'Explorers'
isn't a total 'ET' clone, but it is in the same genus. It's head and
shoulders above all the other kiddy crap of that year (1985) though,
as the actors are actually really great (River Phoenix, Ethan Hawke,
Jason Presson - I particularly liked Presson's character, who seemed
to be drunk all the time and casually referred to his semi-abusive
home life without it ever being addressed.) and the script is often
genuinely funny. It's not really my thing, and I never saw it as a
kid, but I see that it is good.
The
plot basically goes that they figure out a way to program a magical
ball that they can use as a vehicle (by way of smart kid and magic
alien dreams). They then piss around with said balls for a while,
before getting their shit together and going off into space, where
they are picked up by a pair of aliens who turn out to be children
who have effectively stolen their parent's car. They end up being
sent home, and then they have another dream in which the main
character somehow gets the girl - the ending is a little fuzzy.
The
whole third act felt a little rushed actually, and the pacing within
it was off. They spend ages running around pointlessly on the alien
ship (and getting touched up by a big spider robot) only to meet the
aliens and then... nothing really happens. We stay with the aliens
long enough for them to annoy me (the male one mostly just does
impressions, and the female just flirts creepily with smart kid), and
then it's back to Earth.
I'd
rate the first two thirds about 15 points higher than the last one,
because the first section felt much more grounded. It was still fantasy obviously,
as they were flying around in the ball and stuff, but the fact that
it was happening on Earth (spying on a girl, messing with bullies, evading cops) made it more thrilling, I'd say. The
end was fine I guess, it just felt incomplete and bored me a
little. The practical effects on the aliens were pretty good though,
as were the ship interior sets (some nice matte paintings).
Explorers: 48.5