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Community reviews
From TMDb members · 1 total- Gimly5/10
Charlie Sheen channels his inner Kevin Smith in this unique take on the genre. Sure it's a little X-Files-y, and a lot of the twists are either glaringly obvious or make zero sense, but by and large it's pretty original. The climate-change message does beat you over the head a li…
Full text & links on TMDb in the reviews section below.
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The Arrival
“The greatest danger facing our world has been the planet's best kept secret... until now.”
60%
Movie
1h 55m
AI Analysis
The Arrival (1996) — AI movie analysis
WatchMind AI generated this AI analysis of The Arrival (1996) — a movie tagged as Science Fiction, Thriller, and Horror with dark and tense moods and steady pacing.
Story & themes: Zane Ziminski is an astrophysicist who receives a message that seems to have extraterrestrial origins. Eerily soon after his discovery, Zane is fired. He then embarks on a search to determine the origins of the transmission that leads him into a Hitchcockian labyrinth of paranoia and intrigue. Our models also surface themes such as identity, conflict, and relationships from synopsis and genre signals.
Watch context: Best suited for solo focused viewing. Expect steady storytelling (~115 min).
Community signal: TMDb members rate The Arrival 60% (833 votes) — solid community ratings for this movie.
AI verdict
The Arrival suits viewers who want a dark and tense film — check the trailer and reviews before committing a full evening.
Algorithmic AI analysis from genres, synopsis, pacing heuristics, and TMDb community scores — not a generative chatbot. How WatchMind works.
Insights
Audience & engagement
How WatchMind visitors interact with this title — views, saves, sentiment, and taste match when you're signed in, or a device preview while browsing. Aggregates are anonymous; last 30 days.
Early data — charts fill in as more people explore this title.
TMDb audience score
60%
from 833 TMDb votes
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Views trend (14 days)
Daily title page views on WatchMind
Synopsis
Zane Ziminski is an astrophysicist who receives a message that seems to have extraterrestrial origins. Eerily soon after his discovery, Zane is fired. He then embarks on a search to determine the origins of the transmission that leads him into a Hitchcockian labyrinth of paranoia and intrigue.
Quick facts
- Type
- Movie
- Status
- Released
- Release date
- 1996-05-31
- Runtime
- 1h 55m
- TMDB rating
- 6.0
- TMDB ID
- 10547
Watch & discovery tips
- Read TMDb member reviews in the reviews section, and audience tips from other WatchMind visitors in Audience notes.
- Use Rent, buy & download for official stores; offline viewing is usually inside their apps.
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Frequently asked questions
Where can I watch The Arrival (1996)?
The Arrival is available for discovery on WatchMind. You can find official links to rent, buy, or stream from licensed digital stores like Apple TV and Amazon in our "Where to Watch" section.
Is there an official trailer for The Arrival?
Yes, you can watch the official trailer for The Arrival directly on this page. We pull the latest video metadata from TMDb and play it via YouTube integration.
What is The Arrival about?
Zane Ziminski is an astrophysicist who receives a message that seems to have extraterrestrial origins. Eerily soon after his discovery, Zane is fired. He then embarks on a search to determine the o... This is the official synopsis available via TMDb community metadata.
Is there an AI analysis for The Arrival?
Yes. WatchMind publishes an AI analysis on this page — tone, pacing, audience fit, and community scores from TMDb metadata and recommendation models (not a chatbot). Scroll to the AI Analysis section or read the meta description summary.
How long is the movie The Arrival?
The official runtime for The Arrival is approximately 115 minutes.
Cast & crew
Names and photos from The Movie Database (TMDb). Follow links on themoviedb.org for full filmographies.
Directors & writers
Cast
Charlie Sheen
Zane Zaminski
Lindsay Crouse
Ilana Green
Richard Schiff
Calvin
Ron Silver
Gordian
Teri Polo
Char
Phyllis Applegate
Mrs. Roosevelt
Tony T. Johnson
Kiki
Alan Coates
Terraformer
Leon Rippy
DOD #1
Buddy Joe Hooker
DOD #2
- J
Javier Morga
Co-Worker
David Villalpando
Cabbie
- M
María Luisa Coronel
Maid
Mónica Dionne
Reporter #1
Alejandro Usigli
Reporter #2
- J
Jacqueline Voltaire
Reporter #3
Luisa Huertas
Security Woman
Roger Cudney
JPL Official
Audience notes
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Discussion0 notes
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Community reviews
Written by TMDb members — same catalogue as our movie & TV metadata. API terms
Charlie Sheen channels his inner Kevin Smith in this unique take on the genre. Sure it's a little X-Files-y, and a lot of the twists are either glaringly obvious or make zero sense, but by and large it's pretty original. The climate-change message does beat you over the head a little, but only gently, which I can handle. Obviously it didn't take anyway, considering we're here twenty years later and the problem's only gotten worse. _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._
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