THE ARRIVAL
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1996 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: This is a tired retread of too many
action films with an unnecessary science fiction
premise thrown in. Some of the special effects are
reasonable, but there is a great deal of silliness
in the plot. If you really are looking for
something original and different to see this summer
you will find that THE ARRIVAL is not much of a
departure. Rating: high 0 (-4 to +4) [A discussion
of some of the ideas follows the main review, but
at least one of the comments might be a spoiler.]
Start with a standard conspiracy and cover-up story. However, instead of making the villain be the government or the Mafia or enemy agents, this time make it be aliens. That gives you a little latitude for a few nice special effects and allows you to exploit the publicity for INDEPENDENCE DAY. That seems to be what happened with THE ARRIVAL. The plot is pretty much a standard loner-on-the-run not knowing whom he can trust that has been around since THE 39 STEPS and probably longer. David Twohy proves that it does not take a whole lot of effort to make this tried-and-true suspense formula into a science fiction film. Two previously wrote and directed DISASTER IN TIME, and there he did a reasonable job. That adaptation of C. L. Moore's "Vintage Season" added adventure elements to a classic story and arguably actually improved on the original. However he also co-authored the script for WATERWORLD, which depended too much on all-too-familiar action film devices. With THE ARRIVAL he is back to re-framing the all-too- familiar, once again writing and directing.
Zane Zaminski (played by Charlie Sheen) is a radio astronomer working for NASA on the Search for Extra- terrestrial Intelligence project when he receives a signal from space that seems to be a message from something intelligent. Bringing it to his supervisor, Gordian (Ron Silver), he finds that some people, and especially Gordian, seem more anxious to hush up the discovery than to act on the tremendous implications of the signal. Zaminski finds himself fired and the tape of the intercepted signal is destroyed. He determines that he can search for the signal again by hijacking all the television satellite dishes in the neighborhood, re-rigging them so that he can direct them at will, and using them to try to again find his signal. The information he gets is sufficient to tip him off that there is something odd that has to be investigated in Mexico and the chase begins in earnest.
Twohy's script really needed to use its science fiction premise more effectively in the plot. Too often the premise of the aliens is relegated to McGuffin. If a character is hanging onto something for dear life, does it really make this a science fiction film if the thing held onto is a radio telescope rather than the Statue of Liberty? Does it make the story any more exciting? And for an action plot, THE ARRIVAL's is rather flaccid with only one scene of any real tension, and that involving poisonous insects and not aliens. Charlie Sheen could have used a winning performance to his credit, but his radio astronomer is neither winning nor believable. Lindsay Crouse, whose wooden performance was the only major problem with HOUSE OF GAMES, gives an only slightly better performance here. Tony T. Johnson is the little boy next door, to whom Sheen can explain what would not otherwise be obvious to the audience. Teri Polo, the Christine Daae of the 1990 TV version of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, is along as the female companion of Zaminski, but neither the character nor the actress is very much help.
I somehow think that David Twohy wanted to have made a science fiction film, but did not have his heart in writing science fiction. This chase/action film gets a high 0 on the -4 to +4 scale.
SPOILER... SPOILER... SPOILER... SPOILER... SPOILER... SPOILER...
The idea that Zaminski could build his own radio telescope to find the signal again is ludicrous since it would take more money than he could put into the project and putting all the television satellite antennas out of commission would give him away before he could use the scheme. My guess is that this handful of small dishes would not accomplish his purpose in any case. Radio telescopes have to be really large because they generally use very large wave lengths, though admittedly the script says that Zaminski was looking in the FM band. The Very Large Array near Socorro, New Mexico has 21 antennas, each 81 feet high and 422 feet in diameter. They are on a Y-shaped rail track 22 miles across. They can be brought in to the center in a tight configuration or spread out over the whole track, having the equivalent effect of looking with a wide-angle lens or with a telephoto lens. However, this array is very often used in conjunction with other radio telescopes in other parts of the world so the huge array that so astounded Zaminski at one point in the plot should not have been even a novel idea to a real radio astronomer. Another problem that is conveniently overlooked is the length of time it takes the aliens to communicate with "something that moves like a star" and not a satellite, so presumably it is a star. There is also a plot problem involving the note that Kiki left for his grandmother.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
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