#732 Solarbabies aka Solarwarriors aka Solarfighters (1986)

Solarbabies didn’t get any love from the critics nor the audience when it was released back in 1986, and it hasn’t gained much more charism in 30 years. There’s some limited appeal to the 80s haircuts and the whole sheer stupidity of it all, but in the end there’s nothing here to be found but mediocrity.

The concept and its execution are copypasted from various other movies. Unfortunately Solarbabies never knows quite how to evolve those concepts and ends up an uneven patchwork. This is not to say that the movie doesn’t have some genuinely good moments as well – it does – but sandwiched between moments like rollerblading in the desert and playing a game of dystopian roller ball with and extra terrestrial, glowing new-age ball of energy called Bodhi, they really don’t stick out.

The most significant aspect of the movie is the Spanish desert landscape that provides a beautiful, desolate location for the movie, and the set design – although scarce and heavily influenced by Mad Max – is solid, and by far the strongest aspect in the movie.

80s-o-meter: 82%

Total: 28%