The Arrival (1996)
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A radio astronomer uncovers a conspiracy involving extraterrestrials who are terraforming Earth.
The story
Zane Zaminsky and Calvin, radio astronomers employed by SETI, detect and record an extraterrestrial radio signal from Wolf 336. When Zane reports his discovery to his supervisor, Phil "Gordi" Gordian, the findings are dismissed and the tape is destroyed. Terminated and blacklisted, Zane takes a job as a television satellite dish installer and secretly builds his own telescope array in his attic with the help of his neighbor, Kiki. After detecting the signal again, Zane realizes it is being drowned out by a terrestrial signal from a Mexican radio station, leading him on a journey to uncover the truth.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Zane Zaminsky and Calvin, radio astronomers employed by SETI, detect and record an extraterrestrial radio signal from Wolf 336. When Zane reports his discovery to his supervisor, Phil "Gordi" Gordian, the findings are dismissed and the tape is destroyed. Terminated and blacklisted, Zane takes a job as a television satellite dish installer and secretly builds his own telescope array in his attic with the help of his neighbor, Kiki. After detecting the signal again, Zane realizes it is being drowned out by a terrestrial signal from a Mexican radio station. Zane travels to Mexico and discovers the radio station was destroyed by fire, then meets Ilana Green, a climatologist investigating a power plant that seems to be responsible for rising global temperatures. Zane discovers the plant is a facade for an extraterrestrial base where aliens are terraforming Earth. After Ilana is murdered by the aliens, Zane confronts Gordi at the JPL, coercing him into confessing the alien plot. Zane returns home to find his equipment gone and enlists Char and Kiki to help him broadcast a recording of Gordi's confession. At the radio astronomy array, Kiki reveals himself as an alien agent and locks Zane and Char in the control room. Zane subdues Gordi's agents with liquid nitrogen, but an accident releases a sphere that begins to engulf the room. Zane and Char escape through an access shaft as the base implodes, telling Kiki to inform the aliens that the tape will be broadcast.
- First release year
- 1996
- Runtime (minutes)
- 115
- Production countries
- United States; Mexico
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- David Twohy
- Writers
- David Twohy · writer
- Cast and characters
- Charlie Sheen · Zane Zaminsky; Lindsay Crouse · Ilana Green; Teri Polo · Char; Richard Schiff · Calvin; Leon Rippy · DOD #1; Tony T. Johnson · Kiki; Ron Silver · Phil "Gordi" Gordian
- Genres
- science fiction thriller; science fiction horror
- Themes
- Climate Change; Alien Invasion; Conspiracy
- Tone and mood
- Stylish; Inventive
- Premise and plot tags
- First Contact; Science Fiction; Thriller
- Franchise connections
- Arrival II
- Reception
- The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with a consensus that it is stylish, inventive, and offers a smart spin on the alien invasion genre. It was a commercial failure in the domestic market but had a successful international run.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 66% · review count: 35 critics; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 6.2/10 · scale: 10 · review count: 35 critics
- Production trivia
- The working title was Shockwave.; The alien creatures were all digitally created by Pacific Data Images.; Charlie Sheen had previously collaborated with David Twohy on Terminal Velocity.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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