The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This is one of those movies where you KNOW it isn't perfect... Did they HAVE to insert in an entirely redundant cute alien creature, for example? And wasn't the spaceship MUCH more appealing with a robotic, apathetic voice at the start then as the jive talking', clownish 'best buddy' that he becomes later? Yes, and YES.But to a kid who grew up with this film, such imperfections don't matter a jot. You were THERE, flying through the sky, plunging into the ocean and almost crash landing into the Earth at the speed of light.Even watching as a adult, the memories still linger... but the film is more than just a mildly pleasant nostalgia trip. Check out the cutting-edge special effects, and the excessively poignant meeting Kevin has with his family in the future where he hasn't aged a day.Pure magic. 8/10

When I was a kid I always loved this film. I'm 23 now and I still love it, especially as I am a fan of science fiction. If you are a fan of science fiction you will love this film. The film is about a 12 year old boy called David who, one night while looking for his younger brother in a wood, slips and loses consciousness. When he wakes up he thinks only a few hours have passed but its eight years later and his family had left him for dead. David hasn't changed but everyone and everything else has. David and his family try to uncover the truth, but little do they know that doing so will take David on a great adventure. This film has everything, it is well written, has good dialogue, has humour and what's more the acting is good. It is very subtle and sophisticated for a family/kids film and doesn't talk down to its younger viewers. This makes it easily accessible for adult viewing. Even though this film is nearly 30 years old, it has stood the test of time and is definitely a much watch.

In Florida, 1978, 12-year old David Freeman (Joey Cramer) goes looking for his brother in the woods and accidentally falls into a ravine. He awakes shortly after to find his parents gone from their home, and everything changed. When the police eventually locate his parents and re-unite them, it turns out that they reported David missing eight years ago. He is examined by doctors, but his brain starts to transmit images of an alien spacecraft directly into the computers. When NASA hear about it, they are quick to take David away for further tests, after a craft was discovered crashed into power lines. They soon learn that David's head is filled with information about the outer reaches of space, and David feels like he is being beckoned by something hidden in the confines of NASA.This was an obvious favourite of mine as a child, as it was for many of my generation. Whilst I was re-watching, I was surprised by two things. The first is that I remembered next to nothing about the opening 45 minutes or so, yet as soon as David became the Navigator, it all came flooding back to me. And the second was that I couldn't believe how genuinely good the first half was. Playing out like an early Spielberg sci-fi, where all the grown-ups are suspicious and shady with their suits and broken promises, it builds slowly and is actually quite riveting in parts. The second half, however, although fun, just doesn't play well alongside the mature opening half. It introduces Max (voiced by Pee-Wee Herman himself, Paul Reubens - here named as Paul Mall), who after bonding with David, develops a silly voice and annoying laugh, a la Pee-Wee Herman.It is quite ironic that what I loved about the film as a child is now the thing that I feel ultimately lets it down. Maybe I have become a grumpy old man at the ripe old age of 27. It doesn't completely ruin the film, just brings it down a peg. It's very disappointing, as the need to seemingly dumb down to appeal to a young audience being fed on quality like The Empire Strikes Back, The Dark Crystal and E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial around the same period just feels unnecessary. Not that it would have touched on those films, but it still could have been very good nonetheless. But apart from the sudden change of tone, this is a childhood favourite for a reason - it is fun, imaginative, and has a sympathetic hero in Joey Cramer's David. And if a film can survive an early appearance from one of cinema's true monsters, Sarah Jessica Parker, then good on it.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

omg. omg. every time i watch stuff like this i feel like 'StarSearch' is back on television and it's the 80's all over again. this movie is even better than i remember it. as usual, another under-appreciated Disney classic from the much maligned period of the Disney 80's films.the Disney films from the 1980's are usually thought of by most critics and audience fans as underwhelming and forgettable. i'm starting to think that belief couldn't be further from the truth. i've always really liked Disney movies from the 1980's and have tried to defend them to detractors whenever i could. 'The Black Cauldron' and 'The Black Hole' are two of my all time Disney favorites along with the long under-appreciated 'Tron'. i actually would have liked to have given 'Navigator' ten stars since it was so quirky and entertaining, but given the lightness of the approach and subject matter, i felt a eight was probably more realistic. i'm not sure if i'm even right on this because the Disney films of the 1980's just seem to get better and better with each passing time period. i mean heck, if you're a true Disney fan, some of the 80's Disney films were some of the last produced at the Disney studio in Burbank.'Navigator' makes for imaginative children's sci fi and excellent Disney. much of this movie is down right hilarious with a lot of the quirky humour aided and abetted by the fabulous Paul Reubens who strangely is listed as Paul Mall here. the sci fi FX also compete with some of the best CGI to date.if you haven't seen this delightful little Disney gem, then i don't want to spoil the clever fun by revealing to much about it. part of the film's impact is it's element of surprising originality.this really is memorable stuff. and classic Disney. in our recent times when so much seems to have gone to waste morally, it's always a breath of fresh air to see something as wholesome and unoffensive as this in mainstream, media entertainment. there is no swearing, no hint of sexual suggestion, no substance use, and no violence. that prospect might bore most kids today, but their parents would be smart to at least encourage them to try a little with this kind of thing. man does not live by cynicism alone. a little true optimism and wholesome thinking can't hurt. not when times get as morally bankrupt as these. God Bless.