Innerspace had been in heavy rotation during my younger years, but I hadn't watched it in well over a decade when I dusted off my DVD copy on a muggy, overcast Thursday in July 2023. My expectations were fairly low. I figured that any enjoyment would likely come from nostalgia greasing the gears of a movie that wasn't as good as I remembered it to be. To my very pleasant surprise, it was even better.
I've described director Joe Dante as Steven Spielberg in a fun house mirror, and that's certainly true here (Spielberg serves as a producer by the way). Innerspace is a fun popcorn adventure-comedy, but man is it quirky. Everything is *just* a bit askew, and the movie is all the better for it.
The cast is great. Quaid, Short and Ryan are the leads, and they do more than the standard "hero" stuff. Their energy is infectious and they share a great chemistry. But the supporting characters! Oh, man are they a blast. Even with only a few scenes they leave such an impression that you'd swear they were in more of the film than they are.
And a quick note about the special f/x. Of all the aspects of the movie I expected to age the worst, I figured it would be the f/x. And given that it's an f/x heavy film, that could be a problem. Come to find that worry was unfounded. Innerspace won the Oscar for best special effects in 1987, and it's well deserved. They are absolutely outstanding, and hold up and then some.
Innerspace is something too few modern movies are. Fun. If you've never seen it. Do. And if you have seen it. See it again.
I've described director Joe Dante as Steven Spielberg in a fun house mirror, and that's certainly true here (Spielberg serves as a producer by the way). Innerspace is a fun popcorn adventure-comedy, but man is it quirky. Everything is *just* a bit askew, and the movie is all the better for it.
The cast is great. Quaid, Short and Ryan are the leads, and they do more than the standard "hero" stuff. Their energy is infectious and they share a great chemistry. But the supporting characters! Oh, man are they a blast. Even with only a few scenes they leave such an impression that you'd swear they were in more of the film than they are.
And a quick note about the special f/x. Of all the aspects of the movie I expected to age the worst, I figured it would be the f/x. And given that it's an f/x heavy film, that could be a problem. Come to find that worry was unfounded. Innerspace won the Oscar for best special effects in 1987, and it's well deserved. They are absolutely outstanding, and hold up and then some.
Innerspace is something too few modern movies are. Fun. If you've never seen it. Do. And if you have seen it. See it again.