I first saw this movie more years ago than I care (or am able!) to remember. Though not the most action-oriented movie, it stuck in my head then and stayed with me through all the intervening years.
Through the wonders of satellite TV I got a chance to watch this again recently and, with the benefit some thought, have drawn some interesting conclusions about modern film-making compared to "how it was back then".
Firstly, Enemy Mine is a character-driven movie. Even though its tagged as a scifi film, the futuristic setting is used simply as a device to convey the human (and non-human) drama unfolding. In other words, the story could have been set in any genre or era you might care to pick. It wouldn't make a difference. These days, everything seems more oriented around spectacle, rather than substance. Look at similar titles from the Enemy Mine era such as The Thing and you see the same thing. Character development and plot progression. Compare to the movies of today, like Transformers, or Wanted and you'll see a marked lack of development in characters or plot in favour of effects.
Why is this? Well, simply put, these days they have the ability to do things that were either impossible or hideously expensive back then. And, like a child with a new toy, film-makers are having endless fun playing with CGI and will continue to do so until the "newness" wears off. And whilst they continue to play with it, other elements of the movie making process are being neglected in order to placate the "Oooh! Ahh! Pretty!" brigade that values eye-candy over story.
Anyhow, Enemy Mine shows that a good story (unlike effects) can carry a movie despite other deficiencies in the film. In EM, the effects are looking very dated and primitive. The scene where the hero crash-lands on the planet isn't much more evolved from the old Buck Rogers serials, for instance. Yet despite these things, the movie works because of the interplay between the two characters. Nearly an entire movie with only two characters in it, mostly talking. That would be a hard pitch to put to any Hollywood studio today.
So if you haven't seen it, is it any good? That very much depends on what you want out of a film. If you expect the graphical techno-wizardry of Transformers you will be disappointed. If you expect heroes gunning down endless hordes of disposable enemies, you will be disappointed.
On the other hand, if you like a story that is independent of the setting, has some excellent acting, a true feel good factor about it that doesn't depend on the kill-count or effects and a decent amount of human interest, then you might just be in for a treat.
Through the wonders of satellite TV I got a chance to watch this again recently and, with the benefit some thought, have drawn some interesting conclusions about modern film-making compared to "how it was back then".
Firstly, Enemy Mine is a character-driven movie. Even though its tagged as a scifi film, the futuristic setting is used simply as a device to convey the human (and non-human) drama unfolding. In other words, the story could have been set in any genre or era you might care to pick. It wouldn't make a difference. These days, everything seems more oriented around spectacle, rather than substance. Look at similar titles from the Enemy Mine era such as The Thing and you see the same thing. Character development and plot progression. Compare to the movies of today, like Transformers, or Wanted and you'll see a marked lack of development in characters or plot in favour of effects.
Why is this? Well, simply put, these days they have the ability to do things that were either impossible or hideously expensive back then. And, like a child with a new toy, film-makers are having endless fun playing with CGI and will continue to do so until the "newness" wears off. And whilst they continue to play with it, other elements of the movie making process are being neglected in order to placate the "Oooh! Ahh! Pretty!" brigade that values eye-candy over story.
Anyhow, Enemy Mine shows that a good story (unlike effects) can carry a movie despite other deficiencies in the film. In EM, the effects are looking very dated and primitive. The scene where the hero crash-lands on the planet isn't much more evolved from the old Buck Rogers serials, for instance. Yet despite these things, the movie works because of the interplay between the two characters. Nearly an entire movie with only two characters in it, mostly talking. That would be a hard pitch to put to any Hollywood studio today.
So if you haven't seen it, is it any good? That very much depends on what you want out of a film. If you expect the graphical techno-wizardry of Transformers you will be disappointed. If you expect heroes gunning down endless hordes of disposable enemies, you will be disappointed.
On the other hand, if you like a story that is independent of the setting, has some excellent acting, a true feel good factor about it that doesn't depend on the kill-count or effects and a decent amount of human interest, then you might just be in for a treat.