Well, it's better than the 1953 original (though that's not saying much). I remember, vaguely, loving it when it came out in 1986. I just bought the letter-boxed THX-enhanced version, and I'm wondering just WHAT I liked about it. Yeah some of the imagery and use of color is fantastic, but that's about it. Carson is a terrible actor and Black gives one of her worst performances. Only Bottoms, Newman and Fletcher turn in somewhat enjoyable acting. That aliens are REALLY stupid looking, the attempts at humor are pathetic and the the story is way too slow-moving. I do know that director Hopper and star Black had real troubles with the film company when doing this (the company kept slashing the budget and complaining about every single dime Hopper spent), so much so that Hopper actually became physically ill at one point! Unfortunately, it shows up in the final product. Cool opening credits though.
