Solarbabies
Encyclopedia
Solarbabies is a 1986 science fiction
film, made by Brooksfilms and directed by Alan Johnson
. It was released on DVD
on March 6, 2007.
The movie was the second and final film directed by Alan Johnson, who is better known for his work as a choreographer.
future in which most of Earth's water has disappeared. The future is bleak and what is left of the water supply is controlled by the Eco Protectorate (a para-military organization that governs the planet's new order). There are also children, mostly teenagers, living in orphanages created by the Protectorate, designed to indoctrinate new recruits into their service. The protagonists consist of Jason, the group's leader played by Jason Patric
; Terra, played by Jami Gertz
; Tug, played by Peter DeLuise
; Rabbit, played by Claude Brooks; Metron, played by James Le Gros; and a young deaf boy named Daniel, played by Lukas Haas
. The orphans play a rough sport which is a hybrid of lacrosse and roller-hockey. Playing is the only thing that unites them other than the futile attempts of the Protectorate to control them.
While hiding in a cave, Daniel finds a mysterious orb with special powers. The orb is an alien intelligence called Bohdai, who miraculously restores Daniel's hearing and has other powers, such as creating rain indoors. Another orphan, Darstar, played by Adrian Pasdar
, takes the orb, hoping that he will be able to use it. He leaves the orphanage on rollerskates and Daniel soon follows. The rest of the group chase after Daniel. The E-police learn of Bohdai while chasing the teens and catch Darstar with the sphere. The teens are eventually rescued by a band of older outlaws called the Eco Warriors. They have retired from fighting and are led by Terra's long lost father. The teens leave the Eco Warriors and using their rollerskating skills, break into the Protectorate's high security Water Storage Building. The teens discover the E-Police are trying to destroy Bohdai and they manage to recover the alien, but as soon as they do the sphere dematerializes and destroys the facility as they rush out. As they all gather on a nearby hillside, Bohdai sparks the first thunderstorm the teens have ever seen and returns to space, but not without leaving a bit of himself behind in each of them.
describing it thus: "An appalling stinker; the 1980's teen jargon doesn't exactly capture the futuristic mood of this junk."
Joe Kane
, the "Phantom of the Movies", was even less kind: "A pathetic Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
rip-off, working from a script which must have been scrawled in Crayola
, with every futuristic cliche you could possibly imagine. Lacking in originality, but rich in brain-dead dialogue; when Jami Gertz snarls, 'Get out, you creature of filth!', consider that a subliminal message."
The film presently holds a rating of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes
and a score of 4.4 on Internet Movie Database
.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film, made by Brooksfilms and directed by Alan Johnson
Alan Johnson (choreographer)
Alan Johnson is an award winning choreographer, best known for his work on Mel Brooks films and for restaging Jerome Robbins original choreography in live productions of West Side Story in the United States and internationally. Johnson has been linked to West Side Story since making his Broadway...
. It was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on March 6, 2007.
The movie was the second and final film directed by Alan Johnson, who is better known for his work as a choreographer.
Synopsis
The story is set in a post-apocalypticApocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
future in which most of Earth's water has disappeared. The future is bleak and what is left of the water supply is controlled by the Eco Protectorate (a para-military organization that governs the planet's new order). There are also children, mostly teenagers, living in orphanages created by the Protectorate, designed to indoctrinate new recruits into their service. The protagonists consist of Jason, the group's leader played by Jason Patric
Jason Patric
Jason Patric is an American film, television and stage actor. He may be best-known for his roles in the films The Lost Boys, Sleepers, Your Friends & Neighbors, Narc, The Losers and Speed 2: Cruise Control. His father was actor/playwright Jason Miller...
; Terra, played by Jami Gertz
Jami Gertz
Jami Beth Gertz is an American actress. Gertz is known for her early roles in the films Sixteen Candles, Crossroads, The Lost Boys, Less Than Zero, the 1980s TV series Square Pegs with Sarah Jessica Parker, and 1996's Twister, as well as for her role as Judy Miller in the CBS sitcom Still Standing...
; Tug, played by Peter DeLuise
Peter DeLuise
Peter John DeLuise is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, perhaps best known for directing episodes of science fiction television shows, particularly in the Stargate franchise.-Career:...
; Rabbit, played by Claude Brooks; Metron, played by James Le Gros; and a young deaf boy named Daniel, played by Lukas Haas
Lukas Haas
Lukas Daniel Haas is an American actor, known for roles both as a child and as an adult. His career has spanned more than 25 years during which time he has appeared in more than 36 feature films, as well as a number of television shows and theater productions.-Early life and career:Haas was born...
. The orphans play a rough sport which is a hybrid of lacrosse and roller-hockey. Playing is the only thing that unites them other than the futile attempts of the Protectorate to control them.
While hiding in a cave, Daniel finds a mysterious orb with special powers. The orb is an alien intelligence called Bohdai, who miraculously restores Daniel's hearing and has other powers, such as creating rain indoors. Another orphan, Darstar, played by Adrian Pasdar
Adrian Pasdar
Adrian Kayvan Pasdar is an American actor, voice artist, and film director. He is known for playing Jim Profit on the TV series Profit, for his roles in Near Dark, Carlito's Way, Mysterious Ways and as Nathan Petrelli on Heroes. Additionally, he directed the feature film Cement...
, takes the orb, hoping that he will be able to use it. He leaves the orphanage on rollerskates and Daniel soon follows. The rest of the group chase after Daniel. The E-police learn of Bohdai while chasing the teens and catch Darstar with the sphere. The teens are eventually rescued by a band of older outlaws called the Eco Warriors. They have retired from fighting and are led by Terra's long lost father. The teens leave the Eco Warriors and using their rollerskating skills, break into the Protectorate's high security Water Storage Building. The teens discover the E-Police are trying to destroy Bohdai and they manage to recover the alien, but as soon as they do the sphere dematerializes and destroys the facility as they rush out. As they all gather on a nearby hillside, Bohdai sparks the first thunderstorm the teens have ever seen and returns to space, but not without leaving a bit of himself behind in each of them.
Cast
- Richard JordanRichard JordanRichard Jordan was an American stage, screen and film actor. A long-time member of the New York Shakespeare Festival, he performed in many Off Broadway and Broadway plays...
as Grock - Jami GertzJami GertzJami Beth Gertz is an American actress. Gertz is known for her early roles in the films Sixteen Candles, Crossroads, The Lost Boys, Less Than Zero, the 1980s TV series Square Pegs with Sarah Jessica Parker, and 1996's Twister, as well as for her role as Judy Miller in the CBS sitcom Still Standing...
as Terra - Jason PatricJason PatricJason Patric is an American film, television and stage actor. He may be best-known for his roles in the films The Lost Boys, Sleepers, Your Friends & Neighbors, Narc, The Losers and Speed 2: Cruise Control. His father was actor/playwright Jason Miller...
as Jason - Lukas HaasLukas HaasLukas Daniel Haas is an American actor, known for roles both as a child and as an adult. His career has spanned more than 25 years during which time he has appeared in more than 36 feature films, as well as a number of television shows and theater productions.-Early life and career:Haas was born...
as Daniel - James LeGrosJames LeGrosJames LeGros is an American film and television actor. He is known as a star of independent films with a diversified body of work in the early to mid 1990s.-Personal life:...
as Metron - Claude Brooks as Rabbit
- Peter DeLuisePeter DeLuisePeter John DeLuise is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, perhaps best known for directing episodes of science fiction television shows, particularly in the Stargate franchise.-Career:...
as Tug - Peter Kowanko as Gavial
- Adrian PasdarAdrian PasdarAdrian Kayvan Pasdar is an American actor, voice artist, and film director. He is known for playing Jim Profit on the TV series Profit, for his roles in Near Dark, Carlito's Way, Mysterious Ways and as Nathan Petrelli on Heroes. Additionally, he directed the feature film Cement...
as Darstar - Sarah DouglasSarah DouglasSarah Douglas is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the Kryptonian supervillain Ursa in the first two Superman movies , and for her role as Pamela Lynch in the 1980s primetime drama series Falcon Crest .-Early life:Douglas was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, the...
as Shandray - Charles DurningCharles DurningCharles Durning is an American actor. With appearances in over 100 films, Durning's memorable roles include police officers in the Oscar-winning The Sting and crime drama Dog Day Afternoon , along with the comedies Tootsie, To Be Or Not To Be and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the last two...
as The Warden - Frank ConverseFrank ConverseFrank Converse is an American actor. In 1962, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
as Greentree - Terrence MannTerrence MannTerrence Vaughan Mann is an American actor, director, singer, songwriter and dancer who has been prominent on the Broadway stage for the past three decades...
as Ivor - Alexei SayleAlexei SayleAlexei David Sayle is a British stand-up comedian, actor and author. He was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007...
as Malice - Bruce PayneBruce PayneBruce Martyn Payne is an award winning English character actor and producer and was a member of the 1980's Brit Pack. Although he is best known for his villainous roles, Bruce Payne has played characters across the spectrum...
as Dogger
Critical response
Reviews for Solarbabies were very poor, with film historian Leonard MaltinLeonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
describing it thus: "An appalling stinker; the 1980's teen jargon doesn't exactly capture the futuristic mood of this junk."
Joe Kane
Joe Kane
Joe Kane is an American author of two books and is also a journalist who writes for numerous publications such as The New Yorker, National Geographic, and Esquire...
, the "Phantom of the Movies", was even less kind: "A pathetic Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic film directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie, written by Miller, Doug Mitchell and Terry Hayes, and starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. It is the third installment in the action movie Mad Max franchise...
rip-off, working from a script which must have been scrawled in Crayola
Crayola
Crayola is a brand of artists' supplies manufactured by Crayola LLC, which was founded in 1885 as Binney & Smith. It is best known for its crayons...
, with every futuristic cliche you could possibly imagine. Lacking in originality, but rich in brain-dead dialogue; when Jami Gertz snarls, 'Get out, you creature of filth!', consider that a subliminal message."
The film presently holds a rating of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and a score of 4.4 on Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
.