And it lives up to its famous predecessor mainly because you really care about the characters and what happens to them.
shareI agree. I was especially touched by Joe Finley's actions of giving his life to save his wife from dying in the hospital. I also enjoyed seeing Jack Bonner meet his future wife at the end of the movie
shareThis sequel is brilliant for a number of reasons:
1) all the main characters from the original are back and the actors give a top-notch performance;
2) it ends with the bits taken from both movies running behind the rolling credits, so you have a very solid impression that the whole fantastic story finishes right here;
3) the dialogues are to the point and there are even more funny one-liners than in the original (though I don't like Guttenberg's exclamation "May the force be with you" - it was too cheap);
4) the dramatic elements get really tough and there are deaths here and there - it's great, while both films feel very adult and humane (it's no "Harry Potter" travesty).
Well, it can be continued. Glad to know that somebody likes it too.
Regards
'Nu chto gliadite? Ne poluchali davno?'
That is true. I care about them all indeed. All of the actors did a great job in getting us to care about the characters. I forgot how great the soundtrack is until I just watched it again tonight. It's ethereal.
shareIt's not a bad sequel, but far from living up to the original. There were a lot of moments there were, um, kind of stupid. And obviously the surprise factor is gone, too. Still enjoyable, but mostly because it's about the characters and a feeling we loved in the original.
shareMy one and only issue with this movie - and I love many elements of this film, especially Hume and Jessica's performances - is that it ruins one of the most poignant scenes in the first movie. Where Ben tells his grandson that where he's going, he'll never be back.
'Will I ever see you again'
...pause...
'No'
That scene is perfect! And it's spoiled by the second movie when just a few short years later, David does get to see them again.
But that's my only real issue, aside from Bess's ludicrous pregnancy. It's a fine ensemble piece, you can't really go wrong with a cast of classic actors. And Steve Guttenberg.
'Ziggy Piggy'
I adore "Cocoon" - my favourite movie - and was delighted to hear it was to get a sequel, but recall being so heartbroken on first viewing of the result "The Return" back in the late 80s. On original release, the film was a big box-office flop, very poorly recieved by both critics and audience feedback alike and I myself felt it way too average, "safe", a sequel-by-the-books and a major disappointment.
However, something seems to have happened with "Cocoon: The Return" over time: thanks to successful video and dvd releases plus multiple TV screenings... people reappraised it, "found" it, discovered the good in it, and - as its IMDB rating slowly crept up - I think most of all people compared it with other (largely atrocious) sequels to films of its era and said to themselves that well it wasn't quite as bad as it first seemed and actually had its merits. The massive merit of course being the return of the entire (and so very fine) cast and what they bring to proceedings... which is A LOT!
I too went through this process and now find a love for the film for what it is and for its strengths i.e. the endearing continuation of the "humans" stories and lives. However, I still find where it went wrong and what it totally lacks is an advancement of its "aliens" side - that is the story of the Antareans. A huge element of the joy and success of the original was the mystery, discovery and indeed WONDER of who the Antareans were, where they were coming from and what they are all about. There is nothing new or wondrous about the aliens in the sequel and I think that is what it sorely misses and will forever be lacking.
For the above reason, this is why I love that there is an alternate take to things after the original "Cocoon" story...
"Cocoon" novelist David Saperstein's sequel-books take things off into amazingly imaginative realms. His first follow-up book "Metamorphosis" is basically quite similar to the "The Return" film in that the elders come back to Earth and team up with Jack, the Antareans and others to retrieve the remaining cocoons (albeit on a much larger scale as unlike the films there are hundreds of cocoons to be saved in the novels). However, the elder-pregnancy touched on in "The Return" is this time taken to a far grander scale which leads on to much bigger things storywise. This is taken up in Saperstein's completion of his "Cocoon" trilogy titled "Butterfly" which is a marvellously sci-fi epic tale - though one which is still inclusive and respectful of the older human characters, their humanity and journey, and new-found place in the universe.
Its a great sequel as it does not play safe at all & kills several key characters off. Actors were all great its a bittersweet movie about aging & even if you can live forever why would you want to if your family & friends are not there to share it with you.
ILM did some terrific work here & James Horner (RIP) created a moving score but the actors, direction, editing, humour, drama, skywalker sound FX all combined to make a very solid & underrated sequel which was released at the wrong time.
It could not find its audience & cost a lot of money to make back in 1988 so is considered a big loss maker to Fox which is probably why no Bluray yet.
I certainly agree that this film was released at the wrong time...
The original "Cocoon" was produced on a 17.5 million dollar budget (quite large for its time) and released in the Summer of 1985 by 20th Century Fox who were massively nervous about the film as - although it was a major sci-fi pic - it came with a largely veteran (i.e. unproved) cast. Their doubts proved unfounded however when it grossed almost 80 million at the U.S. box-office (becoming Fox's biggest hit of that year - and hence their demand for a sequel over the producers' original wishes/intentions) and since went on to earning TONS more abroad theatrically and through subsequent video/dvd/blu-ray sales and of course in becoming a big TV-screening favourite worldwide.
The sequel "Cocoon: The Return" was also produced on a 17.5 million budget (BIG for a sequel back then), but this time was released by the studio Stateside at Christmas-time in 1988. Up against other family fare ("Scrooged" etc.) and meeting with very poor reviews and feedback (it being obviously not near on the level of the original) - it barely made 19 million dollars at the U.S. box-office. Had it been released in the Summer I dare say it would have possibly raked twice that. Still, on the back of the original's success it went on to be a BIG video/dvd hit for Fox (it was the first number one video rental of the 90s in the U.K. & Ireland chart) and has also since gone on to be a big TV-screening favourite.
Interesting thoughts.
shareThis goes to show you that Rotten Tomato ratings (and IMDb ratings for that matter) mean diddly squat. Although not as solid as the original classic, Cocoon: The Return is a treasure.
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