Life After The Navigator Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Life After The Navigator Blu-ray Movie Review

Do not know "privacy".

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 1, 2024

A sophomore full-length documentary by UK-based writer/director Lisa Downs after 2019's Life After Flash, the like-minded Life After the Navigator again catches up with a then-young actor in the decades following their "glory days". The focus this time around is former child star Joey Cramer of Flight of the Navigator, a Disney-distributed sci-fi family classic from 1986 that remains a personal favorite from my youth. Cramer was infamously charged with bank robbery in 2016 following other legal troubles years after his brief movie career dried up in the mid-1990s, and Life After the Navigator attempts to, well, navigate through the darker alleys of Cramer's turbulent adulthood via candid interviews with the forty-something man as well as prominent co-stars and connections from his most famous film.

As our own Brian Orndorf pointed out in his theatrical review, this documentary veers wildly between an illuminating overview of Flight of the Navigator's production and a warts-and-all account of Cramer's life, beginning with an unusual upbringing -- raised by a voluntarily single hippie mother in her self-built farmhouse, with only sporadic visits from his birth father which evaporated at the age of 10 -- that planted early seeds for later legal trouble, including petty theft. Combine that with bullying at school, casual drug use, a gut-wrenching conversation with "dad", and dwindling acting prospects, and the recipe for an unstable young adulthood was all but completed. His roller-coaster of a life during the 1990s-2010s included more serious theft, homelessness, an unplanned daughter, and numerous run-ins with the police that built to that aforementioned bank robbery, which seemed like more of a cry for help than anything else. Luckily, stability and treatment were found at a correctional center, where Cramer seemed to "get his groove back", which was no doubt accelerated by this documentary's production; it even included a surprise reunion with several co-stars and crew members from his Flight days, led by director Randal Kleiser (who also executive produced).

It's such a weighty subject that you might forget about the movie that made him famous, as Life After the Navigator veers quite bluntly between both halves of this subject matter. Working is its favor is nostalgia, as I'd imagine that anyone with fond memories of the 1986 classic will forgive not only the film's wild mood swings but appreciate being along for the ride. Those here more for Flight behind-the-scenes info -- some of which was already covered quite nicely in the Second Sight Blu-ray's bonus material, linked above -- will also find plenty to enjoy, as all the key actors are on hand (except for Paul Reubens and Sarah Jessica Parker) and at least a dozen members of the crew, from Kleiser to casting director Valorie Massalas, conceptual artist Biography Edward Eyth, original writer Mark H. Baker, visual effects wizard Jeffrey Kleiser, and others. Plenty of great stories are shared and almost every facet of Flight's production is at least briefly touched upon, and all but the film's most die-hard fans will probably learn quite a bit.

It seems plausible that Life After the Navigator was originally conceived as a heartfelt catch-up with the former child actor -- who seems to have dipped his toes back in the water since this film's 2020 release -- but grew exponentially after his former movie pals caught wind of his situation. This might very well account for the documentary's "half and half" narrative, if not excuse it outright. Either way, it's time well spent for fans of the original film (at least those of a certain age, because it gets very dark at times) and well worth a look on Blu-ray. Life After Films has put together quite an exceptional package here including some outstanding bonus content, and I'll imagine the same can be said for the forthcoming Blu-ray of their follow-up production, Life After the NeverEnding Story. (Fittingly enough, Cramer had a small role and it's even re-enacted in this film.) Be on the lookout for that review in the coming weeks.

Life After The Navigator Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Documentaries are typically a little hit-or-miss in the video department, with source material spanning several years -- or in this case, decades -- and often in a variety of formats. Life After the Navigator is no different, but the Blu-ray's 1080p transfer handles everything really well: modern interview footage, of course, but nicely-scanned vintage photos, rare behind-the-scenes clips, stills and scenes from Flight of the Navigator and other films, and more. The short version is that everything looks good within reason; very little of it is cropped or zoomed, and often the only real limitations are that of their source formats, such as smeary VHS footage from back in the day or lower-resolution digital material like Cramer's diary-like blogs from (presumably) about a decade ago. No major encoding issues could be spotted along the way, and the film and bonus features get a good amount of room to breathe on this dual-layered disc.

Life After The Navigator Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The PCM 2.0 track follows suit with a clean, crisp presentation of its source material that likewise varies depending on footage but almost always remains intelligible and easy to understand. (A handful of exceptions are paired with forced English subtitles.) There's a decent amount of channel separation but unsurprisingly not much width, although sporadic music cues and clips from a variety of films spice things up a little. A fine presentation that, at the risk of using a cliché, gets the job done. Sadly, no full sets of subtitles are on-hand; that's kind of disappointing for a region-free disc that potentially has a fairly wide audience around the globe. Otherwise, again no real complaints here.

Life After The Navigator Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with attractive cover artwork and a booklet with photos and remarks from Lisa Downs, Joey Cramer, and Flight director Randal Kleiser. (An iron-on patch and a hand-written, personalized note from Downs was also included, but these may be exclusive to copies ordered directly from Life After Movies.) A deep collection of extras is also included on-disc, most of which should greatly appeal to fans of the original film.

• Director's Interview (13:12) - In this 2020 piece, writer/director/editor Lisa Downs talks about her work leading up to Life After the Navigator and its development including finding Joey Cramer's whereabouts, talking with his mother, writing to him in a correction center, meeting him in person for the first time, and of course gathering other Flight cast and crew members for a reunion, among other topics.

• Deleted and Extended Scenes - Seven clips, roughly 1-5 minutes apiece, most of which would've fit in well enough with the main feature. These include "Superman in Nanaimo", "Veronica Cartwright's Prank", "The Last Known Photo", "Jeffrey Kleiser's Biggest Challenge", "Gastown Hangout: Extended Cut", "The Ferry Ride" , and "Vancouver Hometown Visit: Extended Cut". Needless to say, there's some great material here.

• Randal Kleiser and Joey Cramer Interview (7:43) - This brief but enjoyable sit-down interview with the director and actor, conducted shortly after their first reunion during the film, gives both a chance to catch up and speak about their memories together, including of course several stories from the set.

• "The Invasion" Short Film (13:57) - This ultra low-budget 1988 short film, directed by Heidi Newell (who would later work on Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog), is presented here in rough but mostly watchable form and stars Joey Cramer just a few short years after Flight of the Navigator.

• Tech Talk: Mother and Son (1:11) - A relatable clip with Joey helping mom out with her smartphone.

• Howard Hesseman (2:14) - Various Flight cast and crew members share their memories of actor Howard Hesseman, who was obviously very much alive during production but died in 2022.

• Joey Cramer Interview (15:49) - A reflective self-recorded Q&A style piece in which the actor answers brief text-based questions presumably posed by writer/director Lisa Downs.

• Official Trailer (2:58) - This promotional piece can also be seen here.

Life After The Navigator Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lisa Downs' Life After the Navigator presents the well-deserved humanization of a former child actor whose turbulent growth into adulthood might've otherwise been written off by the general public. Smoother transitions between both sides of its narrative -- fun Flight of the Navigator reunion, sporadically grim journey into a life riddled with crime and addiction -- would've yielded even better results (if such a feat was possible)... but fans of the film will appreciate the ride, regardless of its many sharp turns. Life After Films' region-free Blu-ray is a well-rounded package, boasting solid A/V merits and a thoughtful collection of extras that support the film well. Highly Recommended.