Now we enter into 1985, and we better start off with a Spielberg picture with wit, humor, and kids that can save a neighborhood. So now let's get going with a review of one of the most remembered films of the 1980's.
So here's the plot:
In jail, a crook named Jake Fretelli is broken out by his mother and brother. As they escape during the opening credits, we are introduced one by one to a group of kids known as the Goonies, lower class citizens that live in the goon docks of the east coast towns. The Walsh family, amongst the others, are about to lose their homes as they are demolished and they have to move. The kids, Brand and Mikey, will do anything to prevent that.
After the other Goonies come over, at least some of them, Mouth, Chunk, and Data, all of whom want to stay as well. Mother Walsh comes home with Rosalita, a Spanish maid who is there to work, and Mouth translates from English to Spanish, getting it totally wrong and making a picture in Rosalita's head of a family of torture, drug barons, and cruelty.
Mrs. Walsh mentions the attic, and the gang gets curious and goes up to see if they can sell anything up there worth any value to save their homes. They find a treasure map that Mikey believes follows One Eyed Willy, a 17th century pirate who hid a treasure in their area. He tells a story and the gang also finds a news article about a man who went after the treasure but was never found.
All but Brand want to go after the treasure, so they tie him up and go after it. Mrs. Walsh returns, lets Brand go so he can get the boys, and ends up chasing after them on a girl bike after the boys have flattened his bike tires. While looking for them he runs into Troy, a son of rich people flattening the houses and his on again, off again girlfriend Andy and her friend Steph. He takes him for a "ride" and has Brand fly off his bike. Just watch the movie, its hilarious.
So the boys reach a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. They realize the treasure is directly beneath it. They enter in and find out that the Fratellis are hiding out there. Brand shows with Andy and Steph tagging along. They all decide to go down to the basement where Mikey shows them an It which he found when he "went to the bathroom" looking for Willy.
The Fratellis return and they are forced to hide. Chunk gets stuck with a stiff that the Fratellis killed and ends up going for the police while the others go after the treasure. Chunk ends up being caught by the Fratelli brothers and taken right back to the hideout. The group goes deep underground where One Eyed Willy once was, and they find the person mentioned in the news article.
The group eventually, after falling into a few booby traps, find a waterfall where they take a brief rest. Meanwhile Chunk is being interrogated by the Fratellis and they end up chasing after the kids once they realize what's been going on. They lock up Chunk with the It, whom they call Sloth. The two become friends through candy bar sharing and a desire on Chunk's part not to be killed for the most part.
Back at the waterfall, they find out they are beneath a wishing well and almost get out, but Mikey convinces everyone to keep going. So eventually they come to a point and they realize the Fratellis catch up to them. So they keep going, even faster now. Chunk and Sloth escape and go after everyone else to save their friends.
So after a whole lot of chaos, the kids find the pirate ship and go aboard. Mikey finds One Eyed Willy, has a little talk with him, and then they grab some treasure. They leave some for him though. The Fratellis find them and steal the money back. Sloth and Chunk save the day and fight them, well, Sloth does.
The kids escape with their lives as the place suffers a dynamite explosion. A couple officers find the kids and then the parents show up. Also the Fratellis come and are arrested. Sloth, for being an ally, is spared the prison life. Mr. Walsh gets ready to sign over the neighborhood to Troy's father, but Rosalita, who was searching Mikey's marble bag, for some reason, finds diamonds and gems and precious things worth enough to buy back the neighborhood.
So the whole pirate thing is solved as well: the ship sails on its own and Mikey and the gang wave goodbye as it sails into the sunrise.
So now for the grading scale:
Acting: 6 out of 10. Sometimes the kids are a little annoying and sometimes the adults are a little silly, but its a film made for kids.
Entertainment: 10 out of 10. An action comedy adventure kids film that is really enjoyable.
Screenplay: 7 out of 10. Pretty strong. Written by the same guy who wrote Gremlins, you might know him: Chris Columbus.
Directing: 8 out of 10. Directed by Richard Donner of Superman and Lethal Weapon fame. Well done.
Technical Credits: 10 out of 10. Excellent music and visual effects.
Genre Fit: 3 out of 10. Bounces between action, comedy, horror, and even sometimes slapstick. Nothing really great about it confusing people with its many moods.
MPAA Rating: 5 out of 10. The language is actually quite strong for kids and it does become a little edgy at times with the amount of suggested violence. More PG-13 than PG.
Stupid Scenes: 7 out of 10. There is a scene where the kids mess with pipes for almost no reason. Kind of distracting.
Deeper Message: 8 out of 10. Shows that kids can be courageous and can be as heroic as adults. Some other things as well.
Beginning: 25 out of 30. A great comedic start.
Middle: 20 out of 30. A pretty good middle section.
Ending: 26 out of 30. A nice conclusion.
Final Rating: 135/180 or 75%. Just barely a B+, which means its very good.
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