Flight of the Navigator (1986)

What a beautiful movie!

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

good back-story, and good acting

Expected more

I saw this film in the cinema theater in my country in 1990 and was so amazed by this science fiction movie so I came to watch it again and again. Flight of the Navigator was not the first movie about traveling in time but arguably was the first to visualize UFO spaceship and hyperspace in a high-quality image. Also the idea that UFO can travel not only in space but in time looked pretty fresh. If you were a part of late 1980-s / early 1990-s you probably remember the interest to all this UFO and paranormal stuff and Flight of the Navigator hit those targets. The film is a family oriented movie made by Disney so anyone can watch it with a big pleasure

It's 1978 Florida. 12 year old David Freeman (Joey Cramer)'s parents are Helen (Veronica Cartwright) and Bill (Cliff De Young). He falls down a ravine in the woods behind his house and hits his head. He wakes up to find 8 years have passed but he hasn't aged a single day. His little brother Jeff (Matt Adler) is now 16. Meanwhile Dr. Louis Faraday (Howard Hesseman) is investigating a crashed UFO. David seems to have a connection to the ship. Faraday convinces the family to allow David to go with him by his lonesome. Carolyn McAdams (Sarah Jessica Parker) is a low level worker at the secret facility who befriends David.There is a moment where this movie goes off the tracks a little. Faraday is able to convince David and his family to allow him to go off to a secret base with strangers all by himself. It's crazy unbelievable. No parents would ever do that without guns pointed at their heads especially for a 12 year old who's been missing for 8 years and presumed dead. I get the appeal of having the kid by himself in a strange environment. It raises the tension but does it in an unreasonable way. The core of the movie is a fascinating children's sci-fi fantasy. Joey Cramer is an endearing child actor. There are a lot to like in this movie but that turn keeps bugging me.

This movie is crazy, weird and completely original. It was a brilliant idea that was executed in true 80's style. The special effects are terrible yet fantastic. Bright technicolor, dorky clothing and hairstyles. The 80's was one of the worst and the best decades. As a bonus it's also got adorable strange alien creatures.I have never seen anything quite like this before and it had a surprising amount of substance. I even teared up at one point. Don't underestimate how interesting this movie really is. The story is very strong and has a slight comical edge.Recommended if you enjoy movies like Weird Science, Back to the Future and Gremlins.

I remember that i had watched this movie on television when i was about ten years old.It reminds me good stories like goonies,et the extra terrestial,close encounters of the third kind and basically the good movies from the 80s when they knew how to make an excellent movie without special effects.We see the story of a young boy in 1978 named David who apparently had been disappeared for 8 years without anyone know where he had been.He returns mysteriously in the year 1986 to find out that he was a missing person.This of course occurs the weirdness of Scientists who believe that David has a connection with a spaceship they found and which they cannot open.The most interesting part is that David has a high intelligence and that is the thing that they want to take advantage.David no longer can stand this situation he tries to escape from the Nasa facilities where he was captured and by luck he finds the spaceship to realize that he is the navigator and he can control it.And then there is a chasing for about 20 minutes and at the end David decides to travel back in time in 1978 again because he knows that if he stays he will an experiment for the scientists.Very good acting,an amazing music by Alan Silvestri.I think its a movie for all ages.