Radio Flyer (1992)

Pretty Good

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This movie is absolutely amazing. I first saw it when I was in Junior High and still love it to this day. There are so many wonderful elements about this film, that its impossible to pick just one. While there are a few "Yeah,..right" kind of scenes, if you really watch this film. I mean REALLY watch it and look at the point of the film, you'll understand. Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello really show their talent as young actors, and have amazing chemistry as brothers, even if they look nothing alike, lol. While I don't want to spoil anything, there are scenes that are difficult to watch. What I love is how unapologetic and real Donner was with this film in how he held nothing back. He wanted to shock the audience and be in their face real with certain elements of this film and for that I applaud him. He didn't sugarcoat it, that's for sure. Once you watch this film you'll know what I'm referring to. This is what you'd call a hidden gem of top grade cinema. Oh, and for those of you thinking of seeing this strictly because you saw Tom Hanks is in it, I think it's only fair to tell you that he is only a narrator for about 95% of the film and has only brief screen time.

Even people who dislike the film, usually because they find the ending confused, should appreciate the strong acting of Elijah Wood & Joseph Mazello who played the two young leads in this movie.Spoiler WARNING: At a literal level, the ending makes no sense. People who think the ending makes some sense at other levels are divided between those who 1) think the younger brother was killed by the step-father either the one time Mike (the older boy) was away dealing with the neighborhood gang, or flew off the wishing spot in his wagon to escape the situation through death & those 2) who think the younger brother is imaginary & his flying off in the wagon transformed into a flying machine signals his overcoming the abusive situation.I favor 2). It makes a lot of sense in terms of the way many children deal with abusive situations. It is not uncommon for an abused child to split his or her psyche & project the abused self into something else; a stuffed animal, even an imaginary friend. This way, it makes a lot more sense that it is always the younger boy who is abused & never Mike. In reality, it is unlikely for one of two brothers to get all the abuse, although that does happen. Also, it is Bobby, the younger brother who is also the encouraging one, the one who insists that they can overcome the situation. Also, the death of a real-life sibling through abuse would have been too shattering for an adult with this in his history to transform into as upbeat a fantasy ending as this.

This has to be the best movie of all time (in my opinion). It really taught me when i watched when i was 10 (in 2000) that the freedom of a being a child slips away sooner then we expect it to. Also Joseph Mazzello has to be my favorite actor ever, and i think that him and elijah wood did a Great job in the roles of brothers. This movie is quite sad, and some people don't understand the ending. But the story itself is quite incredible, the thought of a poor 7 year boy (bobby)getting abused by drunken step father is horrible, and what the two boys do about this is sad, and important. My favorite part of the movie is when Tom Hanks (older Mike) lists the 7 things of being a kid that are lost to the grownup world. However there are some parts that could have been done better in this movie, such as the casting of the mother (lorraine braco), who i think is a horrible actor. "the king" played his role well, since it is a hard role to play. Joseph and Elijah definitely were the stars of the movie. i couldn't believe how well they played victims of a abusing stepfather, being the age that they were (7 and 9). But overall, i recommend this movie to anyone, who loves great child actors, and a great movie. :)

I hated this movie it was sooo unrealistic and just the thought of a kid "flying" away from his problems instead of letting his Mom take care of things is horrific.... as if a Mom would be OK with her youngest son disappearing... Yea RIGHT!! no way Anyone who says this is a great movie must not have kidsI was a recently separated Mom in a custody battle when I saw this movie and I was really unnerved by this nightmarish movie scared the H*ll out of me... I can't imagine what the producers of this movie was thinking but it should never been advertised as a Family movie is should have been in the Horror section.