Explorers (1985) review

Junior high misfits Ben (Ethan Hawke) and Darren (Jason Presson) meet in the basement of classmate Wolfgang (River Phoenix), who's been working on a new computer program that can generate an orb that not only floats but can plow through the earth, so they gather scrap metal, assemble a spaceship (which they nickname "Thunder Road" after the Bruce Springsteen song) and soar into outer space where they're "picked up" by green aliens Wak (Robert Picardo) and Neek (Leslie Rickert).  This is little more than a Spielberg "knock-off" that could be fine for viewers ten and under (there are plenty of explosions and crashes), but anyone older might not be so amazed by the (now-dated) effects and inconsequential third act, in which the slug-like creatures "speak" in classic movie and TV sound clips, their significantly larger father gets mad at them and the kids are dismissed and return to their home planet.  It feels rather frivolous, like a Saturday morning cartoon unwisely puffed up to feature film length - it never quite captures that sense of true "wonder" - but is historically noteworthy as Hawke and Phoenix's big screen debuts: one passed entirely too soon, but they both managed to star in better movies than this later on.