Oh, those old nostalgia tinged goggles! It seems like every Joe Dante movie comes with a pair for maximum viewing pleasure. For those of you not in the know, the whole of humanity is split pretty evenly and dichotomously on whether they prefer 'Explorers' or Richard Donner's 'The Goonies', which was also put out in 1985. I side completely with 'Explorers' due to its incredible smartness in what is supposed to be a 'family' film. Of course it's all let down by a spectacularly weird and letdown of an ending, but you can't have everything. The ending is a legend all by itself, and we'll touch on it before the end.
So, to 'Explorers'. The youthful Ben is having strange dreams about flying in clouds above what look like circuitry diagrams and enlists his friend Wolfgang in building the chip. It turns out to be instrumental in projecting an inertia-free 'bubble', so they build a ship with their new friend Darren to go in the bubble and embark on what turns out to be an interstellar trip. It is all endearingly quirky and intelligent, even unto the revelation that the dreams and direction are coming from somewhere out there, which fires the aspirational spaceman Ben into fervours of speechmaking. It's all so smart until they reach their destination, and then...
Oh, there's no judging the ending with my nostalgia tinged glasses. Apparently the movie was already trapped under insufficient time when Dante took it over and he didn't have the nerve to push harder for more, or at least that's the semi-official line. In reality who knows what the truth really is as they never reveal the real inner workings behind those things. It seems extremely likely that that line is near the truth, as the produced ending reeks of a rushed bodge job, especially in comparison to the smartness emblazoned everywhere else. The ending does work finally as the rest of the movie buys the grace for it, but gosh the temptation is there to do a few other things while it's going on. Joe Dante's 'Innerspace' also has a dodgy ending, but I suspect coincidence rather than pattern.
One of the things that makes Dante movies endearing is the shear sense of wonder, the inherent fun, the frequent coming of age parallels, and the masses of references usually contained therein. 'Explorers' is right up there and far beyond 'Matinee' for schlock movie references, and they even make a fake z-list science fiction movie for a drive-in, which of course stars Dante veteran Robert Picardo. Oh, Robert Picardo, you hero you. If you ever want to work out where to start with old science fiction movies then watch 'Explorers' and check out every movie Ben watches or references throughout the movie, and whatever appears in the alien media-sphere at the end. Then go and hunt down Robert Picardo performances wherever you can find them. He's a trashman in 'The Burbs', I think.
'Explorers' is a brilliant warm and intelligent movie, as perceived through the nostalgia lenses. The sense of wonder is almost luminous in places, as is the pioneer spirit, and the Jerry Goldsmith music is incredibly fitting and appropriate at every point. It's even appropriately strange in the alien ship sequence, fitting even the oddest moments. S, 'Explorers', a movie that is recommended with caveats, for masses of charm, humour, substance and style.
Points of interest in 'Explorers': Robert Picardo continues his Joe Dante association, as do Jerry Goldsmith and Dick Miller. Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix get early breaks in their careers. but Jason Presson disappears. James Cromwell plays Wolfgang's dad.
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