After astronomer Zane Zaminski (Charlie Sheen) discovers a radio transmission that originated from space, he tells his boss, Phil (Ron Silver), who ignores him. Zane then discovers intelligent alien life. But the aliens are keeping a deadly secret, and will do anything to stop Zane from learning it.
6 November 1948, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England, UK
8 May 1944, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
27 May 1955, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
8 November 1959, North Carolina, USA
3 September 1965, New York City, New York, USA
2 January 1959, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
2 July 1946, New York City, New York, USA
30 May 1942, Vallejo, California, USA
30 October 1949, Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA
12 May 1948, New York City, New York, USA
1 June 1969, Dover, Delaware, USA
February 13, 2017
The CGI alien special effects are only so-so, but the film is rich in ideas, well-executed and is pleasingly entertaining even if silly.
January 01, 2000
A movie that shoehorns a blunt warning into its silly but entertaining story of a young radio astronomer's one-man battle against sinister extraterrestrials.
January 01, 2000
The movie is as smart as ``Mission: Impossible'' is dumb.
February 09, 2006
What it lacks in sophistication (everything), it partly makes up for in sheer gall.
January 01, 2000
This is not a dumb movie; in fact, with its heavy reliance upon real science, it's startlingly credible.
October 29, 2004
The aliens-among-us plot gets a very entertaining and inventive update.
May 12, 2003
A good premise, hampered by a weak ending.
October 14, 2005
You know a movie's in trouble when it's called The Arrival and nothing arrives -- the film's aliens are already here.
April 21, 2009
Less an alien invasion movie than a conspiracy film (it just hapens to turn out that the conspirators are aliens).
September 25, 2002
...it ultimately seems apparent that the movie would've been well-served had it topped out at 90 minutes (ie it's too long and feels it).
June 18, 2002
It's a strong, lean piece of writing that moves quickly. Nothing is wasted, and nothing happens the way you'd expect.
May 31, 1996
[Sheen] spends most of the movie in a kind of sweaty apoplexy that makes one worry for his health.
