BY MATTHEW DIBBERT

There seems to be a rule that a talented director will eventually make a bad movie. With so much that can go wrong with making a film, it’s almost inevitable. Paul Thomas Anderson made “Inherent Vice” (2014) and Susanne Bier made “Serena” (2014). So far, Denis Villeneuve has escaped this fate. His latest film, “Arrival,” does not reach the heights of his previous work, but it is nevertheless a quality picture.

“Arrival” begins where most science fiction films of this type end: contact with the aliens. Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a linguist, is recruited by the U.S. military to interpret the sounds and images of the aliens that have landed their spacecraft in western Montana. She is chosen more by default than by merit, having the necessary security clearance as a result of her previous government work. Louise is reserved and unthreatening. Although her area of expertise is communication, she comes across as an introvert who prefers books to people.

Colonel G.T. Weber (Forest Whitaker), a military officer, recruits Louise to interpret the aliens’ sounds for any sign of a message. He oversees the team that shuttles to and from the spacecraft, trying their best to find out the aliens’ intention. Until Louise arrives at the spacecraft, the only attempt at communication with the aliens had been auditory. Louise brings a dry-erase board and writes her name on it, putting her hand to her chest. One of the aliens, in response, sends a written message back to her by spurting black smoke from its limb. Swift progress continues from that moment.

Colonel Weber is Louise’s anchor in the storm. Her other source of comfort and support arrives with Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), the theoretical physicist who gives rationality its place among the emotion and subjectivity of language. Donnelly is able to interpret the vast amount of data collected from the audio and video recordings of the interactions with the aliens. He follows Louise’s initiative, and he turns out to be essential in gaining progress with their mission. Only two aliens show themselves in the spacecraft, and Louise and Donnelly mimic their visitors by always appearing together.

Rather than save the creature for the final scenes, like “Jaws” and “10 Cloverfield Lane,” viewers meet the aliens as soon as Louise does. The aliens’ appearance is not important here; it’s what they have to say. And there lies the challenge. The creatures make sounds like whale calls and write images resembling Rorschach tests. Louise has plenty of work to do. The military, Colonel Weber in particular, are worried that the spacecraft foreshadows conflict. Louise must prove that the aliens do not mean harm. She views their arrival as a way for them to deliver a message to the human race. If Louise and her team fail to convince the government that the aliens mean no harm, then the military intends to attack the spacecraft.

Villeneuve has a talent for moving a story along which would fall apart with a less talented director. His previous films, such as “Prisoners” (2013) and “Enemy” (2013), gave one man a task to solve. Then, as if to prove the point that nothing good comes easily, the man is thrown down the rabbit hole. The stories of theses movies, stripped of the quality of the acting and the beauty of the cinematography, are not original. Child abduction, mental illness, and aliens making contact are not new to cinema. What is new are the backdrops and actors that Villeneuve brings to these plots. Villeneuve is still that rare director who has yet to make a bad movie. Luckily for us, there is an exception to every rule.

Matthew Dibbert is a freelance writer based in Chicago. He covers the arts and current events.