Enemy Mine

A disparate genre decoction of almost everything you can think of (Hell in the Pacific, E.T., the second Indy movie, Crusoe) which, for a movie that’s barely twenty-five-years-old, is aging (with the exception of music) almost unhealthily fast. And to be completely honest, if it were not for the respect I have for how much I enjoyed the movie in my childhood, I'd go significantly lower in my ranking. (09/08/2010)

The novel by Barry Longyear generated a lot of interest from science fiction fans at the time, so it was only a matter of time before someone took up the film rights. Surprisingly, none of the major American film companies did so, but Bavariafilm did, hiring director Wolfgang Petersen, known for his adaptation of The NeverEnding Story. However, the story was indeed adapted toward a "Hollywood" style, and both the directorial style and the screenplay correspond to what we are accustomed to from American blockbusters. On the other hand, this fortunately also manifested itself in the set design and budget, so the film does not look cheap, and the excellent work of the makeup artists is noteworthy. The alien creature was created by Chris Walas. His intelligent lizard truly comes to life, expressing emotions, tenderness, joy, sadness, and indifference. The alien was portrayed by Louis Gossett Jr., and he did a very convincing job. He managed to capture the essence of "The Dragon" in such a way that it is possible to believe in his extraterrestrial origin. Fortunately, Petersen took the main idea from the novel, that is, the noble concept of coexistence between completely different beings and their cooperation. On the other hand, some of the added motifs are highly illogical and dilute the original excellent literary source. The motif of space pirates is naturally absent in Longyear's work, let alone pirates who undoubtedly possess cutting-edge technology needing alien slaves for work in mines. There are a few such absurdities in the film version, so a high rating is not justified, yet in the mid-80s, it was an above-average sci-fi film that is now unjustly forgotten. Overall impression: 60%. (10/01/2008)

A decent low-budget science fiction film that is marred by an utterly idiotic ending full of clichés. Wolfgang Petersen's first Hollywood film was quite successful, but it is a big step backwards compared to his previous and amazing The Neverending Story. (20/04/2003)

After the great fantasy The Neverending Story, Peters took on the more intimate sci-fi Enemy Mine in order to tell the classic scheme of this genre. In and of itself this may not be a bad thing, if the film is believable after 25 years and if the special effects and sets are not archaic. It is a pleasant surprise visually. There is also no fundamental reference to the reality of 1985, which I really welcome. (02/01/2011)

An intimate, low-budget sci-fi movie that perhaps lacks some action and suspense, but wild intergalactic shootouts alone do not necessarily guarantee success for the genre. It’s primarily a story about two completely different beings getting to know each other, and as such it’s very interestingly made. And I’m willing to tolerate that ending. (29/05/2012)