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Alien Nation (1988)

 
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Wed May 08, 2019 4:20 pm    Post subject: Alien Nation (1988) Reply with quote

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I've seen this a couple of times . . . It's an intriguing concept for a science fiction film.

The aliens, a genetically-manipulated/created slave race, have already arrived a few years before the film begins and are incorporated into our culture as the film begins. There are about 250,000 of them. Many years later, the film District 9 had a similar premise . . . though the aliens in that one were not incorporated with the rest of us.



The intent of the story was to make the existence of these aliens as almost incidental. The focus of the story is a standard police detective procedural. But . . . why?

Why introduce this great concept and then turn the whole thing into another police thriller and cop-buddy, buddy-bonding plot? I think this approach weakened the film — it's OK, but kind of average, as a result.

James Caan stars as the human cop, Mandy Patinkin is made his new partner, the alien. Terence Stamp, billed 3rd, has a small role as the main 'Slag' heavy; I think that's the term — Slag is derogatory towards the aliens.

This does have a few interesting tidbits about the aliens. They get drunk on sour milk, eat food uncooked, and sea water is like battery acid to them. But mostly, they're pretty much like us. They turn on each other and have the same moral weaknesses as us, including drug addiction.

The story does suggest that their adaptability to new environments is what prompts them to basically copy us in most ways. But that's not very interesting. It would have been more challenging to present them as quite different from us in many ways — and more realistic. These are, after all, aliens from outer space, not our cousins.

I did note one more thing after I watched this again.

These aliens are most vulnerable to sea water, and the character played by Patinkin is even too afraid to go to the beach. Yet, the film tells us that all of them settled in the L.A. area — close to the ocean.

Sado-masochistic too?

And, near the end of the film, Patinkin is hanging off a helicopter over the water, so as the film finished I sat there for a few seconds, thinking, "Waitaminnit. All that spraying . . . yet Patinkin's character is concerned only for his hand? Not acid spraying all over him?"

Yes, a miscalculation by the filmmakers. They shouldn't have used a helicopter in that scene.

BoG's Score: 7 out of 10



BoG
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2020 9:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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This is not really a great science fiction movie, but the fine cast and the witty script make it well worth watching. Cool


____________________ Alien Nation (Trailer)


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2023 3:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production. Very Happy
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~ Sam Francisco (Mandy Patinkin) was originally going to be named George Jetson, but Hanna-Barbera wouldn't give the rights to the name. The decision to call his character "George" in the movie was kept as an in-joke to the George Jetson character name.

Note from me: I like Sam Francisco better. Very Happy

~ It took four hours per actor to apply the alien makeup.

Note from me: I wonder how many makeup men they had to work on the actors.

~ Curt Sobel replaced Jerry Goldsmith as the film's composer. Goldsmith's score was rejected early in post-production for being "too weird", and replaced with music by Sobel. Goldsmith's rejected score was released in Spring 2005 as a Varese Sarabande CD Club Release limited to three thousand copies.

Note from me: I'm a big fan of Jerry Goldsmiths music, and I'd love to hear his "weird" score. Very Happy

~ During the liquor store shootout, Sykes crouches behind a car, directly behind the front wheel well. This follows police procedure, as this puts the engine block between him and the shooter, offering the best protection from gunfire. Tugg does not follow this procedure.

Note from me: The idea of a rifle that can shoot a bullet through one side of a car and have it blast out through the other side is impressive . . . and frightening.


____________Alien Nation scene gun fight intro


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Hindsight being 20/20, what the cop in the clip above should have done was move back to the end of the car that had already been shot when he saw that the shooter was working his way towards the end of the vehicle he was headed for.

But hey, it's easy to be smart when you've already learned what the wrong answer is!
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2023 10:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I thought the greatest thing about this film IS that it treated how it was ...as just normal behavior and not a real big deal.

The focus was NOT on the science fiction but on the social condition! Human Supremacy was shown as a metaphor for racial disorder in their society, and it either gently nudged you or hit you over the head to make it's point.

All and all I enjoyed this movie!


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