[Documentary Review] IN SEARCH OF TOMORROW

IN SEARCH OF TOMORROW l Courtesy CREATORVC

Sci-fi films these days are usually big blockbuster films. Just look at last year’s Dune, a big film featuring some of today’s brightest stars. Science fiction filmmaking wasn’t always this way. Prior to the 1970s, sci-fi was a small niche genre. They were films made cheaply for Saturday matinee audiences or to be paired together in a double feature at the drive-in. These weren’t the top-tier films of the year.

Something changed, though, after George Lucas made Star Wars and Steven Spielberg made Close Encounters of the Third Kind. All of a sudden you have major films being produced and a genre of filmmaking becomes a fan favorite for many. That’s where we begin our journey with IN SEARCH OF TOMORROW, and when I say a journey, I mean it! Being hailed as the definitive film about science fiction filmmaking in the 1980s, this documentary from David Weiner is 4 hours and 50 minutes long, and covers everything from how movies like Mad Max were conceptualized to how the explosion of NASA’s Challenger impacted society and how they perceived films about space.

The first talking head we see is Wil Wheaton, known mostly for his role on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but also as somewhat of a pop culture nerd. It was a welcoming sign of what was to come as actors, directors, and everyone in between gave their take on the best sci-fi films of the 1980s. Billy Dee Williams continues to just be the coolest person in the galaxy, Jesse Ventura shows up to talk about the Predator, and Peter Weller tells us what it was like to be a Robocop.

This film really does become a definitive look at the genre moving year by year throughout the 80s. It covers the big films like Star Wars and Alien, but it also highlights forgotten films like Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone. IN SEARCH OF TOMORROW is comprehensive in ways that I didn’t think it would be. Highlighting films that impacted society in ways outside of the box office, especially when it comes to creating new technology. The film also makes note of how women were represented in film and how actors of color got a chance to shine.

As a sci-fi fan and a nerd for documentaries, IN SEARCH OF TOMORROW is right up my alley. However, my biggest critique is about the near 5-hour run time. I applaud this film for trying to be as in-depth as possible, but in making a documentary rather than a series like the ones you see from Netflix or CNN, it becomes difficult to watch in one sitting. I wouldn’t have minded this film cutting its runtime by an hour or even if it had split this film into two parts, with a second film coming out later in the year.

This is a critique that goes along with the director and his vision for his series of films as he has previously made a similar film trilogy about horror during the 1980s. All of them also had a long run time. It’s a small gripe since I am able to just pause and come back whenever I’d like, but I do think that the long runtime will work against the film. Audiences may not choose to watch it once they see how long it is and that’s a shame.

IN SEARCH OF TOMORROW is a fun and exciting documentary for film fans looking for a taste of 80s nostalgia.

To pre-order the film until March 27th, fans can visit www.80sscifidoc.com. Packages includes a choice of Blu-ray or DVD plus slipcover, digital download of the film, three exclusive IN SEARCH OF TOMORROW posters, sticker pack, and a credit in the film.