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.