(1992)
2.5
Michael Costello
A romantic fantasy along the lines of Spielberg's Always with a dash of boy's adventure and science fiction film thrown in for good measure, it has little new to offer, but is saved to some extent by the charm of its leads. The story, about a WWII-era test pilot (Mel Gibson) who is awakened in the present by two young boys, after allowing himself to be frozen in an early cryogenic experiment, invokes the familiar theme of the man who needs to be reincarnated to learn how to love. The film's second act centers on the pilot's attempt to understand what's happened to him with the help of a young boy (Elijah Wood) and his widowed mother (Jamie Lee Curtis). Despite the need to hit plot points, these scenes are well-written and played by Gibson and Curtis with such warmth and naturalness that they could form the core of a better film. Even the utterly predictable ending is rendered watchable by Gibson's affecting performance.
Forever Young on AllMovie
Forever Young (1992)
