RIM OF THE WORLD REVIEW: A homage to anything nostalgia-related from our 80s childhoods…

Netflix’s “Rim of the World,” is a homage to anything Spielberg-related but for the 21st century, and it’s greatest value is probably in how it could educate budding movie-lovers on cheesy and predictable storytelling, (which Culturedemandsgeeks adore!)

It takes place in that most American of places, the summer camp where the major events of director McG’s movie kick off.

Attendees include the fear-addled Alex (Jack Gore), who arrives in a tweed suit (think Pee-Wee) and tie and has been left there by his mum, who hopes he might make some friends and stop spending so much time with his computers, and then chickens out from taking the zip-line on the opening day of camp.

Then there’s Dariush (Benjamin Flores Jr.), a hotshot “future Mercedes dealership heir,” who provides most of the film’s jokes from his motormouth ways and the subsequent slapstick he’s subject to.

While standing over a cliffside away from the other campers, the two are joined by ZhenZhen (Miya Cech), who does not initially speak English, and arrives at an airport as an illegal alien (we initially assume) is amusing, but clings to a brochure of the camp.

Before the plot takes off, a fourth kid appears—Alessio Scalzotto’s Gabriel, whose background is not revealed until later.

All of these characters are later shown to be more than their appearances, as this script touts like seemingly any other screenplay with similar-aged characters, but it’s just the matter of a heart-to-heart before the story moves on.

Shortly into their stay, the canoeing and kumbaya-ing are loudly interrupted by a spacecraft crashing to Earth. An astronaut crawls out, gives Alex a key (to get to Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and is then viciously killed by an alien.

It’s up to Alex and the other mismatched youths to get the key to a secret facility and save the world before the aliens destroy it.

THE REVIVAL OF THE 80S:

There are two different types of 80s nostalgia.

There are the movies and TV shows that try to recapture the tone and escapism of the big adventure movies of that era, (King film would be the wonderful E.T) which knitted together family drama (usually involving the absence of at least one parent) with fantasy action.

Fats forward till the present time, and we have had a number of classic films representing the 80s in films like Bumblebee, Shazam! or, going back a bit, Super 8, (absolutely nailed the tone of that era).

Then there are those that try to evoke nostalgia by reminding you of specific moments or characters from older movies, whacking in cameos and easter eggs or recreating scenes so that ‘Culturedemandsgeeks’ can spot them and enjoy the recognition of when times were simpler.

Stranger Things does this a lot, visually referencing 80s movies and TV shows apparently at random. Ready Player One was built on nostalgia (but at the same time spectacular, the Spielberg attempted film failed from print to film).

‘Rim of the World’ sits somewhere in between the two. A Netflix movie in the same kid adventures vein as Monster Squad and The Goonies with Easter Eggs galore thrown in for the keenest of eyes.

Culturedemandsgeeks thought it was a great fun movie filled with an abundance of cheesy 80s classic adventure.

As an adult, sure there were plot holes and goofs, but at the end of the day, the film shines through with an abundance of charm.

NEGATIVE POINTS:

Their odyssey takes them from the mountains to Pasadena (in quite a fast-tracked time), past over-matched soldiers and opportunistic ex-cons, (by bike) and any handy car that has the keys left in it, which has to be a vintage ride because no car with computers in its electronics (save for the Humvees, yeah, technically, the humvees would be out of action too?) will work after the EMP blasts that crippled Earth.

POSITIVE POINTS:

However the monster was pretty good, there were scenes of death and destruction which the directors didn’t shy away from and it actually made us laugh out loud several times.

The child actors are good, especially stand out performances from  ZhenZhen (Miya Cech), and the hilarious, Dariush (Benjamin Flores Jr.).

FINAL THOUGHTS:

The film could just be the stop-gap that you’ll be craving for before the inevitable arrival of Stranger Things to come clawing back onto our TV screens. But this little caper is a family gem, that has abundances of heart and humor, and some scary moments too.

A decent attempt for a family film, that hits its target audience.

The script is written by Zack Stentz, he is currently writing ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ script (one of Culturedemandsgeeks greatest loved films and a cult classic), starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

4/5 STARS