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Alien Nation (1988)
Starring James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Terence Stamp, and Kevyn Major Howard. Cinematography by Adam Greenberg. Editing by Kent Beyda. Produced by Gale Anne Hurd and Richard Kobritz. Written by Rockne S. O’Bannon. Directed by Graham Baker.
Matthew Sykes (played by James Caan) is a cop in southern California. His partner is killed on the job and his chief assigns him a new one. Sykes is displeased with his new partner, Sam Francisco (played by Mandy Patinkin), because he is a freaking alien… but this is a bit more commonplace than you might expect.
The film takes place in the future, 1991 actually, in a time where aliens, referred to as the Newcomers, have landed on the Earth and have gracefully merged into our population. They have assumed regular jobs as gas station attendants, garbage men, advertising models, etc., but Sam is a landmark case in that he is the first Newcomer to join the police force. Together Matthew and Sam solve murders, infiltrate drug rings, and arrest bad guys as they become acclimated to each other’s cultural nuances.
Alien Nation was a pretty successful hit back in the late eighties. It was popular enough, in fact, to spawn a television series that ran from 1989 to 1990 and then a number of made for television movies. The film is interesting, but it tries to play off the fact that aliens are among us as so commonplace that it abandons the science fiction genre entirely and becomes solely a buddy cop movie. This idea is neither here nor there, but the plot points that they used for the story are all too familiar and feel very recycled. They might have done better by lending the film a little bit more of a sci-fi element for flavor, but beyond the fact that there are people from another planet in it, there is none.
And speaking of they, who are they? Well the script has Rockne S. O’Bannon credited as its author. O’Bannon has written for many science fiction television series over the years including “SeaQuest”, “Farscape”, and “The Twilight Zone”. But James Cameron, well known as an incredible science fiction writer, also did some uncredited work as a script doctor. The film is produced by Gale Anne Hurd, Cameron’s wife at the time, which would probably explain his involvement.
As far as the film goes, if you were around and watching films when the picture came out it will likely serve you in the sentimental department. But if you are young and just getting into films, Alien Nation probably isn’t the place to start.
Budget: $16,000,000
Total US Gross: $25,216,243
Genre: Crime
Runtime: 91 Minutes
US Release Date: 10/7/88
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Awards: none
Tagline: Prepare Yourself.
Quote: “As with the assassination of John Kennedy, who among us does not remember exactly where he was that October nineteenth morning, when news first broke: that people have landed... from another star.”
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