Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Universal Studios Home Entertainment – 101 mins  – 1984 – Rated PG – 1080p Widescreen 2.35: 1 – DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1

When I was a kid I remember seeing the commercials for The Last Starfighter and thinking “I have to see this movie.” It was as if the film was made just for me, and no matter what it took, I had to experience it. Thankfully, I was not disappointed then and twenty-five years later, I still feel satisfied. The Last Starfighter was just not an important film to my childhood, but like another sci-fi film, Star Wars, it changed the motion picture industry and gave birth to the age of computer digital effects. Sure, The Last Starfighter is a corny sugar-coated flick that was aimed at all the kids who flooded the arcades to play videogames, but it did it well. For those of you who have not seen the film since you were a kid, or would like to see the film that spawned a whole new filmmaking technology, The Last Starfighter is available on Blu-ray from Universal Home Entertainment.

THE MOVIE

The story of The Last Starfighter is as simple as the plot of most videogames, whereas an unknowing innocent hero must face a challenge and win or all hope will be lost. The hero, Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), is a young man who lives in a trailer park, but unlike the other quirky residents, he doesn’t want to stay here forever and dreams of leaving this place. The only two things that give him a sense of happiness in this place is the girl he’s in love with Maggie Gordon (Catherine Mary Stewart), and a videogame called Starfighter that he plays religiously. After pumping quarters in the arcade game for months, Alex finally gets the perfect score, which is the biggest event to ever happen in this trailer park. That is until immediately after, a mysterious man shows up named Centauri (Robert Preston) in a fancy car and makes Alex an offer he can’t refuse.

Alex enters the magic car, which is actually a spacecraft, and he is taken across the galaxy where he learns that the Starfighter videogame he’s mastered was actually one of many simulators sent to various worlds in hopes of recruiting fighter pilots to help stop a villainous takeover of the Ko-Dan Armada who are attempting to terminate the Star League, a group of rebels who are attempting to restore order to their world. Obviously, Alex thinks this is all crazy and he’s not the man they are looking for, but after realizing that the threat is real, not only to their world, but Earth as well, he accepts the act of heroism, as every other starship is destroyed, making him the last starfighter who must take on the Ko-Dan Armada on his own.

Sure this sounds like a bad 70’s TV show, but that’s the charm of it. The Last Starfighter knows what it’s offering and doesn’t apologize for it. Director Nick Castle, understood that the mid 80’s was the Spielberg era, and he doesn’t fight it, because the mood and feel is lifted directly from the suburban-ish style of ET, Poltergeist, and The Goonies. Lance Guest as Alex Rogen is the epitome of an young 80’s actor, who is a cross between Kevin Bacon and Andrew McCarthy, but trying to be Mark Hamill. He’s very likeable, and you root for him to win just because of that reason.

But the real importance of The Last Starfighter is (at the time) was its groundbreaking computer generated effects. This was the first film to use CGI effects as a part of displaying the world, instead of using traditional models, miniatures and matt photography. Some think Tron did this first, but what most don’t realize is that Tron’s effects were animated ala Disney to simulate computer graphics. The Last Starfighter was the pioneer film that enlisted computer programmers to create digitally designed planets, ships and a full space battle. Of course by today’s standards it looks lame, but it was the film to actually pull it off. The success of the effects in The Last Starfighter is the reason why films like Terminator 2 and every movie thereafter evolved into the photo-realistic experiences of characters such as The Golem, Yoda, and even Jar Jar Binks.

Anyone who loves videogames and science fiction films will appreciate The Last Starfighter, because it’s a simple fun movie that makes you feel good, whether you want to admit it or not. It will never be on the level of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or The Matrix, but in the history of cinema it will hold up just because it was the first film to expand a new form of technology in the art of motion pictures. Those of you who saw this as a kid and now have children of your own, may find The Last Starfighter to be a nice way to spend the afternoon with your kid, and then play some Wii afterwards. All others can just watch it just for the nostalgia of a time when the canvas of film was still developing,

VIDEO

For a twenty five year old movie, Universal did a nice job with this Blu-ray transfer, offering a full 1080p image in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The image quality is clean, but it’s not perfect and at times seems too bright. Colors are good as well as skin tones, particularly in the trailer park community scenes. The digital effects themselves seem very flat and don’t have that three-dimensional bump that we’re used to seeing, even on a TV show like Battlestar Gallactica. Overall, the image quality is well done, but it can never compete with a current Universal Blu-ray. Those looking for an upgrade from their old DVD will appreciate this more.

AUDIO

The Last Starfighter offers a Dolby Digital DTS 5.1 audio track that sounds good, delivering clear dialogue and sound effects. Being that the premise of the movie is one big video game, the sound design matches the cheesy sound effects from the early Atari and Nintendo games. The one highlight is the film’s score by Craig Safan that gives you the sensation that you are part of an epic adventure. Again, the sound like the video is not on the level of current Blu-ray titles, but for a twenty five year old sci-fi kiddie film, it’s effective.

EXTRAS

I would have actually appreciated a Digital Copy for my own geekish reasons, but unfortunately there isn’t one included, but you do get a couple of cool retro documentaries, and a director’s commentary track.

Director Nick Castle and Production Designer Ron Cobb offer a great audio commentary track that goes into the struggle to get the film made, and convincing the studio that the never before done computer generated effects would work, because they were literally making it up as they went. If you loved this film, you must listen to this track.

‘Heroes of the Screen’ is a retrospective documentary that is a celebration of The Last Starfighter, featuring interviews with the stars, the director, writer, producers, and those who created the special effects. Running twenty-five minutes, you’ll be hanging on the every second, because it will make you appreciate the film even more. One odd thing for me was seeing actor Lance Guest twenty-five years later and now in his late 40’s. Jeez, was life that hard on him? He’s barely recognizable.

‘Crossing the Frontier: Making the Last Starfighter’ is an older documentary that appeared on the standard DVD, that’s broken into four parts: Introduction, Filming the Movie, A New Era of Visual Effects, and Reflections, which all together runs thirty minutes.

An image gallery shows stills of a never alternate ending where Alex Rogen is rewarded by the Star League for his bravery, but maybe that was too close to the ending of Star Wars.

Finally there is the original teaser and theatrical trailers that made ever kid like me want to see a long, long time ago.

BOTTOM LINE

Obviously, I was an impressionable little kid when I first saw The Last Starfighter, but it stayed with me and watching it today still gives me a thrill. This Blu-ray offers good image and sound quality and the retrospective documentaries are definitely worth watching. The Last Starfighter opened the doors for computer digital effects and filmmakers like James Cameron and Peter Jackson should be very grateful for that. For fans this one is a must own, and for the newbies out there, The Last Starfighter is highly recommended. 

SCORES: (out of 5):

The Movie: 4.0

Video: 3.5

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 4.0

Bottom Line: 4.0