Cocoon: The Return (1988)

Okay, I didn't listen to my better judgment and returned to this COCOON sequel. Ouch! To give you an idea of how wrongheaded this follow-up is, the opening ten minutes features a scene where an old man tries to commit suicide and it is played for laughs. So the old folks and the Anterians are back on earth. While the aliens try to save the cocoons with returning Steve Guttenberg, the old folks run around for a few days and find out they are old again on earth (but not before schooling some young punks on the basketball court). Everyone one from the original is back (lead alien Brian Dennehy only for a cameo though) with Courtney Cox the only major new addition as a young scientist who is studying one of the captured cocoons. The biggest problem with the film is it really has no reason to exist. Well, outside of making money of course. It is shot so blandly that it looks almost like a TV movie and the human drama, a major strength of the first film, is so un-subtle this time around. The film even ends with highlights from the first film over the end credits as if to say, "Hey, you remember the good time you had back then. Let's try and transfer some of that feeling over to this one." Yuck. Stick with the original film.

Fmovies: I found this movie to be an unexpected delight! It was engaging well written and executed, and it left me with a great feeling when it was over! What more could you ask for? Well how about the endearing performances, and chemistry between Hume Cronyn, and Jessica Tandy? Not to mention Don Ameche and Wilford Brimley. All together you have a fine film with many levels of warmth, and good humor. You'll love it! Watch and see!

Sequels are usually not as good as the original, unless the sequel happens to be called "Godfather II," so "Cocoon: The Return" is no exception. On the other hand, I didn't find it ghastly (though a few others on this board did). It has the same terrific cast, which includes Don Ameche, Jack Gilford, Maureen Stapleton, Gwen Verdon, with the addition of Elaine Strich in the old folks' department, and Tawnee Welch, Tyrone Power Jr., and Steve Guttenberg with the addition of a very young Courtney Cox in the young folks' department. Brian Dennehy makes a brief appearance at the end of the film.

The Anterians need to return to pick up some cocoons, so the old folks come back to catch up with friends and family, with some interesting results.

Another plot concerns scientists taking one of the cocoons and studying it, while the Anterians attempt to rescue it before it's too late.

The movie actually has some very sweet moments - it probably would have been lousy without the same cast, but they're all very likable.

Okay, not great, and anyone under 55 probably won't want to be bothered. By the way, I cried during some of it. Guess my age.

Cocoon: The Return fmovies. I had hesitated on watching this sequel because it good bad reviews, but I really enjoyed it. They had to come back for the cocoons, right? What makes this movie worthwhile is that all of the Seniors struggle with whether they want to leave Earth again. Immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be.

After I enjoyed the first Cocoon so much I decided that the sequel could not be too bad. For the most part, the Cocoon: The Return remains a generally enjoyable film even if most of the magic remained in the original. In this one, the elderly friends return back to earth to catch up on everything that had missed out on while they were away. The biggest problem when they get back to earth is that all of the special protection from illness and aging that they had with the aliens eventually wears off, and if they don't get back to their planet with the aliens quickly, some of them may die. Overall, an enjoyable and harmless sequel to the original. If you liked the original you will most likely enjoy this sequel. ***1/2 out of *****.

This is a sequel, and it's better than most sequels. However, most sequels don't hold up against the original film and this one's no exception. The same cast is back and the acting is certain up to par in this film, but the impact of the story isn't there. I believe this film would have done fairly well had it not been a sequel, but the magic was gone, sorta like the magic from the pool in the first film. The cast does a good acting job and they try, they really do, but this film just doesn't cut the mustard (from whence came THAT expression?) as compared to the first film. I'm sorry, because I truly liked the first film. This is overall a very good film and nicely acted, written and executed. However, as I said, the magic from the first film is just missing because we knew pretty much what to expect. It's sad that few sequels are as good as the original.