Four teenagers consisting of Kathryn(Lea Thompson), Kevin(Tate Donovan), Rudy (Larry B. Scott), and Tish (Kelly Preston) - and 12-year-old Max (Joaquin Phoenix) go to Space Camp for the summer to learn about the NASA space program and go through Astronaut Training They meet their instructor Andie Bergstrom (Kate Capshaw), a fully trained shuttle pilot who is reluctantly at space camp after being passed over for the space shuttle and only comes at the request of her husband, camp director Zach Bergstrom (Tom Skerritt). When Max wishes he were in space following building tensions in the group, a well intentioned robot JINX (Frank Welker) arranges for Max to get his wish when the group is selected to sit in the shuttle during the engine firing test. A thermal curtain failure results in NASA having no choice but to launch the shuttle into space to avoid a crash and with the shuttle ill equipped for prolonged flight or communication with mission control the disorganized and contentious campers must overcome their issues and work together to get back to Earth.
Released in 1986, SpaceCamp is inspired by the actual U. S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Intended to be a big summer blockbuster, the movie was met with dismal box office and negative critical reception thanks in no small part to the Challenger incident 5 months prior that had created a marketing nightmare for the film. Contemporary critics at the time often prefaced or incorporated the Challenger disaster in their reviews and to a degree I understand, but the movie was planned and made long before the Challenger incident, and it's clear to anyone who's seen the movie that it's just a basic family adventure that happens to revolve around the space shuttle. With that said, regardless of your thoughts on whether or not the movie's release should have been altered or delayed in the interest of good taste, SpaceCamp is a mostly forgettable affair that just happens to cost a lot.
The movie as it opens with the majesty of space over the credits before transitioning to a young Andie looking up at the sky during John Glenn's famous first orbit around the Earth, there's a clear love of the space program on display and you feel Andie's frustration when we see her years later having been passed over for the Space Shuttle numerous times. Kate Capshaw got a bum rap as an actress thanks in no small part to her role as Willie in Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom and it's always unfairly colored her career despite her showing herself to be more than capable in other films. Capshaw is actually quite good as Andie and it made me wish this were more of a Right Stuff type story focusing on her character and her frustrations. This brings us to the weakest point of the film, which is unfortunately it's plot and characters in service of the family adventure aspect.
If you were to take Short Circuit, The Breakfast Club, and Airport 1975 (with increased altitude) you'd get SpaceCamp which doesn't have the charms of the first two or the campy charms of the third. There's some hints at mildly interesting character depth in the introductions of our main character as they arrive at Space Camp, but there's not much to them besides playing preset types. As far as types go, they're all fine, but unfortunately Joaquin Phoenix's Max not only plays a precocious wunderkind but 70% of his dialogue is hamfisted Star Wars references that were more irritating than cute. The previous year, Joaquin's brother River made another movie about kids going into space, Joe Dante's underrated Explorers, and even though that film was objectively sillier it had more defined characters, a sense of adventure, and imaginative elements. But aside from Max, the movie also features an aggravating robot character named JINX who's completely out of place and the usually reliable voice actor Frank Welker gives JINX a "nails on a blackboard" voice that made me wish for the "beating" scene of Short Circuit 2 (and that's not a statement I make lightly). It takes a LOT of effort to remove the likability from a robot but someway somehow, SpaceCamp does it!
The special effects are at least decent with the zero g sequences in the latter half being reasonably convincing and some nice set/model work portraying the Shuttle, space, and a space station, and John Williams as usual delivers a rousing score with majesty and power that's as reliable as his work in better films.
SpaceCamp is a mediocre film that just happened to be subject to poor timing. While Kate Caphsaw is good in a supporting role and there's a clear love for space exploration in the film, the movie's bland characters, unengaging story, and painful comic relief with Max and JINX make it difficult to recommend beyond a curiosity. While I know the movie does hold a place in the hearts of those who saw it upon release or on cable in subsequent years, the movie's not all that good and there's better alternatives available.
