'Arrival' is deeply human, expertly realized science fiction

Movies that begin with confounding aliens on the loose have been around for awhile (at least since 1951's "Man From Planet X" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still") and they invariably share a family resemblance even if the space visitors themselves never look the same way twice. Where do these beings come from, baffled scientists and frightened government officials inevitably want to know. Are they friendly or hostile, what do they want from us and what are they doing here in the first place? One of the most satisfying things about Denis Villeneuve's elegant, involving "Arrival" is that it is simultaneously old and new, revisiting many of these alien-invasion conventions but with unexpected intelligence, visual style and heart. Working from a smart and effective script by Eric Heisserer adapted from a cerebral short story by science-fiction luminary Ted Chiang, the French-Canadian director and his team have found ways to make these way-out-of-the-ordinary events seem plausible and convincing.