The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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Flight of the Navigator
Family · Science Fiction · Adventure · 1986
12-year-old David is accidentally knocked out in the forest near his home, but when he awakens eight years have passed. His family is overjoyed to have him back, but is just as perplexed as he is that he hasn't aged. When a NASA scientist discovers a UFO nearby, David gets the chance to unravel the mystery and recover the life he lost.
Movie details
Flight of the Navigator
“David Freeman is eight years late for dinner, and his family wants to know why. But David's got an absolutely fantastic excuse.”
1986 Family · Science Fiction · Adventure 1h 30m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.9 / 10
56.1K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
85 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
64 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
7.0 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
12-year-old David is accidentally knocked out in the forest near his home, but when he awakens eight years have passed. His family is overjoyed to have him back, but is just as perplexed as he is that he hasn't aged. When a NASA scientist discovers a UFO nearby, David gets the chance to unravel the mystery and recover the life he lost.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Flight of the Navigator?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Randal Kleiser
Written by
Michael Burton · Matt MacManus
Joey Cramer
David Scott Freeman
Paul Reubens
Max (voice)
Veronica Cartwright
Helen Freeman
Cliff DeYoung
Bill Freeman
Sarah Jessica Parker
Carolyn McAdams
Matt Adler
Jeff (16 years)
Howard Hesseman
Dr. Louis Faraday
Court is in session
Put Flight of the Navigator on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.