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A ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ Star’s Near-Perfect Sci-Fi Masterpiece Is Free To Stream This Month

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There’s something quite remarkable about a well-done alien invasion movie, because it speaks to all of our deepest fears of the unknown. What do they want? Are they here to hurt us? How will we survive? But what happens if they come here to help us, and we have no idea how to decipher that? How would we handle it? That’s the topic of one of the finest science fiction movies ever made, and now, you can watch it without paying a single, solitary penny.

Arrival is streaming for free on Pluto this month, which means everyone can watch one of the best ever “first contact” movies. Based on Ted Chiang’s short story “Story of Your Life,” the film follows a linguist who is recruited by the military after mysterious alien spacecraft appear around the world, and they desperately want to know what on Earth — quite literally — it is that they want.

The cast includes Amy Adams (Enchanted) as Louise Banks, Jeremy Renner (Mayor of Kingstown) as Ian Donnelly, Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) as Colonel Weber, Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) as Agent Halpern, and Tzi Ma (The Farewell) as General Shang. The film is directed by Denis Villeneuve (Dune), while the score by Jóhann Jóhannsson gives the movie an eerie sadness that lingers long after the credits.

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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz
Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like?
Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky

Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.

🏜️Paul Atreides

🖖Capt. Kirk

Princess Leia

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🔦Ellen Ripley

🔥Max Rockatansky

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01

How do you lead when the stakes couldn’t be higher?
The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.





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02

What is your greatest strength in a crisis?
The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.





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03

What is the thing you’d sacrifice everything else for?
Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.





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04

How do you relate to the people around you?
Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.





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05

You’re facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do?
How you respond when you’re the only one who sees it defines everything.





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06

What has your heroism cost you personally?
Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they’d pay it again.





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07

How do you feel about the rules of the world you’re in?
Every hero has a relationship with the system. What’s yours?





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08

When everything is on the line, what keeps you going?
The answer is the most honest thing about you.





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Your Hero Has Been Identified
Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…

Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.

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Arrakis · Dune

Paul Atreides

You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you’re capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.

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  • You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
  • You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn’t ask for but can’t escape.
  • Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
  • That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won’t, is exactly you.


USS Enterprise · Star Trek

Captain Kirk

You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you’ve always believed there’s a third option nobody else has thought of yet.

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  • You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
  • Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you’ve earned it.
  • Kirk’s genius isn’t tactical — it’s human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
  • That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.


The Rebellion · Star Wars

Princess Leia

You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you’re fearless, but because giving up simply isn’t something you’re capable of.

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  • You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
  • You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you’ve never looked back.
  • Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
  • That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.


The Nostromo · Alien

Ellen Ripley

You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.

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  • You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
  • Ripley’s heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn’t have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
  • You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn’t there.
  • When it counts, you don’t flinch. That’s everything.


The Wasteland · Mad Max

Max Rockatansky

You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.

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  • You don’t ask for help, don’t need validation, and don’t wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
  • Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it’s earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
  • Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
  • That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.

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Was ‘Arrival’ a Success?

Financially, the movie was a real success, especially considering it wasn’t a broad sci-fi thriller like many perhaps thought it would be but rather a thoughtful drama that just happened to be sci-fi. It grossed about $100.5 million domestically and $203.4 million worldwide against a reported $47 million budget, and it also opened solidly with $24.1 million in North America, which, again, was a really positive surprise.

Critically, it was a huge win too, but given how good Villeneuve is, this isn’t a surprise. Rotten Tomatoes called it “a refreshingly thoughtful take on first contact,” and the film earned eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Villeneuve, and Best Adapted Screenplay, winning Best Sound Editing. Adams was also widely praised, even though her Oscar snub remains one of those “are you actually kidding?” awards-season moments.

Arrival is streaming for free on Pluto this month.


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Release Date

November 11, 2016

Runtime
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116 minutes

Director

Denis Villeneuve

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Writers

Eric Heisserer

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Producers

Aaron Ryder, David Linde, Karen Lunder, Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Dan Cohen

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