Alien Nation

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Alien Nation

R

1988

1h 30m

Sci-Fi

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Popcornmeter

50%

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34 Reviews

44%

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10,000+ Ratings

In Los Angeles circa 1991, humans live alongside extraterrestrial humanoid beings whose spaceship crash-landed three years earlier. This coexistence is not always harmonious, as exemplified by segregated slums and the uneasy partnership of police detective Matthew Sykes (James Caan) with new humanoid partner Sam Francisco (Mandy Patinkin). However, the pair begin to overcome their differences as they investigate a slum drug ring led by the slippery William Harcourt (Terence Stamp).

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Critics Consensus

Alien Nation takes the interesting premise of extraterrestrials living among us and doesn't do enough with it, emphasizing a police procedural plotline over the more intriguing sci-fi elements.

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Jay Carr

Boston Globe

May 12, 2018

Instead of exploring the differences and strangeness of the aliens, and giving them the kind of interesting particularity that "Blade Runner" did, Alien Nation can't domesticate and demystify its aliens quickly enough.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 1, 2000

2/4

This plot contains the elements of a good idea, but it does so little with it, and is so cheerfully willing to recycle an absolutely standard story, that the idea is finally just frustrating.

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

Sep 9, 2026

The film boasts good actors in bad roles. James Caan effectively plays a walking cliche, but do his credit he almost gets away it by sheer force of personality.

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Adrian Martin

Film Critic: Adrian Martin

Jul 30, 2025

2.5/5

It quickly becomes a formulaic buddy cop action-thriller with a suspiciously reactionary message about what constitutes bad alien behaviour.

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Jul 5, 2022

Alien Nation is the height of nonsense, but its not offensive, it moves quickly and it has Terence Stamp. [Full review in Spanish]

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Mar 24, 2021

5/10

Were it not for the thinly-veiled social commentary, little of this would be original.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 15, 2026

Alien Nation is not a good movie!

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thiago S

@Thiagostone Jun 1, 2026

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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W.L. C.

@WayneCampbell Apr 8, 2026

What 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 tried to be. Caan and Patinkin just did it first and better. Consensus would try and say that it doesn’t lean into the science fiction aspect as much as it should, but that's part of the premise; the Newcomers have begun integrating and it's more about how the two species are learning to coexist. Fans of 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 9 and 𝘛𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 (1990) will appreciate this one.

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Dean S.

@DeanDFW Dec 31, 2025

Good movie: find it and watch it especially if you like the decades later District 9 movie.

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MaryAnn M.

@MWAMD Sep 28, 2025

It’s was fun they should remake it

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David H.

@bgdave Sep 2, 2025

This is a fantastic action fantasy with strong acting. It’s not Shakespeare but it’s not trying to be.

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Graham Baker

Director

James Caan

Det. Sgt. Matthew Sykes

Mandy Patinkin

Det. Samuel `'George'` Francisco

Terence Stamp

William Harcourt

Kevyn Major Howard

Rudyard Kipling

Leslie Bevis

Cassandra

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Synopsis

In Los Angeles circa 1991, humans live alongside extraterrestrial humanoid beings whose spaceship crash-landed three years earlier. This coexistence is not always harmonious, as exemplified by segregated slums and the uneasy partnership of police detective Matthew Sykes (James Caan) with new humanoid partner Sam Francisco (Mandy Patinkin). However, the pair begin to overcome their differences as they investigate a slum drug ring led by the slippery William Harcourt (Terence Stamp).

Director: Graham Baker
Producer: Gale Anne Hurd, Richard Kobritz
Screenwriter: Rockne S. O'Bannon
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Rating: R
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 7, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 20, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.7M
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Surround

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