When he learns his family are to be relocated away from their home, Mikey (Astin) and his friends The Goonies set out on one last adventure to find a Pirate's lost treasure.
The stars of tomorrow. The kids are out future. Whatever expression you choose, it can be applied to this good natured romp that sees modern day stars in their opening roles.
Sean Astin, who leads the way splendidly, would soon be hailed to fail in the Lord of the Rings trilogy whilst Josh Brolin would take up award winning roles in No Country for Old Men.
But of course this was the time before such accolades and so we settle for more subdued but more fun style acting in a charming adventure that has the energy and mystery of an Indiana Jones adventure, if not the sophisticated mythology and independence.
The opening scenes see a charming if highly unrealistic prison breakout that starts our adventure off in thrilling fashion. Followed sweetly by the sharp and memorable introduction of The Goonies and you'll be forgiven for smiling from ear to ear. Jonathan Ke Quan's introduction is one to not be spoiled, but watch out for never has a young actor made such an exciting appearance.
As we have a political message thrown in and some sloppy information encoded for historical emphasis, we are finally under way with the group setting off on an adventure to recover the treasure of One Eyed Willie. The idea sounds absurd, and in many degrees it is. In context the whole idea of getting treasure to save their house seems far-fetched and a last ditch attempt but thankfully we can almost ignore the obscurity of this goal and simply sit back and enjoy the thrills and comedy spills along the way.
There are some marvellous set pieces juxtaposed with stunning semiotics of piracy. The boat itself is a symbol of true fantasy gold and the sweeping set montages do justice to the story's potential. The action and adventure side, whilst Indiana Jones obstacles, is nonetheless fun and exciting and true gold for the younger viewers.
When combining two such different genres in comedy and adventure it is easy to give one away to the other but somehow writer Spielberg and director Donner maintain both in equal balance, which is a stunning achievement given the complexity of different personalities of The Goonies and the massive adventure on hands, which makes this a wonder in itself.
Where The Goonies falls is it's lack of realism in context. There are too many close calls and just in time moments and there seems to be lacking any real consequence, maybe because the characters are kids to give the viewers a more relaxed viewing.
But this 1985 release is visually stunning, balancing the genres on equal length and when the laughs come, they really do. It's no Indiana Jones substitute but it is a smash
The stars of tomorrow. The kids are out future. Whatever expression you choose, it can be applied to this good natured romp that sees modern day stars in their opening roles.
Sean Astin, who leads the way splendidly, would soon be hailed to fail in the Lord of the Rings trilogy whilst Josh Brolin would take up award winning roles in No Country for Old Men.
But of course this was the time before such accolades and so we settle for more subdued but more fun style acting in a charming adventure that has the energy and mystery of an Indiana Jones adventure, if not the sophisticated mythology and independence.
The opening scenes see a charming if highly unrealistic prison breakout that starts our adventure off in thrilling fashion. Followed sweetly by the sharp and memorable introduction of The Goonies and you'll be forgiven for smiling from ear to ear. Jonathan Ke Quan's introduction is one to not be spoiled, but watch out for never has a young actor made such an exciting appearance.
As we have a political message thrown in and some sloppy information encoded for historical emphasis, we are finally under way with the group setting off on an adventure to recover the treasure of One Eyed Willie. The idea sounds absurd, and in many degrees it is. In context the whole idea of getting treasure to save their house seems far-fetched and a last ditch attempt but thankfully we can almost ignore the obscurity of this goal and simply sit back and enjoy the thrills and comedy spills along the way.
There are some marvellous set pieces juxtaposed with stunning semiotics of piracy. The boat itself is a symbol of true fantasy gold and the sweeping set montages do justice to the story's potential. The action and adventure side, whilst Indiana Jones obstacles, is nonetheless fun and exciting and true gold for the younger viewers.
When combining two such different genres in comedy and adventure it is easy to give one away to the other but somehow writer Spielberg and director Donner maintain both in equal balance, which is a stunning achievement given the complexity of different personalities of The Goonies and the massive adventure on hands, which makes this a wonder in itself.
Where The Goonies falls is it's lack of realism in context. There are too many close calls and just in time moments and there seems to be lacking any real consequence, maybe because the characters are kids to give the viewers a more relaxed viewing.
But this 1985 release is visually stunning, balancing the genres on equal length and when the laughs come, they really do. It's no Indiana Jones substitute but it is a smash