Alien Nation Reviews

A disappointing effort from producer Gale Ann Hurd (THE TERMINATOR; ALIENS), this film does present an intriguing premise. How would America assimilate a race of outer-space aliens into its society? In the late 1980s a giant spaceship full of genetically bred slaves crashes in the Mojave Desert. Dubbed "Newcomers," the 100,000 aliens are given refuge and made citizens. By 1991 the Newcomers have been pushed into the slums of Los Angeles, where some overcome economic disadvantages to rise to prominent positions, while others turn to a life of crime. Caan, an alcoholic police detective, hates the aliens, but when his partner is killed by criminal Newcomers he volunteers to partner with the first Newcomer cop promoted to the rank of detective, Patinkin. This decidedly odd couple then set out to find the killer. After a promising buildup the movie takes a nosedive into tired cop film cliches, becoming little more than warmed-over "Miami Vice" material. Caan and Patinkin do their best to bring some spontaneity to their roles, but their relationship never moves beyond standard buddy film precepts, and the movie quickly becomes predictable and dull.