[8]

After tackling fantasy in The Neverending Story, director Wolfgang Petersen turned to science-fiction in this intimate tale of opposing fighter pilots who crash-land on a dangerous planet together. Dennis Quaid plays the human, and Louis Gossett Jr plays the alien, unrecognizable under Chris Walas’ incredible prosthetic makeup. The screenplay wisely spends the first two-thirds of the movie building a bond between the characters, taking them from pure hatred for one another to outright brotherly love. It’s time well spent, because when act three rears its ugly head, the conflict and sacrifice are all the more powerful for it. The sets will not convince you you’re not on a sound stage, but they’re pretty cool nonetheless. Maurice Jarre’s score works best when it veers into full symphonic mode, and less when it relies on electronic instruments.