Starman (1984) Review:

Everyone loses a loved one in his or her life. But would they accept that person back into their life again as a totally different person? This is not an easy question to answer and that's if you had the OPTION. The character of the Starman was just arbitrary. Random. No one told the alien who to be. He just picked what was nearest to him. And although it felt like a curse at first, a miracle occurs and things get much more interesting.

Starman points the way....

The Starman came to Earth for the reason of retrieving a message of greetings in all the languages of the world. So all he was doing was returning the favor and showing the people of Earth that they were not the only ones who were in space. So in order to look like everyone else he takes the form of a human. But which human? Karen Allen plays Jenny Hayden, a widow who lost her husband some time ago and is still grieving over the incident. And who can blame her? Losing a marital partner can be painful; some can't handle it. But she will soon realize that her husband won't be gone for long. For it is the Starman who becomes her new husband.

However, problems arise when Hayden finds out that Starman cannot stay on Earth for if he does, he dies. Adding to this is a government agency on their tale looking to find and interrogate Starman; to probe him like a lab rat. Fortunately, not all the members of the agency are out to snag him. Mark Shermin, acted by Charles Martin Smith is man who tries to stick up for Starman and tries to have others realize that they brought him to Earth under peaceful terms; not for scientific experiments. So it is because of these two issues, Jenny and Starman are on the run to get him home before he dies.

Fifty / Fifty (1992) director - Charles Martin Smith

Playing Starman is Jeff Bridges, basically the same as Jenny's husband but with not with the same personality. At first, Starman is slow to react because he doesn't know he resembles to body of a dead man. The great thing is once Starman is on screen, amazing things start happening immediately! Director John Carpenter is known for having movies with deviant special effects and this is just another one to add to that list. A lot of Starman's personality is almost child-like; innocent. It's what makes him so likable as a character. There are so many examples throughout this film where Starman studies Jenny and watches what she does and then replicates it. It's funny because then Jenny is confused to why he does it!

What really makes this a touching story is how well the character development is placed throughout the film. Originally, Jenny Hayden was uninterested and beyond shocked to see that her husband was alive again, only to realize that it wasn't him at all. But by the end of the film, not only will she have a greater understanding about Starman, but Starman will have a true understanding of the people on Earth as well. The music is great too, composed by Jack Nitzsche. The tone of the soundtrack has a nice sci-fi touch with an ambient feel to it.

This is a sci-fi drama that not only has great looking special effects but a strong story with well-acted characters. All put together, the cast really pulls in its audience for an experience that's not see often enough.

Points Earned --> 10:10