Rating: 
Summary: Good movie, a true tale of friendship
Review: "Enemy Mine" was one of the good movies of the 80's. It's about an alien called a Drac (Louis Gossett, Jr.) and a human (Robert Quaid), who's species are brutal enemies. But they must learn to cooperate with each other to survive on the barren planet that they both crashed on. "Enemy Mine" is a good movie in just about every way. The special effects, landscapes, and aliens are great. Quaid and Gossett Jr. also do a good job of acting. The movie drastically changes when one of them has a baby. If you like sci-fi movies, "Enemy Mine" would be a good movie to get. My only complaint is that it didn't have much action in it like many other classic sci-fi movies, but it's still a good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Good movie, a true tale of friendship
Review: "Enemy Mine" was one of the good movies of the 80's. It's about an alien called a Drac (Louis Gossett, Jr.) and a human (Robert Quaid), who's species are brutal enemies. But they must learn to cooperate with each other to survive on the barren planet that they both crashed on. "Enemy Mine" is a good movie in just about every way. The special effects, landscapes, and aliens are great. Quaid and Gossett Jr. also do a good job of acting. The movie drastically changes when one of them has a baby. If you like sci-fi movies, "Enemy Mine" would be a good movie to get. My only complaint is that it didn't have much action in it like many other classic sci-fi movies, but it's still a good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Species is no barrier to friendship
Review: Adapted from Barry B Longyear's novella, "Enemy Mine" could almost be a stage play. Only two actors at a time take up the majority of screen time. The sets could be taken out of the original Lost in Space studio lot and there's not enough action to keep most kids interested. Despite this, the film is terrific. It's one of those rare stories that concentrate on the subtle interaction between the characters while taking them on a moral journey.
Have I put any of the Sci-Fi geeks off their breakfast yet? Well okay, this is a science fiction movie. But it didn't have to be. The story throws two indelible enemies together, on a desolate and dangerous planet. After trying to continue their struggle, a truce is eventually called as they both realise cooperation is necessary for their survival. Despite their common need, differences in culture, politics and religion continue to wear on their partnership. And it is this constant friction which works to build their bond, almost against their will.
Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr play the two characters I've described. They are Davidge, (a human soldier), and Jerry, (a Draco soldier). Their respective names are those used for convenience, given their lack of ability in each other's language. At the start, neither speaks anything but swearwords in the enemy's tongue. Naturally, this adds another layer of tension to the situation.
I've always liked Denis Quaid's acting. He is very likeable in all of his films but in Enemy Mine we see a lot more depth of pain and caring than he usually portrays. Louis Gosset Jr however, is the true star of the film. He does a superb job of conveying his alien essence. His physical attributes, posture, movement and reactions are obviously modelled on reptiles and he makes it all seem perfectly natural.
I can't really convey the path these two enemies take towards friendship, which is a pity, since it is the best feature of the film. Suffice to say that they do eventually grow close, just in time to share in the first Draco birth witnesses by a human. Unfortunately the birth goes badly and Jerry dies, leaving Davidge to take responsibility for raising the child, Zammis. And Davidge takes this task very seriously; teaching the youngster his race's language, heritage and religion.
My only disappointment is that the film did not portray the events after Davidge's rescue in the same detail as Longyear wrote it. We are given only a brief glimpse of the prejudice and revilement that he goes through as he displays his love for one of humanities hated rivals. But we do get to experience the most moving part of the tale, as Davidge accompanies the adolescent Zammis to the home planet of the Dracos, to present him at his naming day. An event the two of them have been working towards for years, where Zammis has to name all of his ancestors, their affiliation and relationships. An event that would not have been possible without Davidge acting as a bridge of love across the span of two generations and two species.
Rating:
Summary: Species is no barrier to friendship
Review: Adapted from Barry B Longyear's novella, "Enemy Mine" could almost be a stage play. Only two actors at a time take up the majority of screen time. The sets could be taken out of the original Lost in Space studio lot and there's not enough action to keep most kids interested. Despite this, the film is terrific. It's one of those rare stories that concentrate on the subtle interaction between the characters while taking them on a moral journey.
Have I put any of the Sci-Fi geeks off their breakfast yet? Well okay, this is a science fiction movie. But it didn't have to be. The story throws two indelible enemies together, on a desolate and dangerous planet. After trying to continue their struggle, a truce is eventually called as they both realise cooperation is necessary for their survival. Despite their common need, differences in culture, politics and religion continue to wear on their partnership. And it is this constant friction which works to build their bond, almost against their will.
Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr play the two characters I've described. They are Davidge, (a human soldier), and Jerry, (a Draco soldier). Their respective names are those used for convenience, given their lack of ability in each other's language. At the start, neither speaks anything but swearwords in the enemy's tongue. Naturally, this adds another layer of tension to the situation.
I've always liked Denis Quaid's acting. He is very likeable in all of his films but in Enemy Mine we see a lot more depth of pain and caring than he usually portrays. Louis Gosset Jr however, is the true star of the film. He does a superb job of conveying his alien essence. His physical attributes, posture, movement and reactions are obviously modelled on reptiles and he makes it all seem perfectly natural.
I can't really convey the path these two enemies take towards friendship, which is a pity, since it is the best feature of the film. Suffice to say that they do eventually grow close, just in time to share in the first Draco birth witnesses by a human. Unfortunately the birth goes badly and Jerry dies, leaving Davidge to take responsibility for raising the child, Zammis. And Davidge takes this task very seriously; teaching the youngster his race's language, heritage and religion.
My only disappointment is that the film did not portray the events after Davidge's rescue in the same detail as Longyear wrote it. We are given only a brief glimpse of the prejudice and revilement that he goes through as he displays his love for one of humanities hated rivals. But we do get to experience the most moving part of the tale, as Davidge accompanies the adolescent Zammis to the home planet of the Dracos, to present him at his naming day. An event the two of them have been working towards for years, where Zammis has to name all of his ancestors, their affiliation and relationships. An event that would not have been possible without Davidge acting as a bridge of love across the span of two generations and two species.
Rating: 
Summary: Unsung Hero
Review: Although the story this movie comes from delves far deaper into the culture of the Dracs (which I thought was one of the best parts), the movie still gets a good piece of it on film. This is one of the unsung heroes of REAL science fiction films and also manages to have a good helping of action. Dennis Quaid & Lou Gossett both put in great perfomances. But do yourself a favor and read the short story too.
Rating: 
Summary: Movie good, original story excellent!
Review: As someone stated in another review, this movie was adapted from Barry B Longyear's novella, "Enemy Mine" . If you can find this original version and read it, I HIGHLY recommend it. I first read it in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine many years ago. It beats the movie hands-down. Mind you, the movie wasn't bad, but the novella will have you crying at the end (even if you aren't prone to that sort of thing), and wishing they had stuck to this original story instead of 'Hollywood-izing' it for the masses.
Rating:
Summary: Great potential, great idea, Average movie.
Review: Being post Star wars, Sci Fi movies have to have something that sets them apart from the Star wars movies. And the idea of a human and an Alien, who are mortal enemys, fighting it out on an unchartered planet and having to learn to get along and survive, sounded great. It sounds like Star wars meets the Defiant ones, but unfortunately Enemy mine dispenses of the two creatures hatred for each other in about 20 minutes. there is a 10 minute battle at the end. The rest of the running time consists of the human and the alien getting to know and like each other. Which is fine, its occasionly exciting, nearly always entertaining and its worth-while veiwing. If it came out before Star wars it would be much more well known. Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr are both exceptional and they carry the whole film on there shoulders. Maybe a few more Characters here and there would have helped.
Rating: 
Summary: Enemy Mine more like 'The Odd Couple' instead of sci-fi
Review: Believe it or not, Enemy Mine plays more like an extraterrestrial version of the Odd Couple(injected with the obvious Robinson Crusoe subtext) than sci-fi. Dennis Quaid is a pilot on the losing end of an interstellar dogfight, resulting in his crash on a remote,meterologically messed-up planet. Initially, the only thing on his mind is revenge, and he goes gunning for the person (er, reptile) responsible (an equally marooned alien played well by Louis Gossett, Jr.). And to start out with, Quaid's quest for vengence (as he stalks his enemy across Wolfgang Petersen's stunning matte displays and set designs) is more than enough to peak the viewer's interest. But after Quaid finds Gossett, Jr., the movie gets too cute for show. Quaid and Gossett go from blood-thirsty enemies to literally The Odd Couple (Quaid is like Oscar; Gossett, Jr., definitely Felix), and the movie degenerates into a touchy feely character study. At one point, the two setup house and raise a baby! Enemy Mine tries to rev up the sci-fi toward the end, but it doesn't work. Unfortunately, the mushy middle of this movie waters down what could have been a good grudge match between sworn enemies.
Rating:
Summary: Quite similar to the Twilight Zone episode "Two"
Review: Better than the average science fiction film. Good plot about mortal enemies marooned together on a desolate planet who learn they can survive if they worked together and put politics aside. Louis Gossett Jr. renders an admirable performance as a reptile-like humanoid creature. If you like science fiction, I would say "Go ahead and buy it".
Rating:
Summary: there were no block buster sci-fi's in the mid-late eighties
Review: But this is a great movie none-the-less. The key actors Denis Quaid and Louse Gosset Jr. made it believable and it is more about the human experience than a sci-fi. Some one said the sets looked like Lost in Space but I couldn't disagree more. The background is beautiful and not at all cheesy or cheap as in the very static 1960's Lost in Space. The backdrops of the sky and land are beleivable of being on a strange world or even of Earth if the sun were closer. This was, after all, 1985 and in 1985 thier were no CGI effects to speak of. This was the best their ever was. The story centers around two arch enemy starfighters who crashed on a desolate planet and hate each other(because of difference in species) until they get to know one another. Of course bigotism was the theme and it seems more prominent now than in the eighties oddly enough. After a time these two separate and Quaid's character returns to find that his Alien friend is pregnant(asexual reproduction as in most invertibrate animals). The second half of the story centers around Quaid and the Alien's child and is about the child accepting himself as he/she/it ??? has no point of referrence. This is a masterful story who could not like it.
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