A bit ago, I decided to watch The Last Starfighter with TRC. This was another one of those “Movies I Grew Up With” flicks–one which I really fondly remembered, although I was apprehensive that I’d watch it and wonder what I was thinking when I had thought I liked it. What did I remember about it? That it had cool starfighter scenes and some cool aliens, and that it was awesome. So, did it live up to my memory?
I’m happy to say that it pretty much did.
The movie is pretty simple. Boy plays video game. Boy beats video game. Boy goes to space and beats aliens using techniques learned in that video game. So . . . pretty much every video game playing boy’s dream (and very reminiscent of Ender’s Game). There are some plot twists here and there, but for the most part, it runs pretty smoothly through the story. Was it the Best Movie Evar? No. But it was fun stuff, and I enjoyed watching it with TRC.
One thing that I had forgotten was how there were some intense scenes here and there in the film. A guy’s face being wiped off. Another face looking like it had melted. Stuff that TRC and I certainly weren’t prepared for. He did end up being more scared than I anticipated, but he still liked the movie. (Heck, he probably liked the movie MORE because of the scary scenes.) He still mentions it in conversation now and then, so I know it’s stuck with him. Three stars.