D.A.R.Y.L. (1985)

Perfectly adorable

Crappy film

An absolute waste of money

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This is a very good movie, despite the extremely bad acting! It has Barrett Oliver (Never Ending Story) and Danny Corkill (Without A Trace). In my opinion, this movie was the inspiration for Artificial Intelligence. I recommend watching this movie, because of the extremely great story. Just overlook the bad acting (it's not hard to do).The movie is about a robot in a boy's body. He is misunderstood by his creators, who believe him just to be a mechanical being, not capable of the will to live, to have the ability to love, or feelings and emotions. But, he does have all these traits, and you will come to care about him. (now doesn't that sound like A.I. to you?) SPOILER ALERT:What makes this movie's peak of emotions is the ending, where the song 'Somewhere I Belong' by Teddy Pendergrass is played. Give it a chance, you won't regret it!

I cant help feeling that Daryl could well have been a young Jason Bourne. Synopsis: A military experiment lab loses its super enhanced human subject to the outside world who is now suffering from amnesia while the military hunts him down. Sounds familiar? Daryl got there first but thinking about it, there is no reason why the Bourne trilogy cannot be seen as unofficial sequels to Daryl. But enough of that. I remember loving this film when I first saw it 20 years ago so when I watched it again I expected to find it dated and perhaps much of the magic gone. The opposite happened. I was spellbound. It is somewhat dated but that simply adds to the charm as the 80s was the epitome of childhood innocence, wonder and mischief before the internet age came along. What elevates this film above most children's films is the abundance of heart, soul and values of friendship. All the actors play their part with natural aplomb and it has to be said that Barrat who plays the boy robot with human emotions, was played to perfection. Mckean plays the foster father delightfully (although has a frightening resemblance to ex UK Prime Minister Tony Blair). The film is sprinkled with humour throughout particularly with Turtle teaching Daryl how to behave and how to deal with adults! There is no action in the first three quarters of the movie (apart from a brief car chase at the start). Instead we are invested in the characters and relationships so that we truly care about them by the time the thrilling final act kicks into gear. And boy, is the last act so exciting, with perhaps the best car chase I have seen in any children's film and a climactic action finale that I can only conclude Die Hard 2 stole from! Daryl is an under rated 80s classic.

'D.A.R.Y.L.' is an adorable little sci-fi children's film from the Eighties and will certainly conjure feelings of nostalgia in those who watched it as children. The film revolves around ten-year-old Daryl, who is found wandering alone in the wilderness and is fostered by childless couple Joyce and Andy Richardson. He quickly befriends their neighbours' son Turtle and goes from strength-to-strength in his new home. However, it soon becomes apparent that Daryl isn't quite normal. His intellect is vast, he has excellent sporting reflexes and acts in an oddly adult manner. Then, when two military scientists turn up at the Richardsons' home to retrieve him, it turns out Daryl is not a human child but a Data Analysing Robot Youth Lifeform, created in a science lab to serve the military. When the military orders that Daryl be destroyed, the fight to save him and return him to the family home where he was loved is on...Barret Oliver plays the title character of Daryl, gives an effective performance and nicely depicts his character gradually changing from being odd and awkward to acting like a typical boy of ten. Mary Beth Hurt and Michael McKean, as Joyce and Andy, also give good depictions of foster parents desperate for a child, uncertain about the strange nature of Daryl yet coming to love him as if he were their own. Josef Sommer plays the scientist who begins to question the boundaries of what is considered human once he starts to know Daryl, the robot he created, properly. And Ron Frazier, as General Graycliffe who is intent on seeing Daryl destroyed, depicts his character in a suitably loathsome light!Besides the nostalgia factor for those in their twenties and early thirties, this film will not only be enjoyable for children of today but, as we live in the computer age, brings up very relevant issues that they can consider such as what being a human means and why blood relations doesn't always matter when it comes to family. Daryl, for younger viewers, is the equivalent of Data from 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' so perhaps making this film a good choice for parents wishing to introduce their young kids to the sci-fi genre.This is definitely an Eighties kids' classic but also one for all the family.

As with each decade movies from the 1980s have a very unique style that cannot be fully described in words but to those individuals who grew up in the era it is unmistakable. A true 1980s film is one that evokes hope, that any dream can truly be achieved, that good will always triumph over evil and that feel good cheesy music, colourful baggy shirts and inappropriate sunglasses will put a smile on your face. Whilst the most memorable 1980s pictures focus on comedy, romance and success (e.g. Ghostbusters, Mannequin, Wall Street etc) there are outliers that go in a different direction but still retain the basic heart of this era: the feel good factor. DARYL tells the story of a seemingly abandoned child who is adjusting to a new life with foster parents, the story takes a twist however when it is revealed that he is really an experiment in artificial intelligence. The target audience is primarily kids and family and such spectators are rewarded with all the necessary ingredients that this movie should have. It successfully touches upon the aspects of life that boys would see as fun when growing up and through DARYL the audience can fantasise about driving in high speed car chases, flying planes, being a star sportsman, video games player and being super smart. What more could a kid want in life? The movie remains engrossing throughout despite a slow pace as a result of a very strong performance by the lead character. DARYL is a thoughtful, touching, interesting and entertaining movie that despite being more than 20 years does not really feel dated (the true sign of any classic). For those who grew up in the 1980s movies like DARYL will always have special meaning as they represent an innocence and hope that sadly most of us lose as we grow older and cynicism kicks in. As a standalone sci fi family film DARYL takes itself seriously whilst knowing how to have fun, is thought provoking and delivers an evening of entertaining escapism for the entire family. After more than 20 years there are few family films being released today that can make the same claim.