It sets the tone for what’s to come: a mature, thoughtful piece of science fiction that uses a first contact premise not just as a set up for a doomsday scenario, but as a platform for an incredibly powerful and nuanced look at love, relationships, and the human condition itself. If big-screen sci-fi has been going through a maturation process over the past few years, searching for a truly genre-defining moment, it has finally arrived.The films opens as Dr. Louise Banks(Adams) struggles with the death of her teenaged daughter, trying to find solace in her daily routine — one that’s suddenly interrupted when the 12 shells appear on Earth and the government comes asking for her help. It turns out they’ve been able to establish some minimal contact with the alien creatures in the shells, but their language is unlike anything known to man. Joining forces with a theoretical physicist named Ian Donnelly(Jeremy Renner), Banks goes inside the ship and meets the aliens face-to-tentacle, where she slowly starts learning their language and teaching them ours. She’s convinced their intentions are good, but with shells located all around the globe other countries are having their own interactions, and soon Banks finds herself trying to uncover the reason behind the visit before China or Russia kick off a war with the aliens.