This is the kind of movie to scrupulously AVOID when looking for decent sci-fi. Or even semi-average.
What's wrong with "Alien Nation", you might ask? Well, first of, this IS NOT a sci-fi movie. I know - it's set in the future, aliens come from another planet and co-habitate amongst the humans, there's alien prejudice, alien blue collar workers, alien cops, alien hookers and the whole nine yards.
But with all this promise, what do the film-makers do? What, I ask you? They turn it into a COP/BUDDY MOVIE! The guys who wrote this should be forced to take remedial writing lessons from Joe Eszterhaus.
And everyone involved must have been caught at a bad time in their lives. Caan has been much better than here (though not much worse) as a cop who doesn't like aliens and is, naturally, stuck with one as a partner. His partner (Patinkin) gets a cute name at Ellis Island ("Sam Francisco..." yuk-yuk-yuk.), gets drunk on curdled milk and makes "Star Trek"'s Spock look like a party animal. Then there's Stamp as yet ANOTHER alien baddie (remember him in "Superman II"?). Not much stretch work here.
Not much to the plot, either, as Stamp plans to enslave the aliens with a newfound version of a drug from the old home planet (and when you find out what the drug is, think: would this mean that all the sober aliens walk around in dirty clothes?).
In fact, the best thing about this movie, aside from the alien make-up job, is the song "Invincible" from the Temptations, a "golden oldie", according to the movie, from 1988. Ah, the ironies of a movie set in the future.
Tell you what - remember movies like "Freebie and the Bean" and "Lethal Weapon"? Pretend one of the guys is a bald-headed alien with large liver spots on his head and no nose. There, you've seen "Alien Nation".
Two stars. And if you make it through "Alien Nation, may the (police) force be with you.
What's wrong with "Alien Nation", you might ask? Well, first of, this IS NOT a sci-fi movie. I know - it's set in the future, aliens come from another planet and co-habitate amongst the humans, there's alien prejudice, alien blue collar workers, alien cops, alien hookers and the whole nine yards.
But with all this promise, what do the film-makers do? What, I ask you? They turn it into a COP/BUDDY MOVIE! The guys who wrote this should be forced to take remedial writing lessons from Joe Eszterhaus.
And everyone involved must have been caught at a bad time in their lives. Caan has been much better than here (though not much worse) as a cop who doesn't like aliens and is, naturally, stuck with one as a partner. His partner (Patinkin) gets a cute name at Ellis Island ("Sam Francisco..." yuk-yuk-yuk.), gets drunk on curdled milk and makes "Star Trek"'s Spock look like a party animal. Then there's Stamp as yet ANOTHER alien baddie (remember him in "Superman II"?). Not much stretch work here.
Not much to the plot, either, as Stamp plans to enslave the aliens with a newfound version of a drug from the old home planet (and when you find out what the drug is, think: would this mean that all the sober aliens walk around in dirty clothes?).
In fact, the best thing about this movie, aside from the alien make-up job, is the song "Invincible" from the Temptations, a "golden oldie", according to the movie, from 1988. Ah, the ironies of a movie set in the future.
Tell you what - remember movies like "Freebie and the Bean" and "Lethal Weapon"? Pretend one of the guys is a bald-headed alien with large liver spots on his head and no nose. There, you've seen "Alien Nation".
Two stars. And if you make it through "Alien Nation, may the (police) force be with you.