The Arrival

This is a cool film. Very solid story, good performances, catchy SFX. Better than most sci-fi out there.

Charlie Sheen plays Zane, a radio astronomer who accidentally discovers an alien signal from space, that also has origins on Earth. When he tries to tell his boss(Ron Silver, very good) he downplays and denies the importance of the find. Zane then finds out he has been fired, and the tape he gave to his boss disappears, so now very suspicious, he undertakes his own investigation, which leads him to an alarming truth about aliens who are indeed very much among us...

Well written and directed by David Twohy, this science fiction film is a pleasant surprise, and Charlie Sheen is appealing and believable as the man determined to find the truth, and warn the world; sounds like a certain FBI agent from "The X-Files"...

A film made for me. The theme is for my taste, sf mystery, strange things happen, at first there is no explanation or meaning, but as the plot progresses it will slowly reveal more and more. It looks like one of the episodes of The X-Files, and I adore that series. The technology was a bit backward at the time, but it's understandable because it's a movie from the nineties. Unfortunately, my impression is spoiled by some supporting characters and their destinies as well as the end of the film. The last third of the film is the weakest part because I don't like the way it all unfolded. Too bad because the start was promising and Charlie Sheen did a really good job in the lead role.

I had the pleasure of watching this film in the theater and to be quite honest that is the way it should be seen. Its a well done movie about aliens visiting earth, overall the story is nothing original (but it does have more then a few tricks up its sleeve) and is your typical Alien invader movie.

Watching this on television years later its hard to appreciate just how well this film was shot. One scene in particular involving a large dish and someone almost falling off the side of it almost caused me to make a mess in my pants when first watching the film on the big screen.

When I saw it the theater was mostly empty (not good for the movie, but it probably allowed us to enjoy it some more) and it was its first run (did it have a second?). Its sad the film didn't do as well as it should have, at the time it was the best alien related movie in theaters (I seem to remember independence day being out at the same time).

My one gripe is a somewhat weak ending (especially considering the strength of the rest of the movie). Overall it is an entertaining and somewhat thought provoking film that you won't regret watching unless you don't like movies that emphasize suspense instead of action. And there is a LOT of suspense in this film. It doesn't skimp on action either but it saves it for the end of the movie where it belongs and makes some sense.

Some people may not like its message either but I didn't have a problem with it and it certainly didn't get overly preachy. People voice their opinions on screen just as someone would do in real life, and I don't have a problem with that. The real focus of the movie is aliens, not the environment. If you fixate on the environmental message in the movie then you probably have some issues or just don't get this type of movie. Global warming is more of a subplot that leads Mr Sheen in a certain direction and nothing more.

The special effects are fairly spartan but effective and nicely creepy when they are used.

Some of the characters are kind of annoying but are necessary, and don't detract from the film overall.

A worthwhile rental, especially if you have a large TV to watch it on.

After reading some of the negative reviews here I almost didn't watch it. Glad I watched. As one reviewer said, it's a bit like an extended X-files episode. That's not a bad thing, especially today when most of what passes for sci-fi is little more than cowboys in space with both sides shooting at each other with "advanced" weapons that cannot hit the side of a barn.

The Premise here is aliens are on earth and using Climate change as cover for their plot to warm up the earth quickly (they like it hot) so they can displace us.

No need to detail all that happens, suffice it to say there are a few minor twists but no real surprises. Yet it flows along well, characters get just the amount of development they need and no more. No huge plot holes once you accept the premises that underlay the aliens being here in the first place.