Alien Nation

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Year:	1988
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	Graham Baker
Genre:	Satirical sci-fi
Starring:	James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Terence Stamp
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094631/
Tagline:	Prepare Yourself.
Favourite line:	"Your mother mates out of season."

When the plaudits were being handed out to District 9, seems everyone had completely forgotten about this little curio.

The plot:
In 1991, the world has had three years to get used to the idea of aliens' existence. A spaceship hoved into view and, desperate, they are introduced to human society. See, the aliens were genetically programmed to be slaves and, now arriving on the comparatively decadent Earth, it's not too long before The Newcomers develop the same vices and weaknesses as their human hosts.
We follow two cops, one human, James Caan's Matthew Sykes and one Newcomer, Mandy Patinkin's Samuel 'George' Francisco who begin to investigate a series of violent crimes that may expose the sinister underbelly of both humans and visitors alike.

Critically panned, this still gained enough of a cult following to spurn a one season run of a TV show. The problems with the concept are pretty clear as, frankly, this is nought but Lethal Weapon with aliens but, that being said, it's very, very watchable.
James 'Sonny' Caan is eminently engaging, as is Patinkin as the Newcomer cop.
True, the plot starts to run out of steam a little towards the end but, regardless, there are enough novel ideas here to engage - the Newcomers get drunk off sour milk, human penises are insignificant, sea water is acid to the aliens' skin - and, whilst the script is a little hackneyed, somehow the momentum sees it through.
Not the best, then, but certainly good enough that I will be checking out the TV show. Decent sci-fi.