Review of Explorers (1985) by Scott M — 23 Sep 2016

A mostly forgotten 80s sci-fi movie from once popular creature director Joe Dante, Explorers is a perfect example of a movie that has some truly excellent buildup but ultimately falls short with an unbelievably nonsensical ending.

Like with practically every 80s film, the chemistry of Explorers' three child actors is top notch and wonderfully natural. Young Ethan Hawke shows us that he had some tremendous acting chops, even back then.

The enthusiasm and love of science among the three leads is also so infectious that it'll make you want to go outside and do some exploring of your own. In his heyday, Joe Dante managed to elicit strong feelings of nostalgia, innocence, tension, and childlike wonder into practically all of his works.

This unfortunately makes the finished product all the more frustrating as the final third is hampered by some truly awkward looking and poorly made special effects and some clunky storytelling. Without giving anything away, let's just say that all of the questions and ideas raised throughout the film are not given any satisfying closure and we are capped off with what feels like a scene out of a Looney Tunes cartoon (and not in a good way).

The underwhelming ending combined with some pointless subplots that go nowhere make for a movie that feels unfinished and thus unsatisfying. Still, there's enough good here to at least make it worth checking out at least once.