THE LAST STARFIGHTER (1984)
Tagline: In his wildest dreams, Alex never suspected that tonight he would become... the Last Starfighter.
(Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure) [PG]
See Alex, you’ve gotta go back, if you stay here your dog meat
In this one, across space, a mad son named Xur is wanting to take over the universe with an armada, and only a band of starfighters can save it. One of the starfighters is recruited by a man named Centauri via a video game in a trailer park that was meant to go to Vegas. Alex Rogan breaks the high score on the game and before he knows it he’s the last starfighter after the starfighter base is destroyed.
First off, one thing you are going to have to get over if you watch this thing these days is the early CGI work. This was made in 1984 and CGI, animation stuff was just starting to look decent enough to get into movies and not be completely laughable. Fortunately, this movie also has quite a bit of practical effects because the CGI does have some rough patches. The make-up and prosthetics used in the film are pretty amazing and we get some really great creature designs for the aliens. I do think that if they had taken the same approach to filmmaking as STAR WARS did regarding the space battles this movie would have been even bigger than it was. The movie almost doubled its budget at the box office, but in most cases, a movie has to almost triple what it cost to make, to be considered successful.
1984 was one of the best years in movie-making history overall. GHOSTBUSTERS, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, GREMLINS, and on and on. THE LAST STARFIGHTER fit right in there especially for us kids that were just getting into video games and crazy sci-fi stuff. I was 11 when this hit the theaters and I wasted no time in checking it out. This is always one of those movies I really liked but never bought.
The acting is pretty decent overall, but it was awesome to see Lance Guest back on screen after his role in HALLOWEEN II. The movie also features Catherine Mary Stewart who is perfect in this as Alex’s girlfriend Maggie or “Mags”. Catherine Mary Stewart is best known for her role in NIGHT OF THE COMET, but she’s been in a ton of stuff and was still acting as of 2019. Centauri is played by Robert Preston and he has one of the more memorable roles in this. Dan O'Herlihy plays Grig who is Alex’s co-pilot in the space battles. O’Herihy is famous for being in ROBOCOP as “The Old Man”. He was also the really creepy dude in HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH.
One hilarious thing about this movie is that the main bad guy looks like he was probably the inspiration for the crazy aliens in GALAXY QUEST. I mean, he’s supposed to be a villain, but I just can’t handle how goofy he looks. Even having any one of his henchmen be the leader might have been a better idea.
Overall this is a really fun movie in spite of the outdated CGI stuff. I have to give this one a 6 out of 7. It’s a verifiable sci-fi cult classic with an excellent balance between the earth and space scenes. I never regret watching it.
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