REVIEW: Explorers (Released in 1985) [35th Anniversary]

DIRECTOR: Joe Dante

PRODUCERS: Edward. S. Feldman & Mark Bombyk

WRITER: Eric Luke

PERFORMERS: Ethan Hawke River Phoenix Jason Presson Amanda Peterson Robert Picardo

Dick Miller

Before Interstellar, before Contact, there was this little film called Explorers. Now we all known how much mystery lies in the unknown somewhere up there in the stars or in most cases... outer space itself and let's be honest at some point in our lives we we're all drawn to the stars. But what if you had a trio of young believers who would channel a calling to them from the annals of space itself and go so far as building their own spaceship? That's what happens in this cult classic of another 80's gem that has a milestone to celebrate this year.

Explorers tells the story of a young kid played by a young Ethan Hawke as a sci-fi fan who receives a calling from the unknown and enlists the help of his scientist friend, played by the late River Phoenix, to find out what that is. With the third entry of a lone outsider (JASON PRESSON), who doesn't seem to have any friends, they take matters into their own hands and in the style of 'Star Trek' bodly go where no 'kid' has gone before. While that's all good and well, the only thing about the film that seems to fall flat is the progression and perhaps lack of development. The three main leads are each good in their portrayals especially Hawke as the one who goes after his dream like there's just no tomorrow, like Sean Astin in 'The Goonies' he keeps going for the extra mile even when things look bleak. Phoenix, there are no words to describe his part in this film, the fact that he was just young and innocent when he did this is enough to say how much of an effective actor he could be today if he were alive. As the brains of the trio he makes you wish you could be as smart as him in his situation. Then there's Presson, who stands out as the voice of reason yet sometimes reluctant. There's always that one who's hesitant about this or that yet that person tags along anyway and that's what he was to me. A tag along who was only in it for the curiosity, only to get more than he bargained for.

As the film goes on it almost sort of slows down during it's second or third acts, due to there being little to no development. Even when these guys get on their ship I was either scared for them or excited for them. They were just kids with no clue where they were going, but knew they were on the verge of a great discovery far greater than themselves. All it took was a dream of a place only they could see but not understand and they were flying in it non-stop. If anything I could easily see these characters grow up to become astronauts because going into space is obviously a big deal to them. In those days, you really couldn't ask for more. Understandably it's a Joe Dante directed film, but if the production had not been rushed in addition to the editing, perhaps we would have had more time to get to know these boys before launching them into space and into the company of a strange looking alien race and I want to talk about them for a minute.

The designs and look of the aliens in the film weren't necessarily all that great but still better than nothing at all. A bit cheesy and maybe a little lame, though it does make up for the other worldly life aspect of the picture. Nonetheless you can't really have three kids coming face to face with creatures that look terrifying unless that alien was E.T. Ever since that film, many alien characters have tried to match that one;s appeal and belivability with no success. With the ones you see in here, you think 'not even close' but you still try to enjoy the show as it goes along. After all, what are the odds when you got kids and a homemade spaceship with an anti defying gravity technology? The special effects were also top notch and the spaceship was what kept me invested in the film because as a builder myself, I too, would take great care (if not pride) in what I would want to create to fulfill a dream that I have. It's almost funny because having developed an interest in DIY projects this takes me back to a time when I started doing it. Just like Hawke's character, I see something that interests me, I observe someone else doing what there doing and get inspired to do it myself. Just another one of those 'if he can do it, so can I' moments.

The only time I got emotional or close to it was when the boys return home from their trip and upon return was the sinking of their ship, it was like watching the dream end and there wasn't anything left to do but wonder 'what happens now?'. It's not until the way the film ends that you're either satisfied or puzzled with the way it ends but gives you a hint of that old saying 'You got to live your dream, now go make your other dreams come true' and from there is that cliche of you decide how it ends or goes on from here. If I got anything from this film viewing, it's that no one understands your dreams better than you do, and if you truly believe it then they will come true, one way or another. Like Walt Disney once said "If you can dream it, you can do it", the reason for that being so relevant is because there are dreamers and doers. Dreamers fantasize about the unachievable, but doers take action and most of all, keep going without quit and without doubt. This was a film about dreamers and doers, and although this may have been a box office flop, that wasn't enough to stop people from being dreamers and doers themselves. This is what it means to have dream, to go out and do it and that's one of the few things I found likeable about this film. It made you want to aspire to greater things and to go above and beyond the unknown horizon of the universe. Explorers reaches out to more than just the stars, but to the young dreamers in all of us. Happy 35th Anniversary to Explorers!!!

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