Arrival 4K (2016) Ultra HD 2160p REMUX

Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.

Arrival 4K (2016) Ultra HD 2160p REMUX Review
Arrival isn't a movie made for expressive visuals. As noted in the review of the 1080p Blu-ray, the movie is seriously drab, offering precious little in the way of standout color, visual depth, or frame dimension. The digital image is very flat, and all of these qualities carry over to the UHD, though there are some differences. The film retains its general appearance -- cold, devoid of significant colors -- but it is proficient in presenting its wares with a satisfactory level of detail and, within the film's parameters, colors. Of note is that the image does boast a decent sense of improved warmth. Look at a scene around the 10:50 mark that sees Louise watching the news coverage, just as Colonel Weber is arriving in her office. The UHD, with its HDR-enhanced colors, offers a greater sense of color nuance and depth, warming the flesh tones and accentuating the red hair, though without sacrificing the dark, absorbing nature of the scene. The 2160p presentation, which is reportedly an upscale from a 2K digital intermediate, offers a boost in general detailing, too. Her hair is more finely revealing, the skin is a touch more complex at medium distance, and the image is appreciably, but not significantly, sharper into the background as far as the books and as close as the clothing and chair details.

That scene is a bit dark, representative of much of the movie, but the subtle boosts are more apparent in slightly better light and contrast. Look at the 48:37 mark (the screenshot below, in fact). Ian is dressed in white, the orange hazard suit behind him, contrasted against a dark gray background. His face is significantly more complex on the UHD. It's a startling difference, really. Stubble and pores receive a fairly serious boost in definition. The skin changes from a milky, creamy color to one that has more depth, but doesn't push red or any other color. It's "fuller." The orange, too, is deeper, more richly vibrant compared to the Blu-ray, which is startlingly bland in comparison. Such qualities define the entirety of the visual experience. The added resolution lifts the transfer mildly at worst to significantly at best while colors are much more impactful but still very reserved and respectful of the movie's intended tone. Arrival is a good UHD, even upscaled. It doesn't betray the movie's bleak style and turns one that doesn't immediately stand out as one that would benefit from the format and gives it a healthy upgrade.
Arrival is curiously absent a Dolby Atmos soundtrack (even on this UHD) which, with the movie's sound structure and priorities, would have seemed only fitting and likely to enhance the experience. Nevertheless, Paramount's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless presentation never struggles to do the movie's sonic needs justice. The opening minutes deliver a healthy, panicked, war-footing type of audio barrage. Alarms blare in the background, car horns and confusion litter the stage, and fighter jets zoom through. A helicopter powers towards the listener a few minutes later. Rotors are heavy and the sound from both outside inside are strikingly immersive. Deep, penetrating lows signal key moments that are equal parts exhilaration and fear. Bass does get a bit rattly at the very bottom, but some of the more pronounced powerings are wonderfully realized and deeply penetrating with amazing full-stage immersion. More traditionally sourced music enjoys positive spread and balanced surround detail. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized. It enjoys natural center positioning for the duration.

The mystery of the unknown is something that doesn't get explored enough within science fiction. Too often we see science fiction films, particularly involving aliens, that are only interested with how we, as a species, would fight back against them.

Every now and then however, we get a film like Denis Villeneuve's Arrival that comes along and offers something totally different. The film uses its tagline "Why are they here?" quite literally to deliver one of the most fascinating films you will see all year.

Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is one of the world's leading linguists, who gets recruited by the military to assist in translating alien communications. Along with mathematician Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), Louise attempts to get answers as to why twelve alien spacecrafts have landed at different locations around the world.

I had only seen three of Denis Villeneuve's previous films before yet I have been impressed with the diversity of his films, a trend he continues with Arrival. What I really admire about Villeneuve as a filmmaker is the choice he makes to not spoon feed the audience with every single piece of information. He instead makes films to challenge the audience, leaving them to either complete the puzzle themselves or question the morality of his characters.

With Arrival, Villeneuve has crafted a truly thought provoking science fiction film, telling the story in a slow yet masterful manner, leading to a beautiful pay off. The theme of communication resonates massively with the world today, the moment communication between twelve countries via satellite link breaks down summing it up quite suitably.

Villeneuve's storytelling is aided by some superb cinematography from Bradford Young and a haunting score from Jóhann Jóhannsson. Young's cinematography captures the sense of wonder perfectly while Jóhannsson's score heightens the sense of mystery surrounding the alien visitors and their intentions.

Coming to the performances, Arrival features a real emotional heartbeat thanks to a fantastic performance from the always dependable Amy Adams, who conveys such a wide range of emotions as Louise, growing in confidence with each session she gets with the visitors. Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker offer some fine support for Adams but there is no doubting this film belongs to her.

Arrival is one of the best films of the year and a really great example of science fiction filmmaking from Denis Villeneuve, who is perfectly suited to bring us the sequel to Blade Runner next year. I would happily put this film in the same league as something like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, one of the all time greats of sci-fi.