The year was 1985 and as I am sure you can imagine, special effects were kind of in their infancy. Computers were not really used for anything and ATM machines didn't exist, let alone the internet. One could say that our standards of realism regarding fantasy and sci-fi movies was pretty low at the time, but Cocoon went above and beyond anyone's expectations and produced an amazing product in the end.

The story begins in a sort of vague manor and this is done intentionally for the big reveal later in the film. Basically, some giant rocks are found in the ocean by a group of mysterious people and they are storing them in their swimming pool. The place with the pool just happens to be next door to a retirement home and a few of the home's residents have made a habit of trespassing and using the pool without permission.

One day, unbeknownst to them the pool has the rocks or coccoons in the bottom and after swimming these old men start to feel reinvigorated and full of youthful energy. They return to the pool on multiple occasions and upon being caught by Walter (one of my favorite actors Brian Dennehy) they are told they can continue to swim in the pool provided they do not tell anyone else. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that in order for the film to proceed they need to violate this trust.

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Eventually they blab to everyone at the retirement home and they decide one night that they are all going to go for a youth-restoring swim

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This (predictably, I must say) has negative consequences and the retirement home folks are reprimanded and told the pool no longer works due to their abuse (stupid seniors!)

SPOILERS AHEAD! SKIP TO END IF YOU DONT WANT THEM

In a particularly frightening scene it is revealed to one of the younger men in the area named Jack (Steve Guttenberg) that the girl the he is flirting with (and creepily spying on as she gets undressed) is actually a glowing alien. This scene, for those of us watching it for the first time was a complete surprise because the advertising campaign was extremely covert in their methods.

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This was shocking and kind of scary for a short while, and i think that was Ron Howard's intention. However just a few minutes later it is revealed that the aliens, known as Antareans, have no ill intention toward earthlings, and actually offer to take the people in the retirement home back to Antarea, where they will never grow old and never be sick. However, they have to leave everyone else behind. I think this would be a tough choice to make regardless of the immortality.

This family-friendly movie was captivating and thought provoking and it was filled with very talented actors across the board. I particularly enjoyed seeing Wilford Brimley in something besides oatmeal commercials and mail order Diabeetus medication (and yes, i know those commercials, which were great, actually came years after this movie.)

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Overall, this movie is definitely worth watching today even though it is more than 30 years old. It was a wonderful story-line and the acting was wonderful. Although the film doesn't rely very heavily on special effects it DID rely on people in their 70's being capable of jumping around and acting like they were in their 30's, which must have been a daunting (and perhaps dangerous) task to undertake.

the old formula of voice actor narrating the trailer is used i think in every film in the 80's

Unfortunately this film is not on Netflix, but even if you have to pay a little bit of money for it I say it is worth it.

This is one of my favorite films from the 80's and I gladly give it a score of

9/10