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STARS...
James Caan, Mandy
Patinkin, Terence Stamp, Peter Jason,
Leslie Bevis, and Kevyn Major Howard.
PLOT SUMMARY...
When an aging Los Angeles cop is teamed with a melon-headed extraterrestrial
partner, they have a good time getting to the bottom of an alien drug
production scheme.
QUICK SCAN...
ALIEN NATION could be compared to "Robocop" and it features
FX and action. James Caan and Mandy Patinkin are superb as the human/alien
cop team. An entertaining chat they have at Caan's pad is one of this
film's highlights. Director of Photography Adam Greenberg delivers great
visual imagery of the Los Angeles locations.
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DIRECTOR: Graham Baker
YEAR & RATING: 1988 (R)
BEST BETS:
Starman
I Come in Peace
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SYNOPSIS...
When cop's partner is killed by outer space aliens, he teams up with a
good guy alien cop to get the "slags" who killed his partner.
At the start, the culture clash gets in the way. In addition, the human
cop's life is a mess, his house a disaster area.
In the course of investigating the homicide, they stumble onto a plot
by bad guy aliens to re-introduce their fellow aliens to a nasty, off
world drug they used to be hooked on prior to their arrival on Earth a
couple years back. The mismatched cops gradually become pals, staying
up late drinking and swapping stories and family photos.
When the cop's life is in danger from the alien who's heading the drug
scheme, his partner risks his spotted alien hide to save him. The cop,
reconciled with his ex-wife, attends his daughter's wedding with his alien
pal/partner. |
Review:
Originally titled "Outer Heat" during production, Director
Graham Baker's ALIEN NATION has such a good time with it's human/alien
buddy cop antics that the film is a lot of fun despite its "no
surprises" storyline.
It's the mid-nineties and friendly space alien visitors have been living
among us for several years. The early moments of the film, where we
see to what extent the aliens have tunneled into earth society, from
Pepsi billboards to alien fast food (raw beaver. Ugh!) are effective
and fun
Director Baker was blessed to have actors of the caliber of James Caan
("Thief", "The Godfather", "Misery") and
Mandy Patinkin ("Chicago Hope", "Princess Bride",
"Yentl") as the tired yet still athletic veteran L.A. cop
and his spotted melon headed alien partner, respectively. Caan in particular
is engaging, relaxed, and credible, adding a fresh slant to the kind
of tired cop role we've seen a thousand times, but never quite like
this. And Patinkin, despite his hulking presence and odd makeup, bring
a sweet humanity (of all things) to his role that's quite touching.
When Caan's partner is killed in a shootout with criminal aliens at
a liquor store, he's teamed with hulking yet friendly alien Patinkin,
who Caan takes an instant dislike to. The fact that you know from the
start that this mismatched cop duo will eventually be risking their
lives for each other 'cause they're best buds, doesn't detract at all
from the good times.
Director of Photography Adam Greenberg delivers crisp imagery of the
various Los Angeles locations. The night scenes are particularly vivid.
My favorite scene takes place after work, between Caan and Patinkin,
at Caan's very messy home. As Caan drinks vodka straight, and alien
Patinkin guzzles sour milk (it gets him buzzed) they swap stories and
show each other family pictures. When Patinkin proudly announces that
his son Richard was named after former President Nixon, Caan gently
suggests, "Me, I'd tell people I'd named him after the actor, Richard
Burton".
It's great the vibes between Caan and Patinkin are so good, 'cause the
central plot, about aliens secretly manufacturing a narcotic drug they
were originally fed on the slave ship that brought them to Earth, isn't
very interesting. It's the same, heavy handed anti-drug storyline we've
been fed many times before in action films, frequently better. Fortunately
the Screenplay doesn't get in the way of the Caan/Patinkin antics.
If you are James Caan or Mandy Patinkin fan, or enjoy buddy cop movies,
ALIEN NATION will be pretty watchable for you. If not, this film may
leave you Alienated. You have been warned --- earth man.
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