I feel like I should have been introduced to the Last Starfighter sooner than I was. As a kid in the 80’s I was on a steady diet of the Goonies, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones, adventures movies that would have any young boy excited for more. The Last Starfighter I didn’t get around to seeing until many years later on TV, and then I kicked myself for not seeing it sooner. It was the perfect film for a 1980’s boy obsessed with video games and science fiction.
The film follows Alex Rogan played by Lance Guest. He lives in a trailer park, and has not much going for him. He has not been accepted into college, and his future is fairly dim. But he is an ace player on his trailer park’s copy of the Last Starfighter. One day he achieves the high score on the machine, which is apparently good enough to get him noticed ACROSS THE GALAXY, where he gets to become a starfighter for real and help save the planet Rylos.
The Last Starfighter is a pretty surface level film, BUT WHAT A SURFACE. The film is ridiculous, fun, and entertaining. Things are a bit dated effects wise, but they are still quite fun to watch. It takes a while to get to the sci-fi action that make the central premise, but the set up of all that makes the whole thing more exciting when it does.
The original Blu-ray of the Last Starfighter was trash on fire. Universal DNR’d the thing within an inch of it’s existence scrubbing all film like detail out of it. Fortunately, Arrow Video stepped in, gave it a 4K scan, and let the film look like film. This is a beautiful looking version of the film, and the best it has ever looked. The HD audio track in English sounds crisp and clear. Extras include multiple commentary tracks, interviews with the cast and crew featurettes and so much more. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.