Ein tödliches Spiel

A lot of people love E.T., my self included. I cannot recall whether I saw it in the theaters, but Henry Thomas became a household name after that movie came out. The truth is when I think of Henry Thomas, I don't immediately think of E.T., but of CLOAK & DAGGER, which was one of my favorite films as a kid and will forever be one of my favorites. And yet there is something truly bizarre that always comes to me while watching it. I've never been a fan of video games. In fact, I think most of them are stupid, a waste of time and money. CLOAK & DAGGER was a video game I believe (well, it is in the movie). Henry Thomas stars as Davy Osbourne, an imaginitive 11-year-old who loves his favorite superhero Jack Flack, who he likes to view as his make-believe hero. Set in San Antonio during the summer, the film has Thomas going to run an errand for a friend, and owner of a computer store, and gets involved in something he never dreamed of: a real-life game involving spies and a video game. No one will believe him after he reports of a man being shot and murdered in front of his own eyes, including his own father an Air Force sergeant, played just wonderfully by Dabney Coleman, who I've enjoyed in everything from 9 to 5 to Tootsie. The movie soon becomes a roller coaster ride as Thomas is attempting to get away from the spies before they kill him. The plot is riveting and believable, which is the real reason why this pulled me in at such a young age. I can't imagine an actor better than Thomas in this lead role. Coleman is equally memorable as his father, who also plays Jack Flack. Michael Murphy, a great character actor, is chilling as the head spy. I recommend this film for anyone and everyone. ***1/2 out of 4.

Short and sweet: I loved this movie as a kid--now I'm an adult and I still love it. Yes, the computers and games are horribly dated. Heck, my computer from two years ago is horribly dated. That doesn't change the fact that this is a solid, exciting movie which is appropriate for most school-age children without being dumb or talking down to them. I know there's nostalgia involved in this, but kids movies have gone downhill since the '80's. We had The NeverEnding Story, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, The Secret of Nimh, The Goonies, Cloak & Dagger...what do kids today have? See Spot Run. ANYWAY, this is a good movie, your kids will probably like it (if only to see what video games were like in the dark ages) and you'll like it, too.

Henry Thomas (E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial) made this film two years after that incredible hit. Dabney Coleman ('Tootsie') stars as his father who is a military officer. Thomas' mother has died and his father is busy with his career. In the face of this, Thomas turns to an imaginary friend in the form of a spy. With visions of his imaginary friend, he becomes involved in an espionage plot involving government defence secrets.

Children will embrace this film as all of us at that age have had imaginary friends. The movie is evenly paced and builds up to an exciting climax the way an adult thriller would say in the form of a James Bond movie but while doing this the film doesn't insult the intelligence of children --- a lot of whom are more intelligent than we give them credit for.

Cloak and Dagger was one of my favorite films as a child and continues to hold up well as time passes by. A reminder, in many ways, how much Dabney Coleman's performances marked the years 1980-1985. Henry Thomas remains in many ways one of a scant few child actors to make their mark in multiple films (something Disney has struggled with in recent years, even with the attempts to market mediocre talents like Hilary Duff and Lindsey Lohan). And in an era where role playing games of any nature were looked down on, this portrayed them in a heroic light-"Jack Flack always escapes".

There are a number of skilled character actors who make up the supporting cast for this film, and the script continues to hold up to today's standards. In many ways, this film should act as a template for movie studios looking to craft a story for young audiences, as opposed to "Shark Boy and Lava Girl".

CLOAK & DAGGER is a wonderful film from the '80s, a touching story about a boy who has an overdeveloped imagination, largely due to his mother being dead and his father being a career military man who often seems too busy for his son. The boy, Davey, has an imaginary friend by the name of Jack Flack who looks just like his dad. His imaginary spy games and tall tales tend to get on his father's nerves, and there is talk of sending him to a psychiatrist. When Davey actually does witness a horrible murder and is given a video game cartridge with top secret plans encoded inside, he tells his father about it and of course he doesn't believe him. He thinks it's just another one of his son's tall tales. Davey soon realizes that it's up to him and Jack Flack to get out of this alive, and a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues with the spies who are after the game cartridge. This film is great in large part due to the gifts of Dabney Coleman. In a duel performance here, he's equally perfect as both Col. Osborne, buttoned up military guy, and as Jack Flack, the idealized, slicker version of the same man. It's really a great father-son movie, with plenty of action to entertain even the dimmest of children. Obviously inspired by the Bobby Driscoll classic THE WINDOW, CLOAK & DAGGER is a timeless classic for the whole family to enjoy.