Last Starfighter
A blast from the past in this 25th anniversary edition of the classic film
Tags: Misc DVD 2009 Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Sep 24th, 2009
I’ve seen The Last Starfighter perhaps once since it was in theaters back in 1984, and am quite certain that it was before the end of the decade. Being nearly 20 years, if not more, since I had seen this film which has a strong cult following, I was unsure of how to approach it. My own sense of nostalgia was mixed, as I remember having enjoyed the film upon its first release, but I have matured, as has the science fiction genre. Just because I considered it good as a youth, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is a good film, so I placed the Blu-ray disc of the 25th anniversary edition of The Last Starfighter into my player with some trepidation.
The Last Starfighter tells the story of a young man who dreams of busting out of hi situation – a dead end life at a trailer park. He isn’t surrounded by bad people, but he is longing for something greater than simply an adequate existence. Then, when the opportunity does come, it isn’t the one he expected or is prepared for.
Let me spare some of the suspense, because after 25 years, and with the film’s popularity, as well as the image on the cover, it is sort of impossible to not talk figure out that Alex is recruited to become a Starfighter within the Star League. Of course he winds up being the hero, which is a foregone conclusion, but it is the story of how this happens, the prototypical “hero’s journey” that makes this film enjoyable 25 years later.
Also helping to make the film palatable all these years past its original release is the innocence and broad appeal it has. Being rated “PG” in 1984 really meant something, and The Last Starfighter really makes good use of the rating. There is one swear word, some death, but nothing gratuitous, plenty of action, a little (safe) romance, and a good character arc. The Last Starfighter truly is one of the family friendly films that has genuine appeal to most members of the family.
As a science fiction film, it is its focus on characters that makes The Last Starfighter work, both then and now. Alex is a fully fleshed out character, with a younger brother, big dreams, a girlfriend, and more. He isn’t the only one that is in focus. Even the supporting players are solidly created and have a sense of realness to them. Particularly standing out is Robert Preston as Centauri, a “recruiter” of fighter pilots. He brings with him a bit of his portrayal of Professor Howard Hill to the character, on purpose, and it works wonders.
For this 25th anniversary edition, we get the film looking sharper than ever. I don’t remember it looking so good, even in the theater. Then the audio is also well mixed – I was able to pick up a reference to Dr. Strangelove that I hadn’t caught before (and believe me, if I had caught it in 1984, I would have remembered it). Also presented is a new featurette looking at the making of the film in a retrospective manner with a numb er of people involved. It is a solid presentation and really fills in some of the gaps that were left by the original featurette, which is also included. This original featurette was also a retrospective piece, but done for the film’s initial DVD release and looks at the groundbreaking (at the time) special effects.
Other special features include an audio commentary, teaser and theatrical trailers and a massive still gallery as well as an audio commentary with director Nick Castle and production designer Ron Cobb. From what I sampled (about 20 minutes total throughout the film) it appears to be an informative track worth listening to.
My only real problem with the film is that now it has been brought over into high definition, it is easy to see where the seams of the special effects are. Other than Tron, The Last Starfighter was one of the first films to extensively use computer graphics as special effects. Unlike Tron, however, these images are not meant to replicate what it might look like inside of a computer, but instead to recreate a “real world” set piece, such as an asteroid, space ship, and more. While these things are so commonplace today, The Last Starfighter was at the forefront and helped to break new ground. To that end, unfortunately, budget limitations are obvious on the screen.
Still, it is easy to get swept away int the story and take the journey along with Alex to save the galaxy. This is a film I am glad to have revisited, and will pull it down from my shelf in a couple of years and share it with my own children.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Solid story with wide appeal + Good set of supplements + Very charming |
8.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
| - Wow, those special effects are dated | |
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| While the special effects leave a bit to be desired, especially by today's standards, the film's charms completely overhelm any detriment. A solid set of special features makes this a great addition to your library. | |
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Tags: Misc DVD 2009
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Sep 24th, 2009 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
