Synopsis
Middle schooler Ben spends his free time watching sci-fi films, playing video games and reading comic books. Surprisingly, his affinity for all things fantastical yields a real result – when he has a vivid dream about technology, his prodigy best friend Wolfgang manages to create a working spacecraft. Joined by their buddy Darren, the boys take off into outer space and encounter some very odd extraterrestrial life.
Votre Filmothèque
Cast
- Ethan HawkeBen Crandall
- River PhoenixWolfgang Müller
- Jason PressonDarren Woods
- Amanda PetersonLori Swenson
- Bobby FiteSteve Jackson
- Dana IveyMrs. Müller
- Bradley GreggSteve Jackson's Gang
- Georg OldenSteve Jackson's Gang
- Chance SchwassSteve Jackson's Gang
- Danny NucciNasty Kid at School
Recommandations
- 90
Time Out
What really lifts this into the stratosphere of heady entertainment is its dizzy wit and intelligence. The dialogue is deliriously deadpan, the story surreal but surprisingly convincing, and the wealth of references to movie and TV classics hilarious rather than mere smartass posing. - 70
The New York Times
OF all the Spielberg-inspired fantasy films afoot at the moment, Joe Dante's Explorers is by far the most eccentric. It's charmingly odd at some moments, just plain goofy at others. - 70
Los Angeles Times
Explorers itself is bubble-thin, but it glides by gracefully on the charm of its three young heroes and their vividly envisioned adventure in space. It's also a truly gentle film, one of the precious few that actually is suitable for children. - 70
Variety
Throughout, director Joe Dante and writer Eric Luke load the proceedings with references to sci-fiers of an earlier day, such as War of the Worlds, This Island Earth, Journey to the Center of the Earth and many others, but this is nothing compared to what happens when the trio of youngsters finally take off into outer space and make contact with an alien race. - 63
Chicago Tribune
Explorers offers an attractive premise to a very small payoff. - 63
Miami Herald
Explorers is good at probing the wrinkles of the 14-year-old heart and boys are always better than other-world beings. - 60
The Dissolve
Explorers was rushed into theaters before Dante could work out the kinks or create a third act he was satisfied with, and the result is a strange, wounded beast, filled with wonderful sequences and homemade charm, but also confused and anticlimactic. - 50
TV Guide Magazine
The alien costumes are clever and show some real imagination in their design. Yet the filmmakers have forgotten a key element. Without an interesting story or characters, special effects aren't enough to sustain a feature film.
