A major film industry poll has effectively named Denis Villeneuve’sArrivalthe best sci-fi movie of the 21st century. The 2016 movie about humanity’s first encounter with aliens was Villeneuve’s first foray into pure sci-fi, and received rave reviews upon its release.
Nine years later, a poll in whichover 500 Hollywood names including directors and actors have voted for the best films of this centuryfeaturesArrivalas its highest-ranking sci-fi entry. The list resulting from the poll has been compiled and published byThe New York Times, the world’s most read online newspaper.
Although other movies with sci-fi elements to them – from seventh-placedEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mindto Christopher Nolan’sThe Dark Knight– are ranked higher thanArrivalby the poll, it’s still the highest-rankedfilm that primarily falls within the sci-fi genre.The Villeneuve movie is 29th on the list entitled “100 Best Movies of the 21st Century.”
What Being The Greatest Sci-Fi Movie Of The 21st Century Means For Arrival
It’s A Serious Acknowledgment Of The Movie’s Place In Sci-Fi History
Receiving the unofficial accolade of the 21st century’s greatest sci-fi movie from hundreds of key figures in Hollywood isquite the coup forArrivaland Villeneuve. It places the movie alongside some of thebest sci-fi movies of all timein the pantheon of historically great works of cinema.
Arrival’s recognition here will help cement Villeneuve’s creative legacy, as well as that of screenwriter Eric Heisserer.
Polling so highly in such a prestigious list isa particularly special achievement for a sci-fi movie with a budget of $47 million– relatively little for major releases within the genre by modern standards – from a director helming just his fourth English-language feature film.Arrival’s recognition here will help cement Villeneuve’s creative legacy, as well as that of screenwriter Eric Heisserer.
Arrival’s High Ranking Is A Welcome Sight For Fans Of This Underseen & Underrated Movie
Although it was acclaimed at the time of its release,Arrivalhas always been an underrated contender forDenis Villeneuve’s best movie, and has spent the last four years being overshadowed by the director’sDunefilms. So,to seeArrivalheld in such high regard by Villeneuve’s peers in the movie industry is a welcome sight, especially for sci-fi purists.
Arrivalis an ingenious twist on the classic sci-fi story of humankind’s first meeting with an extraterrestrial species. Hopefully, its ranking inThe New York Times’ 100 best movies of the 21st century will mean that it reaches a broader audience, and is viewed alongside all-time great alien-encounter movies like Steven Spielberg’sClose Encounter of the Third Kind.
