The Arrival [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Charlie Sheen, clean and sober, plays radio astronomer, Zane Zaminski, who picks up radio signals that are not earthly. When he takes a copy of the tape of these signals, which he believes to be indicative of intelligent, alien life, to his boss, chillingly played by Ron Silver, he is summarily fired from his job. Suddenly, all is not right with the world.

Smelling something real fishy, Zane sets up a home satellite and tries to zero in on the signal. He gets lucky, or unlucky, depending upon how one looks at it, and he picks up the same signal he previously had picked up. It crosses a signal given off by a Mexican radio station, which motivates him to go to Mexico and check it out.

While in Mexico, he meets a fellow scientist (Lindsay Crouse), who is there on her own investigation, as she has noted major atmospheric changes, which indicate that global warming is occurring at an alarming rate, almost as if there were a greenhouse effect. Unbeknownst to Zane at the time, her concerns are connected to his.

While at a power plant with her, he comes across a doppelganger for his former boss, which sets off alarms in his head. Returning undercover at night, he discovers that the entire plant is operated by aliens, and they are not here just to say hello. There, a series of events transpire to reveal to him an immense, alien plot. Yes, it's the old alien conspiracy story rearing its ugly head. Only this time, it is handled with surprising intelligence. Zane is now on a mission to convey what he knows to the world, but the aliens will stop at nothing to silence him. Will he make it? Watch the film and find out. If you love sci-fi films, you will not be disappointed.


Great effects, terrible film   February 5, 2002
8 out of 22 found this review helpful

Charlie Sheen in a Sci-Fi film sounds like quite a good idea until you realise how bad this movie really is. You will however laugh constantly because of Charlie Sheen's facial expressions looking as though he was on multiple, illegal, hallucinogenic drugs. The only redeeming part of this film is that the effects can be quite breathtaking and are the saving point of this film. My only advice is to hire this out for a laugh but dont expect too much!


SCI-FI AS IT SHOULD BE...   November 11, 2002
Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This movie was underrated when it was first released, and, as with all good, underrated movies, it has since become a cult favorite. Clever and imaginative, a lot was done on a limited budget to make it into a top notch sci-fi thriller. It has an intelligent and well reasoned story, and the special effects are highly imaginative.

Charlie Sheen, clean and sober, plays radio astronomer, Zane Zaminski, who picks up radio signals that are not earthly. When he takes a copy of the tape of these signals, which he believes to be indicative of intelligent, alien life, to his boss, chillingly played by Ron Silver, he is summarily fired from his job. Suddenly, all is not right with the world.

Smelling something real fishy, Zane sets up a home satellite and tries to zero in on the signal. He gets lucky, or unlucky, depending upon how one looks at it, and he picks up the same signal he previously had picked up. It crosses a signal given off by a Mexican radio station, which motivates him to go to Mexico and check it out.

While in Mexico, he meets a fellow scientist (Lindsay Crouse), who is there on her own investigation, as she has noted major atmospheric changes, which indicate that global warming is occurring at an alarming rate, almost as if there were a greenhouse effect. Unbeknownst to Zane at the time, her concerns are connected to his.

While at a power plant with her, he comes across a doppelganger for his former boss, which sets off alarms in his head. Returning undercover at night, he discovers that the entire plant is operated by aliens, and they are not here just to say hello. There, a series of events transpire to reveal to him an immense, alien plot. Yes, it's the old alien conspiracy story rearing its ugly head. Only this time, it is handled with surprising intelligence. Zane is now on a mission to convey what he knows to the world, but the aliens will stop at nothing to silence him. Will he make it? Watch the film and find out. If you love sci-fi films, you will not be disappointed.


Great film, but the follow-up was a dog   November 15, 2005
Alan Sturgess
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Other reviewers have provided a range of comments which span the spectrum from good to excellent. In my opinion, this original 'Arrival' is a good example of thoughtful science fiction. It has a strong storyline, good acting and excellent effects.

My main reason for adding this review is to warn you against considering 'Arrival 2' .... that is truly, truly bad. I've written a separate review for that film but if you are considering buying one or both films, my advice would be to stick with '1' and totally ignore '2'.


Unoriginal But Fun   January 17, 2006
Green Man Music (United Kingdom)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

The initial plot of "The Arrival" is almost identical to the film version of Carl Sagan's "Contact" (starring Jodie Foster), where an underfunded SETI project gets the chop just as a major radio signal comes through. But here the plot of "Arrival" takes a different turn to that of "Contact" and moves into an equally unoriginal "conspiracy theory" mode, where aliens with a sinister agenda are arriving incognito and the protagonist, Zane, is left not knowing who in the government to trust and trying to get the message of the "truth" of his discovery out to the world.

There are a number of silly occurences that crop up from time to time. For example, despite Zane's paranoia he decides to confide in a teenager who he catches breaking itno his house one night. This turns out to be necessary for later, but it's distinctly less plauable even than aliens invading ...

Nevertheless it's an enjoyable watch although fans of sci-fi will have seen most of the content in the guise of many films and shorts before (see the Outer Limits "Aliens Amongst Us" for one of many examples).