Wingman: An X-Wing Story

I stumbled upon this 2023 fan-made "Star Wars" movie titled "Wingman: An X-Wing Story" by random chance on YouTube. And given my life-long love of the "Star Wars" franchise, and yes even as the franchise is today, of course I had to check it out.

And color me impressed. No, strike that. I am more than impressed. Writers Martin Bührer and Michael Koepff managed to take something as simple as a space dogfight skirmish and turn it into something that was actually more impressive than the entire sequel trilogy. It was a storyline, despite its simplicity, that sank its hooks into me and took me along on a very fast-paced and adrenaline-filled skirmish between pilots of The Alliance and pilots of The Empire.

Of course I was not familiar with the cast ensemble in this fan-made movie, but they definitely had skills. The acting performances were good, despite the fact that it was essentially just pilots sitting in cockpits during a space dogfight and doing some dialogue whilst maneuvering through a hectic combat.

Visually, well I am beyond words. This not only looked and felt like a proper "Star Wars" movie, but the effects and CGI were phenomenally good, actually rivaling that what you see in the official Disney "Star Wars" movies and series. And it just made watching "Wingman: An X-Wing Story" all the more enjoyable. The ships were very nicely rendered, as was the asteroid field wherein most of the fighting took place. And the costumes were spot on. And I have to praise the way that the movie was shot and edited; it was very fast-paced, thrilling and I absolutely loved the way the camera-work was being done, as it made it feel like a very dynamic and dangerous space dogfight.

I am so pleased that I opted to sit down and watch "Wingman: An X-Wing Story", because it completely blew me away.

If you enjoy "Star Wars", then you definitely should sit down and spend 50 minutes on watching director Michael Koepff's 2023 "Wingman: An X-Wing Story". Despite it being a fan-made film, it most certainly is a well-worthy addition to the "Star Wars" universe and franchise. It had fully and wholly captured the essence of the original "Star Wars: A New Hope" feel during the "Battle of Yavin" scene.

My rating of "Wingman: An X-Wing Story" lands on a well-deserved nine out of ten stars.

Wow a brilliant fan film and kudos to Michael Koepff. Excellent direction, script and story.

A true homage to the fans, and a a real sense of what Stars Wars means to many.

The visuals are just mind-blowing and the fight sequences are so well delivered.

Finally a version where tie fighters don't just get destroyed with one shot. And also have skilled pilots themselves.

I cannot believe how something on a shoestring budget can look and feel a million times better than the multimillion expense shelled out by Disney.

This is what us fans want to see and deserve.

Up there as one of the best fan films made.