Species * 1/2
1995 - Rated R - 111 mins				BY TONY ZIDEK

    Species is another of Hollywood's attempts at science-fiction.  But it
falls short... very short.
    Here's the premise.  In 1974, the United States Government financed a
project to relay information into the deep reaches of space.  What they sent
was  Earth's population, where we live, what type of habitat exists here, and
a large portion of the human DNA sequence.  Twenty years later we get a
reply.  The message from our cosmic neighbors gives us a new DNA sequence and
directions on how to combine it with our own.  
    The alien project is green lighted.  In a short time a baby girl is born.
 But she's no ordinary child.  She grows into a teenager in a matter of
months.  A matter of months!?  That's too bizaar for us.  We'd better abort
her via cyanide gas.  But she escapes, and heads for Los Angeles.
    Excellent premise.  However, the rest of the film goes downhill from
there.  And it's an hour and 40 minute downhill slide.  
    What goes wrong with Species?  Everything.  The alien, known as Sil
(Natasha Henstridge), looks human.  But looks can be deceiving.  She's all
alien underneath.  And she wants to procreate.  If she does, then soon
hundreds, thousands, millions of these aliens will roam the Earth till they
wipe us out.
    So who will stop this threat to the entire human race?  Five people.  
    Five people!  Are you nuts!?  Why don't you bring in the CIA, FBI, Army,
Navy and Marines?  Well... your not supposed to ask that  type of question in
this type of film.
    In a later scene, when Sil just barely gets away, Xavier Fitch (Ben
Kingsley as the leader of the search-and-destroy group) says, "We'll try
again tomarrow. Let's get some sleep."  What?  Are you crazy!?  We have an
alien roaming around Los Angeles, and you want to get some shut eye!
    The crew that tries to hunt down Sil is a motly one at best.  We have an
empath, Dan Simthson (Forest Whitaker);  who senses emotions and the
motivations of people (or aliens) by just standing where they passed.  This
is one of the more inventive ways for a writer to cop-out on the plot.  It's
the easiest way to track someone down without having the group do any real
detective work.  "She was definately pissed off.  And she went this way..."
    Also along for the ride is Dr. Stephen Arden (Alfred Molina), a Harvard
anthropology professor, who doesn't say much and seems to sit on the
sidelines till he's need (for the plot) at the end.
    The other two are Dr. Laura Baker (Mary Helgenberger), a molecular
biologist, who has her own biological urges for Preston Lenox (Michael
Madsen), a hired hit-man.  These two throw sexual inuendoes at each other for
half the movie while we wonder where their priorities are.  And why a
hit-man?  Does the government really think that this hired gun is enough to
save the world?  If they think so, that's the scariest idea in the film.
    As for Sil, she's a confused creature.  She's not sure why she's here.
 She has urges to reproduce, and kill anything in her way.  She's both
exceedingly smart and dumb at times.
    The alien was designed by H. R. Giger, who scared us with his designs for
"Alien".  His creature here is very good, but the script and Roger
Donaldson's direction let him down.  The suspense is lacking and some scenes
are laughable.
    If "Species" had as many good ideas late in the film as it did for its
premise, it would have been a damn good picture.  But as it is, it should
have been aborted long ago.