Maybe time to get excited about this ‘Arrival’

Not that I place any real credence in trailers or critical previews, but one film that is opening on Friday is receiving high marks for both.

I don't trust trailers because they so often don't end up reflecting what the final film is all about. Too many times they either give the whole film away or they give a mistaken impression of the respective film's tone.

I remember thinking that Joe Wright's 2007 adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel "Atonement" was just another of your average stuffy Masterpiece Theatre productions. How wrong I was. "Atonement" turned out to be as poignant and passionate a study of love and loss as I've ever seen.

And critics? Even the best of them can make some outlandish pronouncements (though hardly among the best, I will plead guilty to having done the same). So, yes, I'm careful.

But "Arrival," the Denis Villeneuve film that is one of three films opening on Friday, is scoring 97 percent among critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Here are some of the comments:

Stephen Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: "Arrival is at once majestic and melancholy. It's a grand endeavor, and (Amy) Adams, at the center of it all, brings pluck and smarts and a deep-seated sorrow to her role. This is her movie, no doubt."

Anthony Lane, The New Yorker: "So sure is the stride of the narrative, and so bracing the air of expectation, that you feel yourself, like Louise, beginning to spin, and barely able to catch your breath."

Mara Reinstein, US Weekly: "The sci-fi thriller not only subverts expectations in brilliant ways, it explores deeply felt themes of life, loss and love. In other words, it's light-years away from 'Independence Day 3.' "

Tony Hicks, San Jose Mercury News: "Arrival arrives at a good time, as something of a salve for the ugly discourse going on and a reminder to us that thinking big is really worthwhile."

So I'm excited. Let's hope my enthusiasm isn't, as often happens, misplaced.