the nail on the head honestly. Decent film, but it's definitely Villeneuve's worst. Incedies to Sicario was a pretty fantastic run though so having this as your worst is really not bad.

I definitely think it could have been better if it wasn't so "Hollywood", but as far as modern Hollywood sci-fi goes it ranks up there as one the best

I loved it, and everyone in the cinema loved it. I haven't seen a movie theatre so quiet when the credits roll since Inception.

>"Abbott is death process"

>What does Sup Forums think

since you cant download the movie yet i doubt they think alot about it

Read the short story if you want more autismal focus on the language and a less contrived romance subplot. The film butchered Chiang's work, but I love mommyfu and aliens so I enjoyed it regardless.

>What was their ultimatum?
There was no ultimatum, they just wanted to give humans their linguistic capacities so that they could help them in the future.

>Why did the ships rotate?
Probably a defensive mode, I think.

Arrival changed my perception. It had the same effect on me as The Prestige in 2006. I sat for maybe 10 minutes in the cinema after the movie finished, just contemplating the implications of the plot.

On the walk back to my car, the world looked different - like I could see details that I usually didn't see.

I think for that alone, it was worth the time and money.

Plot, narrative, cinematography, acting etc. are inconsequential to the message the film delivers.

I really liked it.

That's gay dude

Absolutely beautiful film. Really well done. But that's boring. Let's be cynical together ;)

>being this easily impressed.

i liked when the heptapods gave amyadams the tickleguns

The focus on language was to illustrate in part how communication and perception of intention are still huge factors to why we can't cooperate for the global good. It was clear that love and death are common threads between humanity where our understanding transcends culture and language, illustrated by the phone call between Shang and Louise.

The tension was part of presenting the philosophical issues, 'commies' weren't the bad guys it just played on the tropes for illustration.

Amy Adams Chinese was so abysmal neither I nor my GF whose first language is Chinese could understand what she was saying, and we've both spent time living in Taiwan.

It was a nice effort I guess though.

Like fucking clockwork the contrarians come crawling out the woodwork.
Faggots the lot of you.

>when the shells go defensive they move from their vertical position (bizarre, surreal, foreign) to a horizontal one, taking on the silhouette of traditional "flying saucer" imagery immediately appearing more dangerous
the sheer fucking genius and simplicity of this

I almost busted a nut in the theatre

Fucking terrible. I wasted my money on it. I have no idea why Sup Forums, reddit, rotten tomatoes, and IMDB are in love with it. Literally 0 action, the plot transitions from sci-fi: attempting to communicate with aliens to - drama: flash backs are actually flash forwards about her future daughter who dies and her future husband who leaves her because she tells him she's going to die. Aliens are actually here to help humans by teaching them a linear language which will allow them to see the future, based on debunked language acquisition theory, because they will need humans help in 3000 years. I guess they are too fucking retarded to help themselves even though they know the future.

The entire movie just seemed like a long drawn-out version of the trailer with any closure to the plot was literally only in 2 5 minute scenes, one where she is in the tank with the alien and tells her everything, and second where she flash forwards and the chinese general says "Thanks babe for helping me not blow up the aliens to kingdom come. I know you can see the future so Here is my private number that you called me from in the past and the words my dying wife told me as she was passing away and let me tell you it in chinese, whispering in your ear in case there's any actual mandarin viewers watching the film.".

>and the words my dying wife told me as she was passing away and let me tell you it in chinese, whispering in your ear in case there's any actual mandarin viewers watching the film
This isn't a stretch of logic at all, his past self needs to recognise what the words are instantly not translate them from english first.

Reading comprehension clearly isn't your forte.

I am explaining to you why it was necessary and not the odd chinese fanservice you are implying.

The actual message is hidden from viewers entirely.

Because what his wife said to him doesn't matter or they would have subtitled it. If you're so curious just google it I'm sure it's on reddit or something. Maybe you could stay there ;^)

>as if American audiences wouldn't be able to handle a film centered around philosophical and neurological issues without some form of tension
that's because they can't?

smart films don't get wide release. They need some kind of genre hook to appease the normies. You have to sneak in philosophical ideas, or else you'd just be making Bergman films or something.

The short story is not really suited for a movie adaptation, given how it talks about the limits of sequential communication.

I bet you liked Boyhood too. Remember how it took 12 years to make?

It would be cool if someone made a TRULY non-linear cut of Arrival that somehow still managed to make sense.

>duuuude what she said to chinese general dont matter lul go back2reddit
Even though it completely transitioned the film from World War Aliens to World Peace Aliens.

the specifics of what she said doesn't matter (I've looked it up. it's just generic "i love you don't worry" bullshit)

All you need to know is it's her dying words. Stop being autistic.

The message isn't important. All that was important was that he thought no one else could know the words but Louise did somehow. It was basically just a password, not some goodwill phrase about being nice to aliens or something.

You are thick as fuck if you didn't understand that. Do you have trouble understand why websites ask you your mothers maiden name? Do you think they're just interested in your mom?

I got an Endymion (the book) vibe from the non linear time stuff, now I want an Endymion saga film

>the message that prevented catastrophic nuclear alien war doesn't matter it's just the fact that she knew something that he could only know
>PS you're autistic
Holy fuck how much are you guys getting paid to shill? This is literally the biggest major flaw of the movie and you guys just suck it up like vacuum cleaners. The entire sci-fi plot of the movie, long and drawn out, just to be completely closed in a 5 minute scene.

>literally the biggest major flaw of the movie
No it isn't. You're literally the only person who has a problem with this.

and everyone who questions your sperg outbursts aren't "shills"

diagnosis: autism

I'm with you familia, I started thinking about time differently. I think part of it is you kind of have to "buy in" to the logic for the latter third of the movie to make sense. So you come out of the movie thinking like that. But I dunno, maybe there is something there philosophically that will stick with me.

I really liked it as well.

>abbott is death process

Her life from that moment forward became completely open to her. She wasn't even taking a chance calling the general, she KNEW it would work because she had already lived the outcome. This isn't time travel, it's nonlinear time.

torrent when?

This movie was better than anything I've seen Hollywood put out in a while. Worth seeing in theaters for the sake of high quality surround sound audio.
Better than Interstellar, Martian, Gravity or any other recent space kino

>by the director of Prisoners

$0.50 has been deposited in your account.

thanks for bumping the thread ;)

Took my sister to see this and while there we saw this overweight, balding, cargo short wearing manchild watching it alone. After the film was over my sis said "I'm gonna go ask him to get a drink" and I say "lol why" and she replied "because he saw this movie."

Seeing this film will get you laid.

Can someone spoil and give me a quick tl;dr of the plot and ending?
I live innawoods at the moment and probably won't be able to see this for a while.

Fucking loved the short story, but the movie was b o r i n g. Shitty political/military storyline made me cringe, and an asspull interstellar loophole was fucking retarded. Literally zero soundtrack (le sad violin at the end is ok, but that's it)
Solid 6/10

The lack of music was pretty terrible, actually. Instead they just played eerie sounds during the whole interaction with the aliens.

I can confirm this definitely happened because it was me and I banged her and came inside (the condom while I was still in her)

>Literally zero soundtrack
What about that bit where it went nanananananaananananananananananaananananananananananaanananana etc.

>Ayyliums come to Earth to give us the gift of their language which lets us see the future because apparently only Humans are smart enough to figure out how to save them 3000 years in the future
>you are led to believe that the MC has a kid but OMG M KNIGHT SHAMALAMADINGDONG she doesn't, it's just her future visions WHAT A TWEEST
>Ayyliums fuck off once their language is learned and able to be taught to others

>you are led to believe that the MC has a kid but OMG M KNIGHT SHAMALAMADINGDONG she doesn't
what? she does have a kid. it happens in the future but because we are experiencing things on a non-linear timeline it happens in the past and in the future and informs her entire arc.

Holy fuck a movie that was so fucking terrible Sup Forums actually likes? What the actual fuck?!?!?!

you must have shit taste. name your top 5 films.

Hard to say, but Interstellar is probably #1.

you haven't heard of them

The movie started out pretty good, I liked the first half. But as the humans started to get angry with the aliens for doing literally NOTHING it started to get shitty and make no sense.

The biggest flaw is it's twist bullshit ending.
>our language is our gift
>if you learn it you get to see the future or some such shit! Neat huh?
>oh and you owe us in 3000 years. Peace out bitches

As soon as they put that foresight space magic bullshit in I was ready to walk out the theater. Didn't even care about the remaining 10 minutes but my gf made us stay and finish it.

Tldr: space magic saves the day again, kinda like the end of interstellar.

Don't worry. I have heard of Bay and Snyder. Continue.

But have you heard of Boll and Roth?

She didn't need to be told it in Chinese, bro. The movie makes it abundantly clear that she understands Mandarin before that scene to avoid the question of how she'd repeat perfect Mandarin just form being told a phrase one time.

She translates Mandarin a few scenes before that happens for Forest Whitaker.

wew. shit taste confirmed.

Please explain what makes this movie so special in your eyes? I'm genuinely curious.

>short story portrays the aliens matter of fact lyrics without any mystery (even their motive isn't that mysterious)
>movie shows them as spooky octopuses that squirt spooky inky writing that give a cryptic clue about why they're here

don't have the energy to write a review for you brah. But this is a companion piece to Interstellar, which I also liked in spite of its flaws.

Whereas Interstellar made a case for mathematics being a universal language through which we can communicate through space and time -- through the use of gravity, binary, basic concepts that every intelligent race will eventually discover because they hold inherent scientific truths -- Arrival argues that language and social interaction is the best bridge between us and 'them'.

It makes a case for social sciences, understanding in the face of military aggression. Social unity. Harmony.

It's also locked into a conversation on human mortality. The frailty of time. This mortal coil.

I was low-key moved, but it's still a 3 star film for me. I just find Vuvuzela's filmmaking kind of dull and unadventurous.

Hope that makes sense.

It really made me think.

I haven't read the short story but isn't their apparent faithful to it? I remember a thread from a while back where someone posted the description.

>the war shit was stupid blah blah

How can you guys not understand this? An alien species arrives in gigantic ships, they speak a language we don't understand. Eventually they use a word translated as "weapon". If nobody can figure out what they mean by it, then you have two options. Try and figure it out in enough time to not suffer potential consequences, or attack first and either eliminate them or scare them off. The only person truly translating them was Louise, she was the only one they mentioned helping to while everyone else struggled to figure anything out. If you take your chances they could wipe every one out, who knows if they themselves are making an ultimatum or what kind of weapons they have.

Is this just some sort of political thing with you guys? Like you think it's some kind of propaganda or something? Undoubtedly the military would be first and foremost involved in an unknown species landing on earth in highly advanced equipment, only an idiot would think no defensive measures are necessary and that time isn't a fading commodity with every hour they're here.

My only complaint with the movie is the scene with the Chinese General because at the time it just felt too convenient, but ultimately it does fit in with the context of the narrative and the nature of its themes.

I feel like the majority of complaints here are either brought on by some pre-conceived notions of everything having some sort of agenda or an underage/retarded lack of empathy. I think mainly it's just the fact that this is Sup Forums which is far and away the worst board on this website.

>12 alien ships come to earth, land all over
>everyone freaks out, Louise lane and Hawkeye get recruited to talk to aliens
>talking to aliens, learning their language, world working together, etc
>Louise lane constantly throughout movie having "flashbacks" to her dead kid
>China thinks they interpret something that says "use weapon"
>while world looses their shit and get ready to attack aliens even though the aliens HAVEN'T FUCKING DONE ANYTHING
>marine in American base is an Alex Jones watching gun buying psycho that decides to blow up alien ship with explosives randomly
>Hawkeye and Louise lane go up inside ship while bombs are there (they don't know) and aliens push them into airlock before bombs kill them
>military base is getting evacuated now because world is about to start war with aliens THAT HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING
>Louise goes up and talks to alien face to face, aliens friend is dead because of evil Right wing marine
>tells Louise that their language is their gift and if you learn it you get to see the future
>we now owe aliens in 3000 years because they need our help then
>Louise lane goes back down, gets a satellite phone, and using her newly gained foresight looks into the future where she meets to Chinese general who then (in the future) tells her how she stopped him from fighting the aliens by calling his private cell and saying his dead wife's last words
>which he whispers into her ear so she can tell him in the present
>Louise lane then realizes all the "flashbacks" she had were from the future
>her and Hawkeye are gonna have a kid that dies from a horrible disease at 17ish
>still wants to have the kid cuz she's a psychic cunt
>fin

Fuck this movie and it's foresight space magic bullshit!! It makes no sense! If the aliens can see the future why the Fuck do they need our help in 3000 years? If Louise lane can teach the language and give everyone foresight, how would we be able to see the future if everyone would start changing it?!

Linguistics lady learns aliens written language. In doing so it requires her to accept determinism so that all time is at once rather than a sequence of independent moments.
Aliens eventually just leave, and the whole thing is interspersed with future 'memories' of her unborn daughters life who dies young in an accident. It concludes with her agreeing to conceive said daughter despite already knowing her whole life.

That's more or less the entire story. There are hothead 'give us the military secrets!' type characters but really just to contrast with the whole determinism + non-action theme.
I haven't seen the movie yet but if that's what it is it's pretty faithful. The whole story is like a few hours read tops.

You sound underage. There's no reason in the film for us to believe they're hostile, even if we figured out the word for weapon. It literally makes no fucking sense. You're the type of idiot that they make these films for.

>If the aliens can see the future why the Fuck do they need our help in 3000 years?
obviously it's something they can't prevent on their own.

and determinism/free will is a bigger philosophical question than any film can answer user.

What makes you think knowing the future means you personally can do anything about it? The aliens need our help because they have a problem that only we can solve. That's all there is to it really. There's no point wondering what that problem is because we don't now what the hyper advanced world of 5016 humanity is like.

I think that's partly what Louise's kid dying is about. Her future sight means nothing to an illness with no cure.

>Aliens eventually just leave, and the whole thing is interspersed with future 'memories' of her unborn daughters life who dies young in an accident. It concludes with her agreeing to conceive said daughter despite already knowing her whole life.
That's one interpretation. The story never makes it explicit that she actually started seeing the future, only that she started to perceive things as a whole and not sequentially. I thought that the story basically were a stream of memories that she was experiencing at once after she saw her daughter's body in the morgue - the "ending" being the happy, first memory of her daughter as she is about to be conceived.

actually you are for liking the film in the first place. It's complete trash. Keep shilling.

Yeah but that doesn't mean she HAS to have the kid that she knows is going to suffer and die. She does because she's a selfish cunt.

Also if they need our help in 3000 years why fucking leave? Why not hang out with us some more? And if they have the power of foresight then why let the crazy guy put bombs in your ship??! Good God this movie fucking blew sack.

When in doubt, whip the space magic out.

>ad hominems

Just what I expect from Sup Forums. If you don't think certain nations are going to be hostile towards an alien race that shows up in numbers and can't be understood then I don't know what to say other than you've watched too many action movies. The risk with this situation is extreme, like I said before if they're delivering an ultimatum or declaration of war and you don't know and just wait it out it can mean the end of humanity if you don't make the right call.

There are two options that both amount to gambling: take your chances spending time trying to translate their completely alien language or take your chances trying to wipe them out before they wipe you out.

You say that there is no reason to believe they're hostile, but there is no reason to believe they're peaceful either. Nobody knows why they're here or what they want until the end of the movie and then it's only one person that was able to figure it out. It makes perfect sense that some nations would be unwilling to take their chances with something they can't understand or comprehend, just like they do with humans.

Either way the stor had a lot of ambiguity that the movie butchered just by the climax being focused on the geopolitics stuff and the fact that it all hinged on a Gott's jinn.

>it's another wannabe Nolan film that jumbles up the timeline but the audience thinks is one chronological narrative

This film was fucking garbage.

>aliens looked like shit
>Amy Adams' character could do whatever the fuck she wanted
>those soldiers that exploded C4 in the ship then a few minutes later the whole thing is forgotten about
>the whole 'wow I actually love you lots lets get married and have a kid' at the end bollocks
>if she saw into the future to see what number she herself called the first time then how did she know what number she rang first time?
>learning a language = ability to see into the future

... But I didn't like the film you dumbass. I liked maybe the first half hour but it slid into shit territory right after that.

>Yeah but that doesn't mean she HAS to have the kid that she knows is going to suffer and die. She does because she's a selfish cunt.
So, the less selfish thing to do is make it so her daughter never exists at all? You think that's the better thing, to erase all the happy times too?

Everybody dies user.

>Wanna have a baby?
>*knows it's going to die a horrible painful death*
>have it anyways
>All my wats.
Fuck this movie.

>>Wanna have a baby?
>>*knows it's going to die a horrible painful death*
>>have it anyways
This can be said of all humans.

Or are you planning on having immortal children.

>aliens looked like shit
They looked kinda interesting, at least better than the mess of teeth and claws that aliens usually are.

>Amy Adams' character could do whatever the fuck she wanted
No she couldn't

>those soldiers that exploded C4 in the ship then a few minutes later the whole thing is forgotten about
Yeah this was stupid

>the whole 'wow I actually love you lots lets get married and have a kid' at the end bollocks
The point wasn't that the experience bonded them you mong. The point was to flip the audience's expectations around since you're led to believe her daughter is already dead by the time the aliens arrive, not years after they leave.

>if she saw into the future to see what number she herself called the first time then how did she know what number she rang first time?
This is too grammatically butchered for me to make sense of what you're asking.

>learning a language = ability to see into the future
This was explained. It's not about seeing the future it's about seeing things as a totality rather than sequentially.

Naw you're still an idiot if you think after working with aliens for months and we learn the word "weapon" that any country would just immediately turn to war. Especially fucking China. It makes no sense and is just terrible writing.

The daughther represented white Western civilization.

Has anyone read any other of Chiang's works?

>months

It was 1 month and the majority of humanity was in total chaos due to lack of communication and information. The first and most important question that needs to be answered is "why are they here?" and the longer you go without knowing this the more dire the situation becomes.

Nigga do you really fuckin think we'd be all calm and rational when these gigantic space craft full of gigantic creepy aliens who have the power to manipulate gravity, tell us they have a weapon and are here to use it?

I guarantee you half the world's population would sperg the fuck out and demand we nuke them out of the sky.

Yep, everyone dies but not everyone knows how they die. She is a selfish cunt especially because she doesn't even tell Hawkeye until after the kid is born. That's why they shouldn't have put fucking space magic into this movie.

The difference is while we know their going to die we also don't know how their life will turn out.

>aliens appear
>humanity doesn't become united instantly

Stories of Your Life and Others is one of the best science fiction books I've ever read. Everyone should grab this book and read it. Hell is the Absence of God is similarly excellent to the Story of Your Life.

>$1.00 has been deposited into your account.
Not even going to argue, you're actually retarded.

>if she saw into the future to see what number she herself called the first time then how did she know what number she rang first time?
This is too grammatically butchered for me to make sense of what you're asking.

What number did she call to get to the Chinese general and how did she know to ring that number?

The movie is based on a short story where "space magic" is integral. It's really weird that you think it was just added in at some point.
Go to bed Ozymandias

DLing it now

You mean aliens that have been allowing us to board their ships and try to communicate with them? You mean the aliens that have literally shown no aggression?

Also if the aliens can see the fucking future, why didn't they make it easier to communicate with us in the first place?? They knew all this shit would happen.

how much are they paying you to shill this movie?

kys faggot

She knew because he told her at the party.

It's not a timetravel movie.

>Go to bed Ozymandias
Don't make me do amazing acrobatics in front of you