Synopsis: Davey Osborne is an imaginative youngster who loves role-playing games, and who often enlists the aid of his best friend, an imaginary super-spy named Jack Flack. One day he witnesses a real murder of an FBI agent who passes a videogame called “Cloak & Dagger” to him before he dies. When the police come, the body is gone, and no one will believe him, including his father, Col. Hal Osborne. Soon Davey finds himself up to his neck in hairbreadth escapes, real bullets, and slam-bang action as the hitmen close in. Can jack save him before time runs out? Cloak & Dagger stars Henry Thomas of E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Dabney Coleman in a dual role of Jack and Davey’s father, and Michael Murphy.
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Cloak and Dagger 7.5

I remember when this film came out – I was just a kid, and Henry Thomas was a hero to all of us thanks to his role in ‘E.T.’. ‘Cloak and Dagger’ obviously got a lot of coverage because of his success and it looked like a lot of fun. Sadly, I never got to see it and had to listen to my friends talk about it while I had no point of reference – this would become a regular occurrence, as I never had a VCR and only went to the cinema from time to time.

Well, I have finally seen it – and I really liked it!

In fact, it’s a pretty decently-constructed film – for a film that has been made for 10-year olds (and that also caters a little bit to the parents who would accompany them). Oh, sure, it’s a bit simple-minded at times – but if you watch it with a 10-year-old’s eyes, you can see how exciting and realistic it would appear to be. And an adult’s eyes can easily overlook the contrivances if they get into the spirit of it.

The problem is that these types of spy/actions movies are sometimes written as adult fare (consider a lot of ‘80s action films, actually). That’s when it becomes insufferable – because it’s as though the writers think that adult audiences are stupid. This is not to say that these writers think children are soft in the head, but they recognized that kids typically have a less critical world view and can more easily appreciate simple logic. So that’s what they aimed for.

They hit their target spot on! ‘Cloak and Dagger’ is a simple film passing off as a complex one, but it blends a great cast with ingenuity and a knowing wink (or two).

It’s not great cinema, but it’s a good time – and I’d watch it again without reservation.