Alien Nation

Rating:
Summary: A Very Clever Variant on a Routine Storyline
Review: Alien nation is so novel and clever that its already over before you realize that it is the same basic buddy cop theme that's been done to death in Hollywood. The "murder to cover up a drug conspiracy in high places" plot is more than a bit familiar, but the writers came up with a fascinating science fiction premise that made the end product entirely worth while. Nothing in the performances apart from the special effects is earth shaking, but the screenwriter did a magnificent job in creating a film that holds the attention and engages the interest. This was a very worthy project and never seemed hackneyed, although there are a lot of similar films that do so almost effortlessly. I recommend it heartily.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Clever Variant on a Routine Storyline
Review: Alien nation is so novel and clever that its already over before you realize that it is the same basic buddy cop theme that's been done to death in Hollywood. The "murder to cover up a drug conspiracy in high places" plot is more than a bit familiar, but the writers came up with a fascinating science fiction premise that made the end product entirely worth while. Nothing in the performances apart from the special effects is earth shaking, but the screenwriter did a magnificent job in creating a film that holds the attention and engages the interest. This was a very worthy project and never seemed hackneyed, although there are a lot of similar films that do so almost effortlessly. I recommend it heartily.

Rating:
Summary: Different take on race relations
Review: Excellent movie, possibly overlooked by many people. The aliens have landed, and thank God they are not the Aliens from LV-426. They come to live here and try to get along. They are smart, they work themselves hard, they are an employer's dream. And, they are not always well liked by the earthlings. We just don't always seem to like these "beings". Outstanding movie about a xenophobic cop and his alien partner investigating a series of violent crimes in the alien areas. It's hard to compare this to a buddy-cop movie, or something like Brother From Another Planet. Either way, this movie is very well done, and is a great film for sci-fi or any other class of film.

Rating:
Summary: Different take on race relations
Review: Excellent movie, possibly overlooked by many people. The aliens have landed, and thank God they are not the Aliens from LV-426. They come to live here and try to get along. They are smart, they work themselves hard, they are an employer's dream. And, they are not always well liked by the earthlings. We just don't always seem to like these "beings". Outstanding movie about a xenophobic cop and his alien partner investigating a series of violent crimes in the alien areas. It's hard to compare this to a buddy-cop movie, or something like Brother From Another Planet. Either way, this movie is very well done, and is a great film for sci-fi or any other class of film.

Rating:
Summary: Why is making a DVD so hard?
Review: I purchased this DVD the other day and was really pleased with how the picture looked, at first. Then it looked a little odd to me. This DVD says on the back "WIDESCREEN VERSION: Presented in a letterbox widescreen format preserving the aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition." Well, it doesn't preserve the ratio, it creates the ratio by cutting off the top and bottom of the picture. So the framing is the same, but the picture is cut out. That makes sense. In case your wondering, I know this because I compared it to a fullscreen VHS copy. Here is an example, there is a scene when Sikes and Fransisco are inspecting a pair of boots. When they go to medium close up on Sikes you can see the middle letters of DALLAS on top of COWBOYS on Sikes' shirt in the fullscreen version. In this DVD version you can barely see the top of the DALLAS letters. Why can't they just get it right the first time? This is probably all part of an elaborate scheme to make people purchase another edition that is corrected. I would give it 5 stars because I love this movie, but I can't overlook this major problem with the DVD so it gets 3.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie, great show
Review: I saw the TV series before I saw the movie. The movie is pretty good, and I'm glad it's out on DVD. The series and subsequent TV-movies were an excellent continuation of the movie, and I'm adding my vote that I hope they make it to DVD too.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but why only this one?
Review: I used to be a big fan of Alien Nation, so I was of course thrilled when I found out the movie is on DVD now. I love the whole concept, and I can't think of any other series that has such interesting, likeable aliens that actually live together with humans instead of trying to eat them or lay eggs in their chests. Don't get me wrong, I love regular sci-fi, too, but it's just refreshing to see a different take on the genre and a more modern day setting instead of the far future stuff that's usually the norm.

The only problem is, I'm pretty disappointed that the TV movies and the series aren't also available; in my opinion the later films were largely superior to the original one. I'm glad to be getting this, but it's a shame I can't buy any of the others I'd prefer to have.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I was hoping for a movie that pushed the envelope and what do we get? A futuristic drug dealers vs. the cops flick. Ho hum. It's an okay movie though. This is one of the few examples where the TV show was better than the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie--Where's the TV Series on DVD?
Review: I wish the TV series would be put on DVD! Garbage like Gilligan's Island is on DVD, where is the Alien Nation series? (Brisco County Jr., would be nice too)

Rating:
Summary: An routine cop-thriller with a unique premise.
Review: In the future, Aliens that looked like Humans land on earth in Peace and they becoming a society mixed with the Humans. When a cop (James Caan) is teamed with his new partner, which is a Alien named Samuel 'George' Francisco (Mandy Patinkin). Together, they are teamed to ferrot out the Prepetrators of a Series of Mysterious Murders among the aliens.

Directed by Graham Baker (Omen:The Final Contact) made This familiar but fascinating Sci-Fi Thriller has it`s good moments. Terrific performances by Caan and Patinkin. This film didn`t do too well at the Box Office but it gained a Cult Following on Video. Followed by T.V. Series and Two made for T.V. Films, based on the T.V. Series. Super 35. Grade:B+.