One of my most fonded movies, i remember watching this as a kid and been blown away, pass the cheesy graphics and captivated by the story which leads me to spend a ton of quarters as a kid on the coin-up machines wishing for something similar
This was playing on a nearly continuous loop throughout the better part of my childhood, but as I hadn't seen it in over two decades, I was basically watching it again for the first time. It doesn't hold up magnificently and bows to a huge number of clicheés from the decade's pop-friendly films, but still retains a strong sense of endearing sincerity and naïveté. The back of my mind kept reminding me of how terribly hackneyed the story and characters were, but that wasn't always enough to wipe the stars out of my eyes nor the grin from my face.
It's a staggeringly rudimentary plot - teen going nowhere in life gets a high score in a video game, only to learn it was a secret recruiting tool for an intergalactic war - but a thorough coating of childlike whimsy and wonder, plus a few startlingly good special effects (given the era) are just enough to pull it back from the brink. Anyone younger than twenty will likely roll their eyes and snort at its simplicity, but audiences with a memory of the eighties should enjoy it for the sentimentality alone.
One of my favourite movies as a kid. I probably watched this fifteen times... more than once is unusual for me.
Video games had to be good for something.
“Greetings Starfighters...” A science fiction classic, The Last Starfighter delivers an imaginative, action-packed adventure. After breaking the record on the Starfighter arcade game at his trailer park, Alex Rogan is approached by the game’s creator and taken to a space-station on a distant planet where he learns that the arcade game was really an alien recruiting tool to find Starfighters to defend the Star League against an invasion force. Starring Lance Guest, Catherine Mary Stewart, and Robert Preston, the film has a good cast that delivers some pretty strong performances. And, as one of the first feature films to use CGI, the special effects are incredibly innovative and revolutionary for their time. The score by Craig Safan is also extraordinarily well-done, and is full of sweeping themes. Though it’s aged a bit, The Last Starfighter is a fun and entertaining space odyssey.
The effects are certainly out dated with goofy villains. The humor is quite good though.
It works as a movie for those kids and teens of the 80’s who wished they’d be sent to space to help aliens. After seeing Star Wars lol. More than it being another Star Wars wannabe after that was a hit.
The lead is weak. Don't want to hate on the guy, he's Halloween royalty, same with the director. The premise to this movie is so damn solid. I love the beta thing. That's a great angle. The little kid is great. Catherine Mary Stewart, great. Even the practical sets of Rylos and the character design was cool. Its this primitive CGI that is alllll overrrrrrr this movie that sinks it. And the fact that it takes the lead guy wayyyyy too long to accept the hero call. He's a motionless bummer for the majority of this thing.
For a film about forced heroism, it really forces the "wow" factor down your throat. At the time, it was the most CGI in a film. Clocking in about half an hour of pure computer effects. For this reason, it has aged horribly. Looking like the cutscene from a PS1 game, it was too ahead of its time. Giving it the uncanny valley feeling while watching.
The characters here are the worst part sadly. Our protagonist Alex is boring and is only doing well when acting off himself. Which, to me, were the best parts of the movie. Grig was okay for his part, but I never found myself liking him. Which they seemed to want you to. Plus, seeing the whole movie through, the ending really seemed off the most. Centauri was good in a Galaxy Quest alien kind of way. But again, the conclusion with all these different characters doesn't seem right.
The bad guy is just that. He's bad, he has a motive to be bad. Do we know? Maybe? I didn't pay attention to any exposition they may have given him if they did. Because I was so bored with him after a few minutes. Just a reason for the special effects and plot to move forward. He left no lasting impression on me except that he was annoying as hell.
Plot is bland yet has a whimsical flow. The underlying message is a strong one that we don't see much. Except again, the conclusion ruins it. I did enjoy myself seeing this product of a time where technology was advancing in the film industry. Playing on the ideas of creative what-ifs in the 80s. Nick Castle knew what he was making. A homage to all those that came before and putting a child's wish onto the screen. Spielberg was obviously a heavy influence for Castle for this movie. Family tropes that don't quite work here, but are definitely how Spielberg would set it. Another influence is Star Wars and Star Trek as the designs of sets and aliens were very close to some in those works. As I believe the set designer actually worked on Star Wars before.
But the question remains. Is The Last Starfighter a decent movie? Actually, yes. The CGI may be overly distracting, the villain may be over the top bad. But it still holds itself up somewhat in the end. An adventure you would want to see as a kid in the 80s. One to see yourself in. Is it a great movie? God no. If they focused on the main character's arc more then maybe it would have been better. But honestly, this movie was never meant to be a film that you'd watch to analyse and get your few cents of quality filmmaking. No, this is a flick you watch to either laugh at, laugh with, or to have an adventure that is simple and fun. In the right ways. The Last Starfighter is an okay movie. But I'm glad my father forced me to watch it.
5.2/10
I loved this movie when I was a kid. Somethings should stay in the past
Shout by FinFanBlockedParent2017-10-15T19:55:34Z
Show me one gamer around the time who didn´t dream at least once for something like this to happen to him.