The Last Starfighter (1984) Retro Review

This is one of the movies I grew up on.

I remember a large black VHS tape that had two other movies recorded on it, with the title “The Last Starfighter” written in blue pen on the top of the label. I remember putting it into a large dull metal colored VCR that, when you pressed the huge green Eject button, would release the hydraulic launched tape deck on the top with a futuristic gear grinding sound. When I put the tape in and pressed the tape deck back into the machine, it locked in with a cluck then began a definite whir as I pressed the Play button.

They don’t make VCRs so wondrously clunky-yet-futuristic-at-the-same-time these days. To me The Last Starfighter is just like that old VCR: Aged, but still awesome.

The Last Starfighter is about a teenager named Alex Rogan (portrayed by Lance Guest) who is trying to get a better life than the trailer park he lives in with his mother can offer him. He’s a decent guy who goes out of his way to help out the close-knit trailer community, but the only thing he can have to himself is his hobby of playing the arcade game at the local diner. The arcade game is called Starfighter, and one night Alex breaks the high score. Little does he know that the arcade game is actually a recruiting and training tool used to test potential candidates for a real Starfighter program run by an alien race that needs pilots “with the gift” to pilot the powerful Gunstar fighters. For Alex, the premise of the arcade game he played becomes true as he is “recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier from the Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada.”

The story of The Last Starfighter is not very deep and, except for a few slight turns it’s pretty simple, but it is done so solidly that even today I enjoy watching it. It is sprinkled with genuine moments and weird sights that it keeps you entertained despite the simple story and characters.

What is interesting that despite the movie’s title, Alex does not pilot a starfighter until a little more than the last half of the film. But that’s okay, because the film offers a unique and humorous subplot that involves an android masquerading as Alex on Earth (to hide the fact the Alex is really in space helping out the Star League) and the sheer fish-out-of-water experience that Alex goes through when he is thrust into an alien world is enough to keep you entertained until the big, long starfighter sequence at the end.

The special effects used in the movie would definitely be considered aged, but it was one of the first movies, along with Tron, to use CGI. 3D rendered models were used for the starships and other objects, like the exterior of the Command Center and the outer space environment. Today the effects would be considered cartoony, but it still amazing to me how much detail the models show, and, in their own aged way, still hold up. Also the filmmakers were careful to limit the number of shots that contained real filmed footage and 3D rendered footage (I don’t know if they did this intentionally) so that at least the real footage and 3D footage were consistent (and they avoided fake looking blue-screen effects).

What I find interesting about the movie is that it manages to invoke a variety of emotions. There are triumphant times of glory, humorous moments, and most interesting of all, creepy ass moments that frightened me as a kid and still creep me out today. When Alex is whisked away by his lovable conman recruiter Centauri he is replaced by a Beta Unit, an android that assumes his identify and makes sure no one notices that Alex is really gone. When Alex first meets the Beta Unit it is shrouded in darkness. It shakes Alex’s hand that causes a bright flash and Alex recoils in pain. Before he can complain the Beta Unit leaves without a word. The next we see the Beta Unit it is in Alex’s bed with the covers over its head, emitting odd, sickly groaning and moaning. Alex’s mother and girlfriend assume that he is depressed so they don’t disturb him too much, but as Alex’s girlfriend leaves the room and shuts the door, the Beta Unit pulls the covers off its face, revealing a pulsing, slimy pale skinned skull with lidless eyes and lights blinking underneath the skin. Apparently it was still in the process of transformation into Alex’s likeness. That vision of the Beta Unit in mid-metamorphosis scared the hell of me as a kid- but I kept on watching.

The music score of The Last Starfighter is awesome. Even today the tune of the main theme gets stuck in my head, and for a while I wonder where the tune is from, until I realize that it’s the ear worm that I have had off and on for over 20 years.

When I watched this movie recently I realized how some…let’s say more politically correct viewers might object to the story elements. The fact that a video game is being used as a training and recruiting tool for a dangerous military operation (and on teenagers no less) by a secret organization that pretty much abducts Alex and shoves a uniform in his arms does not exactly cast the Star League in a good and noble light. This was made in 1984, when video games were pretty much considered a fad for the young. Now a days, after the attempts by both left-wing and right-wing interests to demonize certain video games (if not the whole video game industry itself), this concept would ruffle a few feathers, especially those who follow the anti-military/establishment crowd. Of course, the military organizations in real life have always sought out ways to recruit young people, going beyond a call for patriotic pride and duty by offering perks and entertainment that pander to even the video gaming crowd.

But the focus of the Last Starfighter is not about military recruitment, war, or even video games. It is about a young man finding a purpose in his life and grabbing hold of it when the opportunity presents itself. The “war” in the movie is not much of a war- it is literally one ship versus an armada. The action is a fun ride in space with lots of colorful explosions, not a gritty, sober battlefield filled with death and angst. The issues of war and military service take a backseat to the overall theme of discovering oneself.

For The Last Starfighter war is fun and there is nothing wrong with that.

The Wolfman (2010) movie review

Not only am I a huge horror buff, I have a special love for the werewolf monster. Some of my favorite films include the hairy monsters, but surprisingly the original The Wolf Man made by Universal Pictures in 1941 is not my favorite of the Universal Horror line. I consider Frankenstein (1931) and Dracula (1931) to be better movies.

So when the remake was announced (back in 2006) my werewolf fan boy enthusiasm was dulled by Hollywood’s vapid fascination with making remakes of films that didn’t need to be remade. Remaking The Wolfman, no matter how enthusiastic those in its production were, seemed like a step backwards for me. The film was also delayed several times for almost two years, so when it finally came out in theatres any interest I had in the film was shallow at best (Although, I have to admit, when I learnt Hugo Weaving was in it my interest was piqued a little, but not enough to pay for a theatre ticket).

The remake uses the same character names and basic plot of the original movie (man visits estranged rich father, gets bitten by werewolf, turns into werewolf, kills people, gets killed with silver implement, the end), but it deviates significantly by introducing sub-plots in an attempt to make the story deeper. Some of these sub-plots help the story somewhat, but others are just put in for useless time filler. In the end it seems like the film is trying to be deeper than it really is. I found this disappointing because it definitely had the talent to make it a deeper, more significant film.

The strongest subplot concerns the main character, Lawrence Talbot (portrayed by Benicio del Toro) and his turbulent history concerning the mysterious death of his mother which left him emotionally scared when he was young and made his father, Sir John Talbot (portrayed by Anthony Hopkins), send Lawrence away to an insane asylum. Although this is the strongest plot line in the story, it gets bogged down at times in way too long scenes of moody dialogue and silent breaks.

The subplot concerning Gwen Conliffe (portrayed by Emily Blunt), widow of Lawrence’s murdered brother and love interest, trying to find a cure for lycanthropy is just an excuse to fill time, show a bunch of old pictures of werewolves, and tell us what we (and the character) already knew: the only way to cure the werewolf is to kill him with something silver (oh, and love him when you’re shooting him). Perhaps it would have been more significant if the character discovered a way to save Lawrence, a twist from the original movie, but alas the whole subplot is just a waste of time.

The strongest element of the film is the cast. The film has some high caliber actors with Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving. The performances are solid and they would have been better if the actors had more to do with their roles. Benicio del Toro fills the role of Lawrence Talbot to a T, but really his role has two modes: moping depression and frantic alarm, and hardly anything in between. Anthony Hopkins steals the whole freaking show with his portrayal of the insanely distant Sir John Lawrence. Hopkins truly did as much as he could to do with so little he was given. Sadly, Hugo Weaving, who portrays Inspector Francis Aberline, is really just relegated to the role of the persistent-detective-who-must-get-his man. The only time his character really shines is when he is first introduced and has a frank discussion with Lawrence. Aberline shows his intelligence by deducing that Lawrence has something to do with the recent murders because of his turbulent history- of course he is proven wrong, but it was a good guess and it was the only time we are shown the intelligence of the character.

Another strong point of the film is the atmosphere. The story is set in Blackmoor (UK) in 1891; making the film a period piece (the original was not). There is plenty of Gothic imagery, including a wonderful scene in a stone circle (similar to Stone Henge) in the dead of night with thick fog whirling in between the monolithic stones. Talbot Manor is a interesting setting, a large manor that is falling into disrepair. It has the right balance of decay and spender, a place that is on the verge of becoming decrepit but still has some nobility left in it.

In a werewolf movie the obvious strong point of the film should be the werewolf itself, and the intricate transformation scenes which have pretty much become a requirement for any werewolf in any film. I have no complaints about the look of the wolf man in the movie. It is definitely inspired by the original hairy-human-with-fangs-and-black-nose look that Lon Chaney Jr. used. This wolf man has more of a muzzle (as much a latex can give) and fur, as well as digitigrade paw-like feet. (Fun fact: Lon Chaney Jr., in the original Wolf Man, walked on his tippy toes to get a wolf-like gait- in this film they used a simple apparatus and CGI to get the effect). The wolf man is a decent mix of practical makeup and CGI effects- too bad we hardly ever get to look at it. The wolf man only makes three appearances in the 1 hour and 42 minute film, and of those scenes are very fast and rapid compared to the long, almost dredging scenes when Lawrence is human. Apparently the original idea for the remake was to use as much practical effects (make-up, stunt suits, etc.) as possible, but the director (Joe Johnston) felt rushed and used CGI for the transformation scenes, full body shots, and sprinting scenes (which makes little sense to me because he had over a year to tinker with the film). The CGI is decent, but sometimes really obvious, especially with close ups of the Wolf Man while he is sprinting and jumping. The use of CGI is regrettable because del Toro was obviously putting a lot of effort into portraying the monster, only to be replaced by a CGI doppelganger.

Interestingly the film is gory, but not as bloody. There are plenty of guts being ripped out, rib cages torn open, and slashes across the face and belly, but I was surprised by the lack of huge gouts of blood that have become a ridiculous cliché these days in horror and action movies. It deserved its R rating no doubt, and there was a decent amount of blood, just not the huge gouts inspired by Kill Bill.

The story does have somewhat of a twist, but by the last half of the first act you have figured it out. It is not a complete surprise when it is revealed, and (total freaking spoiler alert) does result in a fast paced brawl between two werewolves, which I would have enjoyed more if it was not so one sided and predictable.

This movie had something, but somewhere along the line it lost it. In the end it comes out average, which is really too bad considering the dedication of the talent that went into it. It is a definite rental for a casual night and maybe a cheap purchase for werewolf fanatics like me.

Sometimes werewolves just need a hug from someone they love, not a silver bullet in the gut.

A place where I can talk to myself...(Hopefully not)

I don't know about most people, but my brain is often thinking about several things at once. When I mulling something over in my head, sometimes I can't help but start to have conversations with myself. Some of these ramblings are insightful, some of them really stupid, but I've wasted enough time just thinking about the random things in my head, I might as well write about them and see if anyone listens.

What do I expect from blogging? Nothing really, it's a great way to organize my thoughts and continue my education without costing an arm and a leg. But don't get me wrong, it would be great if I could get some dialog and debate going.

My expertise lies in two useless university degrees in the English language and Theology/Philosophy (with emphasis on ethics and jurisprudence). I am also a colossal nerd with interests in speculative fiction and media.

I am not afraid of debate and/or criticism, in fact I thrive on it. I know that I am just one opinion among many but I strive to at least be honest as possible.

Here's hoping this does something for me...