Writer: Tom Benedek (Screenplay) David Saperstein (Story)
Starring: Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Jack Gilford, Steve Guttenberg, Maureen Stapleton
Plot: When a group of trespassing seniors swim in a pool containing alien cocoons, they find themselves energized with youthful vigour.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Enjoyable Sci-Fi Film
Story: Cocoon starts as we enter the retirement home where Art (Ameche), Ben (Brimley), Joe (Cronyn) and Bernie (Gilford) like to sneak off to the neighbouring abandoned property for swimming, but when Walter (Dennehy) and his cousins rent the property they lose their hide away.
When it turns out Walter and his family are aliens, the guys from the retirement home get to continue using the swimming pool which seems to cure their illness and making them young once again giving them a new lease for life but how long can this last.
Thoughts on Cocoon
Characters – Art, Ben and Joe are the three retirement home guests that enjoy breaking the rules swimming in the neighbour’s pool but when new neighbours rent the place they start to become younger again leading to their friendship being tested as they need to learn to keep the secret. Walter is the leader of the aliens that is trying to save the few that we left behind all those years ago, he wants peace and quiet but is willing to let the guys use the pool.
Performance – The performances from the whole cast are great, be it the retirement home guys, the aliens or younger folk. The whole cast comes together to make this a film about uniting as one.
Story – The story here shows us how elderly people in retirement homes do want to continue their lives like how they used too, we also see how not all aliens are bad they just come in peace. We do get to see how people can get affected by being given a chance at the fountain of youth and how this gives people the wrong idea of how to act if they were given this chance. overall the story shows us that people are going to take advantage of a chance to youth or death they will get carried away.
Sci-Fi – The sci-fi side of this film brings us the into the world where aliens do exist but in peace which is a nice swap for what we are used too.
Settings – The retirement home setting takes us to a location we don’t see often in this genre, it shows us the unity between the residents as they take their risks to remain young.
Special Effects – The effects for the time were fantastic and to be honest they have barely aged a day while watching for the first time in 2017.
Scene of the Movie – The full breakout.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The carers are a bit shit.
Final Thoughts – This is one of the all time classic sci-fi films, it has heart, aliens and a story that shows how people should be treating each other.
Overall: Wonderful sci-fi experience.
Rating