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In 1988 science fiction was coming on strong in Hollywood, Star Trek: The Next Generation was a hit on TV and Schwarzenneger couldn’t make movies fast enough. So when Rockne O’Bannon (who went on to do the TV series from this movie and create the cult hit Farscape) turned in the script for the SF/cop thriller Alien Nation I’m sure it didn’t take much to get a greenlight from the studio execs.
James Caan was just getting back into the movie groove after taking off the mid-80s and he’s a really good fit for Detective Matt Sykes. Angry and arrogant, absorbed by his work, he sees a backdoor way into the investigation of the movie-opening murder of his partner by Newcomer hoodlums.
Newcomers are the alien slaves who, three years before, captured control of their starship and landed it in the California desert. They’re just beginning to be integrated into American society (in much the same ways as previous immigrant waves were) and the LAPD brass jump up a Newcomer patrolman to detective as a PR move. Caan grabs Sam Francisco (Mandy Patinkin under some serious facial appliances) as a replacement partner.
Alien Nation (alienation, get it?) is in the long tradition of mismatched cop partners who over the course of the investigation bond and realize that their differences are trivial, they’re really brothers under the skin. Swap the science fiction for comedy and I’m reminded of Nolte and Murphy in 48 Hours. Nearly 20 years later this still stands up well.
recommended
