The Goonies: Review By Daveactor7

Definitely a film to remember as one that teaches about the strong bonds of friendship and the golden days of childhood.

The story-a group of boys come across a treasure map while exploring their attic. The entire family is going through difficult times because of a golf course set to be constructed in their neighborhood so they have to move. The boys set out on the quest to find this treasure along with a few of their pals. They stumble upon a family of criminals and with them on their trail, it is a race to find the treasure and it will be quite an adventure. A fascinating story that gives a little twist to films about seeking treasure. The story conceived by Steven Spielberg, who loves to tell such stories, and having the screenplay written by Chris Columbus, this film goes certainly in the right direction. Both Spielberg and Columbus are enveloped with childhood imagination and they know how to handle this since they create films that show this. (E.T, Hook, Home Alone, Harry Potter 1 and 2). The young cast have a fascinating approach, but the actors who portray the crime family is very decent. There is not much background to each of them and they are more comical then acting as how another criminal in a film would be. Yet, it is a family film and it does excellent in that aspect.

The acting-Sean Astin plays the adventureous Mikey and he does great as a child actor during the time this film was made. He gives the audience a portrayal which shows how childhood can be made fun and how friendships make a great impact on ones life. Josh Brolin-yes, that Josh Brolin in his first big screen debut-plays his brother Brandon and he does well becoming a sort of brotherly figure to the characters with whom his character associates with in the film. He also develops a strong bond with Andy who is played by Kerri Green. Green does well in conveying emotion and she evolves her character well, bonding with Brandon throughout the film. She starts off as being doubtful of this journey, but she joins in and she forms a strong bond with the others as well. Jonathan Ke Quan gives a hilarious performance as Data and he is a strong reminiscence of the character he portrayed in the second installment of Indiana Jones, but with more brains. Jeff Cohen gives a hilarious performance as Chunk and he does well in portraying his character. He also does well in forming a stronger bond with the group as well. The main problem here were the Fratelli crime family. Although they were hilarious and somewhat sinister, they could not really portray villains.The overall cast do however good and surprisingly, they are the ones to pay attention to in the entirety of the film.

The directing Richard Donner (Lethal weapon 1-4, Superman) does a good job here in keeping the film focused on the storyline and never losing its touch. With the help of his fellow collaborators Spielberg and Columbus, he managed to accept the cast and bring out much from each one of them.

The visuals-well, I would have to say that this is the weakest point in the film. The FX is good during the time the film was made and it certainly does well in trying its best to keep everything realistic. The cinematography, it doesn't really show much. Cinematographer Nick McLean does a decent job here, though he does capture the big sequences well, his shots do not do so well in bringing out much from the cast. One shot I loved however from the film was when Andy stood atop a rock and mounds of coins as she held a rope tied to a bucket in her hand. Their chance to leave the quest. Around her are the other characters and this symbolizes that they are all for leaving this dangerous quest. The coins represent what they are looking for. The strangely shaped rocks giving off the look of danger.

The score-is composed by oscar winner Dave Grusin who does well in creating multiple pieces that capture childhood throughout the film. He helps to broaden the glow on each character and he also helps to show their backgrounds.

Film editing-Michael Kahn (who would later receive an oscar a decade late for "saving private ryan") does a good job here along with the help of Spielberg, who was uncredited for his work on the editing. The editing task here is tricky because of the setting the actors are in. He however manages to pull this off well. However I disliked when he would cut back and forth between the Fratelli family and the younger cast. He could have done much more to solidify that transition and making it more smooth then rough.

Overall, this is a great film and a classic. It helps you not only learn about importance of childhood, but it also brings back the longing of childhood and that helps to give you an emotional bridge connecting with the story. A film that touched millions of hearts and remains a cult classic to this day.

This has been another review by daveactor7 :)