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26 out of 28 people found the following review useful:

Love waits for no man, except Mel Gibson.

Author: DAVID SIM from United Kingdom
22 May 2005

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

When Mel Gibson starred in Forever Young in 1992, it was probably an attempt to break away from the wild man of Mad Max and Lethal Weapon. He actually proves to be quite likable as a romantic lead, and makes Forever Young a sweet, endearing romantic fable.

In 1939, Mel plays Captain Daniel McCormick, an Air Force test pilot. No stranger to danger, he is willing to brave the latest experimental aircraft, but he's unable to take the biggest risk of all, proposing to his girlfriend, Helen.

Every time Daniel tries to work up the courage to pop the question, he loses his bottle. So he decides to wait. Unfortunately, he waits too long. Helen is run down in an accident, and slips into a coma. Daniel can't live without her, and decides to volunteer for a risky experiment.

Daniel's best friend Harry Finley (George Wendt) is one of the first scientists working on cryogenics. He has yet to test his theories on a living, human subject. Daniel decides to go for it, where he will be placed into a capsule and frozen for a year. If Helen ever wakes up, Harry wakes up Daniel.

But of course, things don't go the way they're supposed to. When World War II breaks out, the cryogenics experiment falls through the cracks. Harry is killed, and as a result, Daniel is forgotten about. He stays frozen in the capsule for over 50 years.

Daniel is eventually thawed out by two boys, Nat and Felix (Nat is played by a young Elijah Wood). Daniel wakes to find the world has become a very different place. Staying with Nat and his mother Claire (the delightful Jamie Lee Curtis), Daniel tries to piece together the last 50 years.

To enjoy Forever Young, you will probably have to suspend disbelief quite a bit. The story itself is rather outrageous, but on a simple level, it's fairly enjoyable. It has more than a few shades of Back to the Future about it. In the same way Robert Zemeckis brought a Frank Capra style of storytelling to BTTF, the director Steve Miner also brings a gentle, benign touch to this story.

The greatest discovery of all is the fact that Mel Gibson manages to make this film work. He makes for a very endearing character when he is lost in the 1990's. His amazement at the new world is played in a very understated fashion. His confusion and old-fashioned naiveté are subtly incorporated into the story, e.g. discovering filtered cigarettes, seat-belts, answering machines, etc.

What's nice about his performance is also the fact that Daniel was brought up in different times. He has a completely different set of values compared to the cynical attitudes of the present day. I like the scene where Daniel saves Claire from an abusive ex-boyfriend, or when he gets to sit in the cockpit of an old-fashioned test plane.

This type of story could have become very mawkish, but Steve Miner manages to find just the right focus, and balances events just right. Jamie Lee Curtis adds sterling support as always, and she gets a lot of good scenes with Gibson.

Elijah Wood also puts in an excellent performance, showing incredible maturity for his age. He acts as Daniel's guide while he is in the 90's, and proves invaluable in putting together what happened to Daniel's past. He plays Nat as neither too precocious or too juvenile, and went on to the fame that he deserved.

In some eyes, Forever Young has an improbably happy ending, where Daniel is reunited with Helen. But I didn't mind this time round. Probably because I was enjoying myself too much. I especially like the scene where Daniel teaches Nat to fly in his tree-house. Watch the camera angles, and you sometimes feel as if they really are flying a plane.

Forever Young wouldn't win any awards for originality, but if they gave out awards for heartwarming stories, Forever Young would definitely be up for a nomination.

20 out of 20 people found the following review useful:

A genre film but balanced enough to avoid the cliché and easy tricks

Author: bob the moo
4 August 2006

Captain Daniel McCormick is a happy-go-luck pilot who is known for his risk taken and no-strings lifestyle. As much as he wants to settle down with his longterm sweetheart, he cannot bring himself to say the words. However when she is put into a coma in a car accident and the doctors say there is no hope of recovery he goes off the deep end and decides to volunteer to be frozen in an experiment being carried out by his friend Harry Finley. 53 years later he is woken up in a military storage unit by two young boys who were just messing around. Without a clue what happened to him or what to do, Daniel turns to the two boys for help.

It sounds rather corny and obvious and, in a way, I suppose it is but by not ever playing it for laughs or being self-mocking the film creates a tone that means it all works as long as you meet it on its terms. The story is sentimental and slushy and in this way I imagine it will put many viewers off for being this way. I surprised myself by actually liking it though and finding it all rather engaging and sweet. Although I doubt he knows where Lost is going, Abrams does a good job as writer to avoid cliché and mush the best he can. Miner matches this by directing in a controlled manner that holds back on the sweeping music and emotion until he can actually use them.

The cast work well with this approach and avoid the film becoming a soapy television movie. Gibson may not have had the best of days recently PR-wise (alleged drunk-driving and alleged anti-Semitic remarks) but here he is charming and reasonably good at the emotion. Of course he could have been better considering that when he awoke after 50 years the loss of his wife would still be fresh in his mind. Curtis is solid enough and deals with the material given her. The child support are better than I expected even if they are a bit "cute" in the way all Hollywood kids are. Wood works well with Gibson, which I suppose is the important thing.

Overall this is a solid and enjoyable romantic film that is a bit slushy and melodramatic. It avoids cliché well enough but you do need to meet it on its terms and not be cynical. Not one for the die-hard action fans but it is a good date movie that is gentle and balanced enough to find a mixed audience without losing touch with the genre.

20 out of 22 people found the following review useful:

Beautiful

Author: amazingstella
17 February 2005

Such a beautiful film. I don't care if it isn't the most highbrow film ever written - how many people truly are bothered by such details other than academics and snobs? I remember watching this years ago and it is one of the very few films that I love to watch again and again, despite knowing the ending!! It is a wonderful, compelling story of true love, a true gentleman and genuine friendship that crosses the ages. Mel Gibson's character, Daniel, is sensitively portrayed and the ending is incredibly moving. Gibson ably handles all the shifts in emotion and even time. It is a novel way of retelling the 'true love never ends' story and it heart-warming and moving. A young Elijah Wood is entertaining and sweet without being unbearable. Jamie Lee Curtis is totally believable as a young single mother.Highly recommended and very endearing.

17 out of 18 people found the following review useful:

Time-Travel Story With Feeling

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from United States
13 January 2007

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This is another of these frozen-in-time movies. I know at least two of them that were made in 1991-1992 and they were both fun to watch: this movie and "Late For Dinner."

The good things that this particular film has going for it are: 1 - Mel Gibson plays a very likable lead character in "Captain Daniel McCormick;" 2 - there is a nice 1940s atmosphere in the beginning with a sweet-looking Isabell Glasser, who exhibits one of the sweetest faces and smiles I've seen on film; 3 - there is a good mix of humor, drama and intrigue, as well as fantasy in the story; 4 - there is a nice, almost tear-inducing ending.

The kids in the movie were a little pushy but not too bad. Jamie Lee Curtis was low-key and very pleasant. I like the fact "McCormick" stayed true to his original woman. The film got criticized for being too unrealistic but, hey, it's supposed to be a fantasy story where everything is not explained. The only thing I found stretching things when it shouldn't have been was the kid ("Nat Cooper" - Elijah Wood) helping "Capt. McCormick" land an airplane at the end.

Overall, a nice, touching movie.

27 out of 40 people found the following review useful:

Forever Heck Yeah

Author: gavin6942 from United States
2 March 2006

When I was watching this last night, I didn't realize it was written by the creator of "Lost"... and I'm glad I didn't know that, because it would have tainted my opinion.

I expected a sappy love story with a sappy Mel Gibson who takes a nap to wake up and find himself falling in sappy love with the ugly, but sappy, Jamie Lee Curtis and adopting her sappy and bug-eyed son, Elijah Wood. Bless my lucky stars, I was wrong. Mel Gibson is frozen by Norm from Cheers after his girlfriend goes into a coma. He wakes up in 1992 (he slept in 1939) to a whole new world. No sappiness, and Mel Gibson wasn't even sucking as hard as he tends to suck (see "What Women Want" for really hard sucking).

I really liked this film, it kept me from going to sleep on time. You'll like it, too, and maybe even more if you watch it with a date because it's really about how love lasts forever. (They say "diamonds" last forever, but those materialistic bastards wouldn't know real love if it woke up from a 50-year slumber!!!!) See this movie soon, because you never know when your last chance to see it will be.

18 out of 23 people found the following review useful:

Touching and Enjoyable

Author: Julia (Rinoa51) from SanFransico, California
21 January 2003

This is a very sweet story. It wasn't the face of Mel Gibson that got me, or even the idealistic premise or the laugh that was produced when I saw an extremely young Elijah Woods in yet another dramatic, power-packed role. There was just something about the film...

Daniel McCormick doesn't mind taking chances. A test pilot with a devil-may- care attitude toward death, he performs live stunts, has a great sense of humor, and is passionately in love with his childhood friend Helen. His best friend Harry Findley is a scientist for the war department who has just successfully

completed a test run of his latest invention... which has the ability to successfully freeze a living form for a certain amount of time. He's tested the system on a live chicken and returned it to full health after six weeks of being frozen. The next step up is a human being.

Spring is all around them, and Daniel feels that he should propose to Helen, but the "words just don't get past his throat." Chickening out just before she's due to leave town for a few weeks on-assignment, Daniel gives her a passing

kiss and steps into the nearest phone booth to call up Harry and tell him that he "almost" did it. With horror, he steps out of the booth to find Helen laying on the pavement, having just been hit by a truck. His chance is lost. She lies in a coma for two weeks... three weeks... six weeks...

"I can't bear to see her die, Harry," he tells his friend. And then drops the bombshell... he wants to be frozen for a year. If Helen wakes up, he wants to come back, but if she doesn't, leave him. Somewhat warily, Harry agrees... and Daniel is frozen in time. But something goes wrong... and we flash-forward to the present, in which two little boys, Nat and Felix, are fooling around in an old government warehouse. Pretending that the canister is a submarine, they

accidentally reverse the process and bring Daniel back.

Suddenly it's 1992, and Daniel is in a world with which he has no connections. What happened? Why would Harry leave him frozen? Whatever happened to

Helen? These are questions that must be answered... but as he searches for the truth, Daniel realizes that something is wrong. Something strange is happening to him. And even his newfound friends, Nat and his mother Claire, cannot fully explain the sudden changes in his life.

Forever Young is the kind of film that appeals to romantics at heart. I was

completely unprepared for the turn that the plot took halfway through, but when one reflects, there really is no other ending that would feel right. It has excellent performances by Mel Gibson and Elijah Wood, although the women in the

production seem too pale and under-emphasized. It's a science fiction

adventure, a romance, a comedy, and yet in part a tragedy. It's also the story of growing into manhood, in its own peculiar little way. The charisma is there, the plot is very well thought-out, and yet there's almost a somberness to the ending, which is bittersweet/ There is some language, but it doesn't overly detract from the script and is at times appropriate in shocking Daniel into the modern world.

For a guy who says "heck," "darn," and other mild alternatives to popular

profanities, he's suitably wide-eyed when a woman is verbally venting. There's very little violence except for a fistfight between Daniel and an Claire's abusive ex-boyfriend. Sensuality is present, as is mild backside nudity only seen briefly in the shadows. Some passionate kissing never goes any further, a woman is

seen briefly in her bra (and with a torn shirt); but viewers should be forewarned that Claire's boyfriend shows up, slaps her around, and forces her onto a table. This element surprised me, since I wasn't warned in any of the reviews I read online.

It's definintly a family film, and the type of film I'll watch again and again. It's funny, cute and sweet. I loved it, it may be one of my all time favorites.

14 out of 16 people found the following review useful:

Good for all ages

Author: AnnieO-2 (lttlstar82@aol.com) from Jacksonville, fl
18 March 2002

I first saw this movie when I was ten years old and have been in love with mel gibson ever since. His performance (big shock) always gets to me. I don't mean to make this a love song to mel, but he has on screen chemistry with everybody, so it's romantic to see him with Jamie Lee curtis and Isabel glasser. Elijah wood is good as one of the less annoying child stars from his era. The story is cute, no oscar winner, but entertaining. A traditional love story in an untraditional plot, Will love wait for me? When do you move on? It's never too late, those kind of things. Again, I saw it when I was a kid and loved it, and now I'm an adult and still enjoy it.

13 out of 15 people found the following review useful:

A gentle, thoughtful, family-style offering

Author: spteos from Houston, Texas
2 December 1999

Forever Young goes in a lot of familiar directions -- time travel, a cuddly child and a single mom, a mix of drama, comedy, sci-fi, mystery and romance. But mostly, it manages to be entertaining without offending anyone or forcing the issue.

The early portion of the show -- set in 1939 -- offers a soft, dreamy, realistic look at what that time was like. The characters seem to have been drawn from the audience, from the masses, instead of being picture-perfect in look and dress. The acting is low-key, relaxing and believable. And, while the plot covers a lot of ground, it ties together well and has enough mystery that the viewer won't be able to guess the outcome and is sure to be satisfied with both the journey and the destination.

Forever Young reminded me of Always, starring Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfuss. Both shows are loaded with characters that are easy to like because of who they are and how they respond. Mel Gibson in Forever Young is particularly effective when dealing with the son of Jamie Lee Curtis; you know she's already committed and he cannot hang around, but you find yourself wishing the boy could have Mel for his new dad.

Not offering more shows like this is why theaters have so few under-12 and over-35 movie goers.

11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:

classic/classy chick flick

Author: TAX_WARRIOR from United States
11 February 2005

This movie hits all the requisite points for the classic love story.

Love lost - love found - mistaken death of love one - sacrifice - the hero almost falling for another woman - a cute boy facilitating the reunion - the evil group trying to stop the reunion - a great escape - the reunion scene in a very scenic locale with great camera shots - Mel Gibson.

I went to see it mainly because it had a science fiction angle. I was disappointed in that it was used merely as a plot gimmick and was not adequately followed up.

But the movie was involving in its own right and I was surprised when the ending made me cry. I'm usually immune to the saccharine sweetness in this type of movie but there was just something special in the acting.

There is a bit of action in this film the odd airplane crash, and a touch of humor. George Wendt (Norm of Cheers fame) has a supporting roll but this is above all a love story

The perfect movie to take your Valentine to. It will show her that you love her.

11 out of 13 people found the following review useful:

True Love Lasts

Author: funky_cherry86 from Canada
21 February 2005

In 1939 Captain Daniel McCormick (Gibson) was a test pilot who was on the verge of asking his childhood sweetheart Helen (Glasser) to marry him. However tragedy strikes when Helen is hurt in a car accident, six months pass and she is still in a coma. Daniel asks his best friend Harry Finley (Wendt) if he could be the specimen for Harry's cryogenics project, soon enough he is in a deep frozen sleep and wants to be woken up when Helen gets better. It's 50 years later and two boys Nat (Wood) and Felix (Gorman) accidentally stumble upon Daniel and he's brought back to life, he becomes friends with Nat's mother Claire (Curtis) who introduces him into the 1990's. Forever Young is a very romantic love story and it proves that love waits forever.

9/10 Stars.

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