There are a few reasons why Space Camp might be a good idea to reboot at this time, despite the fact that reboots still have a pretty big hit/miss ratio and the idea that a lot of people might have forgotten that this movie was ever made. Of course that’s one of the reasons that it might work since people have largely forgotten about this movie and need someone to remind them. Released back in the 80s, the movie is about a group of young individuals that attend space camp and are unexpectedly launched into space during what was supposed to be just a routine engine test. Unfortunately thanks to the entirely too literal robot Jinx, who overhears Max, the youngest member of this group, say that he wishes he was in space, what was supposed to be routine takes a decidedly dangerous turn when Jinx causes one of the boosters to fire during the test. This forces the launch as the group is shot into space without being prepared or anywhere near ready for this unplanned event and tests them in ways that they weren’t expecting in the least. As a result the teens have to grow up in a hurry as they do their best to survive and to return home in one piece as their strengths begin to show out over their own personal weaknesses.
In terms of being an action movie this one kind of skirts the line in its own way since there’s only so much that can be done when a good part of the action takes place on board a ship in space, especially one that doesn’t have a lot of room in it. But there’s still plenty of action to be had in the movie since the teens do have to find a way home and they do have to learn how to work together in order to keep their little group safe and secure. Another good reason to bring this back would be the current advances into space that have been made recently, as the idea of space travel to the International Space Station is still an iffy prospect at times, even if everything has been planned out and accounted for. Plus, people love movies about heading into space, so long as there is enough drama and action to make it worthwhile. The Apollo 13 movie is evidence of that since the reality of the situation that the pilots found themselves in was captured fairly well in the movie according to many experts. Now imagine a crew that didn’t have anything planned, wasn’t expecting to head off into space, and is basically not equipped or even qualified to be where they’re at, apart from one of them, who is still not equipped as she should be. Having an astronaut on board as they did in the movie would be advantageous in a way, but without the necessary tools and a crew that knew what they were doing it would be an uphill battle to get home.
It does make a person wonder just who might be best for each role since the key cast members are still alive and still around for the most part. In a reboot it’s more likely to see entirely new faces for the roles, but it’s always nice to think that the originals might be allowed to show up for a cameo here or there since they did make it possible to enjoy the first movie. In some cases this isn’t really followed since a director might want to make an entirely new movie without any hint of the old cast for their own reasons, but for those that watched the movie when it was first released it might be a neat thing to see if only because it would remind them of how great the movie was in the first place and why it’s worth bringing back in the first place. It’s unfortunate that Space Camp came out to mixed reviews largely because of the history of NASA and what’s happened in the past, but the fact that it didn’t earn back its budget could have been one reason why people have forgotten about it so readily. Apart from that however there were those that enjoyed it and found it charming despite anything that might have felt a bit wrong or out of the ordinary. As one of the movies that a lot of people either enjoyed as a kid or couldn’t stand, Space Camp is likely to be one of those that is still remembered at this point since the fact is that a lot of us remember movies that we really enjoyed for one reason or another, even if they happened to be movies that were a little on the cheesy side and appealed to kids more than adults. Joe Anderton of DigitalSpy had more to say on this.
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