Cocoon: The Return (1988)

(In French, On Cable TV, September 2021) The worst sequels are those that end up negating the point of their predecessors, and Cocoon: The Return does come perilously close to doing that at times. It’s clear that the money-making imperative is the only thing driving this sequel forward because within minutes (and a strangely tasteless “comic suicide” attempt) the retirees who definitely-completely-absolutely-no-backsies left Earth in the first film are all back and enjoying the sights, giving them another opportunity to change their minds, and some of their friends to have a go at leaving with the aliens. Meanwhile, one of the alien cocoons has been found by a research institute and Steve Gutenberg is bringing down the sequel to his usual level of quality. Many of the performances from elderly actors are quite good, but there’s not denying the feeling of repetition and uselessness of Cocoon: The Return, which is merely another drive around a very familiar block.