Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'The Arrival'

Written by Scotty

The question that everyone has always asked is are we alone in the universe? Nobody knows for sure, but there are plenty of scientists that believe that there are aliens in the heavens somewhere and are looking forward to seeing them make an appearance to mankind. But what if they are on the planet and living among us already, most people don’t think of that. It would be a game changer if we suddenly find out that the extra-terrestrials are already here and have integrated themselves into our daily society. Just something to think about when you hear news of another UFO sighting, or if someday a radio broadcast from a different world hits our airwaves...

As the sun begins to set, Zane and his co-worker Calvin are getting ready to turn in for the night when a signal comes across their monitors. Seeing that this is not some random radio signal, the two run through their protocols to make sure that it is real. Not being able to get it verified by any other station, the two have to make sure to report it to their superiors as soon as possible since they have just found proof of life on another planet. When Zane approaches his boss about the signal however, he is fired from his station, but this will not keep him down since he is ready to prove to the world that he is not crazy and there is intelligent life in the cosmos. 

Working as a satellite repairman, Zane has all the resources he requires to find the signal once again. Taking over a string of customers satellite dishes, he is able to locate the signal, but this time he gets a radio station's feedback as well. Knowing that the two signals are broadcasting on the same wavelength, Zane tracks the signal from Earth down to Mexico. Hopping on a plane to find out who on this planet might be communicating with an alien world, Zane gets more than he bargains for. With accidents following wherever he is going or where he has been, there is someone trying to prevent him from finding the truth. When Zane is able to sneak into a broadcast facility, he sees that the game has changed and wants to get the word out to the world that we are not alone. But passing this knowledge will come at a price as Zane is soon to find out.

I don’t know if I believe in aliens or not since there is no hard proof pointing in either direction of this argument. On one hand you have a group telling you that we are the only species in the solar system, but that does not add up when you get reports of water on other planets. Then you have the hardcore believers that can look out the window and see a UFO whenever they pay attention. I don’t know, but I hope that this gets answered some point in my life time, and that the aliens are not looking for war because I don’t think we are ready for that.

I do like this movie however, it was interesting seeing that a race has been on the planet for some time now and continues to communicate with their home world. With agents in higher up positions, they are able to hold on to a cover up, that is until Zane finds out he is being lied to. Without knowing who is not of this world and who he can trust, Zane lets more than a few people in, while this may seem foolish, he does not have any other choice. Being able to befriend a doctor that is tracking the greenhouse effect on the planet, and a kid that wants to know what he can do to help, the out of work astronomer will have his hands tied in more than one way. Self-doubt can hold anyone back from accomplishing something great, so just make sure that if you ever doubt yourself, you never look back since you may not like what you left behind.  

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