Arrival begins much like any other alien invasion movie, with massive spacecraft suddenly appearing around the globe and throwing the world into chaos. But rather than fill the screen with massive CGI-fueled battles à la Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day — which, just to be clear, I love without reservation — Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Ted Chiang’s short story “Story of Your Life” tackles headier topics like the nature of language, the difficulties of communication, and the cyclical nature of time.

That Arrival doesn’t stumble over itself but instead handles those heady topics with so much grace and poignancy is certainly a testament to Villeneuve’s skill as a director, as well as to wonderfully measured performances from Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, Bradford Young’s gorgeous cinematography, and Jóhann Jóhannsson’s otherworldly score.

Since Arrival, Villeneuve has directed the also excellent Blade Runner 2049 as well as the epic Dune films, establishing him as arguably the world’s premier sci-fi filmmaker.