The Last Starfighter Movie Review

The Last Starfighter (1984)

Rent The Last Starfighter on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Jonathan R. Betuel
Directed by: Nick Castle
Starring: Lance Guest, Dan O'Herlihy, Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Preston
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer

Plot
High schooler Alex Rogan conquers the Starfighter video game, only to find out the game was a test. Alex is taken to another planet, recruited to join a team of the best starfighters.

Verdict
It's the ultimate kid's wish fulfillment tale. Playing video games leads Alex on an out of this world adventure to save another species. It's aimed at kids and the depth of story supports that for better or worse. It's one of those movies that if I had seen it as a kid I'd love the concept, but as an adult the narrative is flimsy. It's a nostalgia movie. In the same vein, the effects would have looked a lot better at the time too.
Skip it.

Review
Alex (Lance Guest) lives in a trailer park with a lot of unique characters, and it's a tight knit community. While he's the resident handyman, he's saving for college and hoping for better things. Alex also plays the arcade game Starfighter. I don't know why this trailer park has a lone arcade cabinet sitting outside, other than a narrative device.

Lance Guest plays Alex

The writer was inspired by The Sword in the Stone and video games. That premise makes this fun as it's every kid's dream to excel through video games. This kid, Alex, who looks well into his twenties beats Starfighter, and then hops into a car with this guy who claims to have made the video game. You have to approach this from the viewpoint of a kid as it had to be intended. This doesn't adhere to a strict logic. Alex stumbles into this alien world, having been recruited through a video game. He's not sure where he is, but he adjusts quickly to the realization that intelligent life exists.

Lance Gust, Dan O'Herlihy play Alex, Grig

Alex is hesitant to join the fray and returns home, but he soon realizes that his and his family's safety depends on joining the aliens and fighting their enemies. Alex and his navigator Grig end up being the only fighting ship left. It's all up to Alex to save the day.

It's a movie that if I had seen as a kid, I'd probably be more fond of due to nostalgia. The effects certainly would have been more impressive in 1984. Alex is called out of obscurity to help save a distant planet. They need him, and a kid becomes the hero. He does all of that through video games.