Zane, an astronomer, discovers intelligent alien life. But the aliens are keeping a deadly secret and will do anything to stop Zane from learning it.
David Twohy is a filmmaker synonymous with science fiction. His 1991 directorial debut, “Grand Tour: Disaster in Time,” starring Jeff Daniels, was a sci-fi drama about mysterious time travelers from the future. Then came “The Arrival” in 1996. But he’s probably best known for the movies that turned Vin Diesel into a major action star: “Pitch Black,” “The Chronicles of Riddick,” and “Riddick.” He is currently in production on a fourth film, titled “Riddick: Furya.”
“The Arrival” opened to mixed reviews and was considered a box-office bomb at the time, earning only $14 million on an estimated production budget of $25 million, but over the years it’s grown into a cult favorite, especially among sci-fi lovers and alien conspiracy theorists. I remember seeing it in theaters upon its initial release and totally enjoying it, but not understanding why there was so much hate against it. After Lionsgate sent me an early 4K review copy, I was delighted to watch it again and enjoyed it even more this time around.
The story focuses on Zane Zaminsky (Charlie Sheen), a radio astronomer and astrophysicist working at an underfunded tracking station, whose job is to scan the cosmos and listen for extraterrestrial radio transmissions. When he and a co-worker, Calvin (Richard Schiff), are working late one night, they detect and record an extraterrestrial radio signal from Wolf 336, a star located 14 light-years away from Earth. Beyond excited, Zane reports to his supervisor, Phil (Ron Silver), the next day at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. Expecting him to be as enthusiastic as he is at the prospect of finally being in touch with life elsewhere in the universe, he is shocked when Phil dismisses the findings and informs him that he is to be terminated due to alleged budget cuts in their department.
Zane leaves, finding it odd that he was terminated after his discovery, and decides to do some digging of his own. After following some leads to Mexico, he ends up with Ilana Green (Lindsay Crouse), a scientist researching the effect of greenhouse gases in the Arctic. Together, they uncover an alien plot that threatens the entire planet—one that’s been hiding in plain sight. Now they must race against the clock to find those responsible for the looming threat, but who can they trust? As science fiction blurs into reality, they must decide if their only chance of saving the human race comes at too great a cost.
The 1990s were filled with an abundance of sci-fi movies: “Independence Day,” “Mars Attacks!,” “Men in Black,” “Contact,” and “Stargate,” to name but a few. When Twohy’s “The Arrival” came out, it tanked at the box office, in part because it was heavily overshadowed by the blockbuster release of “Independence Day” a few weeks later. Also, the conspiracy elements didn’t help as “The X-Files” had already established itself as the leading exploration of such topics on television, and subsequently in its 1998 feature film adaptation. Another aspect was Charlie Sheen’s casting. By 1996, he was better known for his comedic performances in films such as “Hot Shots!” and its sequel, as well as “Major League,” so many people found it hard to suspend their disbelief and accept him as a serious, nerdy, and frantic scientist. Personally, I think Sheen did a serviceable job, and while he was the star, he was also surrounded by a good supporting cast, including Lindsay Crouse, Teri Polo, Richard Schiff, and 1990s go-to bad guy Ron Silver, who played a variety of notorious antagonists throughout that decade.
In the end, “The Arrival” still holds up pretty well today, despite some outdated special effects characteristic of the 1990s. Aside from this limitation, David Twohy’s skilled direction and the film’s internally consistent narrative contribute to its continued appeal. Two years later, there was a direct-to-video sequel titled “Arrival II,” starring the late Patrick Muldoon, but the less we say about that, the better. If you are a ’90s sci-fi aficionado, you should enjoy “The Arrival.”
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