Problems I have with Enemy Mine...

First off, this movie is loosely LOOSELY based on a book that may not have pre-dated Star Wars but certainly pre-dated Return of the Jedi.

The planet was just a back drop for a land (space) war between the two sides. They were focused on killing each other and wouldn't have bothered going down there unless they were preparing to colonize. Also, keep in mind he flew well outside of the battlefield in pursuit of Lou's fighter. The fight itself was much nastier than anyone had anticipated and so lack of a body / ship was quickly written off as a KIA.

The patrol followed some unusual activity from the planet and decided to check it out. Convenient, true - but then again ... it's a movie.

The miners were treated by the military the same way the police treat stoners in Amsterdam. It's not actually 'legal' per se - instead it's a case of don't get yourself in trouble and we won't trouble you. That's why Quaid narrates the shameful truth that the military 'looked the other way' with regards to the alien slavery.

Well, you could say they were borrowing from Star Wars or you could point out that they both borrowed from actual military jargon, call signs, and radio communications (think about the end of Independance Day).

You may be right there, not really sure - this movie was released two years later but was in the can for some time - issues with production and the studio. At any rate, the entire Star Wars series kicks serious A$$ (minus jar jar, young anikan, and a few other eye rollers).

My "only" problem I have with ENEMY MINE is that the film makers left one third of the story out. The middle part had Davidge going to the Drac homeworld to enlist the aid of the House of Jeriba to locate Zammis. Shigans parent and siblings reponse to an "Irkman" sing the entire Jeriba lineage back to the foundation of the planet was awe inspiring. If you all have not read the novelization, it is truly worth a read. That is, if you can find a copy. This part of the story is pivotal in explaining the end of the movie. It was sorely missed.

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The military jargon in Enemy Mine like the use of the phoenetic alphabet (alpha, bravo charlie....) is more relevent in this movie, based around a future Earth than how it sits with Star Wars. Don't get me wrong, I love the Star Wars saga, but I have always been hit by those moments in the films where they use Earthly type jingoisms, slang or humor common for someone from Earth not a Galaxy Far Far Away. As for simularities between these movies, if it has to deal with space or sci-fi there are only so many ways you can do lasers and space battles so that the public can follow whats going on. The only show that has taken a brave step forward in this area is the TV series Battlestar Galactica where they show spacecraft acting how they should in a vacuum. At least now people who are ejected into space don't blow up when exposed to a vacuum.

Hi Servoskull:

You're right for the most part, but it doesn't matter because the film entertains and is a lot of fun and is heartwarming and makes me cry and *that's* what matters. Consider that it's probably not possible to get a completely watertight script and even if it were, the effort, time, money, and screen time to do so might not be justified if the real intent of the drama can be relayed without doing so. I think there's a difference between a good script that has some holes that might distract you, as you say, and a piece of crap script that has little effort put into making it reasonable and you are there constantly rolling your eyes.

Does the story of blind hate giving way to understanding and compassion for others that are different work for you?
Does the buddy story of Davidge and Jerry work for you?
Does the story of Davidge's love for Zammis when he's lonely and Zammis is orphaned work for you?
Does the story of a parent (Davidge) loving a child (Zammis) enough to risk his career and life to rescue the child work for you?
Did you laugh at the funny parts?
If all, most, or any of that worked for you, then the movie had a lot to offer to you in spite of some plot holes.

Presumed dead: If a ship gets blasted in space, it presumably disintegrates into shards and whatever homing beacon it has drifts off until it's way out of range, never to be heard from again. That would seem to be the usual case of a blasted ship, so I think you could expect they would often mark people as "presumed dead." So we assume that Davidge's ship crashed on a planet out of range and that's it. That seems reasonable.

"Dead" Davidge rescued: Yeah....I agree that was bogus. Just a few lines and a few seconds of screen time could have given some justification that would have made it better.

Long term miners: Sure they would be there. They had a base set up at whatever expense, they have a supply line, they have cargo ships coming, etc. They're going to be there for a while. We've already been told that the law does not pursue them aggressively. I can point to some blatant houses of ill-repute here in Houston operating for many years with total impunity: large brick & mortar establishment, blatant neon sign right on the freeway, blatant yellow pages ad.

Borrowing from Star Wars: Maybe, but there is nothing new under the sun. Star Wars itself borrowed from other sources.

Sand Pit monster: Ok and I'll give you this may be a valid point unless we find that the novel or script predates Return of the Jedi, as someone else has stated. But device borrowing is pervasive everywhere...even Shakespeare borrowed plenty. Often you can take the borrowing as a wink or an affectionate reference to the original.

In this case maybe not that enough effort was put into the shortcomings that you mentioned but lots of effort was put into the adopted family relationship, the friendship motif, the universal truth motif and other motifs that were more the real point of the story.