10 Great Sci-Fi Movies For The Modern Age

8. Arrival

Arrival asks, what would actually happen if Aliens landed on earth and just wanted to talk? It’s a strong addition to the new wave of sci-fis that deal with other-worldly situations with painstaking rationality. It follows the Earth’s struggle to communicate with and assess the threat posed by an Alien touchdown. Amy Adams plays a linguist, Louise Banks, tasked with deciphering the cryptic language signed out by the “Heptapods” as they meet us face to face.

As Louise begins to unpick the language she and her team cross reference what they find with nations across the planet also dealing with the Alien visitors, they soon learn that communication across the globe and beyond can result in a miraculous evolution. Part of that evolution is the idea that time is not necessarily linear, but Arrival grounds the Alien chit chat and time skipping craziness in a poignant story of human loss and longing.

The humanist story at the core brings an emotional weight that contextualises the Alien aspects within human experience, elevating the film to new frontiers of emotionality.