Alien Nation (1988)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Ken S

  
  I enjoyed the hell out of this. Check out this premise: In the futuristic world of 1992, Aliens have landed and we've granted them citizenship in our society. When James Cann's partner is killed, he's teamed up with one of these Aliens to help solve the crime. That… More
  I enjoyed the hell out of this. Check out this premise: In the futuristic world of 1992, Aliens have landed and we've granted them citizenship in our society. When James Cann's partner is killed, he's teamed up with one of these Aliens to help solve the crime. That alien is played by Mandy Patinkin. From there it's a fairly standard buddy cop film, but with some really funny gags. Well worth checking it out.

• Al S

  
  A great film. A fantastic mixture of science fiction, suspense, comedy and action. A genre-bending classic that you cant help but love. A wonderfully entertaining winner that's just a great buddy-cop movie with lots to offer. A great new twist on a familiar background. A smart,… More
  A great film. A fantastic mixture of science fiction, suspense, comedy and action. A genre-bending classic that you cant help but love. A wonderfully entertaining winner that's just a great buddy-cop movie with lots to offer. A great new twist on a familiar background. A smart, funny and action-packed thrill-ride with solid performances and great special effects. James Caan and Mandy Patinkin are excellent together with their unique and effective chemistry. One of the coolest sci-fi tales of the 80's decade with Terminator and Aliens.

• xGary X

  
  A race of alien beings known as newcomers crashland on Earth and become the newest immigrants in Los Angeles. When some of them are found executed a bigoted detective and his rookie newcomer sidekick investigate. Alien Nation is a buddy cop/sci-fi hybrid that contains a lot of the… More
  A race of alien beings known as newcomers crashland on Earth and become the newest immigrants in Los Angeles. When some of them are found executed a bigoted detective and his rookie newcomer sidekick investigate. Alien Nation is a buddy cop/sci-fi hybrid that contains a lot of the usual 80s action flick cliches; the burned out, alcoholic cop, gratuitous car chases and stranger in a strange land analogies are all very familiar. The sci-fi spin does give it all a little freshness however, and although the racial metaphor is a little clumsy, Caan and Patinkin's deadpan delivery show some decent chemistry together with some amusing odd couple comedy. Unfortunately the script is purely by the numbers including a couple of major plot elements that are just sci-fi mumbo jumbo. Terence Stamp also might as well have phoned in his performance as the villain leading up to a particularly weak conclusion which drags an otherwise entertaining film back down to mediocrity.

• _kelly .

  
  Not bad considering it's an 80s mash of two usually unbearable film genres, science fiction and buddy cop movies. I don't regret seeing it, but it's not brilliant and I don't know if I will watch it again of my own volition.

• Jason S

  
  I thought it was pretty good and it might be the way things would happen. The cast worked well together and soon after there was a decent tv show spin off.

• Lafe F

  
  A gritty police drug drama with a whole race of interesting aliens thrown in. It's a nice mix. The racial issues come to a new light. An engaging story is told.

• Dean M

  
  Average action of aliens have begun emigrating to the Earth and human cop Caan is forced to work with one of them. What ought to have been a clever way to looking at racism comes across as nothing more than a conventional buddy cop movie, which just happens to use rather more latex… More
  Average action of aliens have begun emigrating to the Earth and human cop Caan is forced to work with one of them. What ought to have been a clever way to looking at racism comes across as nothing more than a conventional buddy cop movie, which just happens to use rather more latex than usual.

• Alec B

  
  Interesting ideas at the very beginning, but then it becomes silly and formulaic. Also the whole idea of the story being a metaphor about race relations is so obvious, it really holds no emotional weight whatsoever.

• Jim W

  
  Alien Nation thinks it's giving you a fresh buddy cop film by having a badass cop (James Caan) getting stuck with an alien (Mandy Patinkin) as his partner. But it's just a typical cop film with bad guys in leather jackets with big shotguns robbing liquor stores or delis.… More
  Alien Nation thinks it's giving you a fresh buddy cop film by having a badass cop (James Caan) getting stuck with an alien (Mandy Patinkin) as his partner. But it's just a typical cop film with bad guys in leather jackets with big shotguns robbing liquor stores or delis. Also if you've seen Lethal Weapon or any other buddy cop movie, you know Caan and Patinkin will become friends. The film adds nothing to the science fiction genre even if it has fresh ideas like aliens that get drunk on sour milk. I still enjoyed the movie though but due to the work by Caan and Patinkin. Other than that, it's pretty silly.

• Lee K

  
  Pretty good movie that spawned a lousy tv show. i liked the storyline here and james caan was good.

• Barry L

  
  Great film and a very big change from the norm at that time.

• Sean S

  
  A commentary about immigration and societies unwillingness to change to accomodate its population. However crime always seems adaptable, perhaps gangsters should run society.

Read all 12 featured audience ratings