Alien Nation (1988)

Fun-tastic!
James Caan and Mandy Patinkin are fabulous in this combination sci-fi cop/buddy film. The "alien" aspects of the story line are of course metaphores for what we all live with today, which makes it an interesting social commentary.

This is one of my favorite don't-have-to-think-too-hard movies that's also the premise for one of my all time favorite television shows. There need to be more films like this.

Alien Nation (original movie)
Alien Nation is classic science fiction now. The story is interesting; dialogue fair (though better than anything in Star Wars); and the acting, while not Oscar-worthy, is solid.

the movie that started the series
i thought this was a great concept. and, i hadn't seen Mandy Patinkin in a movie since "the princess bride". the movie doesn't have enough time to really go into detail about the newcomers like the series did but you get enough info to know that they are very different from us. it's more of an action movie than a sci-fi movie because it takes place on earth. these guy's crash landed on our planet and don't have a way to get back home so they try and adapt to our way of life. if you like action with a little bit of comedy and you don't really have to think too much about whats going on, then you'll like this one. it's a fun movie!