Alien Nation

Play trailer

Alien Nation

R

1988

1h 30m

Sci-Fi

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

52%

Tomatometer

33 Reviews

44%

Popcornmeter

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).

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Jay Carr

Boston Globe

05/12/2018

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.

Go to Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

01/01/2000

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.

Go to Full Review

Adrian Martin

Film Critic: Adrian Martin

Jul 30

2.5/5

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

Go to Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

07/05/2022

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

Go to Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

03/24/2021

5/10

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

Go to Full Review

Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

11/05/2019

"... a sometimes-brilliant metaphor for the experience of Asian immigrants in the United States."

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

thiago S

@Thiagostone Jun 1

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

See more

W.L. C.

@WayneCampbell Apr 8

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.

See more

Dean S.

@DeanDFW Dec 31

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

See more

MaryAnn M.

@MWAMD Sep 28

It’s was fun they should remake it

See more

David H.

@bgdave Sep 2

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

See more

Andrew A.

@rt_andrew 06/29/2025

The aliens get wasted on spoiled milk and that's about as inventive as this gets

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

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

They Live

86%

80%

They Live

Watchlist

TRAILER

for They Live

The Fly II

30%

24%

The Fly II

Watchlist

Cyborg

22%

32%

Cyborg

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Cyborg

The Hidden

76%

73%

The Hidden

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

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