Explorers 4K 1985 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

Teenagers Ben and Wolfgang share a love of space and inventing. Driven by an unusual dream, they team up with a new friend to build a small spaceship out of parts found at a junkyard, controlled and protected by a force field. However, during their first flight, someone from outside suddenly takes control of the ship. As it turns out, our heroes aren’t the only ones in this universe who dream of making contact with other civilizations.

Review 4K Movie

However, hello. Ben, a teenager, has very realistic dreams about flying over a computer circuit diagram. Ben sketches the diagram and shows the drawing to his friend Wolfgang, a child prodigy. A third member joins their group—Darren, a bit of a punk but generally a good guy, who defended Ben from some bullies. Wolfgang builds a real microchip, and the boys discover that they can use it to create spherical force fields that fly at tremendous speeds. Wolfgang turns out to be a true genius; he devises a way to obtain an unlimited supply of oxygen. Now they can fly into space. But doing so in a “soap bubble” feels a bit sketchy, so the guys build a “spaceship” out of scrap metal.

While watching, I thought, “This is similar to "The Naivigator’s Flight", which came out a year later—why isn’t this movie as well-known?” But as the film neared its conclusion, I realized—it’s just too wholesome. The film is, of course, good and heartwarming, but the plot would have been enough for a short film at most—for example, an anthology episode. It lacks the edge and sense of danger needed for a feature-length film. It’s no surprise that *The Explorers* flopped at the box office, grossing less than 10 million on a budget of 20.

Finally, I’ll note that "The Explorers" marked the film debuts of Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix. The Phoenix brothers’ parents were members of David Berg’s “Children of God” cult; River and Joaquin took their first steps as performers by busking on the streets—that’s how they raised money for the cult. River knew practically nothing about popular culture, which became a running joke on set—the boy would mispronounce the names of famous movies and brands. Originally, Phoenix was supposed to play Darren, but the director decided that River was good enough for the role of the child prodigy Wolfgang.