TheRetroCritic

Directed by Joe Dante, Explorers is a very Spielbergian sci-fi 80's film starring a young Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix as two of three kids who, following some rather abstract Tron -like recurring dreams, discover a way to potentially travel inside some kind of glass bubble they manage to control. The film was rushed into theatres back in 1985, much to Dante's distaste, and it was a flop at the box-office but it's since enjoyed a cult following and, with the popularity of the nostalgia-celebrating series Stranger Things , it's likely even more people will discover or re-discover this little film. The kids, who often communicate with walkie-talkies, are exactly the types you'd expect: Wolfgang is the nerdy one (Phoenix), Darren is the tough one (played by Jason Presson) and Ben is the imaginative one (Hawke). They are bullied at school, of course, and their home lives aren't exactly a joy so when they find this mysterious bubble, they soon decide to build