Alien Nation Movie Review

A few hundred thousand alien slaves in a hijacked saucer find sanctuary on “near-future” 1990s Earth, and face the challenge of any immigrant minority. Some assimilate into American society, others dwell in the ghetto. Mandy Patinkin plays an upscale “newcomer” (renamed – a la Ellis Island – after the city of San Francisco) who becomes the first alien LAPD detective and teams with surly, bigoted human cop James Caan to solve murders over an otherworldly narcotic. Transparent script uses science fiction as a lens for examining contemporary racial conflicts and attitudes. Nothing wrong with that, but the filmmakers cuff the plot to every dumb action-buddy-cop cliche since 48 Hrs., and the mottle-headed aliens just aren't all that interesting. One expects better from producer Hurd (the force behind The Terminator and Aliens). The Alien Nation universe got a more detailed exploration in a subsequent short-lived TV series and small-screen sequels also on video.

1988 (R) 89m/C James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Terence Stamp, Kevyn Major Howard, Peter Jason, Jeff Kober, Leslie Bevins; D: Graham Baker; W: Rockne S. O'Bannon; M: Curt Sobel. VHS, Beta, LV FOX