This movie is not to be confused with the more recent one called Arrival, their names are very similar but the stories have nothing in common, they are completely different films. The Arrival follows an astronomer played by Charlie Sheen, who suddenly discovers a strange radio signal coming from the space, specifically it appears to be coming from a star.
The signal is a huge anomaly but it lasts for less than a minute and they were unable to confirm it with a third person located in another facility. When this anomaly is reported everything is quickly dismissed and the astronomer will soon find himself without a job and with the fake reputation of being a liar.
He knows that what he saw is real so he will figure out how to investigate what is really happening with that strange radio signal and why are important people inside the government trying to hide and cover-up anything related to it. At the same time, other people are facing major worries because the planet is getting hotter much faster than expected. Are these 2 issues related to each other?
One of the things I didn't like from this movie was how the main character, the astronomer, welcomes with total ease a young boy from the neighborhood into his house and even into the room where he is doing his secret investigation. The first encounter between them wasn't very friendly because the kids looked as if he was trying to rob something. Later on, this kid will become an important character but the way he was introduced wasn't very polished.
There was another important part of the plot where the astronomer is able to both infiltrate and escape an advanced facility. He had some trouble doing that but the fact he was able to pull it off was very offputting. Let's remember this person isn't Agent 007, he is just a regular astronomer.
Taking everything into consideration, the movie is entertaining, if you like mystery movies this is a good choice, there were some action scenes and even some comedy ones as well, although the "funny" parts weren't very funny for me and they mostly involved clumsy performances from the kid actor.
The best
- Good take on the alien invasion genre.
- It also exploited a common worry from that time regarding global warming.
The worst
- Important parts of the plot should have been written better.
More information: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115571/ Review: AAA In numbers: 7/10