The film was widely panned by critics as a nonsensical, derivative sci-fi mess, criticized for its silly dialogue, poor acting, blatant rip-offs from Blade Runner and Mad Max, and a nonsensical plot involving roller-skating kids, a magical glowing orb, and a lame villain, though some found it enjoyable as "80s cheese" due to its unintentional humor and nostalgic value. It bombed theatrically but became a cult favorite on video/cable, with some reviewers noting its production values (like music and design) and the careers it launched for stars like Jami Gertz and Jason Patric.

...

Reviews for Solarbabies were very poor, with film historian Leonard Maltin describing it thus: "An appalling stinker, the 1980's teen jargon doesn't exactly capture the futuristic mood of this junk." The film was given a BOMB rating in his annual publication.[11]

Joe Kane of The Phantom of the Movies' Videoscope called the picture "A pathetic Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome rip-off, working from a script which must have been scrawled in Crayola, with every futuristic cliché you could possibly imagine. Lacking in originality, but rich in brain-dead dialogue; when Jami Gertz snarls, 'Get out, you creature of filth!', consider that a subliminal message."[12]

Steven H. Scheuer, author of Movies on TV, also slammed the film: "This pic rips off everything from Cool Hand Luke to Dune to Rollerball to Logan's Run to The Warriors and still comes up dry."[13]

Mike Clark, reviewing the film for USA Today, had this message for the filmmakers: "Better pray for a pox on Spock, guys, and fast" (the film was released on the same day as Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), and added "...we see in a couple of scenes that movies still exist. I'd have thought both civilization and the movies would have been wiped out by '41 [the year in the future the movie is set], thanks to atrocities like Solarbabies."[14]

Gene Siskel, on his syndicated film review show At the Movies, called the movie "trash...Such is what happens when you begin with good characters, costume/production design, special effects, and stunt-work...then scramble to build a plot around it all. The best thing about this picture is its title; rather than a screenplay, it has a barrel of gimmicks." Siskel's colleague Roger Ebert seemed to agree: "You can't expect any cast, no matter how committed, to sell a movie that--apparently--can't decide what it's about. The actors must be given a solid storyline to work with and build on, which neither this film nor its producers have done."[15]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solarbabies

Nevertheless, Solarbabies (1986) is the movie for this Sunday's "monsterdon" watch party over on Mastodon, our fediverse sibling!

• Just start watching that movie this Sunday, July 19 at 9pm ET / 8pm CT / 6pm PT which is 1am Monday UTC
• and follow #monsterdon over on mastodon for live text commentary. For example, you can follow that hashtag here: https://mastodon.social/tags/monsterdon
• I usually open two web browser windows side-by-side on a computer. But you could follow the mastodon commentary on a phone app while watching the movie on TV or something.

Where to watch the movie:

• for info on how to block ads, see here: https://ohai.social/@klu9/115245207831850566
• for trigger warnings see here: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/11317
• tubi: https://tubitv.com/movies/466653/solarbabies
• archive: https://archive.org/details/Solarbabies
• it's usually streamed on https://miru.miyaku.media/ at that time
• if you want to pay and/or watch ads, look here: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/solarwarriors