Review of Summer of 84 (2018) by Nitpicker . — 04 Sep 2018
It has the look and feel of Stranger Things/It/Stand By Me, but it does feel like just a rehash of a rehash of a rehash. The characters are all too familiar. You have the fat kid, glasses kid, the rebel kid, and the main kid who even gets the girl.
And of course dirt bikes because you can't have an 80's themed story without them. There's also plenty of reminders that you're watching an 80's themed movie.....an old MTV shirt, Gremilins, G.
I. Joe, and Steven Spielberg's name being thrown around. It feels a little forced and serves as a reminder that "Hey kids, remember...this is an 80's movie". And there's even a synth music score.
It all feels watered down from other movies that have done it better. There's never any doubt in your mind that the neighbor cop is the bad guy. The real twist would have been if he hadn't done it, which is what it seemed like it was building to.
They teased the hell out of it and never delivered. The ending kidnapping and manhunt just to kill the fat kid and leave the main kid there to ponder over the future felt really off. None of that made sense.
No one wanted to see the fat kid get his throat cut in a movie where kids come together to take down a bad guy. What a downer. Overall, if you liked Stranger Things/It/Stand By Me, then you'll be drawn to this.
But why not watch those movies instead. Because this is a just a cheap knockoff. It borrows shamelessly from better movies. The only reason you would like it is because it reminds you of those movies.
This review of Summer of 84 (2018) was written by Nitpicker . on 04 Sep 2018.
Summer of 84 has generally received positive reviews.
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