Customer Reviews

Alien Nation [Region 2]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alien nation is so novel and clever that its already over before you realize that it is the same basic buddy cop theme that's been done to death in Hollywood. The "murder to cover up a drug conspiracy in high places" plot is more than a bit familiar, but the writers came up with a fascinating science fiction premise that made the end product entirely worth while. Nothing in the performances apart from the special effects is earth shaking, but the screenwriter did a magnificent job in creating a film that holds the attention and engages the interest. This was a very worthy project and never seemed hackneyed, although there are a lot of similar films that do so almost effortlessly. I recommend it heartily.

this is a great pilot for the tv series that followed. the tv series allowed each character to grow and change, and their alien-ness to one another to blur as they continued to fight crime.

there were a lot of layers to this series besides the basic sci-fi "stranger in a strange land"-"my how different we are" type of story. The episodes dealt with family, romance, detective work, friendship, and a horrific past endured on the way to planet earth.

It has that blade-runner sort of feel, on the edge of the apocalypse type of city, and a pinch of buckaroo bonzai, cagney and lacey (the team had to prove themselves and break "glass ceilings") mixed up with a dash of starman for good measure.

i really enjoyed the tongue in cheek, the partnership formed, and the overcoming of racism.

...'bring me your huddled masses..." i really really implore the powers that be to bring the tv series to DVD.

Thank you in advance.

I saw the TV series before I saw the movie. The movie is pretty good, and I'm glad it's out on DVD. The series and subsequent TV-movies were an excellent continuation of the movie, and I'm adding my vote that I hope they make it to DVD too.

This is a very watchable movie that succeeds because of: a) bravo performances by James Caan (as always) and Mandy Patinkin; b) a solid storyline; and c) the fact that the movie does not try to take itself too seriously even as it makes some social and political points. In effect, this movie is racial politics wrapped in equal parts science fiction and a satirical cop thriller. The amazing thing is, it works--this movie is a brisk and enjoyable viewing experience. The storyline never drags and always entertains. The social commentary, while pervasive, never intrudes on the storyline.

The basic premise of the film is that a huge spaceship full of alien "Newcomers" lands in the California desert. They have high IQs, average over 6 1/2 feet in height, get drunk on sour milk, cannot eat cooked meat, and have a variety of other odd characteristics as well. Their goal, and the government's goal, is to assimilate the Newcomers into American society as quickly as possible. James Caan plays a police detective who is assigned the first Newcomer detective partner: Detective Sam Francisco (Patinkin)and they are investigating a murder involving the Newcomer community. The chemistry between Caan and Patinkin is excellent, and both turn in fine performances. Lots of interesting and downright hilarious things happen along the way, which makes this film downright entertaining even as it gives a certain amount of lighthearted social commentary about the challenges that the most recent people "off the boat" can expect to face when entering American society.

The movie succeeds in its most important goal: it entertains. This is good lighthearted entertainment with a frosting of social commentary that avoids being PC.

The movie works.

Do you like cop movies? If you do then you're in luck. Alien Nation is essentially a cop movie... with aliens. The fact that it is just a cop movie with aliens is what makes this movie a little groundbreaking. However like any other genre of movies, this cop movie isn't perfect. It falls into some of the same trappings of most cop movies. In spite of that Alien Nation is innovative in the science fiction genre, even if the innovation itself has been played out to nausea elsewhere.

This isn't high cop drama like Black Rain or Heat. It isn't necessarily low cop drama either like V.I. Warshowski or The Rookie. The cop drama part is pretty much in the middle. So what makes it innovative? Well... it's the aliens. One of the things that make really good science fiction is when aspects of real life get represented in another fashion. Films like Aliens with their Viet Nam War contrast, Contact with its spiritual belief contrast, and V with their Holocaust similarities all stand out above the crowd because they compare their situations with real issues. Alien Nation does the same. Not with the buddy cop themes but with the themes of racial hatred and discrimination. Instead of some other ethnic minority you get alien refugees from another planet. You get all the parallels of bigotry in modern society in this film, and they address it in a concise manner.

That been said it's still a cop movie overall. Oddly matched police officers learning to accept each other, drug lord looking to take over, lots of gunplay and cop jokes... they all end up here. This aspect of the movie is merely average. Just like all the other cop movies you have seen over the decades. The cinematography, settings, script, and style all fall victims to the cop movie theme as they are all nothing to really write home about when compared to other police films. This doesn't mean the script, cinematography and other stuff I mentioned is bad. It just doesn't stand out above the crowd.

Appreciate Alien Nation for what it is: a parallel to society's discrimination against people different than us. Understand the fact that the vehicle they used to portray this, and it was an appropriate one at that, was a clichéd cop plot. If you like cop movies and Sci-Fi then you found a winner here. For the rest of you I won't say it's an overall great movie, but I will say it's a pretty good one.

While some of the storyline can be corny at times, the concept for this film was excellent. Not just aliens, but aliens who were treated like garbage as slaves find refuge on earth... more specifically, California. They're highly intelligent and much stronger than humans, but most of them are grateful to be on earth, despite the harsh, racist treatment they receive from many who want to keep a "pure" human race.

Like any culture, there are always some bad apples and the Newcomers (as they are called) are no exception. Their unique strength gives them advantages over humans, but their larger-than-ours, spongy heads make it hard for them to hide in a crowd. The unique culture of the Newcomers is explored and seeing their culture integrate with ours is insightful concerning the way many immigrants are treated today.

The make-up is awesome and totally believable and the language developed for the aliens is also well done. The good acting helps to make up for what is sometimes a mediocre script, yet a great concept. If you're into sci-fi, this is an interesting flick you won't want to miss.

I used to be a big fan of Alien Nation, so I was of course thrilled when I found out the movie is on DVD now. I love the whole concept, and I can't think of any other series that has such interesting, likeable aliens that actually live together with humans instead of trying to eat them or lay eggs in their chests. Don't get me wrong, I love regular sci-fi, too, but it's just refreshing to see a different take on the genre and a more modern day setting instead of the far future stuff that's usually the norm.

The only problem is, I'm pretty disappointed that the TV movies and the series aren't also available; in my opinion the later films were largely superior to the original one. I'm glad to be getting this, but it's a shame I can't buy any of the others I'd prefer to have.

Excellent movie, possibly overlooked by many people. The aliens have landed, and thank God they are not the Aliens from LV-426. They come to live here and try to get along. They are smart, they work themselves hard, they are an employer's dream. And, they are not always well liked by the earthlings. We just don't always seem to like these "beings". Outstanding movie about a xenophobic cop and his alien partner investigating a series of violent crimes in the alien areas. It's hard to compare this to a buddy-cop movie, or something like Brother From Another Planet. Either way, this movie is very well done, and is a great film for sci-fi or any other class of film.

James Caan wasn`t in peak performace here like he was in ROLLERBALL but still he managed to pull of a good performance as a hard nosed cop stuck in a futuristic socitey of unwanted aliens with human qualities. Another highlight is seeing this film in dvd instead the visual graphics and imagrey were much more stunning in this version. The storyline is nothing exceptional a cop goes after his parnter`s killer with the help of an alien cop who he`s forced to work with. Good film to watch but after seeing this film it`s nothing worth remembering.

This was one of the best attempts at what a multi racial society might go through in growing pains...There was alot of thought here and unlike the pitiful series that came later, no attempt at PC thought. James Caan put in one of his best parts here since Gardens of Stone and made the movie beliveable for its portrait of racial interplay. One sees just how quick sympathy disppears for the newcomers (refugees, freedmen etc) It is a good analogy for the world at large with drug problems, interplay between 2 TOTALLY different species et al.