The Goonies (1985)

Set in the neighbourhood of Astoria, Oregon, The Goonies is the story of a group of friends hunting for the lost fortune of One- Eyed Willie after one of the Goonies, Mikey, unearths a Spanish treasure map. Before watching this film, if I had to choose what I was going to watch at Filmclub and my choice was between an action packed thriller such as James Bond and a children’s adventure film such as the Goonies then I would have definitely gone for 007. But having seen the Goonies, I honestly think that the Goony children would give Mr Bond a run for his money! Having seen several posters and DVD covers for the Goonies, I thought it was going to be one of those cheaply made films you see on Disney Channel on a Friday Night that people just watch for the sake of it. But having heard that it was quite a popular film and that we were going to watch it at Filmclub then I thought I should give it a try. I thought I would never say this but, this is one of the best films I have ever seen. The Goonies was directed by American director, film producer and comic book writer Richard Donner who is famous for creating the first modern superhero film, Superman. The Goonies fits well into Donner’s adventure film portfolio and I think this is a fine example of his mastery at directing. I thought that the Director also had done a great job bringing this film to life, even from the genius film creator Steven Spielberg’s story. There were many memorable moments in this film but the most memorable of them all was seeing the clumsy Goony, Chuck, meeting the ghastly deformed Fratelli brother, Sloth. This is very memorable as I remember thinking that Chuck was about to meet an unfortunate end at the hands of Sloth but found out that he was only as dopy and clumsy as Chuck and the pair formed a strong bond together. I did have a slight suspicion on what was going to happen in the end but there were many surprises along the way. On the whole, this is a fantastic film and I wouldn’t suggest people being put off watching this film because of the posters or the Fratelli brother Sloth. This film is not just for kids and I would strongly suggest that parents also would enjoy watching it. I wish there really was a lost fortune of One- Eyed Willie as I’d go to Astoria and start digging for treasure!