The Last Starfighter (1984) Retrospective / Review
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The Last Starfighter (1984) Retrospective / Review
Special thanks to 'Larry Bundy Jr' for the video game info
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As a child of the 80's this was one of my favs. This and Enemy Mine with Louis Gossett Jr.
Enemy Mine is such an under appreciated movie
The Last Starfighter is still one of my favorite movies. I had the pleasure of seeing it in the theater with my dad and brothers; I was eight. To this day, saying "Greetings" around any of them almost always results in an enthusiastic recital. I listened to the audio book for 'Ready Player One' at work, and disrupted the entire shift the first time Wade entered his password to log into the Oasis. Will Wheaton said, "Greetings..." and I shouted with my arms up, "Starfighter; you have been recruited by the Star League to defend The Frontier against Xur and the Kodan Armada!" I didn't bother to explain the outburst.
I don't care what anyone says, this movie was far ahead of its time. The effects still look ok even today.
The film is great. I was born in 1984 the year the film was released.
I remember smiling when reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, the main character's password is the intro of the StarFighter game.
If you like the retro sci-fi/geeky vibe I suggest giving that book a try, I was not able to put it down.
Agreed this film was 100% ahead of it's time. It was the first film to have all it's special effects using computers
Q
The Monday morning quarterbacks are the ones NEVER with a Super Bowl ring.
This is easily one of the most underappreciated films of the 80s. I remember watching this repeatedly on HBO at the time. It has a unique story and a lot of charm. To this day, I believe it still holds up and is a reminder of a time where special effects merely enhanced the story as opposed to hiding a lackluster plot. If only a film like Green Lantern could have taken a few cues from this classic, we would have had a much better GL movie. CGI does not a great film make.
That main theme is as strong as anything John Williams has done. Grig and Alex’s interactions are the best. “What are you worried about, theoretically we should be dead already.”
Lance Guest deserves a lot of credit for his performance in this movie. He played two roles and it's never mentioned how impressive he is. Shame he never did anything after.
I think he was in an episode of House
He did, actually, but it seems more like small parts here and there, mostly on TV, although he was in Jaws: The Revenge, although I won't hold that against him. I was really surprised back in the day when he popped up in an episode of The X-Files
Lance is a one hit wonder, and what a hit for me who watched this on vhs tape until it was worn out😂
I loved the last lines of the bad guys. "What do we do?" "We die"
me and my friends mimicked that as kids for years to come - never lost that joke
I disagree. "folks in their 60s" might not "get" the video game or the high score, but something they showed in this movie is that the inhabitants of the trailer park were like a family, and they loved Alex. They would have cheered him on, not understanding, but still cheering for *him*.
Totally agree
Agreed. It wasn't so much they were cheering him on for the game, but they were cheering simply something very special...and they just saw that spark he always apparently had about him that he was going to actually make something of himself from their quaint little trailer park. They just didn't expect what he would become.
I totally agree, Hiraghm. I live in a tiny village, pop.150. Almost everyone here is in their 60-90s. Entertainment is scarce. I'd watch Alex beat the machine.
Jon in rural BC, Canada
Add to that, life in a trailer park can get mighty boring, so they get excited over ANYTHING that isn't just another day. I speak from experience.
@@JeremyHobbs The answer still cracks me up: "It's sort of like Air Force One, out in space!"
"If that's what you think, then that's all you'll ever be." Those words inspire me still to this day to defy convention and be the best you can be. My love for this film is undying and I'm so glad that I got to discover it when I was but 8-years old. It ranked up with there with the Star Wars trilogy for me and remains a film that, as you put it, charms the pants off me. Wonderful review, Oliver. I'm beyond glad that you finally got to see it in all of its glory. DEATH BLOSSOM FTW!
KP108 : I just read your great comment 5 years later. I feel exactly the same way. Death Blossom FTW indeed!
Same here saw it as a 8 yr old and still love the movie actually loved this more than Star Wars as a kid and the theme song still sends tingles down the spine when I hear it so had get it on my Spotify playlist lol
so are you looking forward to the 2nd installment?
Centauri coming in hard with the truth bombs!
I first saw this around 2011 or 2012 when it came on The Box (That's a TV channel here in New Zealand), my dad and I noticed a commercial for it saying it would be on that weekend, my dad told me he saw it back in the day (I believe he would have been 15 or so), so that night we broke out the chips, dip and a big bottle of Coke and sat down and watched it together. I... LOVED it to death.
Roger Rabbit What a great tale. I can relate. Art is so amazing. Brings us together in ways we'd never expect.
I found a secondhand VHS at a second hand shop in 2009, the first time I saw the film since childhood. I had the tape until 2013 when my VHS player got put in the garage. A shame it's not been released on DVD in New Zealand.
1987 for me.
it was an AMAZING story, creative writing....
they should remake this ,,,,=^..^=,,,,
Roger Rabbit
I got the recommendation for being a big fan of 80s movies, and it’s my third favorite movie of all time.
I saw this in Kingsville Texas when it came out. I loved it but it seems that most people never remembered it. I was surprised to see this on my recommended list... Happily so! Thank you for bringing back some wonderful memories of my teen years.
Is it weird that I'm a millennial and absolutely love this movie? In my opinion the effects actually do hold up, they are pretty simple compared to a modern film, but they just have so much charm that it doesn't matter!
Great review by the way.
Nope. You just have good taste in film. :D
No. Millenials are the target audience. Oliver Harper himself is a Millenial.
@@burntvirtue I don't think a target audience can be a demographic that didn't exist at the time a film was made.
A good movie is a good movie regardless of age , just like a good song stands the test of time.
I love movies from before I was born , great Art will always be great !
I loved this movie!!! This movie make me teary-eye when I hear the score and they made the story so relatable that you can see your self as the main character.
Yet Criminally underated Scifi cult classic.
Agreed I also love event horizon great movie
This was a great review as always. I just have two small things to say.
1. The trailer park was a tight knit community. I doubt the elderly members cared much for the game, but they delighted in Alex's determination to beat it. They all loved Alex and were cheering for him and not for a video game. I imagine an attempt to break the jump rope record would have sparked equal enthusiasm. There wasn't a lot of action at the ole trailer park.
2. I didn't know the behind the scenes reason for Lance wearing the wig. I always assumed that it was a deliberate creative choice to visually distinguish Beta as a less than perfect copy.
Wow that brings bi memories I used to have this on VHS pretty decent film
He was also feeling quite ill during the filming of those scenes, which is especially noticeable when they're riding in the truck to the lake. He looks very uncomfortable and responds somewhat awkwardly, yet it works. It all just came together to enhance the whole "not really human" feel.
I thought the same thing about his weird hair
I named my son Alex because of this movie!
did you little starfighter got well so far?
Wow! :D
You GOTTA show him this film at one point.
Cool. I have a friend who named his son Max Sterling. You can probably figure out where that is from.
My father named me Xur because of this movie. But I showed him! ;)
in regard to you finding it unrealistic that a bunch of adults would gather to cheer him on ...
when i was a kid, I used to play Golden Axe at an arcade at the beach.
and one particular day I managed to gather a huge crowd of kids AND adults cheering me on and giving me money to keep playing.
these were adults with things to do and in the middle of the day.
the adults in the movie had literally nothing else going on lead very boring lives.
also another arcade I frequented with my dad was part of a store with a pool hall in it.
and the adults in that place all got to know me and cheer me on as I played Black Tiger.
So it's more realistic than you think.
AllBlacks4Life with one? Not far. Usually to stage two. Luckily I usually had a few bucks in quarters with me whenever I played
AllBlacks4Life
One credit! ? Impressive
AllBlacks4Life LOL nice
I noticed that he came off a bit dickish in this review. I also pointed out that any critiques one may have is not nitpicking.
One time I gathered a crowd because I'd been playing a pinball machine on one credit for nearly two hours. Man, those were the days.
1984 was a great year for Sci Fi. .....last starfighter, starman, the terminator, neuromancer to name a few.
one year before i was born.
10years later i saw star trek the first time.
i looked to my dad and said "cool pop"
i can remember his eyes and his words "you have seen nothing son".
then he activated the vhs from starfighter and i qas born again
I think the point of the old people getting exciting about Alex breaking the record is meant to show how utterly dull life in his trailer park can be. It reinforces Alex's ambitions to leave. Either that, or they had a bit too many beers while watching Matlock and Murder She Wrote and simply got caught up in the excitement.
haha Matlock and Murder She Wrote..possibly.
Hey man, when you're having a slow ass night with nothing to do, kicking ass at video games can create quite a stir. This was back when the arcades were still new and all that, we've lost that with consoles and all that. These types of events just don't happen anymore, games are too private now... but in public, I imagine it can be a big draw to anyone who wants to watch someone kick ass in the virtual space.
Absolutely! If you've ever heard the (I believe) off Broadway musical play that came out, say, mid 2000s it sort of goes into the excitement for everyone. I have it on CD somewhere.... Maybe it's available to listen to on CZcams.
I have to disagree. Yes I'm an old person now, but I love a lot of the movies from that time and before. Now you have to be so 'PC'. Aside of a few Star Trek and Star Wars ( and I mean a few ) nothing is worth going to see. Yes I am an old person now.....Where do you get your excitement, your latest game on the iPhone or some small piece of shit. Movies with huge CGI but no actual content. Even the remakes of classics suck. OK enjoy your new stuff, I am still waiting for something good.
I actually grew up in a trailer park and was 15/16 when this movie came out. people who lived in our park would have definitely come out to see a record broken, because most of the people living there really had no other excitement in their lives. Some were so poor, actually going to see this movie in the theater was out of the question. So to see a local youth beat what was considered an unbeatable game would have been like going to see Star Wars, Raiders, or ET. They would have got to see something special, even if it was limited to their own little part of the world.
This movie actually helped inspire me to be more than I was told I could be, to move out of the trailer park and try to make something out of my life. unless you lived it, you really don't know what it's like to constantly be told your family is nothing and you'll end up just like them. Reminds me of my favorite part of BTTF when Strickland says to Marty "no McFly has amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley!" to which Marty answers "well, history's gonna change."
This would make a good series. Give it the proper 80’s style treatment. Different alien enemies.Explore more of The Last Starfighter universe.
Computer graphics in this movie are still bloody impressive after all those years.
They were incredibly impressive for the time period it was made in.
"Now... we die." epic
Ivan
Always loved that scene!!
The Commander never says "Now" in that scene. Still epic, though: Panicky meteor gunner asks what they do when the ship's about to crash, commander calmly retracts his eyepiece and says his line... Now that's the way a true leader acts when faced with certain doom.
Yeah, the other guy says "What do we do now?" and the commander flips his monocle into place and says "We die". Best line in the movie.
@@charlesajones77They were also "quite well" writen for the minor part they played..
We know they are the bad guys and they are evil and want to conquer the universe and probably have not complex backstory.. but instead of the archetypical villain maniacly laughting constantly and bloating about how they will kill them all.. theese guys were actually very exceptical with Xur plans, quite prudent in their advance and clearly afraid of what the Gunstar fleet could do with them.. even a single one.. and when defeated they simply acept death
I’d be well pleased if you’d do a review on The Explorers.
I was a lucky kid, we had HBO and a VCR in the early 80's, and my Dad taped almost every movie that aired. I completely wore out the copy of this movie. For years and years I looked everywhere for the arcade game. I was convinced that if you were good enough, aliens would come and recruit you. The rarity of the actual game was proof to me that it was not an ordinary video game. I ended up writing a letter to Atari, and I actually got a form letter in response. Apparently lots of people wrote them about it.
that's what made this film an effective mythological kids story of current times. The entire story is inventive and cool, and the idea of an arcade game as a way to recruit starfighters makes you wish or think of what if?
The beta unit "transformation" scared the cr@p out of me back in the day....
15:00 I'm going to disagree with you here. Alex was extremely well liked and respected in this community. The adults cheering him on were there to cheer him on, not to be entertained by the game itself.
They were supporting Alex, even if they had no interest in the game itself.
Agreed. Small communities tend to come together and support each other, no matter how trivial the endeavor might be.
@@christianalanwilson434 You can see in the movie how Alex is always helping the other people, fixing things, hooking up TV antennas, everyone liked Alex.
Many people dislike CGI and how it looks like when compared to models. I, too, prefer Models over CGI... but I must say, some of the Computer-generated effects in this 30-Year old film still hold up well and look better than most CGI made afterwards.
This was Preston's best role since The Music Man. The scene where he picked up the unsuspecting Lance Guest character and while in the car things were revealed and the boy found out they were flying out to space was one of the best scene I saw in a movie.
Catherine Mary Stewart was a 80s version of Emma Watson ;)
So she went on to have a porn career too?
Oh my god. The memories! I was six when this movies came out, and I'd make my dad take me to it over and over and over. Even owned a copy on Beta. Thanks Oliver, I think I will watch this again tonight. :)
As a kid I loved that movie....what do we do...’We Die’. Best last words of a bad guy ever.
Alex Rogan becomes a skilled pilot without magic or the Force. He simply albeit unknowingly repeatedly engages in a training program, honing his skills with probably some natural talent to give him an edge. That's it.
That's why I still prefer him over Luke Skywalker.
Clint Guidry I never looked at it like that, good comparison.
It is implied that theres a bit of 'chosen one' ness going on there. Its not expanded on and can easily be as grounded as simple natural talent getting drawn out rather than something as ephemeral as the force or some powerset.
Clint Guidry
That's a pretty cool reason!
Strictly speaking, the Starfighters themselves are glorified gunners, with the Navigators being the actual pilots. The game in the movie is basically an On-Rails Shooter instead of a flight sim. Kinda like the original Star Wars: Rebel Strike games.
That being said, there is a lot of skill involved in making sure you hit your targets while sitting in that gyro chair. Not sure how Lance Guest was able to keep his food down after riding in that thing, especially during the Death Blossom sequence.
No, his greatest strength was an endless supply of quarters.
In the film's defense, it was set initially in a community that was pretty starved for entertainment and they weren't cheering on some teenager they were cheering on Alex. He was such an integral part of that community that when I saw the movie my first thought at the end was how are they going to get along without him?
This movie was totally badass when it came out
I won't even call this one a guilty pleasure. It's a pure pleasure. Great classic story. Good characters well acted and fun. An amazing score. Those incredible Dan O'Herlihy and Robert Preston performances. Just an utter delight.
This came out when I was 14 so I FREAKING LOVED THIS FILM TO DEATH!!
I love this movie. I saw it in the theater when I was in my early 20's. It's still one of my favorites. I bought the VHS copy, then the DVD, then the HD version and finally the Blu-Ray copy. they should have produced a version of the game for the Atari 400/800 computers. They probably could have sold 2 million units. The version made by Rogue Synapse is very good.
Pity I can't get it to run on Windows 10 yet...
I recorded this movie off of Showtime on the day it premiered on the channel, and I think I watched it DAILY for nearly over a year! Such a wonderful review, Oliver. You hit all of the right points!
This movie has the best of both worlds,heart and story wrapped up with at the time state of the art cgi and a fantastic score.I watched this when I was 9 and every time I come back I am 9 again.This is what most modern movies lack.
This was an excellent movie that will continue to be timeless, for all ages.
"All right! We're being invaded!" -- loved the little brother's lines...
The last jedi wishes its was this good. This is the one of only two films were the hero leaves earth at the end, an i love that. Close encounters is the other. :)
Aww man, this takes me back, this was one of my favorite childhood movies! great review!
TheY2JMc Thanks man!
A fantastic but forgotten gem . I had a pirate copy of this on vhs and loved it
Dude you and I can hang out and watch films all day. You like a lot of movies that I like
At 18:20, when Rob Preston makes one last attempt to persuade Alex, you can practically see and hear Professor Harold Hill (The Music man) shining through. "There's trouble... right here is quadrant 50."
How this isn't seen as a classic is beyond me. It's fun, adevnterous, with characters you like and want to see succeed. HOW IS THIS NOT SPOKEN OF MORE!?
This was a huge part of my childhood. I caught it on HBO when I was a kid... I still think the "we die" line is one of the best.
Hey now.....I remember playing Qbert way back when I was ten which means that was back in 1986 ish at a campground and it started with two older women who watched me play the arcade and my score was insane but what killed me was a crowd formed an I ran out of quarters so the two women searched through their purses and found a few and kept putting them in the machine anytime my lives were up to keep playing, I never felt so much like a arcade king as I did that day! People cheering and shouting from stomping on the highest score, you can believe it or not but it happened and I bet it did a lot in other places especially in a trailer park people live only because back then we didn't have our phones to distract us all from being human and being together just to enjoy others company. I tell you some of the adults yelled out the door to friend to come see this kid who is making a world record....I doubt it was a record but back then who knew? Great video and I loved the Last Starfighter when it first came out and own a DVD to watch cause it's a classic that brings me back to when I was young. Don't mean to seem like I'm correcting but sharing a story of a different time.
Now I feel like watching The Last Starfighter.... I remember seeing this in the theatre. :)
I've watched it three times this year and I'd watch it again if I weren't afraid of possibly burning out on it.
I actually have my copy sitting next to me right now. Definitely one of my favorites.
Watching it tonight now that I've watched this video! I already took the Blu-ray out of the shelf. ;)
30 years ago last month. A great entry in a summer full of memorable movies.
Such a fun movie watched in my childhood, gotta rewatch!!
One of my favourite movies as a kid growing up in the eighties.
I remember, as a 4 year old my parents taking my older brother and I to the drive in movie theater to watch this film. What I remember most vividly about the experience is being outside of the car playing with other kids and watching the movie trailers ahead of the film and then, when the rousing theme music and title screen started. It startled me and I ran back to the car! I've always loved the score since then. One of the best nostalgic movie memories I will ever have. Love this movie!
When Grig tells Alex “You did it!” and he does his laugh, that always made me and my buddy laugh. It’s a real “throaty” hoarse sounding laugh that still gets me.
I saw it in theaters as a kid and it still holds up 30 years later. Very fun. I love the design of the Gunstar and have always wanted a toy/model of the ship.
Saw this in the theater all those years ago. Sadly, still waiting for the sequel. Alan Dean Foster who wrote the novelization liked it as well, saying he loved the line "Ramming Speed!!"
Saw it in the theater when i was 8, loved it then and still do. Thanks for doing this video, brought back some fond memories..
Man I love this movie. Some of my fave parts, years later:
- Grig's makeup effects still look fantastic (and it helps that his acting and character is so good.)
- The GunStar is still an amazing design for a space craft (and interestingly, has gimble-thrusters that would actually let it move in any direction in space, unlike so many space craft that basically use aircraft design).
- A down-to-earth protagonist, that isn't an action hero, but just a normal, flawed young man, from a fairly small, friendly community.
- The music! I couldn't hum the theme to any of the MCU movies, but this one actually has a memorable theme.
- The Starcar. (I've seen 2 cars in the real world with a 'Rylos1' license plate).
- Commander Kril. So cool.
- The effects. They may look dated now, but at the time they looked so good, I had no idea they were computer generated (other than the arcade game).
- Death blossom, a weapon of last resort!
Loved what you said about it combining the heart of a Spielberg film with the fun adventure of a Lucas film, good way to put it. Even if the effects aren't top notch anymore, the film's fun and messages still hold up.
I really liked this movie. I remember when I first saw it and it still gets me today when I thought that Centari had died such a sad moment in the movie.
Good twist at the end when he comes back.
This is one of the best classic sci-fi movies ever made as far as I'm concerned and was a huge part of my childhood, for sure!
For on and off for 20/30 years, I've seen this film and I never knew the Old Man from RoboCop was in this as the alien co-pilot. O.O
One criticism for an otherwise great review: 1980's trailer park - no cable - it would have been a cool diversion to watch a local kid going for A WORLD RECORD. Alex was friendly and helpful at the site. WORLD RECORD - let that sink in. I have no doubt his championship attempt would attract a crowd. Plus, maybe they weren't all there from the start. Maggie, his brother & mother, Otis and Granny would no doubt have spread the word. And some people would simply want to see what all the noise and excitement was all about. My Dad would have been up there in a jiff.
small towns also usually back anyone going for anything because of that tight knit atmosphere. Ive seen basically entire towns pack up to cheer on high schoolers competing at an event, even for something like bowling. Its less about the content and more of hey I know that kid, he's doing something cool, so I'm going to let him know that we want him to do well. There is a reason high school sports are often the big thing in small towns even if the team is not the best, i have no doubt that a world record attempt would garner a similiar reaction.
Full props have to given to this movie for being the prototype for all photorealistic CGI films that came afterwards. Unlike other series like the Star Wars prequels, the CGI actually enhanced the story of the film, rather than detract or try to override it. I think that's the reason why the Star Wars prequels didn't live up to the original trilogy. They had extremely poor script writing and the CGI was basically just for show. The Last Starfighter is one of my favorite movies, just because its simple storyline, great characters, and good effects at the time. I am both eager and reluctant to see a remake of this film, considering Hollywood's less than stellar success with reboots. If they could update the effects and rewrite the script for modern audiences, yet keep the same spirit and feeling of the original, then I would gladly see it. However, if they stay true to form and just try to go for the cash grab with meaningless effects, poor script adaptation and change the tone, then I can understand why the original writer is reluctant to grant even Steven Spielberg the chance for a reboot. The Last Starfighter deserves a proper reboot or better yet a good sequel. And I am not talking about that Tron Legacy nonsense.
The funny thing is that the Digital Productions team presented a test to George Lucas in 1978 of their work by showing X-Wings performing aerial maneuvers, but he felt the technology wasn't ready yet. It unfortunately still wouldn't be quite ready enough for the Prequels.
ForceMaximus84 Let it go guys come on... it's shit like this that got us The Last Jedi.
Hung Nguyen
The only way I could see them redoing The Last Starfighter would be to go for a shot by shot and line by line remake, adjusting for modern times while still trying to go for relatively timeless effects and dialogue... Meaning you don't want it to be too dated 20 years from now. I'd watch that, if it was done well. Heck, it might be an excellent palette to work with and a great remake for other filmmakers to learn from, with all of the rubbish being put out today. I could very much see that being a sleeper hit
Fenris30 What do you mean shit like this? This movie had an actual story, way more logical than The Last Jedi, which is a mess.
He's saying that fans giving Lucas crap is what prompted Lucas to sell Lucasfilm, thereby being bought by Disney and Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams greenlighting Last Jedi.
My dad took me to the cinema to warch this flick when I was a kid. I only wanted to be a "space warrior" and I also loved vidrogames, so this movie struck me very hard. I lovely piece of my childhood.
Grig was the pilot, Alex was the gunner.
1 million miles from home and some gung-ho iguana tells me to relax!
Except for the continuity error where Alex pilots the ship for a second.
@@homersimpson2159 Alex didn't fly either ship. He was the gunner, not the pilot.
@@erictaylor5462 Yes, I know. There is however a continuity error in the film, hence the "EXCEPT FOR THE CONTINUITY ERROR" in the film. Please read more carefully.
@@homersimpson2159 When does Alex fly the ship?
I saw this as a kid in the theater, I loved it as a kid, cool thing I can get this on Blu ray
When i was a child my parents took me to see this when it came out and my mind was blown. Only good memories.
Another wonderful review.
Sad to admit that I only have this on VHS. Totally getting it on BluRay now!
Totally worth it, even if only for the nostalgia factor. I bought my BluRay copy a few years back, watched it and liked it. I forgot about it for two years and then watched it again in January, and loved it. A day or two later I watched it again with the commentary on and it was still awesome. - It's funny that although I never saw it in the 80s, and only once in the 90s, that a nostalgia trip "must-have" purchase of the BluRay made me love this movie like I really should have all along. - It would be nice to see this movie re-released with updated CGI.
Watching on Blu Ray looks way better. They cleaned up really good that it feels and looks like came out last year.
I have this on VHS from back in the day! Loved it - the weird lens over flipping over the alien eye just before he says "we die" was a nice touch! Death blossom! I don't think I have ever seen that move pulled off in any other movie!
Great video! Thank you so much. The Last Starfighter really is one of the greatest science fiction adventure movies ever made. Truly a classic film
This is one of my faves from my teen years. Use to watch it all the time on HBO. Haven't seen it in ages, need to rewatch it!
Flashbacks of being 5 and watching this in amazement on VHS.
I think the point behind the trailer park scene where everyone is cheering him on is that nothing interesting happens in that park. As a child - when I saw this film in the theater I felt like we were all cheering him on :).
Man time sure flies I was 6 years old when this movie came out.
Dang the shot it 40 days impressive.
I loved this film, and the CGI for the time was great, I would love to see a remastered version.
We had this on VHS back in the 80s. My brothers and I watched it everyday one summer. This was a huge part of my childhood.
I loved this film as a kid, I would watch it so many times, even now I still have found memories. great review.
A classic sci fi movie, saw it on VHS when I was a kid and it's had a special place in the geeky bit of my heart ever since.
One thing I always wondered, though. What does Centauri do with all the quarters he rakes in from the (presumably many) Starfighter games he's put out there to find the right person?
I'd forgotten about this film until I saw the thumbnail for your review.
I remember watching it as a child on VHS at my brother's place. Those memories came back while watching your review.
The recent Ready Player One has more than its fair of similarities to The Last Starfighter.
Thank you for bringing back such a great memory.
Saw this in the theater when it came out. I was in the Air Force and went with a bunch of my squadron buddies. We absolutely loved it, despite the cheese. It really is a great film, even with the limitations noted - the writing, actors and director transform it from something that could have been abominably stupid into something quite charming indeed.
I got incredibly lucky to have seen this film when I was a kid. I never caught it on TV. Instead, I was just sitting in the living room when my mother came in and handed me a VHS. She said, "I saw this at a garage sale and thought you might like it." I turned it over and was a little hesitant to watch it because I'd been burned by a lot of cheap VHS copies of very bad movies that I picked up just because they were sci-fi. But I popped it in anyway and... MAN... I was blown away! To this day I still think as highly of this film as I do Star Wars. It's an incredibly good film that has aged well.
I saw this in the theater as a kid. Always loved it so much. I have that 25th Anniversary BluRay. Even though I'm a lifelong CGI Artist, I have never seen the CGI as anything but appropriate, The movie was about a video game after all!
This is one of the movies that defined my childhood. I watched it SO MUCH. Just rewatched it and it still has the same magic it did back then. Its only drawback is the limitation of the SFX back then. Everything else; the casting, music, direction, editing, were all perfect. Love this movie so much.
I always thought that if the spirit of it were maintained, a remake of this flick would be incredible. Swap out an arcade game with a virtual reality online space simulator like Star Citizen or Elite: Dangerous and you'd have a rocking remake of an already awesome movie.
Alex: It'll be a slaughter!
Grig: That's the spirit!
Alex: No, *my* slaughter!
My friends and I liked this a lot. Maybe it was a bit lightweight, but it had good characters, amazing (for the time) cgi, and not quite the usual herd of contrivances that used to plague films of this kind.
I vividly remember seeing The Last Starfighter in the theater. I loved it then and I love it today. It would be nice to see it with remade SFX using modern technology.
Review of "Night of the Comet" please. The actress who plays Maggie is the heroine.
The backbone of this movie was its heart, simple genuine relationships reflective of the time and people in the mid 80s. Technology was becoming more and more prevalent but people still had to interact face to face and not through phones or social media.
I was 19 when this came out and I left the theater utterly charmed by its story and characters. A simpler time in many ways.
Love this movie! I had seen it at my uncles house when I was a kid...he still has the original laser disc...
Hi Oliver. I can attest to just how mind boggling the effects were when this film first came out. I went to see this film 6 times JUST to see those space sequences. The fact that the story and characters were so wonderful was the icing on the cake. Robert Preston was priceless as Centauri, and Dan O'herlihy was magnificent as Grig. I can watch this film over and over and it never loses its charm. Great review, my friend.
Centuri's words to Alex at the car - that conversation (especially Centuri's delivery) made me think of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Uncle Ben from Spider-man put together... "I'm just a kid from a trailer park...." - "If that's what you think - then that's all you'll ever be..." - it wasn't some huge, massive speech; it was short, simple and it's stuck with me ever since I watched this movie...
That android duplicate in bed - freakiest looking thing in cinema EVER!
I’m glad my local theater played this so I could see this in the theater as it was meant to be. Even managed to get my dad and brother to come to watch it with me, both having to drive a hour.
I always have liked this movie great cast,I'm 70 this year and a grandma but my family had to watch it with me every time it was on. Now it's 2021 and we have three TV's , smartphones I'm watching it again hurray for The Last Star Fighter!!
A part of history you might not know, that popped out of long storage memory, is this was used as a test reel for the ISIX Nemo, a very promising interactive video game system from the 80s, which gave you the option for full screen full motion video, using VHS tapes and fairly cheap VCRs rather than very expensive laserdisc players at the time. My friend, Charlie Kellner, pieced together a demo video showing the potential of the console, using Last Starfighter as a source. When the system was in development, they made a few game titles you may have heard of, Sewer Shark (with game footage by John Dykstra of Star Wars fame and many other shows and movies), Night Trap, Make Your Own Videos with Kid and Play, and others I can't recall off my head.
Idk how old you are but my dad was a young adult in the 80s. I asked him about the grown adults cheering him on and he said it was totally realistic. You wouldn't see it today but when there's one arcade in a small community, it's one of the few things people have to talk about. An arcades were really impressive to a lot of people back then
Excellent review as always and one of my favorite movies as a kid and for the time the cgi was great. Definitely needs more credit for its special effects and i would love to see a remake as i am sure that it would do well with todays technological advancements.
It actually makes me really happy to hear that the film was a modest success at the box office. You'd think something like this would've been forgotten. I only ever saw this film once on HBO many years ago but it always stuck out to me. Good to know someone appreciates it.
Saw this in the movies as a kid and I thought it was a great story and I knew it was done by Cgi. Still love it today
what a grand adventure this film was. i remember i had a Last Starfighter coloring book and i was in utter awe of even that. why did they stop making films like this - epic journeys of growth and salvation that we could all believe in, and an utterly fantastic sound track to boot. i'm glad this was a part of my formative experience, and i wouldn't mind a well done sequel either!