Alien NationTolerance comes when two people who are superficially worlds apart learn that they have more in common than they thought. Alien Nation is the story of a gruff Los Angeles detective named Matt Sykes (James Caan), who resents the sudden arrival of an alien vessel depositing roughly three hundred thousand "Newcomers" on their proverbial shores, including his newest partner--the first newcomer to make the rank of detective in the LAPD--Samuel "George" Francisco (Mandy Patinkin). Though their relationship is strained at first, over time they become close friends and colleagues, forged in fire.
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Alien Nation is fundamentally a "buddy cop" movie, with the two mismatched partners challenging one another's boundaries as they strive toward a mutual goal--to stop a conspiracy on the streets of Los Angeles where most of the Newcomers have settled, described by bigoted humans (like Sykes at first) as "Slag Town". Sykes makes it clear that his interest in "volunteering" to be Francisco's new partner has to do with his own vendetta against a Newcomer who shot his partner dead while intervening in an ostensible stick-up gone wrong. Sykes prepares himself for a lethal showdown, displaying his new sidearm on the range to George with a kind of veiled aggression directed at the whole race of Newcomers--like Francisco--whom he blames for his partner's death. Sykes is shown to be a hurt, even broken man; his home is a lonely one, with leftovers scattered about. Although his daughter is about to marry, he is reluctant to attend, afraid of how he'll respond when seeing his ex-wife again. Sykes masks his pain with his bigotry and cynicism; and yet, for all his self-serving reasons for taking on Francisco as his new partner, his courage and sympathy eventually softens his hardened exterior--he even comes to George's defense at points. This reveals that Sykes--and perhaps bigots like him--are not necessarily the hateful people they appear to be, but that they do this to mask some other unquenchable rage. The "odd couple" dynamic of Sykes and Francisco is more apparent since Matt is so messy, whereas George is the proper, model officer of the law, proud of the honor of being the first of his people to hold the office of detective in the LAPD, even if it is hinted that there was a political component in the promotion. George is instrumental in their investigation, not only in speaking the Newcomer language where Matt cannot, but by playing off of Matt's personality. More often than not, George is the "good cop", but that role becomes more flexible as the film progresses. The earlier tension is reforged into a bond of camaraderie--a quintessential element of the genre, and also recalls other films addressing similar dynamics of racial tension, like In the Heat of the Night. And as was the case with that movie, Alien Nation was popular enough to be adapted into a long-running dramatic television series, with movies subsequently adapted from the show.
The film opens with a preamble: in a not too distant future (1991), a one-time slave ship and flying saucer appeared over the Mojave Desert. In the spirit of community, the United States welcomed them in as immigrants, as has been the tradition of the nation for centuries. That said, there is a sense of animosity toward the Newcomers; since they are genetically predisposed to being extremely hale, strong, and adaptive, some see them as a threatening presence with superior skills that make humans inferior, stirring sentiments of hostility and fear among the prejudiced. Although addressed on an ancillary level in Alien Nation, the Newcomers also possess a few notable biological differences. Aside from their spotted heads, they become inebriated from sour milk like humans do from alcohol, and they possess two hearts. Newcomers are also highly susceptible to acid burns from salt water, making their proximity to the Pacific Ocean a constant reminder of this physiological component. Otherwise, the Newcomers bear a striking resemblance to humanity; they wear similar clothing, can learn and speak English with ease, and have begun the slow process to assimilate into society after an extended period in quarantine. While made almost thirty years ago, Alien Nation remains surprisingly topical today, especially in the wake of the Syrian migrant crisis; the same kinds of fears and terrors about human immigrants are paralleled in the Newcomers. When Matt and George discover that one of the assailants shot dead after the convenience store shootout was under the effects of a powerful Newcomer narcotic called "Jabroka", the trail eventually leads them to the insidious mastermind looking to reproduce the drug. This Newcomer goes by the name "William Harcourt" (Terence Stamp), and his scheme is to enslave his own people in a similar fashion to their lives aboard the spaceship. (Although not explored in the film, the TV series developed this former master/slave dynamic by introducing "overseers", their former place aboard the Newcomer spaceship recalling aspects of the Antebellum South.) Harcourt, his conspiracy, and the terrible secret of what Jabroka is actually designed to do is so terrible, that even George seeks to repress it from public knowledge, since its revelation would likely endanger the lives of his people by stoking the fear of those already near the boiling point. It is a secret which George shares with Matt in the spirit of trust--both as his partner and as a friend. And that seemingly impossible friendship is emblematic of the hope that the Newcomers will be yet another rich ingredient in the melting pot of a nation that embraces diversity, no matter from what shores they came.
Recommended for: Fans of a compelling and topical buddy cop film with a sci-fi twist. For those who enjoy Alien Nation, the television series of the same name is also highly engaging, and more deeply explores the themes and characteristics of the Newcomers--called "Tenctonese" in the series--touched on briefly in the film.
The film opens with a preamble: in a not too distant future (1991), a one-time slave ship and flying saucer appeared over the Mojave Desert. In the spirit of community, the United States welcomed them in as immigrants, as has been the tradition of the nation for centuries. That said, there is a sense of animosity toward the Newcomers; since they are genetically predisposed to being extremely hale, strong, and adaptive, some see them as a threatening presence with superior skills that make humans inferior, stirring sentiments of hostility and fear among the prejudiced. Although addressed on an ancillary level in Alien Nation, the Newcomers also possess a few notable biological differences. Aside from their spotted heads, they become inebriated from sour milk like humans do from alcohol, and they possess two hearts. Newcomers are also highly susceptible to acid burns from salt water, making their proximity to the Pacific Ocean a constant reminder of this physiological component. Otherwise, the Newcomers bear a striking resemblance to humanity; they wear similar clothing, can learn and speak English with ease, and have begun the slow process to assimilate into society after an extended period in quarantine. While made almost thirty years ago, Alien Nation remains surprisingly topical today, especially in the wake of the Syrian migrant crisis; the same kinds of fears and terrors about human immigrants are paralleled in the Newcomers. When Matt and George discover that one of the assailants shot dead after the convenience store shootout was under the effects of a powerful Newcomer narcotic called "Jabroka", the trail eventually leads them to the insidious mastermind looking to reproduce the drug. This Newcomer goes by the name "William Harcourt" (Terence Stamp), and his scheme is to enslave his own people in a similar fashion to their lives aboard the spaceship. (Although not explored in the film, the TV series developed this former master/slave dynamic by introducing "overseers", their former place aboard the Newcomer spaceship recalling aspects of the Antebellum South.) Harcourt, his conspiracy, and the terrible secret of what Jabroka is actually designed to do is so terrible, that even George seeks to repress it from public knowledge, since its revelation would likely endanger the lives of his people by stoking the fear of those already near the boiling point. It is a secret which George shares with Matt in the spirit of trust--both as his partner and as a friend. And that seemingly impossible friendship is emblematic of the hope that the Newcomers will be yet another rich ingredient in the melting pot of a nation that embraces diversity, no matter from what shores they came.
Recommended for: Fans of a compelling and topical buddy cop film with a sci-fi twist. For those who enjoy Alien Nation, the television series of the same name is also highly engaging, and more deeply explores the themes and characteristics of the Newcomers--called "Tenctonese" in the series--touched on briefly in the film.