A young teenager named Mikey Walsh finds an old treasure map in his father's attic. Hoping to save their homes from demolition, Mikey and his friends Data Wang, Chunk Cohen, and Mouth Devereaux run off on a big quest to find the secret stash of Pirate One-Eyed Willie.
The Goonies has every imaginable funhouse flourish. It has crooks, bats, cobwebs, skeletons, a lovable monster, an underground grotto and a treasure hidden by some of the most considerate, clue-loving pirates who ever lived.
– Janet Maslin,
New York Times,
30 Aug 2004
fresh:
The Goonies is a smooth mixture of the usual ingredients from Steven Spielberg action movies, made special because of the high-energy performances of the kids who have the adventures.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
23 Oct 2004
rotten:
While the pre-pubescents continually scream, their doting parents prove equally odious in a finale of astounding sentimentality.
– Derek Adams,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
rotten:
It's a charmless exercise: director Richard Donner turns the kids into shrieking ferrets, and his jumpy cutting seems to lag behind the action deliberately in a curious attempt to make the film seem more chaotic and cluttered.