Year of release
1988
Directed by
Graham Baker
Written by
Rockne S. O'Bannon
Starring
James Caan
Mandy Patinkin
Terrence Stamp
Leslie Bevis
Kevyn Major Howard
Alien Nation
The plot of Alien Nation is certainly a story that we've seen before, just given an extraterrestrial twist to it. Just as Neill Blomkamp would do a couple of decades later with District 9, Alien Nation tells a story which addresses racism but places an alien face on it. In the film, the aliens, or Newcomers, are just another ethnic minority here on Earth. And in particular they act as an outer space equivalent of African Americans, with a heavy does of social commentary thrown in. It's not a particularly subtle allegory but it works. The Newcomers have apparently been 'accepted' into society and even though a lot of people talk a good game about relations between our peoples, they are treated with disrespect, disgust and pure hatred by most. They are frequently addressed by the derogatory term of 'slag' and are spoken down to in a demeaning manner; it's only a surprise they aren't referred to as 'boy' at any instance. There's a really nice bit of dialogue that Patinkin utters on this phenomenon - "You humans are very curious to us. You invite us to live among you in an atmosphere of equality that we've never known before. You give us ownership of our own lives for the first time, and you ask no more of us than you do of yourselves. I hope you understand how special your world is. I hope you understand how unique a people you humans are. Which is why it is all the more painful and confusing to us that so few of you seem capable of living up to the ideals you set for yourselves."
The large majority of the aliens are resigned to ghetto-like neighbourhoods which humans refer to as 'slagtowns.' Any Newcomer that manages to ascend to a respectable and important position is met with a great degree of resentment. While on this front there is also a question of affirmative action; when Mandy Patinkin's Sam Francisco makes it to the rank of detective after just three years on the force it breeds a real sense of hostility amongst his fellow officers about how quickly he has managed to achieve the rank, with most human officers taking seven years to achieve the same level of success. While the film also plays into the drugs problem that plagues run-down inner cities and its residents, except that in the place of drugs like heroin, cocaine and crack, the aliens have Jabroka; a drug from their past that was used to pacify and enslave them before they found their way to Earth. It's a drug that Francisco describes as a nightmare, which will destroy the lives of countless Newcomers. The plot itself is something I could easily imagine could have featured in more than one blaxploitation flick over the decades. You've got powerful businessmen orchestrating the flow of drugs into the problem area, hoping to control the populous. In fact it's not a million miles away from the plot of blaxploitation spoof, Black Dynamite.
Viewers may be slightly disappointed at the minimal amount of design and make-up work that went into creating the Newcomers. However I think it serves a purpose, again playing into the racial subtext of the film. The only thing that differentiates the aliens from their human counterparts is the top of their head, larger than a human head and covered in coloured markings. That's it! Just as the only difference between an African American individual and a Caucasian is the colour of their skin. All other features are exactly the same, and yet just because of one small difference we can't get along, or in the film's case the humans and aliens can't get along. And just as is the stereotypical case with all other races, whether it be black or Asian or whatever, to the bigoted humans the Newcomers all look the same, they can't tell them apart. And despite the minimal amount of work perhaps required, the make-up provided by the Stan Winston company is still impressive, maintaining a natural look for the Newcomers.
Film Trivia Snippets - In the film, Mandy Patinkin's alien character was given the name of Samuel 'Sam' Francisco by the people in charge of providing names for the Newcomers. However a different name was originally envisaged for the character, that of George Jetson from the classic Jetsons cartoon. Hanna-Barbera however would not allow the filmmakers the rights to the name. James Caan calling Patinkin's character George however was kept as a little in-joke. /// The October 1987 draft of the screenplay credited a rewrite to James Cameron. He is not credit in the final film however. /// It turns out that it's not just Terrence Stamp who should be credited as playing the villainous William Harcourt. Following the character's drug-induced transformation, that is no longer Stamp in the role. He refused to wear the more elaborate make-up required.
After we've been introduced to the idea of alien beings and gotten over the initial adjustment period, the film then settles very quickly into a pretty classic buddy cop routine. If you've seen at least one buddy cop flick in your life then you can probably plot the film out itself, with Alien Nation featuring many of the clichéd scenes you commonly find in the genre. Though while it may not hold many surprises in store it remains entertaining all the same. Having started on very fractious terms and divided by their respective races, we know that by film's end Sykes and Francisco are going to end up putting aside those differences and personal problems, and form a friendship built on a foundation of respect. This will come about as a result of them winding up on a case which will require them to combine the unique talents and experiences they each possess if they are to solve it. Oh and at least one of them will save the life of the other. It's just how this thing is done. We saw it in the previous year's Lethal Weapon, perhaps the definitive buddy movie. And to tie it more into the race aspect of the film we saw a similar dynamic in 48 Hrs. and in the classic In the Heat of the Night. And it's also clear right from the first moment that we meet Terrence Stamp's Newcomer business mogul, William Harcourt, that he is going to be the villain. How do I know this? Because his introduction comes at a large ceremony where he is accepting an award for his humanitarian work. As has been proven in numerous other films, that's as sure a sign of a man's nefarious ways as you're ever likely to see.
Fulfilling that 'seen it all before' buddy cop relationship are the film's two stars, James Caan and Mandy Patinkin, who play it out in fine fashion. James Caan may have appeared in many better films than this, and given many better performances, but that doesn't stop him from turning in a solid, entertaining showing here. He does a very nice job in the classic mould of a cop obsessed with his job to the detriment of his family, who unsurprisingly is quite the hothead and a bit of a slob at home. In the role of Newcomer Sam Francisco, Mandy Patinkin is also very impressive, ironically giving quite a down-to-earth nature to his performance. He just makes Francisco an immensely likeable figure, showing a great strength and resolve in the face of adversity. He's even able to add in some nice nuances and mannerisms despite the make-up and costuming that he is hidden under. The amusing and charming interplay and chemistry they share goes a long way to carrying the film through some of its more stolid moments. They have a lot of little scenes together which while not bringing huge laughs, brought a smile to my face. Moments such as Caan's attempts at explaining Earth humour and getting Francisco to understand the concept of a joke.
Alien Nation may be a bit cheap and cheesy quite often but I just found it a lot of fun. It's got some nice cinematography and I enjoyed a lot of the little touches and character quirks the film gives to the Newcomers. Instead of alcohol what they get drunk on is sour milk, leading to a scene where Francisco drinks a disgustingly lumpy glass of the stuff and ends up with the mother of all hangovers because he is “so milked over.” Another fun little addition is the human names given to the aliens when they arrived on Earth. Those responsible clearly decided to have a bit of a p*ss-take with the aliens, doling out such names as Rudyard Kipling, Harley Davidson, Humphrey Bogart and of course Patinkin's Samuel 'Sam' Francisco. Though there is a nice little spin put on that because the Newcomers likewise find Caan's Sykes to have a highly amusing name, sounding as it does like two words from their language; ss'ai and k'ss, which when translated mean excrement and cranium respectively. Or s*ithead if you will!
Conclusion – As long as you don't go into this one expecting anything especially creative or innovative then I think you could find a lot to like here. Essentially Alien Nation really is one of those classic action comedies that were so prevalent throughout the 80s and early 90s, just given the little twist that one of the characters is an alien. And while it may not explore the possibilities that it opens up to its fullest, it's an enjoyable flick with a couple of engaging performances.
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