Thehibikiew Not even bad in a good way

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

beccabentley Couldn't remember this film but was running out of good family films the kids hadn't seen and remembered all the other kids films from the eighties being fab so thought I'd give this a try. I was enjoying it and so were the kids until the aliens were revealed. It started so well! The acting was good, the different characters were very relatable, even the effects were fairly believable and it was good to see how the boys progressed with their knowledge until they created their spaceship. Even when they first got to the alien spaceship it was OK, like a big funhouse. But then we met the aliens. They were awful, really cringeingly awful. One of them didn't even really talk to the boys but just gabbled on like a cheesy American advert all the time. They were godawful ugly and looked and sounded completely fake. Spoiler... The idea that they were children was OK (i think Stephen king may have stolen and improved on this idea for his book Under the Dome!) but why oh why did they have to ruin a good movie with such farcical, nauseating aliens? Any belief in the film just went out of the window. I now think I may have watched it as a child but put it out of my mind because the end is so awful. What a shame as this could have been up there with the other 80's greats like Goonies and Big.

Timstuff I remember seeing a tape of this movie once when I was a kid, although even back then I seemed to have a pretty good grasp of what the movie did right and what it did wrong. This is a movie that starts out with great potential, but unfortunately it suffers from a bit of an identity crisis in the third act that stops the movie from being the classic that it could have been.The first two acts of the movie are great. We are introduced to a strong cast of child actors who all deliver great performances-- no doubt due to the direction by Joe Dante, who directed the Gremlins (which, unsurprisingly, was executive produced by Steven Spielberg). If you are familiar movies like Close Encounters, E.T., or the more recent Super 8, and even The Goonies, this movie will immediately have a familiar sense of charm. The story of some innocently mischievous kids getting into a bit of trouble so that they can build their own spaceship is something just about any kid can identify with, and the way the movie approaches the ends up being strangely plausible. The kids are memorable characters, and seeing the journey that takes them from happening upon a crazy, mysterious idea to flying their own spacecraft is one that will capture the imagination of both the young and old.Unfortunately, the destination is not nearly as satisfying as the journey. When the kids get into space and finally make first contact, the thoughtful "Spielbergian" wonder disappears quickly, and is replaced with an obnoxious Saturday morning cartoon. The aliens themselves look like leftovers from a Ren and Stimpy cartoon, and they are about as tactfully written. The rest of the movie did such an admirable job of taken itself seriously that when our protagonists come face to face with pop-culture spouting Nickelodeon rejects, the movie falls apart.I will always remember this movie as a mixed bag, and a missed opportunity. You get 2/3 of a great movie, and the last 1/3 of a crappy one. The first two acts of the movie definitely at least make it worth checking out, but the fact that the movie started off so strong only to rapidly devolve into cartoonish antics keeps it from being a must-see. I almost wish I had just stopped the tape when the kids made it into space, and left the mystery of the aliens as just that so I could enjoy the rest of the movie for what it was.

Spikeopath Explorers is directed by Joe Dante and written by Eric Luke. It stars Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix, Jason Presson and Amanda Peterson. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by John Hora.It's the family friendly sci-fi that Joe Dante did after he made Gremlins, and it's a film of much fun and childish splendour that is only done down by getting away from itself in the last quarter.Plot basically sees three young lads (Hawke, Phoenix and Presson) with different talents and ideals who come together to fashion a spacecraft as they deal with the perils of school (bullies, puppy love, scholastic pressure). Taking off, the boys eventually go into space and encounter an alien race who have an interesting view on the human race...Dante had studio interference to contend with and he eventually re-edited the film for home format release. The film does feel compromised and rushed towards the end, but the story holds up real well and the young actors (Dante's excellent direction of youngsters is often forgotten) engage and entertain for all the right reasons. It's a bit derivative and it does at times feel like Dante is just making a movie so he can bathe in homage nostalgia, but there is intelligence in the sci-fi factors before it gets confused as to its messages and the aliens we finally meet annoy and disappoint.Weird and wondrous, fun and fragile, Explorers is a mixed bag for sure. 7/10

Tss5078 When I was a kid, Explorers was one of my favorite movies. Ever since I can remember I've had a fascination with outer space and all the possibilities that are out there. That being said, Explorers was the perfect movie to me when I was a kid, but watching it again for the first time in fifteen years, things have changed. The story follows three young boys who start having weird dreams. They decide to build what they see in their dreams and to their surprise they build a spaceship. The boys are pulled into outer space, where they meet a group of aliens who are obsessed with our TV broadcasts and use different characters and scenes in order to communicate. As a kid, the story was magical, but as an adult, it was very lame. The hysterical aliens were unbelievably annoying and all the 'cool, futuristic' stuff is now simple classic eighties cheese. As for the cast, they are terrific, obviously, that's why two of the three boys grew up to be stars. Explorers was a favorite of mine as a kid, but that's really who it's aimed at. I watched it again because it's streaming and I loved it then, but watching it now kind of ruined it for me. This isn't like the Goonies, which is good any time at any age. Explorers is a kids movie that doesn't grow up as you do.