Product Description

Thought-provoking, witty and entertaining, this action-packed blend of science fiction and police drama finds Los Angeles the new home of 300,000 humanoid extraterrestrial. When a gang of these Newcomers kills a police detective's (JAMES CANN) partner, he sets out to solve the crime with his new partner (MANDY PATINKIN) - the L.A.P.D.'s first Newcomer detective. But the unlikely pair soon uncover a far more dangerous threat to society.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30205 in DVD
• Brand: CAAN,JAMES
• Released on: 2001-03-27
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.com Review
They get drunk on sour milk. They have two hearts and bald, spotted heads. They're highly intelligent, but if you drop them in seawater they'll melt into a puddle of goop. They're "Newcomers," and they arrived as refugees in a massive alien slave-ship, quarantined for three years and then reluctantly accepted as citizens of Earth. To some humans--including seasoned Los Angeles cop Matt Sykes (James Caan)--the Newcomers are unwelcome "slags." Sykes's own virulent "speciesism" intensifies when Newcomer thugs kill his partner, but he sees logic in teaming up with Sam Francisco (Mandy Patinkin), the first Newcomer detective in the LAPD. Francisco's Newcomer knowledge is vital to their investigation of an alien drug ring, and a friendship grows from life-or-death circumstances.

A routine cop thriller with a comedic sci-fi twist, Alien Nation> has two things working in its favor: Caan and Patinkin form a memorable duo, and the basic premise--as conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon (who later developed the film as a TV series)--intelligently accounts for the sociological impact of an alien population. The subtle point is made that humans are extraordinary beings who squander their potential, and the evil of drugs--as dealt by a social-climbing Newcomer played by Terence Stamp--leads to a crisis that threatens to generate global intolerance. These points are well presented in a context of overly familiar plotting and standard-issue sarcasm. It's entertaining for a brisk 90 minutes, but in its attempt to be widely appealing, Alien Nation glosses over issues that might have made it more uniquely provocative. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

A Very Clever Variant on a Routine Storyline
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.

yes -- i really like it but really want the tv series..
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.

Very watchable, funny, and provocative.
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.