Beyond the Stars (1989)
Teenager Eric, the son of a computer scientist who worked for the Apollo mission which sent the first human to the moon, is determined to become an astronaut himself one day, and befriends Paul Andrews, the first man on the moon. Paul is avoided by other astronauts nowadays, because he was very rude and rebuffing when he returned from space. Only slowly Eric learns, that he discovered something during his excursion on the moon, that he keeps as a secret.
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Some people seem to thumbs down movies like eating candy. Martin Sheen , always good to see in any movie. Stick with this film and imagine yourself with a beer in your hand looking at the moon and thinking how far away from Earth when you were there.
Whereas the background story about an ageing astronaut who has found something or someone on the Moon proved sufficiently effective despite not being resolved satisfyingly, the plot around teenage love stories and trite father-son relationships did the film no real favour. On the other hand did the film avoid entering into the domain of hard sci-fi, making it accessible and even enjoyable for a wider audience. Unfortunately, the photography, score and direction were mediocre at best. The acting wasn't really bad but the performances aren't memorable, either. The film is hard to recommend because there's too little science fiction for fans of this genre and unnecessarily much for audiences interested in personal relationships. As a cinematic product, the film is quite negligible.
Failed mish-mash of adolescent drama, preachy ecologic messages, and very weak sci-fi. The astronaut scenes on the moon look like they were filmed for a "Saturday Night Live" episode. In other words, all credibility flies out the window. Christian Slater as the aspiring astronaut, idolizes astronaut Martin Sheen who returned from the moon with a secret. The script is simplistic, preachy, and contrived. The relationship problems are simplistic, preachy, and boring. Throw in a jab at NASA for layoffs, a save the whales message, a moon crater no deeper than a backyard swimming pool, and finally the no surprise ending, and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know this is a dud. - MERK
Unlike the other commenter, I found this movie very enjoyable. It is the type of movie you might find in the "Under $5" bin and after watching think "Wow, how did this movie get overlooked?"I found the relationships handled very well. Father/son Future stepmother/stepson NASA engineer vs. NASA pilot conflict Boyfriend/girlfriendI found Slater very believable and thought he and D'Abo played very well together as bf/gf. I thought Foxsworth and Sheen's confrontation was the highlight of the movie.F.Murray Abraham shines in his small role also.The only weak part of this movie, for me, is the scifi thrown in near the end. I bought the movie looking for scifi. I feel in love with the drama, then found myself wishing they left the scifi out at the end and stuck to the well done drama.Don't miss this one if you can find it. Very emotional movie, IMHO.