During a bloody battle, two warring ships crash on a barren planet, with only one survivor from each ship. At first, the human pilot and the lizardlike Drac continue to fight, but the planet's harsh climate and the need to survive force them to ally. Over time, they put old hostilities aside and form a friendship. When the parthenogenetic Drac becomes pregnant, the two draw closer, overcoming their external differences to appreciate each other for who--not what--they are. The film is a thinly masked treatise on race relations, handled well by its two lead actors, Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett, Jr. This futuristic sci-fi adventure film, directed by Wolfgang Petersen, features Gossett in an intricate full-body costume for his portrayal of the alien Drac.