The director’s involvement is striking, which prompts some thought, certainly. The film is remarkably well-done, and then you realize John Carpenter has crafted a… a love story—a genuinely touching and lovely one at that. It seems the initial script Carpenter received was quite political; he removed those elements and centered the narrative on the romance, which proved to be an inspired decision both when it was f…

Jeff Bridges delivers one of his stronger portrayals in this film. He plays an extraterrestrial being who comes to Earth and takes on the form of "Hayden." The complication is that Hayden has recently passed away, so his widow, "Jenny" (Karen Allen), understandably finds herself bewildered as he persuades her to drive him to Arizona for a meeting with others of his kind. The impact site from his arrival has drawn the…

There’s been disagreement about John Carpenter’s science fiction film—a story of love alongside a cautionary tale about humanity—even since its release, but for those who connect with it, the impact lingers. It's a beautiful movie featuring Jeff Bridges in an exceptional performance as an extraterrestrial forming a partnership with Karen Allen to journey across country to a Nevada crater where he’ll be retrieved by h…