One of the most ambitious science-fiction films of the 1980s is Enemy Mine (1985), Wolfgang Petersen’s space odyssey of a personal battle between an Earthman (Dennis Quaid) and a lizard-like alien (Louis Gossett, Jr.) who, following a fierce space battle, find themselves on a barren planet.  As in Hell in the Pacific, upon which this is loosely based, the former combatants must learn to combine their skills and talents in order to survive.

Petersen focuses on the robust relationship between the human and the Drac, but he also widens the scope of the story to encompass how genuine friendship obliges one to duties one never expects, but which forge one’s humanity.  And like Boorman’s national neutrality in Hell in the Pacific, Petersen avoids portraying we Earthmen in a wholly positive light.  The climax of the story has Quaid defying his brethren to carry out what he has come to consider a sacred duty.  The second half of the film, in fact, plays a lot like Robinson Crusoe on Mars.

Enemy Mine was a notorious flop upon its release, due to the fact that its original director and first few weeks of film were scuttled by the studio, substantially increasing the film’s cost.  Petersen took the reins, started from scratch and created a film that didn’t make any money, but which is quite memorable.  The production design is excellent, as is Gossett’s makeup as the Drac.  And while the film cannot help but fall prey to its own sentimentality once in a while, I have always enjoyed it tremendously.  More science-fiction films should be as imaginative as this one.

My rating:  ☆ ☆ ☆.  (9:3).