ARRIVAL | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"ARRIVAL"
(2016) (Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner) (PG-13)

QUICK TAKE:: Science-Fiction: When alien ships appear over a dozen different parts of the world, a linguist and a scientist are recruited to try and communicate with the extraterrestrials.

PLOT:

When alien starships arrive and take up position above 12 seemingly random spots around the globe, linguist Dr. Louise Banks (AMY ADAMS) and scientist Ian Donnelly (JEREMY RENNER) are recruited by the U.S. military to come to the Montana prairie site where one of the ships is situated. The operation is under the command of Colonel Weber (FOREST WHITAKER) and CIA Agent Halpern (MICHAEL STUHLBARG), who believe Louise and Ian are their best chance to decipher the aliens' language.

Once inside the ship, they discover that the extraterrestrial beings are a squid-like species that is trying to communicate with a series of symbols written in ink or smoke. Eventually, Louise and Ian are able to ascertain that specific symbols stand in for specific words. But they can never be one-hundred percent certain. When the word "weapon" is gleaned, for instance, Louise insists it could also mean "tool."

But the other governments monitoring the starships in their territories are increasingly on edge and ready for war, taking their cues from the aggressive Chinese General Shang (TZI MA). All the while, Louise has visions and nightmares of a daughter named Hannah (ABIGAIL PNIOWSKY) she lost to cancer at a young age. Eventually, Louise comes to learn that these memories of her little girl are directly tied into her efforts to understand the aliens, why there are here, and what exactly they want.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Older teens may have some interest due to the sci-fi elements and casting of comic-book movie faves Adams and Renner

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13: For brief strong language.

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