Not too long ago I reviewed 1985’s Cocoon and I talked about what a fun movie it was and how well it still holds up. I got a pretty barebones DVD double pack of Cocoon and Cocoon: The Return so of course, I watched them both. While Cocoon was even better than I remembered it being, Cocoon: The Return was nowhere near as good as I remember it being, I would even go as far as to say that it was not as good as I remembered it being!
How to Download Cocoon: The Return
Cocoon: The Return was released on November 23, 1988. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
The Cast of Cocoon: The Return
They managed to get the cast back for Cocoon: The Return which is cool, but one of the most interesting cast members here is Courtney Cox (she is Gale Weathers in Scream movies). This would be a very early movie role for Courtney Cox and she is super likable in this role and a lot of fun. Also, I recently found out that Brian Dennehy was not keen on coming back, but he did as a favor to the cast that he bonded with in the first movie and he did not even take a salary for the small cameo that he had.
The Plot of Cocoon: The Return
The movie takes place a few years after The Antareans left Earth with those lovable old people. The Antareans have returned to Earth to save the remaining cocoons that they could not get during their last mission. Our lovable old folks have returned with them to visit their families and pretty much as soon as they do, they start aging, and Joe’s leukemia returns reminding them that they are once again mortal now that they are on Earth.
However, this is not a simple mission. Turns out that an ocean research institute has found one of the cocoons and they have taken it to their lab to study. Of course, they need to get it back before they can cause it any harm, but they also find that this group plans to give it to the military so time really is of the essence.
The Film’s Attempt at Depth Feels Forced
I feel like Cocoon: The Return tries to be a bit too clever. On one hand, the stuff with them trying to save the cocoon so it can be returned to their home planet is great and a lot of fun. However, they try to add depth to the movie by making the old people start to question their decision to leave Earth so that they can live forever. After all, no one should outlive their children and grandchildren. I get what they were going for here, but this part of the story did feel forced.
The Best Scene in Cocoon: The Return
There are some fun scenes here, the old people playing basketball and kicking ass at it was probably my favorite scene in the movie. However, the fun here is just not as abundant as it was in the original movie. I am not saying that this is a bad movie at all, but they kind of caught lightning in a bottle with that first movie and this one just lacks the heart and soul, it is almost like they made a ton of money from that first movie which did have a lot of heart and soul and then this was made purely to try and cash in on that.
